Many people feel different on the topic of marijuana usage.

Your opinion may differ depending on where you are from and what you have learned about marijuana. Some people believe marijuana has negative effects on the human body, while others believe it has positive effects.

There are different types of people who use marijuana: medical marijuana users, people who use it to help with their anxiety and stress, and people who use it only because they think it’s fun.

Medical marijuana is legal in 29 of the 50 states, making it a popular option for medical treatment.

According to Business Insider, marijuana contains cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical that is not responsible for getting you high but is thought to be responsible for many of marijuana’s therapeutic effects.

Ms. Andrea Rossi, family nurse practitioner, said medical marijuana helps people in different ways.

“Medical marijuana helps people with chronic pain, anxiety, anorexia, and cancer patients,” Rossi said.

Sophomore Jonny Conway believes marijuana is a medical source and isn’t a bad drug.

“Weed is fine. It’s a great source for medical relief and safe recreational use,” Conway said. “It’s probably the least harmful of all drugs, and it definitely shouldn’t be a class A drug.”

Marijuana is not a class A drug. But, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, it is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

However, some students believe that marijuana should only be used to medicate.

Freshman Hope Wills believes you should only use marijuana if it’s legal in your state or for medical reasons.

“I feel that if you have it for personal use it’s not right unless it is legal,” Wills said. “Adults should only be using it if it’s legal or medical.”

According to the Business Insider, “recent research has demonstrated that there are legitimate medical uses for marijuana and strong reasons to continue studying the drug’s medicinal uses.”

But the article also points out that chronic marijuana users “may have impaired memory, learning, and processing speed, especially if they started regularly using marijuana before age 16 or 17.”

Yes, there are many health benefits that come from the usage of marijuana, but there are also some dangerous long-term effects.

Freshman Fiona Uhrig believes marijuana can harm you in many ways.

“I believe it can harm your mental health because it stunts your brain growth and can fry your brain cells,” Uhrig said. “I do not agree with younger people smoking it unless they are using it medically.”

Marijuana can be addictive and make it so you want more or want to try harder “drugs” to get that high sensation.

Those who smoke marijuana as teenagers are much more likely to use other or harder illegal drugs, stated the MTL blog.

Rossi said that young people’s development can be affected by smoking marijuana.

“In teens, their brains are still developing and marijuana inhibits brain development,” Rossi said.

In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young people who start using marijuana before they are 18 have a one in six chance of becoming addicted to it.

Mrs. Amy Graham, health teacher, agrees with Rossi and said marijuana can cause harm.

“A person’s brain is not fully developed until around the age of 25. Putting any drug in your body has the ability to affect brain development,” Graham said. “Marijuana impairs motor skills, impairs short-term memory, can cause breathing difficulties, chronic bronchitis, and even emphysema and lung cancer.

“It may weaken your immune system. Marijuana can cause confusion, psychological problems, and lack of motivation.”

Some people think that marijuana is not truly addictive or that people can’t become “hooked” on the drug, but research from the CDC shows that about 1 in 10 marijuana users will become addicted.

But some people believe marijuana helps people in many ways and it really shouldn’t even be considered a drug.

Sophomore Alex Choate wants marijuana to be legalized for everyone’s use.

“Weed should be legal,” Choate said. “Someone should make it legal for everyone’s use.”

People want marijuana to be legalized so that people can do whatever they wish with it because they believe it just simply isn’t a drug.

Freshman Ethan Miller believes people should be able to do many things with marijuana and said marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule I drug.

“We should be able to smoke it, sell it, and have it fully legalized,” Miller said. “It is a herbal remedy.”