High School: An Exposé of Teenage Cannabis Use
This is a short documentary film produced by Ben Grayzel. It explores the frequency of marijuana use among Grover Cleveland High School students. This public school is located in Portland, Oregon.
Some of the teenagers interviewed confess to smoking up to three or more times per day while others are better able to control themselves and limit smoking to two or three times per month. Some see smoking weed as something you can do with your friends at special gatherings because it brings people together, while others do it before class, during recess, and again later in the day. This latter group claims that it’s the marijuana that helps them focus and concentrate in class, while others argue that they would never go to class high and allow marijuana to interfere with their studies.
One teacher claims to see the effects of smoking weed everywhere at school, even in the hallways, and suggests that the school administration might be indifferent to marijuana usage or just no longer see it as an issue. Another teacher says that roughly 75% to 80% of her students are smoking marijuana on a regular basis. She states that there are some students with whom she can’t ever hold a conversation because they are always so high; their eyes are glazed over, their speech is slurred, and they show a general lack of motivation to perform in class.
Where are these children getting their supplies? By their own admission there is ‘good weed’ in Portland and it’s easy to come by. The laws seem to be quite lax, so a number of people grow the plants in their homes. This availability makes it very cheap. Besides, smoking weed isn’t seen as such a controversial issue any more.
Although smoking marijuana might not create a strong physiological dependency as some other drugs do, the psychological aspect of it is very intense. Regular smokers are convinced that they need to smoke in order to feel good or relaxed.
The negative effects of cannabis on the teenage brain have been studied repeatedly for years. It seems like because of the fact that the teenage brain is still growing, marijuana can negatively impact the way it develops.
Is this information about marijuana use limited to this one school or is it more of a nationwide situation among minors? Find out now.
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