Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States.
A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and
leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a
cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in
blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled
with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. It might also
be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous
form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil.
Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour
odor. There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot,
herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash, as well as terms derived
from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum, Northern
Lights, Fruity Juice, Afghani #1, and a number of Skunk varieties.
The main active chemical in marijuana is THC
(delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in
the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in
place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately
lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana.
The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory
and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem
solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research
findings for long-term marijuana abuse indicate some changes in the
brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs.
For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in
chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of
the stress-response system5 and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine6.
Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and
reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.
Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
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Marijuana Addiction Intervention
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