As of today, marijuana is the single most often used illegal drug in America. Recently, usage has come in the form of cigars whose tobacco has been removed and replaced with marijuana. Typically, the addictive value of marijuana is fairly low but its continued long term use can create psychological dependence along with severe lung damage, immune system deficiencies, and reproductive health problems. Marijuana is widely recognized as the gateway drug for other illicit drug usage and dependence. Over 50 percent of common marijuana users frequently use other drugs including alcohol within their usage cycles.
Usage usually peaks with child users in the late teens and early twenties.
The perceived risk of marijuana usage is low among today's kids and 58 percent reported that its fairly easy to obtain marijuana. Nearly 15 percent of youth aged 12-17 reported that they have been approached to use and buy marijuana within the past month. Methamphetamine is a stimulant chemically similar to the old class of drugs called amphetamines, also know as speed. Methamphetamine or meth, its usual slang term, strongly effects and stimulates the body's central nervous system. Typically, methamphetamine comes in the form of a white powder as a rock resembling wax with glass like shards.