Today, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States — and in much of the rest of the world. In fact, according to a recent survey, 72 million Americans have tried pot, and about 11 million are regular users. test
Marijuana Common Street Names
Pot, weed, herb, green, Mary Jane, MJ, joints, bong toke, reefer.
Marijuana is derived from the cannabis plant, which grows in many countries, including the United States. People put it in rolling papers to make marijuana cigarettes, smoke it in bongs or pipes, or mix it in baked goods or tea and eat or drink it. The cannabis plant also yields hashish, a stronger form of marijuana, and hash oil, and the strongest form that has very high levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
Much of our understanding of how marijuana works is still sketchy, but it took a huge leap forward with the 1992 discovery of receptors for THC in the brain, docking sites for body chemicals much like THC.
Marijuana contains several psychoactive chemicals that act on the brain. While scientists do not know all of the drug's effects, several studies have established that marijuana interferes with memory and learning. A new study confirms that heavy (daily) marijuana use impairs critical skills related to attention, memory and learning. In this study, "Heavy users could not pay attention to the material well enough to register the information in the first place so that it could be recalled and repeated later," say the researchers in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2/21/96).
THC isn't the only chemical that swings into action when pot does its stuff. That's because marijuana isn't a single molecule at all (like alcohol or cocaine), but some 421 different chemicals — 61 of which, known as Cannabinoids, exist nowhere else in nature.
What THC and the other Cannabinoids do is temporarily tilt the balance of chemicals in the brain involved in thought, feeling, and memory. Most effects — from changes in perception to feelings of relaxation and euphoria — usually peak within an hour and disappear altogether in 2-3 hours. Other effects may last longer.
Coordination. Even low doses can slow responses, making some tasks difficult, and others-driving, for example-potentially dangerous.
Perception. Pot subtly alters sensory perception. Effects can include feelings of heightened sensitivity and a distorted sense of the passage of time.
Mental Changes. Marijuana can impair judgment and reasoning skills, particularly those involved in counting and the ability to follow complex instructions. It also temporarily disrupts short-term memory.
Memory impairment shows up often in tasks requiring sustained concentration, but it turns up elsewhere, too. Communication is affected: speech slows, phrases get shorter, and users can forget what they're talking about — even in the middle of a sentence.
And even though performance and memory problems usually disappear as drug effects fade, long-term learning problems still haven't been ruled out.
THC breakdown products, or metabolites, can linger in the body for weeks or months after use; this could be risky-particularly for those involved in hazardous activities or occupations.
Does pot cause psychological problems?
The most serious risk that a typical user ever runs is anxiety, which can be triggered by stress or fatigue-or higher-potency marijuana. Such reactions tend to be more common among infrequent and inexperienced users.
Pot-related panic typically lasts less than an hour, and generally requires little more than time to run its course, along with a little reassurance and TLC (not to be confused with THC) from friends or helpers.
In most ways, marijuana ranks pretty low on the drug-problem totem pole. One reason: Pot's low toxicity. People don't overdose or lose their lives from smoking pot — or at least not so anyone notices all at once.
The most important cannabinoid in pot is a little number known as delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, for short). THC is the main mind-altering ingredient in marijuana, and the biggest news about it is how much of it is turning up in new, high-potency forms of pot.
Today, it's not hard to find pot with a THC content of 7, 8 or even 10 percent. And that extra potency packs a punch — in the form of more intense effects and greater potential risks.
When a smoker lights up, the first big biological change comes in the form of a blast of tar and other gases that rushes to the lungs, after first irritating the tissues of the mouth, nose, and throat.
You might also hear a cough as the lungs do what they're supposed to do — expel irritants.
Probably the clearest health risk posed by pot is the danger to the lungs.
That's because marijuana smoke contains the same cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. And since pot smokers hold marijuana smoke in the lungs longer, regular use could pose the same kinds of cancer risks as cigarette smoking.
In addition, pot smokers also raise their risk of other lung problems, including bronchitis and emphysema.
That risk is considered higher still for people who smoke both pot and cigarettes.
Daily use of from 1 to 3 marijuana cigarettes appears to produce the same lung damage and cancer risk as smoking 5 times as many cigarettes. Finally, researchers have found for the first time that marijuana can cause dependence and withdrawal symptoms in laboratory animals.
Only blood-sample measurements are likely to correlate with a person's degree of exposure; attempts to correlate urine concentration with impairment or time of dose are complicated by variations in individual metabolism, metabolite accumulation in the chronic user, and urine volume changes due to diet, exercise, and age. Therefore, a positive result by the urine cannabinoid test indicates only the likelihood of prior use. Smoking a single marijuana cigarette produces THC metabolites that are detectable for several days with the cannabinoid assay. THC can accumulate in body fat, creating higher excretion concentrations and longer delectability. If an affect on performance is the main reason for screening, the urine cannabinoid test result alone cannot indicate performance impairment or assess the degree of risk associated with the person's continuing to perform tasks. If a history of marijuana use is the major reason for screening, the urine test for Cannabinoids should be able to detect prior use for up to 4 weeks in the casual user and possibly months longer in the chronic user.
Marijuana Legal Status
Marijuana is a Schedule I drug. It is illegal to grow, sell, buy or use marijuana, hashish or hashish oil. Synthetic THC capsules are available by prescription to treat the nausea that cancer patients sometimes suffer with some forms of chemotherapy, and to treat wasting in AIDS patients. No form of the smoked drug has been approved as safe or effective for any medical use.
Three in 10 Americans say they have tried marijuana and most parents who tried it say they would tell their kids about it if asked. On the other hand, most parents say they would be very upset if their child smoked marijuana and consider smoking marijuana more dangerous than cigarettes or alcohol.
Americans' views on marijuana are complex. While majorities say marijuana should not be legalized, they are somewhat divided on whether possession of a small amount should be considered a crime. And most Americans say they approve of using the drug for medicinal purposes when prescribed by a doctor. About three in 10 people say they have tried marijuana and a majority of parents who have tried it say they would tell their kids if they asked. On the other hand, three-quarters of parents say they would be "extremely" upset if their child smoked marijuana and half say they would be more concerned about pot than cigarettes or alcohol.
Marijuana Survey Organization: Gallup Organization
Question: Would you favor or oppose making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering?
Favor
75%
Oppose
22%
No opinion
3%
Sample: 1,004 adults
Methodology: Telephone interview conducted Nov. 10-12, 2003
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding
Survey Organization: Harris Interactive
Sponsored by CNN and Time
Question: Do you think adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it or do you think that marijuana should remain illegal even for medical purposes?
Yes, should be allowed to use marijuana
80%
No, marijuana should remain illegal
17%
Not sure
3%
Sample: 1,007 adults
Methodology: Telephone interview conducted Oct. 23-24, 2002
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding
Survey Organization: Princeton Survey Research Associates
Sponsored by The Pew Research Center
Question: Keeping in mind that all of your answers in this survey are confidential, have you, yourself, ever happened to try marijuana?
Yes
38%
No
61%
Don't know
1%
Sample: 1,000 adults
Methodology: Telephone interview conducted June 4-8, 2003
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding
Survey Organization: Luntz Research Companies
Sponsored by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
Question: Suppose you found out your teenager smoked marijuana. How disturbed would you be, if at all? Would you be extremely disturbed, very disturbed, somewhat disturbed, only a little disturbed or not disturbed at all?
Extremely disturbed
76%
Very disturbed
20%
Somewhat disturbed
3%
Not disturbed at all
1%
Don't know
1%
Sample: 1,000 parents with children age 12-17
Methodology: Telephone interview conducted May 8-June 23, 1999
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding
Survey Organization: Luntz Research Companies
Sponsored by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
Question: As a parent, do you think you would be more concerned to learn that your teenager was smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or using marijuana?
Smoking cigarettes
5%
Drinking alcohol
15%
Using marijuana
52%
Equally concerned
2%
Don't know
27%
Sample: 1,000 parents with children age 12-17
Methodology: Telephone interview conducted May 8-June 23, 1999
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding
If pot was legal, it could be monitored and regulated like all of the other things the government protects. The first time someone opened up a package of marijuana and they found it was not what they purchased and that it was harmful, they would have a slam-dunk tort case. But there's no liability in the drug trade if it's illegal."
How likely is it that people could lethally poison marijuana and other controlled substances?
Most experts agree that users of illegal drugs might not have the appeal of more visible targets like media and government. And killing addicts could be tantamount to cutting off funding for terrorist activities -- as Afghanistan is responsible for as much as 75 percent of the world's heroin, according to reports.
But drug poisoning isn't entirely out of the question, at least among some of the copycat pranksters that have come out of the woodwork since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The simplest may be contaminating pot with fungi like Aspergillosis, which is still toxic when smoked. Healthy people can inhale the spores and not get sick, but medical marijuana users can contract skin disorders, pneumonia and other pulmonary infections, some of them fatal. About 10 such cases were reported in San Francisco last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More lethal yet more complicated to engineer is botulism, which strikes an average of 110 Americans a year, causing respiratory and nervous system paralysis.
While best known as a food-borne germ, the contaminant has appeared in heroin with deadly outcomes. But this toxin could be cultivated in pot, said John Morgan, professor of pharmacology at City University of New York.
Large quantities of marijuana are often transported in bricks pressed tightly with a bit of fruit juice for extra stickiness, wrapped up to hide the smell -– the kind of anaerobic environment that Clostridium botulinum thrive in. The spores could also survive smoking, and have withstood the cooking process used to prepare heroin injections.
In 2000, 46.5 percent of the 1,579,566 total arrests for drug abuse violations were for marijuana -- a total of 734,497. Of those, 646,042 people were arrested for possession alone. This is an increase over 1999, when a total of 704,812 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 620,541 were for possession alone.
According to the UN's estimate, 141 million people around the world use marijuana. This represents about 2.5 percent of the world population.
Marijuana was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, more than 76 million Americans admit to having tried it.
A John Hopkins study published in May 1999, examined marijuana's effects on cognition on 1,318 participants over a 15 year period. Researchers reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis." They also found "no male-female differences in cognitive decline in relation to cannabis use. These results ... seem to provide strong evidence of the absence of a long-term residual effect of cannabis use on cognition, they concluded.
Current marijuana use had a negative effect on global IQ score only in subjects who smoked 5 or more joints per week. A negative effect was not observed among subjects who had previously been heavy users but were no longer using the substance. We conclude that marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence. Whether the absence of a residual marijuana effect would also be evident in more specific cognitive domains such as memory and attention remains to be ascertained.
In March 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on various aspects of marijuana, including the so-called Gateway Theory (the theory that using marijuana leads people to use harder drugs like cocaine and heroin). The IOM stated, "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."
The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on marijuana explained that marijuana has been mistaken for a gateway drug in the past because "Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana, usually before they are of legal age."
A 1999 federal report conducted by the Institute of Medicine found that, "For most people, the primary adverse effect of acute marijuana use is diminished psychomotor performance. It is, therefore, inadvisable to operate any vehicle or potentially dangerous equipment while under the influence of marijuana, THC, or any cannabinoid drug with comparable effects."
The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.
When examining the relationship between marijuana use and violent crime, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "Rather than inducing violent or aggressive behavior through its purported effects of lowering inhibitions, weakening impulse control and heightening aggressive tendencies, marihuana was usually found to inhibit the expression of aggressive impulses by pacifying the user, interfering with muscular coordination, reducing psychomotor activities and generally producing states of drowsiness lethargy, timidity and passivity."
When examining the medical affects of marijuana use, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "A careful search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marihuana. Experiments with the drug in monkeys demonstrated that the dose required for overdose death was enormous and for all practical purposes unachievable by humans smoking marihuana. This is in marked contrast to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and barbiturate sleeping pills.
Some claim that cannabis use leads to "adult amotivation." The World Health Organization report addresses the issue and states, "it is doubtful that cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome." The report also notes that the value of studies which support the "adult amotivation" theory are "limited by their small sample sizes" and lack of representative social/cultural groups.
Australian researchers found that regions giving on-the-spot fines to marijuana users rather than harsher criminal penalties did not cause marijuana use to increase.
Marijuana
Some call it the demon weed, some call it just plane fun. Here are some statistics on the plant known as Marijuana. The only damage suggested by American Medical Association (AMA) is that it effects the short term memory and they only believe your memory will be affected as long as you smoke it in large amounts. Afterwards, when you quit, they say your memory should return to normal.
The AMA supports the legalization of marijuana because its applications to medical use in many ways.
Deaths Due To Weed
The only deaths are related to people using the drug, then trying to perform other tasks like driving, or trying to perform some other task
which involves large amounts of concentration and could be dangerous or cause injury. In fact , only 75 people in America are killed in marijuana related incidents a year.
Here is a chart showing the deaths in overdose and or long term use of other drugs in comparison to Marijuana per year.
Tobaccos......................................
340,000-395,000
Alcohol (excluding accident or crime)...... 125,000 +
Prescription...................................................
24,000-27,000
Illegal Drugs (excluding Marijuana).......... 3,800-5,200
Marijuana...................................................... 0
* Source Government Bureau of Mortality Statistics
The drug hasn't been involved in many violent crimes. In fact Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Harry Anslinger reports that Marijuana is not a violence inducing drug, it is the exact opposite, it is a anti-violent drug or a pacifist. Every year Twenty
million people either smoke or attempt to smoke the drug. They include artists, musicians, writers, inventors and yes even lawyers.
Marijuana is in no way addictive and the statement of the drug being a stepping stone for greater more dangerous drugs is false.
Studies have shown that it has the same effect as Caffeine, sugar, or alcohol. The only crimes usually ever committed are having the
possession of, driving while under the influence,or smoking of the drug.
THC
THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the active ingredient in Marijuana. It causes minor hallucinations, what appears to be the slowing down of
time and is also considered a downer or depressant. THC can be found in three forms marijuana, hashish, and hashish Oil. Marijuana or cannabis sativa also known “weed the most widely used for of THC and is the only plant known to produce it. The plant is most commonly know as a weed, usually takes six to seven months to start “budding”, and the bud is the part of the plant that is usually smoked and or eaten. The plant requires a rather warm and moist place to grow properly. If not grown properly the plants THC level is reduced dramatically.
Hashish is defined in the Webster's' dictionary as a narcotic derived from hemp that is chewed, smoked or drunk for its intoxicating
effects. Hashish is most widely used in the Netherlands and Germany in places called well... Hashish Bars. There you can purchase it and use it which is very uncommon for most countries because it is illegal every where else. Hashish Oil is pretty much the same thing, but it is in an oil form therefore making it more potent.
The first known use of marijuana is in 8000 B.C. where it was used for clothing and other useful little items. The first known time that
marijuana was smoked was in the year 2700 B.C. in the country of China for religious purposes. Famous people that are have said to smoke the drug were Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and yes, it was even rumored that John F. Kennedy Jr. was to have smoked it because it remedied his back problems.
How Marijuana is Smoked
There are many different ways that people have invented to smoke it. The three main ways are the joint, the bowl, and one of the most
liked styles the bong. Joints are one of the most commonly used types of “weed” smoking. It involves using a small sheet of paper called
rolling papers these can be bought at any local convenience store. You roll the marijuana by hand into the paper like a cigarette.
Another common way of taking in the smoke is through a small pipe or “bowl”. This is the easiest version of smoking it in that you only
have to put the drug into a relatively small container like you would stuff tobacco into a pipe. These are usually found in cigarette and
tobacco selling locations.
The least common way to smoke the drug is through what the inventive, yet scientifically smart smokers have come up with
called a “bong”. This device has many features to it, for instance you use water in this device to filter out the worst part of the smoke and
leave nearly all THC. Some bongs and Bowls come with what smokers call a carb which increases the hits intensity and volume.
The governments standing on marijuana seems to be constantly changing. Most states spend millions of dollars in trying to control the
substance and stop its use and distribution. Just recently California passed a law saying that it was legal to have the possession of and smoke the drug but only for medical use and even then the law is very strict on the people that smoke it legally.
MARIJUANA-FACTS
OR FICTION
MYTH: Marijuana is a gateway drug .
FACT: For every 104 people who have used marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine and less than one heroin addict.
MYTH: Marijuana is addictive.
FACT: Less than one percent of people who consume marijuana do so on a daily or near daily basis. An even smaller minority develop dependence on marijuana. Withdrawal symptoms, if experienced at all, are mild.
MYTH: Marijuana lowers motivation.
FACT: For twenty five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana-induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it. Of course, people who are constantly intoxicated, no matter what the drug, are not likely to be productive
MYTH: Higher concentrations of THC make marijuana more dangerous .
FACT: There is no possibility of a fatal overdose from smoking marijuana, regardless of potency. High potency marijuana may be less harmful to the lungs because people can use less to achieve the desired effects
MYTH: Marijuana causes brain damage
FACT: No medical test used to determine brain damage has indicated brain
damage in humans who use marijuana - even after long-term use.
MARIJUANA-FACTS
• Marijuana, common name for a drug made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa (see Cannabis).
• People smoke, chew, or eat marijuana for its hallucinogenic and intoxicating effects.
• It is known by a number of slang names, including “pot,” “grass,” “reefer,” “weed,” and “Mary Jane.”
• The flowering tops of the Cannabis plant secrete a sticky resin that contains the active ingredient of marijuana, known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
• The plant has both male and female forms, and the sticky flowers of the female plant are the most potent.
• Hashish is a similar drug prepared from the same plant. It differs from marijuana in that it is comprised of only the resin from the plant, whereas marijuana is made up of flowering tops and leaves.
• Known in India, Central Asia, and China as early as 3000 BC, marijuana has long been used as both a medicine and an intoxicant.
• Most countries consider marijuana an illegal substance, but individual countries vary on how they prosecute the use and possession of marijuana. Some countries only impose small fines, while others impose harsher punishment, including imprisonment.
Marijuana Effects
Many users describe two phases of marijuana intoxication: initial stimulation, which includes giddiness and euphoria, followed by sedation and pleasant tranquility. Mood changes are often accompanied by altered perceptions of time and space. Thinking processes become disrupted by fragmentary ideas and memories. Many users report increased appetite, heightened sensory awareness, and general feelings of pleasure.
Negative effects of marijuana use can include confusion, acute panic reactions, anxiety attacks, fear, a sense of helplessness, and loss of self-control. Chronic marijuana users may develop a motivational syndrome characterized by passivity, decreased motivation, and preoccupation with taking drugs. Like alcohol intoxication, marijuana intoxication impairs judgment, comprehension, memory, speech, problem-solving ability, reaction time, and driving skills.
The effects of long-term marijuana use on the intellect have not been established, and there is no evidence that marijuana causes brain damage. Smoking marijuana can damage the lungs, however, and long-term use may increase the risk of lung cancer. Although marijuana is not physically addicting and no physical withdrawal symptoms occur when use is discontinued, psychological dependence develops in some 10 to 20 percent of long-term regular users (see Drug Dependence).
Marijuana is formed from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa. Popularly known as “grass, pot, reefer,” and “Mary Jane,” marijuana is smoked or chewed for its intoxicating effect, and it has also been used as a sedative and analgesic. Hashish is formed from the resin of the flowering tops of the same plant, and it is five to eight times more potent than marijuana when smoked.
Marijuana-Medical Possibilities
Some people find that marijuana combats the unpleasant symptoms associated with medical conditions. But the potential medical uses of marijuana are hard to assess, as there have been few clinical trials. Pure THC has been shown to improve appetite and prevent the severe weight loss associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and it also reduces the nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Pure THC sold under the brand name Marinol is available in capsule form as a prescription medicine in the United States for these uses. Compared to smoked marijuana, however, this drug is slower to provide symptom relief due to the time required for the drug to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Marijuana is also reported to have beneficial effects in treating pain and muscle spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Many people who suffer from MS and other chronic diseases report that marijuana provides symptom relief when all other medications fail.