The Academic and Professional Ramifications to Cannabis Usage in College Students
By: Udhay Joshi
Posted For: October 11, 2012
College is a time for academic and personal growth. Many memories, friends, and experiences are made and had in college. In fact, the whole point of going to college in the modern time is to gain experience and education to propel one’s professional career forward. There are debated collegiate activities, however, and a prominent one is drug abuse.
Classes and internships are very stressful on the young collegiate mind. Trying to make friends and partying are typical ways collegiate students go about alleviating this stress. Drugs, of all kinds, constantly protrude in these social scenes, ranging from hallucinogens (psychedelics) to methamphetamines. However, the most pervasive and resilient class of drugs would be cannabis.
Many people try to understand why so many collegiate students abuse cannabis and the reasoning boils down to a mixture of stress related and social influences. The majority of the worry and debate behind the topic of cannabis usage in collegiate students stem from academic and professional outlooks, rather than health risks.
Commonly known by its street name, “marijuana”, cannabis hits college students fast and hard at parties and is influential on the turnout of a college student’s academic and professional carrier. The popularity of marijuana is so vast that it is second to only alcohol in the category of substances abused by college students.
In a thorough survey of collegiate students, conducted by the Core Institute and reported by Todd R Lewis and Elysia Clemens, “Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug among college students. One third (33.3%) of students reported use in the previous year and almost one fifth (18.9%) reported use in the previous month."
The medical negatives of marijuana usage are minimal compared to the other substances collegiate students abuse, such as alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.
The worst of the long term risks of smoking marijuana would be emphysema, as with all other substances smoked; however, this percentage of disease in users is nominal to the point where physicians recommend the key component of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), to be ingested or smoked in order to alleviate symptoms of pain and nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
The stresses that collegiate students face are enormous. These students constantly have to balance difficult course work, poor dietary practices, lack of sleep, minimum wage jobs, competitive internships, and being active to build the best resume possible; however, the stresses do not end there. Many students are faced with the expectation of parents and their own fears about future careers.
College is also a time where students begin to understand a lot more about who they are as people, which can be rather mind-numbing. The stresses faced force most college students to have ritualistic escape mechanisms in order to cope with their difficult lifestyle; most of which involve abusing marijuana or excessive partying.
Other than excessive stress, the reason college students “dope up” is often attributed to exposure, curiosity, and or pressure during social gatherings. Most collegiate students are introduced to marijuana in college, and the majority of the introductions are at parties or when a group of friends get together to enjoy each other’s company.
According to a joint study by the Journal of Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, “When the users of the substance (marijuana) were asked to give the most important reason why they came to use the substance, 45 (55.6%) of the 81 users claimed it was out of curiosity through social exposure, 24 (29.6%) claimed they were lured to it due to pressures from their friends and peers.”
The reasoning behind why marijuana is abused, be it stress and or exposure/pressure thorough friends, pales in comparison to the heated issue of impact marijuana has on a collegiate student’s academic and professional life.
The academic consequences of cannabis usage is debatable.
One side of the argument ardently insists that marijuana is the sole contributor to a student’s academic demise. Many claims are made that academic performance is compromised because students lose the ability to focus, retain information, resolve to stay in school, and are prone to procrastinate and or “party” more frequently.
According to a recent study done by doctors with the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, reported by Mary Brophy Marcus of HealthDay.com, “students with high levels of marijuana use (more than 17 days a month) were twice as likely as those with minimal use (less than a day a month) to have an enrollment gap while in college. But even students who used pot less often, in the range of three to 12 days a month, were more likely to experience enrollment gap.”
This, much like most antagonists of marijuana, emphasizes those who are very frequent users of the substance. However, it is proven that most collegiate students are not heavy marijuana users because of fiscal and social reasons.
Other than affecting academic retention, the antagonists of marijuana tend to add the effect of laziness and depression into their augment. Claims are made that students either lose their will to remain in the class room or become too lazy to strive for internships and experimental learning.
The proponents of marijuana tend to have a more realistic and less confrontational view of the topic. It can be said that the stress relief marijuana provides is not bad for students, as long as the usage does not become a dependency. It can be claimed that the academic downfall of students is not solely the fault of the drug itself.
For example, Amanda Reiman of drugpolicy.org comments on a USA Today online article that bashed marijuana usage by collegiate students and writes, “using alcohol and marijuana seem to be a normative part of the college experience since they are so common, but, for some students, they can be part of a chain reaction that includes lower academic performance and adjustment services should be freely available to students who are struggling.”
Although there is some grey area as to the academic success of collegiate students who use marijuana, the professional outlook for collegiate students who use marijuana tends to have a less compromising argument because legality becomes a serious issue, especially when companies expect efficiency and economy from its employees.
The antagonists of marijuana usage by collegiate students in the work place tend to focus on the fact that those who smoke in the collegiate environment will not graduate college, let alone prevail in the work place.
For example, an essay by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, states, “A meta-analysis of 48 relevant studies—one of the most thorough performed to date—found cannabis use to be associated consistently with reduced educational attainment (e.g., grades and chances of graduating)”. This lack of educational support or success is further speculated to poor standings and resumes when it comes time to apply for jobs, acting in a chain of events.
Beyond the studies on academia, claims are made that those who used cannabis in college, became part of the work force, and continue to use cannabis in the workplace tend to run into complications. The biggest and most stressed complication would be the legality of marijuana.
The illegality of marijuana in the United States poses a problem for recent college grads when applying for jobs because most educated work will demand a drug test, which is a fact even in blue collar jobs. This tends to be a problem even in states where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational purposes.
According to the Corporate Counsel of law.com, “Despite the legalization of marijuana at the state level, marijuana is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. In recognition of conflicting state laws, however, federal enforcement of the act has been curtailed in states where medical marijuana is authorized… Laws (including case law) in other states, such as Washington, Montana, Oregon, California, and Massachusetts, make clear that employers may prohibit use or possession of marijuana in the workplace.”
The proponents of marijuana usage in collegiate students tend to understand the limitations of marijuana in the workplace, especially in states where cannabis is illegal. However, many feel that collegiate students should not be penalized for using marijuana in states that allow it to be legal in the workplace, both recreationally and medically, seeing that these students were not penalized while studying in college.
The best argument would be against the corporations themselves, which have led to many class action cases. The proponents do not see any justice in penalizing those who are allowed or given the right to use marijuana solely because a company bases a worker’s efficiency on his or her cannabis usage.
The best example of such a type of unjust segregation would be from The New York Times’ online website where it is stated, “In 2008, Mr. Casias (31), a father of two who medicates with marijuana to relieve the pain of inoperable brain and sinus cancer, was named associate of the year at the Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, Mich. But when he injured his knee last year, company policy required a drug test. The positive result cost him his job”.
The topic of marijuana usage in collegiate students is not given the chance for much consideration by the public. The topic tends to be either protagonists or antagonists, each with their own views on how the academic and professional outlook for these students tend to be.
In short, the generalizations and “statistical breakdowns” of the collegiate student’s relationship with cannabis are not very realistic when coming from an antagonistic viewpoint, although there are legitimate facts to support the claims.
The protagonist viewpoints of the academic outlook of students who use marijuana tend to be much more realistic in terms of the reasoning behind the usage, the amount of usage, and the effects of the accurate usage in comparison to more exaggerated statistics; however, not much can be said for the professional outlook due to a lack of concrete long term evidence and the legality issues behind cannabis in the workplace.
The antagonists of marijuana usage by collegiate students in the work place tend to focus on the fact that those who smoke in the collegiate environment will not graduate college, let alone prevail in the work place.
For example, an essay by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, states, “A meta-analysis of 48 relevant studies—one of the most thorough performed to date—found cannabis use to be associated consistently with reduced educational attainment (e.g., grades and chances of graduating)”. This lack of educational support or success is further speculated to poor standings and resumes when it comes time to apply for jobs, acting in a chain of events.
Beyond the studies on academia, claims are made that those who used cannabis in college, became part of the work force, and continue to use cannabis in the workplace tend to run into complications. The biggest and most stressed complication would be the legality of marijuana.
The illegality of marijuana in the United States poses a problem for recent college grads when applying for jobs because most educated work will demand a drug test, which is a fact even in blue collar jobs. This tends to be a problem even in states where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational purposes.
According to the Corporate Counsel of law.com, “Despite the legalization of marijuana at the state level, marijuana is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. In recognition of conflicting state laws, however, federal enforcement of the act has been curtailed in states where medical marijuana is authorized… Laws (including case law) in other states, such as Washington, Montana, Oregon, California, and Massachusetts, make clear that employers may prohibit use or possession of marijuana in the workplace.”
The proponents of marijuana usage in collegiate students tend to understand the limitations of marijuana in the workplace, especially in states where cannabis is illegal. However, many feel that collegiate students should not be penalized for using marijuana in states that allow it to be legal in the workplace, both recreationally and medically, seeing that these students were not penalized while studying in college.
The best argument would be against the corporations themselves, which have led to many class action cases. The proponents do not see any justice in penalizing those who are allowed or given the right to use marijuana solely because a company bases a worker’s efficiency on his or her cannabis usage.
The best example of such a type of unjust segregation would be from The New York Times’ online website where it is stated, “In 2008, Mr. Casias (31), a father of two who medicates with marijuana to relieve the pain of inoperable brain and sinus cancer, was named associate of the year at the Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, Mich. But when he injured his knee last year, company policy required a drug test. The positive result cost him his job”.
The topic of marijuana usage in collegiate students is not given the chance for much consideration by the public. The topic tends to be either protagonists or antagonists, each with their own views on how the academic and professional outlook for these students tend to be.
In short, the generalizations and “statistical breakdowns” of the collegiate student’s relationship with cannabis are not very realistic when coming from an antagonistic viewpoint, although there are legitimate facts to support the claims.
The protagonist viewpoints of the academic outlook of students who use marijuana tend to be much more realistic in terms of the reasoning behind the usage, the amount of usage, and the effects of the accurate usage in comparison to more exaggerated statistics; however, not much can be said for the professional outlook due to a lack of concrete long term evidence and the legality issues behind cannabis in the workplace.
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