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What is Marijuana?
Marijuana - frequently called pot, grass,
reefer, weed, herb, mary jane, or mj - is a greenish-gray
combination of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and
flowers of Cannabis sativa, the hemp plant. The majority of
users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes known as
joints, among other names; some use pipes or water pipes
known as bongs. Marijuana cigars known as blunts have also
become popular. To create blunts, users slice open cigars
and exchange the tobacco with marijuana, frequently combined
with a different drug, such as crack cocaine. Marijuana also
is used to brew tea and is occasionally mixed into foods.
The chief chemical in marijuana is
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which produces the
mind-altering effects of marijuana intoxication. The amount
of THC (which is also the psychoactive element in hashish)
determines the potency and, therefore, the effects of
marijuana. Between 1980 and 1997, the amount of THC in
marijuana obtainable in the United States rose
significantly.
How does marijuana affect the
brain?
Scientists have discovered a great deal
about how THC performs in the brain to produce its many
effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes
from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the
chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.
In the brain, THC attaches to specific sites called
cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and thus manipulates
the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many
cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Numerous
cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain
that induce pleasure, memory, thought, concentration,
sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
What are the severe effects of
marijuana use?
Marijuana's effects begin directly after
the drug penetrates the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If
marijuana is consumed in food or drink, the temporary
effects begin more slowly, typically in 1/2 to 1 hour, and
last longer, for as long as 4 hours. Smoking marijuana
deposits several times more THC into the blood than does
eating or drinking the drug.
Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, a
person's heart starts beating more quickly, the bronchial
passages relax and become enlarged, and blood vessels in the
eyes spread out, making the eyes look red. The heart rate,
normally 70 to 80 beats per minute, may increase by 20 to 50
beats per minute or, in some cases, even double. This effect
can be greater if other drugs are taken with marijuana.
As THC penetrates the brain, it causes a user to feel
euphoric - or "high" - by acting in the brain's reward
system, sections of the brain that respond to stimuli such
as food and drink as well as most drugs of abuse. THC
activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all
drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the
chemical dopamine.
A marijuana user may experience pleasant feelings, colors
and sounds may seem more intense, and time appears to pass
very slowly. The user's mouth feels dry, and he or she may
suddenly become very hungry and thirsty. His or her hands
may tremble and grow cold. The euphoria passes after awhile,
and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed.
Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear,
distrust, or panic.
Marijuana use impairs an individual's ability to form
memories, recall events and shifts concentration from one
thing to another. THC also upsets coordination and balance
by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia,
parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture,
coordination of movement, and reaction time. Through its
effects on the brain and body, marijuana intoxication can
cause accidents. In many of these cases, alcohol is
discovered as well.
Marijuana users who have taken high doses of the drug may
encounter acute toxic psychosis, which includes
hallucinations, delusions, and depersonalization - a loss of
the sense of personal identity, or self-recognition.
Although the specific causes of these symptoms remain
unknown, they appear to occur more frequently when a high
dose of cannabis is consumed in food or drink rather than
smoked.
How does marijuana use affect the
physical condition?
Marijuana use has been shown to increase
users' difficulty in trying to quit smoking tobacco. This
was recently reported in a study comparing smoking cessation
in adults who smoked both marijuana and tobacco with those
who smoked only tobacco. The relationship between marijuana
use and continued smoking was particularly strong in those
who smoked marijuana daily at the time of the initial
interview, 13 years prior to the follow-up interview.
A study of 450 individuals found that individuals who smoke
marijuana regularly but do not smoke tobacco have more
health troubles and miss more days of work than nonsmokers
do. Many of the extra sick days utilized by the marijuana
smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.
Even infrequent marijuana use can produce burning and
stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a
heavy cough. Individuals that smoke marijuana frequently may
have many of similar respiratory problems that tobacco
smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production,
frequent acute chest illnesses, an increased risk of lung
infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed
airways.
Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be
promoted by marijuana smoke. A study comparing 173 cancer
patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong
evidence that smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of
developing cancer of the head or neck, and that the more
marijuana smoked, the greater the increase. A statistical
analysis of the data suggested that marijuana smoking
doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.
Marijuana has the capability to promote cancer of the lungs
and other parts of the respiratory tract due to containing
irritants and carcinogens. In fact, marijuana smoke contains
50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than
does tobacco smoke. It also produces high levels of an
enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their
carcinogenic form, levels that may accelerate the changes
that ultimately produce malignant cells. Marijuana users
typically inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer
than tobacco smokers do; this increases the lungs' exposure
to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that, puff for
puff, smoking marijuana may enhance the risk of cancer more
than smoking tobacco does.
Some adverse health effects caused by marijuana may occur
because THC impairs the immune system's capability to fight
off infectious diseases and cancer. In laboratory
experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or
other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing
reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were
inhibited. In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related
substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop
bacterial infections and tumors.
What treatments are offered to marijuana abusers?
Treatment programs directed at marijuana
abuse are rare, partly because many who use marijuana do so
in combination with other drugs, such as cocaine and
alcohol. Though, with more individuals searching for help to
control marijuana abuse, research has focused on ways to
overcome problems with abuse of this drug.
No medications are presently available to treat marijuana
abuse. However, recent findings about the workings of THC
receptors have raised the likelihood that scientists may
eventually create a medication that will block THC's
intoxicating effects. Such a medication might be used to
stop relapse to marijuana abuse by reducing or eliminating
its appeal.
Marijuana Addiction Rehab
Treatment
If you or someone you know would like to
talk with one of our trained staff to discuss treatment
options for Marijuana Addiction treatment please contact us
24 hours a day, 7 days a week at our t oll free number:
1-866-874-9774. You will receive a free consultation. |
