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What is Marijuana?
 Some
Effects of Marijuana
MARIJUANA
AND CANCER
How long does marijuana stay in the body?
Marijuana as Medicine
What is Marinol ® ?
Photo
of a seed shop in Holland
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Marijuana
is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States (cocaine is
second). Usage is not as high as it was in the late 1970s. However,
the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that nearly 60 million
Americans over the age of 12 -- about one in four -- have tried marijuana
at least once. 
Commonly
known as pot, weed, reefer, herb, or grass; there are more than 200
slang terms for marijuana. Although the main psychoactive ingredient
in it is THC, the plant also contains more than 400 other chemicals.
It is the amount of THC -- (chemical name: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
-- for all you chemistry lovers), that determines the potency of marijuana.
Today's pot is often up to eight times stronger than the marijuana of
the seventies, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
It can be mixed with other and more unpredictable drugs such as PCP.
(If you do smoke it, buy it from someone you trust). I'll take some
heat from that comment for sure. 
Most
often loose marijuana dried buds and leaves are rolled into a cigarette
called a joint. It may also be smoked in a pipe or a water pipe called
a bong. Over the past several years, it has appeared in cigars called
“blunts”. This makes it a popular form in some U.S.
cities with college students as it appears that they are smoking a cigar
and not marijuana. Blunts photograph, to the left. Blunts are made by
slicing open cigars and replacing the tobacco with marijuana. Marijuana
also is used to brew tea -- although many say it is less poten that
way and is sometimes mixed into foods, like the notorious pot or hash
brownies. 
Dry mouth and throat
Both
marijuana and
hashish come from the Cannabis Sativa variety of the hemp plant.
Users of both drugs get high from the resin content of the hemp's flowering
tops, especially from the female plants. Different strains of hemp produce
varied quantities and qualities of resin. Most of the pot we see in
the U.S. results when the entire plant-resin, leaves, and stalks are
chopped up and combined, diluting the potency of the resin (which also
keeps the cost down). Marijuana users prefer the "colas" or buds of
the plant because of its higher THC content. Leaves and stems are often
used as filler or thrown away in higher priced marijuana. 
Hash
is created when just the sticky resin is collected and pressed into
cake-like lumps, making it more potent than pot and more expensive.
When the resin is extracted with solvents, it can be concentrated into
thick hash oil. Both pot and hash can either be smoked or eaten. Sensemilla
(sin-seh-me-yah) or pot without seeds can be as potent
as hash. As domestic pot production increases and becomes more cultivated,
so does the pot's THC content. Short-term problems associated with the
use of hash and sensemilla include extreme paranoia, anxiety, and panic
attacks. These usually occur after inexperienced users smoke or eat
strong substances is bad or hostile environments. (Photo of bong on
the right).
For other resources on the web, see list at the bottom of the page.
Conclusions
about long-term drug effects need long-term research studies, and that's
why the jury is still out on some of the cannabis consequences that
may show up later in life. (Or the "jury" is too stoned to say!) In
spite of the fact that humans have been growing marijuana for thousands
of years, and using it recreationally since the early twentieth century
in the U.S., its effects have not been thoroughly studied as those of
cigarette and tobacco smoking. What is known is that frequent marijuana
users smoke less than heavy cigarette users. (It would be hard to smoke
20 joints a day). One thing to keep in mind, is that marijuana smokers
tend to inhale more deeply and keep the smoke in their lungs for a longer
period of time than tobacco smokers do. And if you smoke both -- obviously,
more chemicals are being inhaled. Burning marijuana when smoking releases
many other substances than THC. THC does not appear to be carcinogenic
(cancer-causing), but some of the other chemicals released by smoking
are poisonous. These include tar, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. One
known carcinogen, benzopyrene, found in both types of smoke, seems to
be greater in marijuana smoke. Another problem with marijuana is that
it is almost always smoked without a filter. Using one would cut down
on the amount of these chemicals. Consuming pot through a water pipe
-- or bong -- would eliminate some of the byproducts of smoking. Currently,
it does appear that pot smokers may run an increased risk of cancer,
as well as other health problems listed above. Some research has found
a connection between pregnant marijuana smokers and rare childhood leukemias
in their young children. However, there has not been enough research
for this connection to be clear. For more information on marijuana use
and cancer, call the American Cancer Society
in the U.S. at 
1-800-227-2345
or the National
Cancer Institute
at 
We
have had a lot of emails about this question. What is that about? 
Generally, traces or metabolites of THC can be detected by standard
urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. However,
for people that smoke a lot, traces of THC can be detected for weeks
and even up to a month after they have stopped using. A hair sample
test may detect traces of marijuana up to one month, some sources say
even 6 weeks. (This recently happened to a reader), BTW. 
There
are many medicinal benefits of marijuana, which some medical doctors
say alleviates the pain and nausea associated with AIDS, cancer, cancer
treatment, and other diseases. Currently there is a much politicized
battle over cannabis use. Should the medical benefits of marijuana be
established by more medical research, it would be a drug no different
from most narcotic prescription drug throughout the world. There are
several states in the United States where voters have approved referendums
expressing varying degrees of support for medicinal uses of marijuana.
The United Nations board that oversees international drug control treaties
for the United Nations has recommended that governments sponsor impartial
research into the medicinal benefits of marijuana. 
Marinol
® (dronabinol) is laboratory synthesized THC. The THC in Marinol
® is about the same as the THC found in marijuana, but it is produced
synthetically to provide a pharmaceutically pure drug in a measured
dose with proven clinical studies. Dronabinol contains just one of the
more than 60 cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, many of which may
contribute to its beneficial effects. But unlike marijuana, which is
illegal under U.S. federal law, dronabinol provides a standardized THC
concentration and is free of impurities such as leaves, bacteria and
mold spores. 
Is
Marijuana the Right Medicine for You?
Marijuana
Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence
Go
Ask Alice 
Marijuana
RX: The Patient's Fight for Medicinal Pot 