WHAT IS MARIJUANA?
Pot is among the most abused drugs in the world. There’s an ever-growing difference between the most recent science about marijuana and the myths surrounding it. Some folks think that since it’s legal in some areas, it has to be safe. However, your body doesn’t understand a legal medication from a illegal drug. It only knows the impact the drug creates once you’ve taken it. The objective of this publication is to clean up a few of the misunderstandings about marijuana. Marijuana is a drug like cocaine, alcohol, or ecstasy. And like these other medications, it has side effects that could be harmful. Recent research on young adults who smoke marijuana, found abnormalities in the brain linked to emotion, motivation and decision-making.
There are over 400 chemicals in marijuana and hashish. The compound which causes intoxication or the “high” in users is named THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol). THC generates the mind-altering effects that classifies marijuana as a “drug.”
Marijuana comes from the Indian hemp plant, and the component which comprises the “medication” is located primarily in the blossoms (commonly referred to as the “buds”) and much less from the seeds, leaves, and stems of this plant. a distinctive, sweet odor.
As the normal user inhales more smoke and retains it more than he would with a cigarette, a joint creates a serious effect on the lungs. Besides the discomfort that goes with sore throats and chest colds, it’s been discovered that smoking one joint provides as much exposure to cancer-producing compounds as smoking four to five cigarettes.
HOW IS IT USED?
Marijuana is a combination of dried-out leaves, stems, flowers and seeds of the hemp plant. It’s generally green, brown or gray.
Hashish is tan, black or brown resin that’s dried and pressed into bars, balls or sticks. When smoked, both marijuana and hashish give off a distinctive, sweet odor.
The emotional consequences of marijuana use are equally acute. Marijuana smokers have poorer memories and psychological aptitude than do non-users. You may have heard someone say that since marijuana is a plant, it is “natural” and therefore it’s harmless. However, it’s not. Hemlock, a poisonous plant, can be “natural,”, but it may kill. The other thing to understand is that burning dried leaves and buds and inhaling the smoke in your lungs is not “natural” and such as smoking cigarettes, can be damaging to your body. Hashish is tan, black or brown resin that’s dried and pressed into bars, balls or sticks.
When smoked, both marijuana and hashish give off? When someone inhales the smoke from a joint or a pipe, he feels its impact within minutes. The instant sensations–increased heart rate, diminished coordination and balance and a “dreamy,” unreal states of brain–peak within the first 30 minutes. These brief term effects usually wear off in two to three hours, but they could last longer, depending on how far the consumer chooses, the effectiveness of THC and the existence of other medications added into the mixture.
Intoxication literally means “to poison by taking a poisonous substance in your body.” Any material that intoxicates causes changes in the body and the brain. It may create addiction or dependence, causing a man to want to take this medication even if it hurts him or her.
Pot, when sold, is a mixture of dried out leaves, stems, flowers and seeds of the hemp plant. It’s generally green, brown or gray. Plants, like animals, have traits which protect them in the wild. Plants can have colours or patterns which camouflage them from predators, or they can contain poisons or toxins that, when consumed, make animals sick or change their mental capacity, placing them at risk in the wild. THC is the protective mechanism of the marijuana plant.
Marijuana can be smoked as a cigarette (joint) but may also be smoked in a dry pipe or a water pipe called a “bong.” It may also be mixed with food and eaten or brewed as tea. These are culled “edibles” and are covered in detail later in this booklet. Occasionally users open up cigars and eliminate the tobacco, replacing it with pot–known as a “blunt.” Joints and blunts are sometimes laced with additional, stronger drugs, such as crack cocaine or PCP (phencyclidine, a potent hallucinogen).
In terms of the medical uses of marijuana, it comprises another chemical named CBD (short for cannabidiol). This is the material most frequently related to creating medical benefits. Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t cause a high. Its health benefits are still being studied, as are ways to strain marijuana plants with higher CBD and low THC for medical usage.