Smoking marijuana causes some changes in the brain that are like those caused by cocaine, heroin, and alcohol.
In the 1914 mass media manufactured an epidemic of cocaine use among African Americans in the Southern United States to play upon racial prejudices of the era, though there is no evidence that such an epidemic actually took place.
Women are less able to predict the effects of consuming a given amount of alcohol. Day-to-day variability in response to alcohol occurs due to the effects of the menstrual cycle. Greater susceptibility to alcohol's influence occurs just before menstruation.
THC suppresses the neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivation.
