After a long, tiring, and stressful day of school, you get home, carelessly throw your bookbag on the bed, and then lie down scrolling down Instagram’s boring timeline looking for the play of the night. Soon you get a notification from the group chat with your only friends. They sent a screenshot of a poster titled “HOUSE PARTY FOR MEMORIAL WEEKEND!” which a famous Instagrammer posted.

   Your friend Juan tells you to get ready. They’ll be outside your house at 8 p.m. You start getting ready and think about how fun the night will be. “BEEP, BEEP,” you hear coming from outside. You look, and it’s Juan, Emily, Melissa! You grab your phone and run out excited about the party.

After a 20-minute drive you get out of the car and immediately notice a strong smell coming from the backyard of the party. Melissa, intrigued by the smell, asks, “What is that?” You enter the party and see a group of kids all laughing and giggling in a circle, having the time of their lives, passing around this leafy brown joint lit up at the end.

The kid in black, ripped jeans and red Vans stops you and asks, “Want a hit?” You think about it for a split second and decide you’ll try it for the first time to join in on the fun and have an unforgettable time at the party like the group of kids.

Popularity

Many people agree that marijuana is at a high rate of popularity amongst teens. It’s a time when friends and peers become very influential towards their actions. They are learning about themselves and who they are.

Teenagers tend to be very curious, and they want to get hold of everything that’s popular. Senior Donnis Synurit said, “Marijuana is popular because most teens know about it or know someone that does it.”

Peer pressure plays a key role in teens’ marijuana intake. “Acceptance is the number one priority for us teens. We look up to a group of people, and we pick it up from friends,” said sophomore Issac Sanchez. Junior Tais Dion added that everybody wants to be like everybody else and do marijuana.

Legal or Illegal?

Most individuals agree that marijuana should be legal for recreational purposes; however, some say it should stay illegal. According the article titled “How Did Marijuana Become Illegal in the First Place?” published by Drugpolicy.org, marijuana first became illegal in the United States in 1937 when the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. In 1996, California became the first to legalize medical cannabis. They set a trend which spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012 Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes.

Senior John Matute states marijuana should be legal because you can get into problems doing it illegally. “If it’s legal, the state can make more money selling it to people who may not have the ability of getting a medical license, and it can also provide people with jobs,” he said. Security monitor Coach Bell said, “Marijuana should be legal. It’s in high demand because too many people have it and we can’t stop it.”

However, others say it should stay illegal. 10^th grader Gabriel Nunez points out how it causes damage to yourself and others. School security Coach Bell believes that marijuana has no benefits whatsoever. “You forget a lot, and when your high is down, you’re back to reality. You can’t smoke all day long,” he said.

According to the article titled “The Experience of Getting High”, published by cannabisconsumers.org, people that recreationally use marijuana can feel more energized, happy and stress-free. It may also help someone become more confident and outgoing. It heightens the senses enhancing the taste of

Benefits and Impacts

Although marijuana may be an illegal drug for recreational purposes, medical marijuana can be an effective treatment for a variety of ailments. “It helps people become more relaxed, gives them an appetite, helps them focus more and more, and can also help them with insomnia,” said senior Vincent Pastran. “Marijuana can be a pain reliever, and it can help with body soreness,” said 10^th grader Brandon Acevedo.

The article titled “21 Medical Benefits of Marijuana” published by Businessinsider.com, it helps those suffering with nightmares, reduces the atrocious pain and nausea that come from chemo, stimulates appetite, can help epileptic seizures, may slow down Alzheimer’s, may decrease anxiety, helps with muscle spasms and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Dejon Bernard, a junior, said, “It benefits those people who are over thinking and struggling with negative thoughts because it can help them by getting their mind off things.” Junior Yvette Smith says her friend who got prescribed medical marijuana says it helps her relax and not have any seizures like she normally does. One senior female who prefers being anonymous said, “It helps my uncle who suffers prom PTSD from his past army experiences and it relaxes him and makes him feel relaxed and relieves him from all his delusions.”

food and the sound of music. Cannabis can also make someone feel more positive and see life from a different perspective.

Marijuana can have a negative impact on our community because it’s so easy to get ahold of. Sophomore Issac Sanchez says, “Marijuana has down sides like being a gateway drug to more serious drugs. It can also be addicting and used as a crutch, kind of like coffee.” Many adolescents get caught with drugs on them, they end up in trouble, they slowly ruin their lives, they tend to forget a lot, and they become very lazy.