National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre. “Effects of cannabis on the teenage brain NCPIC + Turning Point.” YouTube. YouTube, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 3 Aug. 2015
The controversy of whether marijuana effects the human brain has been argued for years. More specifically how it effects younger adults and whether or not it will eventually effect them as adults. The video, Effects of cannabis on the teenage brain NCPIC + Turning Point by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre explain how the brain of a developing teenager works and how marijuana could effect their development as they mature. It makes a connection with the first article, in that they both explain how during the teenage years is when people are the most sensitive to marijuana and how they are more capable to result in drastic side effects as they grow older. First off, the video begins by explaining how the brain of a teenager begins to develop with time and how there are different circuits in the brain that help develop certain traits. It demonstrates how there are three main circuits that are developing throughout these teenage years, it includes, learning and memory, motivation, and mood. The intended audience for this video would be for those who believe that marijuana causes no danger to the growing brains of children, this video is for those who think marijuana should be legalized because they don’t see how it effects users. The real audience would be anybody that would be interested in learning about marijuana or anybody who came across the video on YouTube, whether they agree or not.
I found this video credible because of the organization that made the video, the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, showed deep knowledge in this specific topic. The organization is from Australia and based on comments that I saw, many people log onto their websites and watch their videos online. The organization demonstrates that they are knowledgeable on the topic because of the many different videos they make related to marijuana. After looking up more of their videos and saw how informed they were and how they talked about how the brain is effected by marijuana which then literally effects everything you do throughout the day, it showed me that they are a credible source. Not only do they talk about the effects in the brain specifically however, also on many other marijuana related topics. Their argument is very informative and one can tell that the organization is against the legalization of marijuana because of the research done on how t effects the brain.
As I mentioned before, the video focuses on 3 main circuits of the brain, the learning and memory circuit, motivation and mood. “Ensuring that our brain is wired in the right way during our teenage years with strong and healthy brain circuits is critical to our future and how we get the most in life,” the video explains, followed by a brief description of how each of those 3 circuits work and how the endocannabinoid system helps keep everything in order. It continues with showing how the usage of marijuana can effect the flow of how the circuits work and can cause damage to the brain. Next stating examples of how marijuana effects each circuit individually, mentioning, “Short term memory is loss is a common characteristic of long term heavy cannabis use,” “Cannabis use can also lead to loss of motivation, heavy uses can feel detached and disinterested in things you used to like,” “It can also lead to low self confidence that in turn effects your mood,” which then follows by stating that marijuana effects teenage users much more because of the stage that their brain is in, which is still developing. The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre based on not only this video but many others and their website, believe that marijuana destroys brain cells and causes many dangers to the developing brain.