Marijuana :The Cursed Boon

Marijuana: The Cursed Boon

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, J, reefer, weed, and Mary Jane etc. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world.

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 falls in the category of "gateway drug" like alcohol and cigarette, which paves path for other drugs. As tolerance builds up, marijuana can lead users to consume stronger drugs to achieve the same high. When the effects start to wear off, the person may turn to more potent drugs to rid himself of the unwanted conditions that caused him to take marijuana in the first place.

STREET NAMES

Heard many words in Hollywood movies not in dictionary,actually they are different street name for marijuana.

MARIJUANA :Astro turf ,Bhang,Blunt,Boom,

Chronic,Dagga,Dope,Gangster,Ganja,Grass,Hemp,Herb,Home grown,
J,Kiff,Mary Jane,Nederweed,Pot,Purple Haze,Reefer,Roach,
Smoke,Skunk,Super Skunk,Texas tea,Weed,White,Widow.
HASHISH: Hash, Shit,Chocolate

HOW IS IT USED?

Marijuana is a mixture of dried-out leaves, stems, flowers and seeds of the hemp plant. It is usually green, brown or gray in color.Hashish (twin brother of marijuana) is tan, brown or black resin that is dried and pressed into bars, sticks or balls. When smoked, both marijuana and hashish give off a distinctive, sweet odor.

 Marijuana is usually smoked by rolling it into a cigarette (joint), but may also be smoked in a pipe known as glass pipe or a water pipe (bong). Less often, it is mixed with food and eaten or brewed as tea. Sometimes users open up cigars and remove the tobacco, replacing it with pot—called a “blunt.” Joints and blunts are sometimes laced with other, more powerful drugs, such as crack cocaine or PCP (phencyclidine, a powerful hallucinogen). And every combination has different name: Blunts made of marijuana and dipped in PCP may be referred to as dust, wets, tical, wicky sticks or happy sticks. Blunts made of a combination of crack/cocaine and marijuana are commonly called primos, woolies, or woo-woos. Lace the marijuana with opium and roll it up in a blunt or a joint and it's called a Thai stick.

Chemicals in Marijuana

Although cannabis contains over 483 different chemicals, the main ingredient which affects the mind is THC.The flowering tops of the Cannabis plant secrete a sticky resin that contains the active ingredient of marijuana, known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (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

 The amount of THC found in any given batch of marijuana may vary substantially, but overall, the percentage of THC has increased in recent years
The amount of THC in the hemp plant determines the strength of the drug. The weather, soil and other factors determine the percentage of THC found in the plant. By using modern farming techniques, hemp growers have developed strains of cannabis which have much higher levels of THC than in the past. THC levels averaged 1% in 1974 and 4% in 1994. In 2008, levels reached 9.6%, highest ever since analysis of the drug began in the 1970s.One form of cannabis, called sinsemilla (Spanish for “without seeds”), may have THC levels from 7.5% to as much as 24%..

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.
When a person smokes a joint, he usually feels its effect within minutes. The immediate sensations—increased heart rate, lessened coordination and balance, and a “dreamy,” unreal state of mind—peak within the first 30 minutes. These short-term effects usually wear off in two to three hours, but they could last longer, depending on how much the user takes, the potency of THC and the presence of other drugs added into the mix.
As the typical user inhales more smoke and holds it longer than he would with a cigarette, a joint creates a severe impact on one’s lungs. Aside from the discomfort that goes with sore throats and chest colds, it has been found that consuming one joint gives as much exposure to cancer-producing chemicals as smoking five cigarettes.The mental consequences of marijuana use are equally severe. Marijuana smokers have poorer memories and mental aptitude than do non-users.Animals given marijuana by researchers have even suffered structural damage to the brain

Other 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 drivig skills.

Marijuana changes the structure of sperm cells, deforming them. Thus even small amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility in men. Marijuana use can upset a woman’s menstrual cycle. Cannabis is one of the few drugs which causes abnormal cell division which leads to severe hereditary defects. A pregnant woman who regularly smokes marijuana or hashish may give birth prematurely to an undersized, underweight baby.

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.

What is marijuana "burnout"?

"Burnout" is a term first used by marijuana smokers themselves to describe the effect of prolonged use. Young people who smoke marijuana heavily over long periods of time can become dull, slow moving, and inattentive. These "burned-out" users are sometimes so unaware of their surroundings that they do not respond when friends speak to them, and they do not realize they have a problem.

However, notion of marijuana burnout has been questioned with various recent research.The burnout is regarded as just the lethargy due to continuous use of marijuana which causes deficiency in vitamins and nutrients in the body of the user.And this is mistaken as burnout.

How long do chemicals from marijuana stay in the body after the drug is smoked?

When marijuana is smoked, THC, its active ingredient, is absorbed by most tissues and organs in the body; however, it is primarily found in fat tissues. The body, in its attempt to rid itself of the foreign chemical, chemically transforms the THC into metabolites. Urine tests can detect THC metabolites for up to a week after people have smoked marijuana. Tests involving radioactively labeled THC have traced these metabolites in animals for up to a month.

Medical use

Some people find that marijuana combats the unpleasant symptoms associated with medical conditions. But the potential medical uses of marijuana are hard to assess, as there have been few clinical trials. Cannabis used medically does have several well-documented beneficial effects. Among these are: the amelioration of nausea and vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients, lowered intraocular eye pressure (shown to be effective for treating glaucoma), as well as general analgesic effects (pain reliever).

Pure THC has been shown to improve appetite and prevent the severe weight loss associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and it also reduces the nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments. A synthetic version of THC sold under the brand name Marinol is available in capsule form as a prescription medicine in the United States for these uses. Marijuana is also reported to have beneficial effects in treating pain and muscle spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), where other medications fail to provide relive as per the patients.

Recent development in Medical Marijuana

The active ingredient in marijuana,THC, cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, THC actually activates naturally produced receptors to fight off lung cancer. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.

Although a medical substitute of THC, known as Marinol, has been used as an appetite stimulant for cancer patients and other similar treatments, few studies have shown that THC might have anti-tumor activity.

 For three weeks, researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells, and found that tumors were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent in treated animals compared to a control group. There was also about a 60 percent reduction in cancer lesions on the lungs in these mice as well as a significant reduction in protein markers associated with cancer progression.

Although the researchers do not know why THC inhibits tumor growth, they say the substance could be activating molecules that arrest the cell cycle. They speculate that THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.


Amounts to ask while buying

Communication about amounts of marijuana are often coded due to the fact that people generally need to discuss how much they are going to buy without being caught. Here are some terms associated with the use of marijuana that refer to the amount:

• Lid - an ounce or less of the drug

• Matchbox - a small amount of marijuana that usually comes in a cardboard matchbox

• Nickel bag - a small bag of marijuana that sells for $5
• Dime bag - a small bag of marijuana that sells for $10

• Quarter - a quarter ounce of marijuana that ranges in price according to the type

• Brick - 2.2 pounds or one kilogram of marijuana that has been compacted tightly

Don't forget to invite me when you buy that.

Sand╣