A major concern about marijuana is its possible effects on adolescents and young adults as they grow up. The effects of marijuana can interfere with learning by impairing thinking, reading comprehension, and verbal and mathematical skills. Marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers. These include daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest colds, bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. (Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Persistent use damages the lungs and airways and raises the risk of cancer. Marijuana has also been linked to an increased risk of head and neck cancers. The chance of heart attack quadruples with in the first hour of smoking marijuana. Marijuana is also associated with decreased immune system function.

In regard to youth marijuana use in Cincinnati, the average age of first use is approximately 13 years old. The majority of youth, 76 percent, reported smoking marijuana in their own home or a friends home. 62% of youth report using marijuana on the weekends. More than half of 12th graders report that marijuana is fairly easy or very easy to get and 14 percent of youth had been to a party where marijuana and other illicit drugs were available. An encouraging note, peer disapproval of marijuana use has increased from 47.9 percent in 2004 to 66 percent in 2010 (Source: Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati).