Every now and then you read of someone being arrested for using or possessing marijuana. The law prohibits the use of it in this country.

Marijuana is obtained from the hemp plant. It is a drug but, unlike many other drugs, it is not recognized as a medicine. It acts as a narcotic, which means it can produce a stupor. As a narcotic it is either smoked or eaten, and it has been used by people since ancient times. In India it is known as bhang, charas, or ghanga; in Egypt it is known as hashish; in North Africa it is known as kif; and in the Western Hemisphere it is called “marijuana.”

Marijuana affects the central nervous system. Many people who are emotionally unstable and have been involved in crimes of all sorts prove to be marijuana users.

When a person takes marijuana it can produce all kinds of strange results. A person may feel thirsty, hungry, and crave sweet foods. It may make him nauseous, dizzy, or sleepy. It may make him very irritable, give him delusions of grandeur, or the feeling that he is being persecuted. Sometimes it makes people very talkative and unable to control their laughter, or it may cause fear, depression, mental confusion, and even delirium.

Some people who have smoked just one marijuana cigarette have suffered very disagreeable effects a short time afterward. Young people who make the mistake of wanting to “try it” are often led into the terrible practice of using heroin or morphine afterward, and they become addicts.

Marijuana itself is a complex kind of drug and much study remains to be done about it by scientists. But there is no question that it should be avoided by everyone who wants to lead a healthy, happy life.