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cannabis
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Effects Immediate effects Small quantities of cannabis can have effects that last 2 to 3 hours after smoking. Relaxation and loss of inhibition: Cannabis can make the user feel happy, relaxed, and comfortable. They may feel less inhibited, friendlier and laugh spontaneously. Sometimes people become quiet and reflective. They may also become sleepy. Increased appetite: Cannabis often increases the appetite and leads to snacking on junk food, "the munchies." Affected perception: Cannabis can increase awareness and the perception of colour, sound and other sensations. It can affect vision and perception of time and space. Less coordination: Cannabis decreases coordination and balance, making it dangerous to drive or operate machinery. Thinking and memory: Cannabis can affect memory and the ability to think logically. People can lose track of what they are saying or thinking. When affected by cannabis, some people may think as though they've had profound ideas or insights. Other common immediate effects include increased heart rate, low blood pressure, faintness and reddened eyes. There also can be a "hangover" effect, like drowsiness and poor coordination that lasts for several hours after the initial effects. In greater quantities Larger quantities of marijuana make the above effects stronger, and also tend to distort a person's perceptions. Very large quantities of marijuana can produce: • confusion • restlessness • feelings of excitement • hallucinations • anxiety or panic, or detachment from reality • decreased reaction time • paranoia. Occasional use of small quantities Currently, there is no evidence that occasional use of small quantities of cannabis causes any permanent health damage. Long-term effects Research in Australia and the USA shows evidence of some long-term effects in some regular cannabis users. Respiratory illness: Marijuana cigarettes have more tar than tobacco, placing cannabis users at an increased risk of respiratory illness such as lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. This risk is increased because marijuana smokers often inhale deeply, and hold the smoke in the lungs longer, to increase the effects of the drug. Cigarette smokers who also smoke cannabis have an even greater risk of respiratory disease. Less motivation: Many regular users, especially young people, have reported that they have less energy and motivation so that performance at work or school suffers. Usually these effects disappear gradually when cannabis use stops. Brain function: Concentration, memory and the ability to learn can all be reduced by regular cannabis use. These effects can last for several months after ceasing cannabis use. Hormones: Cannabis can affect hormone production. Research shows that some cannabis users have a lower sex drive. Irregular menstrual cycles and lowered sperm counts have also been reported. CAnnibis use in Australia According to recent research: • Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in Australia. • In 1998, 39% of the Australian population (44% male and 35% female) reported having ever used cannabis; and 18% had used in the last 12 months.1 • The average age of first time use of cannabis was 18.7 in 1998.1 • Of the recent users in 1998, the highest user group at 37% was the 20-29 year age group. 1 • Cannabis was the most commonly used illicit substance among secondary students with 36% of all secondary students aged between 12 and 17 years reporting the use of cannabis at some time in their life. 2 • Cannabis use (taken at sometime in their life) increased with age, increasing from 13% of 12-year-olds to 55% of 17-year-olds. 2 • Weekly use also increased with age, from 3% of 12-year-olds to 16% of 17-year-olds. 2 • Weekly use was more common among boys than girls. 2 Marijuana is a drug that divides people. Some people herald it as the wonder drug of the '90s, capable of relieving the symptoms of many serious illnesses. Others rue the day the cannabis sativa plant was ever discovered. As well as being morally corrupting, its critics say it causes brain damage and is carcinogenic.Naturally this is all very confusing for people who smoke the drug and who want information. The drug's illegal status doesn't help. It makes it difficult for scientists to research the effects of the drug. Also it means the sort of health advice and health care that should be available is restricted. Fortunately, it is possible to separate fact from fiction. Marijuana is neither completely harmless, or as dangerous as some people say. Rather, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Undoubtedly it is useful as a pain reliever or in the treatment of nausea - a great help to AIDS patients. But the harmless hippy image of marijuana is being tested by the latest Australian research into the connection between cannabis and psychosis. It seems that marijuana use can act as a trigger for the progression of mental illness in some people. How this comes about is still being investigated, but it seems likely that cannabis alters the flow of a naturally occurring transmitter chemical in our brains. The same chemical, if it malfunctions, is linked with he development of schizophrenia. The program signals a warming for people at risk. 1. A Unique Family of Drugs The active ingredient of marijuana is usually referred to as "delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol" or simply "delta-9-THC". It's quite a complex molecule and no one really understands how it works. But it's only one at least of 80 different chemicals found exclusively in the marijuana plant that belong to a unique family of drugs. They're known as the cannabinoids. 2. Origins Of Cannabis According to William McKim in his book "Drugs and Behaviour" (Prentice-Hall, 1991) the cultivation of cannabis probably originated in Central Asia long before recorded history. In the second century B.C. it appears to have been spread by "the Scythians, a warlike and mobile Middle Eastern tribe." In fact the word cannabis is a Scythian word. The Greek historian Herodotus describes how the Scythians would enter their tents and throw hemp seeds on heated stones and inhale the vapors. The result was that they would "howl with joy." Apparently the procedure was also used as a cleansing ceremony after funerals. S. Benet reports in Cannabis and Culture, (publ. Mouton, 1975) that the Scythians spread cannabis south into Egypt and northward into Russia and Europe, where the custom of burning cannabis seeds after funerals still remains in some communities. 3. A Biblical Reference? The Hebrews may also have used cannabis. In the book Cannabis and Culture, ed. V. Rubin (1975) draws attention to a verse from the Old Testament. 'And God told Moses to make a holy oil of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosn, and kassia' EXODUS 30:23 According to Benet the Hebrew name kaneh bosn was translated into Greek as "calamus", which is a swamp plant. He believes this was an error. The Hebrew kaneh bosn was most likely cannabis. 4. The Hemp Industry In China, cannabis has been grown for at least 6000 years. The plant was used for making hemp fabric; its seeds were a staple grain; it was a recognized medicine and its ability to make one "see devils" if smoked to excess were duly noted. But long before Europeans realized that cannabis was an intoxicant, the plant was cultivated for making rope and canvas, important commodities for any navy. In fact Sir Walter Raleigh was ordered to grow hemp in the American colonies and in 1611 it was planted alongside the first crop of tobacco. Apparently American hemp was of such good quality that it became a staple crop for over 200 years.
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