Marijuana is a drug made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the cannabis plant. The drug is known by many nicknames, including grass, pot, and weed. Marijuana has many psychological and physiological effects (effects on the body). Many marijuana users smoke the drug in pipes or rolled into cigarettes. Some users vape the drug—that is, they inhale the vapors using a special vaping device. It can also be mixed into food and beverages. Almost all nations, including the United States, have laws that prohibit the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana.
Effects.
Marijuana contains hundreds of chemical compounds that enter the body when the drug is smoked or ingested. These compounds include several substances called cannabinoids. The main cannabinoids include chemicals called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (abbreviated THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabigerol (CBG). Each of these compounds has a variety of immediate, short-term, and long-term effects.
Short-term effects of marijuana use usually last for one to three hours after a person has smoked marijuana. If marijuana products have been eaten, rather than smoked, the effects may last longer. The psychological reaction, known as a high, includes changes in the user’s feelings, thoughts, and perceptions. Such changes are caused mainly by THC.
The effects of a marijuana high vary from person to person and from one time to another in the same individual. The high may include a dreamy, relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses. Sometimes, however, marijuana use produces a feeling of anxiety or panic. The ratio of different cannabinoids within the marijuana plays a large part in determining the experience. Other factors, such as personality and mood, also affect a person’s reaction to the drug. In high doses, short-term marijuana use is associated with paranoia and psychosis.
Short-term physiological effects of marijuana use include redness in the eyes and a rapid heartbeat, as well as increased hunger and sensitivity of the senses—often taste, hearing, and smell. The drug also interferes with judgment and coordination, which makes driving a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana dangerous.
Research studies have shown that some people who use marijuana regularly for several months or longer may develop serious problems. Use of marijuana harms short-term memory and may interfere with learning and intellectual performance—as measured by intelligence quotient (IQ)—especially among people who use it during early adolescence. Some chronic marijuana smokers suffer bronchitis, coughing, and chest pains. Among certain people, marijuana can increase the risk of psychosis, including schizophrenia. Marijuana use can also lead to reduced fertility among both males and females.
The marijuana available today is much stronger than that in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and regular use of marijuana can lead to addiction. Addicted marijuana users experience psychological and physiological symptoms when they stop using the drug. These symptoms include irritability, anger, anxiety, sleep problems, and restlessness. Many addicted users have difficulty stopping because of these symptoms.
Why people use marijuana.
Most people who use marijuana begin to do so between the ages of 12 and 18. Many people first try marijuana because they are curious. Regular marijuana users may use the drug for a variety of reasons. For example, people use marijuana to help fit in at social gatherings, to achieve a feeling of expanded awareness, or to feel better when they are upset.
Medical researchers have found that marijuana may help relieve certain conditions. These conditions include chronic pain and the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite that often accompany the symptoms of, or treatments for, diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Even though many health experts have concluded that marijuana has promise as a medicine, people should consider the short-term and long-term risks before trying the drug for themselves.
History.
For thousands of years, people have used the marijuana plant to make medicine, food, fiber, and intoxicants. The plant and the fiber made from it are also known as hemp. Through the years, the belief became widespread that the drug marijuana caused addiction and abnormal behavior and led to crime. Beginning in the early 1900’s, a number of state and local laws in the United States prohibited the use of marijuana. A federal law prohibiting its use was passed in 1937. In spite of these laws, marijuana use became widespread during the 1960’s and 1970’s, especially among young people. After a period of decline, marijuana use again began to rise in the mid-1990’s.
Since 1970, there have been millions of drug arrests in the United States for marijuana possession. Each year, governments spend billions of dollars on related costs, including police and court system resources, legal representation, and imprisonment. Many experts now favor treatment and education over law enforcement to address marijuana use.
Today, countries vary widely in their policies regarding the use of marijuana. Some countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, enforce harsh penalties for possessing, using, selling, or smuggling the drug. Offenders may face imprisonment or even capital punishment (the death penalty). Some nations, including Mexico and the Netherlands, have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana—that is, they have made it a nonarrestable offense. Many countries allow the use of marijuana only when prescribed by a doctor.
In a small but growing number of countries, adults are permitted to use marijuana for both medical and nonmedical purposes. In Canada, recreational marijuana is regulated similarly to alcohol. Thousands of licensed shops sell a variety of cannabis products. In other countries, including Uruguay and Germany, laws specify that adults may obtain nonmedical marijuana only from certain specialized businesses, or by growing cannabis plants themselves. Such businesses may include pharmacies and members-only “cannabis clubs.”
Marijuana laws also vary within the United States. Since 1996, many states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A number of states have also legalized recreational marijuana. The first states to do so were Colorado and Washington, in 2012. Still other states have decriminalized the drug. However, U.S. federal laws still forbid possessing or using the drug for any purpose.
