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In 1542, Spanish navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first spotted the beautiful landscape of California. Over 300 years later, California was admitted to the United States as the 31st state. The state boasts one of the most diverse geography ranges, including the Sierra Nevada, Pacific Coast, Redwood-Douglas fir forests and the Mojave Desert. California is also one of the most influential states, becoming a trendsetter in pop culture and politics; the fortune cookie, frisbee, blue jeans, Barbie, Apple computer and Disneyland were all created in California.

During the gold rush in 1800’s, California’s population grew over 180 times to 92,597 people. Today, California is home to well-over 38 million people. Out of those 38 million, over 3 million are addicted to illicit substances; in fact, substance addiction is California’s top killer.

Eleven people die per day from substance addiction in California alone. There have been a reported 40,000 emergency room visits and 30 percent of fatal car accidents due to substance addiction. In 2011, California taxpayers spent over $60 million to house drug offenders behind bars; in fact, it costs $114 every second to house an inmate.

Every year, California authorities seize 800 lbs of heroin, 5,000 lbs of meth, 300,000 ecstasy pills, 18,000 lbs of cocaine and 413,000 lbs of marijuana. California has the largest marijuana market in the United States; enough dollar bills end-to-end to circle the world five times.

Marijuana is composed of three active chemicals; tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannibidiol and cannibinol. It affects your body mentally, psychologically and physically. Most effects are widely recognized but it is important to understand and educate oneself on the short and long term effects and how to identify when someone has a marijuana dependency issue.

Marijuana affects mental state, short-term memory, ocular pressure and reasoning. The most notable effects being:

A marijuana user will experience an altered sense of time and space as well as variations in mood. Perceptions become unclear, problems with coordination occur and certain risk factors cause the possibility of depression and schizophrenia.

The prominent effect of marijuana is dry-mouth due to compounds impeding saliva production. It also causes an increase in heart rate and future lung obstruction. The THC is considered an anxiety producer while smoke causes an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease.

The psychoactive component, THC has significant cardiovascular, psychological and neurological effects that will affect brain chemistry and the respiratory system. Marijuana use is often linked to other drug use as well so it is extremely important to understand its effects and bring awareness to others.

Sprout Health California understands that because of its social acceptance, we must first help our patients understand why and how they are addicted. It is widely perceived that marijuana use leads to the use of other illicit drugs; therefore, if our patients understand addiction, they should be able to resist the temptation to abuse other drugs.

Like most of our programs, we believe that including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will greatly benefit  recovering patients. It allows patients to recognize their maladaptive behaviors as well as teaches them how to positively react to certain situations.