About marijuana and hashish

Marijuana is from dried leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It goes by many names including "pot", "weed", "Mary Jane", and "herb". It is usually inhaled using a pipe or rolled into a cigarette but can be added to food and eaten. The main ingredient in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). It also has more than 400 other chemicals in it. The effects on someone who uses marijuana varies dependent upon how much THC is in it. The average marijuana contains 3 percent THC.

The marijuana user will feel the effects in only a few minutes after inhaling it. They will have the feeling of being intoxicated. Physical changes include short term memory loss, increased heart rate, feeling dizzy and having trouble walking, slow reaction time and dry mouth. Pupils will dialate and look bloodshot. This drug also makes the user very thirsty and hungry. Regular marijuana users can suffer long term effects of the drug including changes in the brain, a lower immune system, and cell and tissue damage that protect the body against disease. Marijuana smokers may also have respiratory problems similar to cigarette smokers due to the high tar and carbon monoxide levels. Marijuana has 3 to 5 times the amount found in cigarettes.

There are no medications to help marijuana users to abstain from taking the drug. Currently, there are only treatment programs that include counseling and support groups. There has been some controversy since the 70’s as to whether marijuana has any medicinal value to patients with AIDS and cancer. THC is available in pill form by prescription to increase appetite in AIDS patients to help them gain weight. Cancer patients have had some relief from nausea and vomiting in some cancer treatments. Studies are still being done on the chemicals found in marijuana for other medicinal uses. However, further research still needs to be done.