Cannabis (drug)


Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, weed, pot, and ganja, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol. Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.
Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory, impaired body movement, relaxation, and an increase in appetite. Onset of effects is felt within minutes when smoked, but may take up to 90 minutes when eaten. The effects last for two to six hours, depending on the amount used. At high doses, mental effects can include anxiety, delusions, hallucinations, panic, paranoia, and psychosis. There is a strong relation between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis, though the direction of causality is debated. Physical effects include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy; short-term side effects may also include dry mouth and red eyes. Long-term adverse effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started regular use as adolescents, heart disease, chronic coughing, susceptibility to respiratory infections, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.
Cannabis is mostly used recreationally or as a medicinal drug, although it may also be used for spiritual purposes. There is mixed and inconclusive evidence on the benefits of medical cannabis. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis. It is the most commonly used largely-illegal drug in the world, with the highest use among adults in Zambia, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria. Since the 1970s, the potency of illicit cannabis has increased, with THC levels rising and CBD levels dropping.
Cannabis plants have been grown since at least the 3rd millennium BCE and there is evidence of it being smoked for its psychoactive effects around 500 BCE in the Pamir Mountains, Central Asia. Since the 14th century, cannabis has been subject to legal restrictions. The possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis has been illegal in most countries since the 20th century. In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalize recreational use of cannabis. Other countries to do so are Canada, Georgia, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, South Africa, and Thailand. In the U.S., the recreational use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia, though the drug remains federally illegal. In Australia, it is legalized only in the Australian Capital Territory.

Etymology

The origins of Cannabis are linked to a Scythian word. The ancient Greeks may have learned of the use of cannabis, which they called κάνναβις, by observing Scythian funerals, during which cannabis was consumed. In Akkadian, cannabis was known as qunubu. The word was adopted in to the Hebrew as qaneh bosem.
The Latin term cannabis derived from Greek evolved into Proto-Germanic *xanpaz, yielding various Germanic forms and ultimately modern British English "hemp."

Uses

Medical

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, refers to the use of herbal cannabis or its preparations to treat disease or improve symptoms. There is no single agreed-upon definition. The rigorous scientific study of cannabis as a medicine has been hampered by production restrictions and by the fact that it is classified as an illegal drug by many governments.
Overall, there is mixed evidence on the benefits of cannabis-based medicines, frequent mild adverse effects, and generally low-to-moderate quality of evidence.
There is some evidence suggesting cannabis can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, or to treat chronic pain and muscle spasms. Evidence for its use for other medical applications is insufficient for drawing conclusions about safety or efficacy. There is evidence supporting the use of cannabis or its derivatives in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, neuropathic pain, and multiple sclerosis. Lower levels of evidence support its use for AIDS wasting syndrome, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, and glaucoma.
The medical use of cannabis is legal only in a limited number of territories, including Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and many U.S. states. This usage generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws.

Recreational

Being under the effects of cannabis is usually referred to as being "high". Cannabis consumption has both psychoactive and physiological effects. The "high" experience can vary widely, based on the user's prior experience with cannabis, and the type of cannabis consumed. When smoking cannabis, a euphoriant effect can occur within minutes of smoking. Aside from a subjective change in perception and mood, the most common short-term physical and neurological effects include increased heart rate, increased appetite, impairment of short-term and working memory, and impairment of psychomotor coordination.
Additional desired effects from consuming cannabis include relaxation, a general alteration of conscious perception, increased awareness of sensation, increased libido and distortions in the perception of time and space. In some cases, cannabis can lead to dissociative states such as depersonalization and derealization.

Spiritual

Cannabis has held sacred status in several religions and has served as an entheogen – a chemical substance used in religious, shamanic, or spiritual contexts – in the Indian subcontinent since the Vedic period. The earliest known reports regarding the sacred status of cannabis in the Indian subcontinent come from the Atharva Veda, estimated to have been composed sometime around 1400 BCE.
The Hindu god Shiva is described as a cannabis user, known as the "Lord of bhang".
In modern culture, the spiritual use of cannabis has been spread by the disciples of the Rastafari movement who use cannabis as a sacrament and as an aid to meditation.

Consumption

Modes of consumption

Many different ways to consume cannabis involve heat to decarboxylate THCA into THC; common modes include:
In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis. Cannabis is by far the most widely used illicit substance, with the highest use among adults in Zambia, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria.

United States

Between 1973 and 1978, eleven states decriminalized marijuana. In 2001, Nevada reduced marijuana possession to a misdemeanor and since 2012, several other states have decriminalized and even legalized marijuana.
In 2018, surveys indicated that almost half of the people in the United States had tried marijuana, 16% had used it in the past year, and 11% had used it in the past month. In 2014, surveys said daily marijuana use amongst US college students had reached its highest level since records began in 1980, rising from 3.5% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014 and had surpassed daily cigarette use.
In the US, men are over twice as likely to use marijuana as women, and 1829-year-olds are six times more likely to use as over-65-year-olds. In 2015, a record 44% of the US population has tried marijuana in their lifetime, an increase from 38% in 2013 and 33% in 1985.
Marijuana use in the United States is three times above the global average, but in line with other Western democracies. Forty-four percent of American 12th graders have tried the drug at least once, and the typical age of first-use is 16, similar to the typical age of first-use for alcohol but lower than the first-use age for other illicit drugs.
A 2022 Gallup poll concluded Americans are smoking more marijuana than cigarettes for the first time.

Adverse effects

Short-term

Acute negative effects may include anxiety and panic, impaired attention and memory, an increased risk of psychotic symptoms, the inability to think clearly, and an increased risk of accidents. Cannabis impairs a person's driving ability, and THC was the illicit drug most frequently found in the blood of drivers who have been involved in vehicle crashes. Those with THC in their system are from three to seven times more likely to be the cause of vehicle crash than those who had not used either cannabis or alcohol.
Some immediate undesired side effects include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, reddening of the eyes, dizziness, feeling tired and vomiting. Some users may experience an episode of acute psychosis, which usually abates after six hours, but in rare instances, heavy users may find the symptoms continuing for many days.
Legalization has increased the rates at which children are exposed to cannabis, particularly from edibles. While the toxicity and lethality of THC in children is not known, they are at risk for encephalopathy, hypotension, respiratory depression severe enough to require ventilation, somnolence and coma.