Transcript MARIJUANA

MARIJUANA
WEED
Report in Health 3
Introduction
 Marijuana, common name for a drug made from the dried leaves
and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa.
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-9tetrahydrocannabinol (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. It gained widespread use in the United States in the
1960s and 1970s, becoming the second most popular drug after
alcohol. In subsequent decades its use continued to increase,
particularly among American teens. According to a survey
prepared in 1998 by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency,
marijuana use among teenagers increased almost 300 percent
from 1992 to 1998.
 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.
 In June 2005 the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in Gonzales v. Raich
that federal antidrug laws take precedence over state laws
authorizing the medical use of marijuana. Voters in 11 states had
approved so-called medical marijuana laws. The first was
California’s Compassionate Use Act in 1996. These laws generally
allow patients with diseases such as cancer and acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to grow and use marijuana
with a physician’s approval for medical purposes.
 Although the Court’s ruling in Gonzales v. Raich did not overturn
the state laws, it did override any provisions in those laws
exempting patients in possession of medical marijuana from
federal prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act (part of
the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of
1970). In its majority opinion, the Court held that the commerce
clause of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to
prohibit the local cultivation and use of marijuana, even if those
activities comply with state law for medical use and the drug does
not cross state lines. The dissenting justices, including Chief
Justice Rehnquist, warned that an expansive interpretation of the
commerce clause would allow federal encroachment of states’
rights.
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
amotivational 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.
 Abnormal ovulation can be caused by a number of disorders of the
endocrine system, including thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus,
and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Certain chemicals can affect
hormonal levels and adversely affect fertility. For instance,
marijuana use can shorten the menstrual cycle. Cigarette smoking
reduces some types of hormone production and may deplete egg
supply.
 Marijuana Plant
 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.
 Cannabis contains a coarse, tall, hairy annual herb that provides
fiber from its stems, oil from its seeds, and drugs from its leaves
and flowers. The only species of Cannabis, also called hemp or
India hemp, is a native of Central Asia but is widely cultivated and
found as a weed throughout North America. The plant grows up to
1.8 m (6 ft) tall, with coarsely-toothed, palmately divided leaves
and inconspicuous clusters of flowers. Depending on the product
desired, the methods and areas of production vary. Hemp is grown
mainly in temperate regions. Seeds yield a drying oil used in the
manufacture of varnish, paints, and soap. The seeds are also
used as bird feed. The fibers have a variety of uses in textiles and
in rope. The drugs bhang, hashish, and marijuana contain as their
principal component narcotic resins found mostly in the glandular
hairs of the plants. These resins are most abundant under hot,
tropical conditions. In the United States, cannabis may be grown
only under government permit.
 Scientific classification: The genus Cannabis belongs to the
family Moraceae. Hemp is classified as Cannabis sativa.
 Hemp, common name for an Asian annual herb, is known for its
strong, pliable fibers. This species is often called true hemp or
Indian hemp. It is cultivated in Eurasia, the United States, and
Chile. A hemp plant may be as small as 91 cm (36 in) or as high
as 5 m (15 ft), depending upon the climate and soil type. The male
plants bear flowers in auxiliary racemes and die soon after
pollination. Female plants bear flowers in short, crowded spikes
and die soon after the seed matures. Plants of both sexes are
used for fiber.
 Hemp stems are hollow and have a fibrous inner bark. The fibers
from this bark are used to make a great variety of textile products,
including coarse fabrics, ropes, sailcloth, and packing cloth. Soft
fibers, used for making clothing fabrics in Asia, are obtained from
hemp harvested at the time of pollination; strong, coarse fibers are
obtained from mature plants. The fibers are removed and
processed by methods similar to those used in processing flax.
Partially decomposed, the stalks are dried, broken, and shaken to
separate the woody stalks from the fibers.
 Hemp
 The annual herb Cannabis
sativa, commonly known as
hemp, is cultivated in the
United States, Chile, Europe,
and Asia for a variety of
purposes. Manufacturers of
soft clothing fabrics extract
recently pollinated fibers from
the inner bark of the hemp
stem, while producers of
coarse fabrics, ropes, and
sailcloth utilize the strong,
coarse fibers of more mature
stems. In addition, the flowers
and leaves of the hemp plant
are used to produce narcotics
such as hashish and
marijuana.
 The seed of hemp is commonly used as birdseed. Hempseed also
yields an oil, called oil of hemp, used in the manufacture of soap
and oil paints. A resin, called charas, produced by female flower
heads and seeds of hemp, is used in narcotic smoking mixtures in
India. Flowers and leaves of hemp are used to produce the
narcotics bhang, hashish, and marijuana.
 Unrelated plants that are commonly called hemp include
henequen, sisal, bowstring hemp, and Manila hemp. Sunn hemp
is obtained from a leguminous herb native to India.
 Scientific classification: Hemp belongs to the family Moraceae.
It is classified as Cannabis sativa. Henequen, sisal, and bowstring
hemp belong to the family Agavaceae. Manila hemp belongs to
the family Musaceae. Sunn hemp belongs to the subfamily
Papilionoideae, in the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae),
and is classified as Crotalaria juncea
MARIJUANA AND CHEMOTHERAPHY
 The federal government approved plans allowing physicians to
prescribe synthetic marijuana pills for cancer patients undergoing
chemotherapy. The chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, found
naturally in marijuana, has been shown helpful in some cases in
relieving the often severe nausea and vomiting associated with
such therapy.
MARIJUANA AND HEALTH
 The long-term health effects of marijuana remain uncertain, but a
panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine of the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences reported this February that the
drug produces a variety of short-term, reversible effects. These
and other suspected effects caused the panel members to issue a
strongly worded warning about the potential dangers of marijuana.
'Our major conclusion,' they wrote, 'is that what little we know for
certain about the effects of marijuana on human health—and all
that we have reason to suspect—justifies serious national
concern.' The panel recommended that research efforts into the
health effects of the drug be greatly expanded.
 The effects of marijuana, currently the most commonly used illicit
drug in the United States, are varied. It has been shown to impair
physical coordination, hamper short-term memory, and interfere
with the ability to follow a moving object and to detect a flash of
light. The panel reported that the drug also impairs oral
communication and slows learning. The effects on memory,
learning, and communication are especially worrisome because
much of the heavy use of marijuana is by adolescents during
school hours.
 The drug also has effects similar to those produced by cigarette
smoking. The panel reported that chronic heavy smoking of
marijuana causes inflammation and other changes in the airways
to the lungs. Moreover, there is a strong possibility that prolonged,
heavy marijuana smoking will lead to cancer of the respiratory
tract or to serious lung impairment. The effects may be
exacerbated in those who smoke both marijuana and tobacco,
since the combination of the two may have greater cancer-causing
potential than does either substance alone.
 Some cardiovascular effects of the drug—temporarily raising heart
rate and possibly blood pressure—are not likely to damage
healthy people, the panel found, but they do pose a threat to those
with high blood pressure, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary
atherosclerosis.
 There is a possibility that marijuana affects fertility, especially in
males. The number and movement of sperm decrease in males
who are chronic users of marijuana. Researchers are uncertain
how this affects the users' chances of fathering children. For
women of childbearing age, marijuana may also hinder fertility.
The results of animal studies show effects on ovulation and levels
of reproductive hormones.
 The panel warned that the potential hazards of the drug may
extend beyond the short-term effects noted, since marijuana's
components and their metabolic products remain in the body for a
long time and accumulate in the tissues. The effects of cumulative
high levels may be more serious than the effects of a single dose.
Estimated Numbers of Lifetime Users of Illicit Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco in the United States
Data are for U.S. population aged 12 and older. In thousands.
Drug
Any illicit drug
1985
1990
1995
2000
66,172
68,838
72,426
86,931
Marijuana and hashish
56,547
61,266
65,545
76,321
Cocaine
21,495
22,617
21,700
24,896
N/A
2,967
3,895
5,307
Inhalants
15,167
11,562
12,016
16,702
Hallucinogens
13,221
15,925
20,129
26,125
PCP (phencyclidine)
3,811
4,019
6,718
5,804
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
8,889
11,656
15,852
19,642
Heroin
1,826
1,517
2,451
2,779
29,386
22,731
21,446
32,443
14,139
11,156
10,360
14,661
9,260
5,609
5,760
7,142
Tranquilizers
14,692
8,020
8,251
13,007
Analgesics
14,693
12,751
12,806
19,210
43,130
39,190
40,426
52,605
1
Crack
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic
2
Stimulants
Sedatives
Any illicit drug other than marijuana
1
1) 'Any illicit drug' indicates use at least once of marijuana or hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens (including PCP and LSD),
heroin, or any prescription-type psychotherapeutic used nonmedically. 'Any illicit drug other than marijuana' indicates use at least once of any of
these listed drugs, regardless of marijuana use; marijuana users who have also used any of the other listed drugs are included.
2) Nonmedical use of any prescription-type stimulant, sedative, tranquilizer, or analgesic; does not include over-the-counter drugs.
(N/A = not available.)
Source: U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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