Marijuana - Cannabis
Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. Some people smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints; in pipes, water pipes (sometimes called bongs), or in blunts (marijuana rolled in cigar wraps). Marijuana can also be used to brew tea and, is frequently mixed into foods (edibles) such as brownies, cookies, or candies. Vaporizers are also increasingly used to consume marijuana.
Other Names:
Cannabis, weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane
How Does It Affect Your System?
The main psychoactive(mind-altering) chemical in marijuana, responsible for most of the intoxicating effects that people seek, is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals. These natural chemicals play a role in normal brain development and function. Marijuana over activates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors. This causes the "high" that people feel.
What Are The Symptoms & Risk
Marijuana is the most commonly used addictive drug after tobacco and alcohol. Its use is widespread among young people.
Short-Term Effects
When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. The body absorbs THC more slowly when the person eats or drinks it. In that case, they generally feel the effects after 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Other effects include:
altered senses (for example, seeing brighter colors)
altered sense of time
changes in mood
impaired body movement
difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
impaired memory
hallucinations (when taken in high doses)
delusions (when taken in high doses)
psychosis (risk is highest with regular use of high potency marijuana)
Long-Term Effects
Marijuana also affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions.
Detoxing Symptoms (Withdrawl)
The symptoms appear within one week after the individual stops smoking marijuana and include:
Feelings of anger, irritability, and/or aggressiveness
Sensations of extreme nervousness or anxiety
Disturbances with sleep that can include insomnia or very disturbing dreams and even nightmares
A decrease in appetite that may or may not be associated with a significant loss of weight
Feelings of restlessness and general malaise
The onset of feelings of depression
The inclusion of at least one physical symptom that causes significant distress, such as abdominal pain, fever, chills, sweating, headache, and/or tremors or shakiness.
Detoxing Safely
The withdrawal process from marijuana is not considered to be life-threatening; however, in some individuals, there is always the potential for someone to exhibit poor judgment, be more prone to accidents, and even develop suicidal thoughts as a result of the distress and depression that can occur during cannabis withdrawal. Thus, it is suggested that individuals who intend to stop using marijuana, especially individuals who used marijuana daily or nearly daily, discontinue use of the drug under the supervision of a mental health professional.
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