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Marijuana (cannabis) looks a bit like the tobacco one can buy in shops. It consists of dry leaves of the cannabis sativa plant.
The female plant contains seeds, which can be planted, but which are usually removed from the mixture before smoking it. The male plant doesn't contain seeds. The dried leaves are brown or dark green in colour and looks a bit like mixed herbs one buys in the supermarket.
How is it used?
The active ingredient of marijuana is THC (tetrahydracannabinol). Marijuana is either smoked or ingested. It's often mixed into dough and baked or used as tea leaves. This infusion is then drunk. It's also sometimes mixed with methaqualone powder in a white pipe, for which a bottleneck is often used.
Many users roll their own cigarettes, sometimes mixed with normal tobacco. It can also be smoked in a pipe, but this isn't done as often.
Marijuana is often mixed and inhaled with other substances, such as Mandrax. From the East originates a solid greenish-brown resin called hashish. Hashish oil, an oily plant extract, can be dropped onto the tips of cigarettes or dripped into pipes and smoked.
Some drug counsellors see marijuana as a portal drug, in other words, a drug that introduces a potential drug addict to mind-altering substances. There are also those who oppose this view and state that many marijuana users never continue onto using other drugs.
Effects of marijuana
It usually takes only a few minutes for the effects of marijuana to take hold. A high can last from 15 minutes to several hours and can bring about feelings of mild euphoria, occasional hallucinations, increased perceptions (these aren't always realistic), short-term memory loss, giggling, possible anxiety and, occasionally, paranoia.
Physical effects include thirst and an increase in appetite, an increase in heart and pulse rate, a dry mouth and red eyes. When taken with alcohol, it can sometimes lead to aggression.
THC is stored in the fatty tissue of the body for up to a week after use, unlike alcohol, which is usually eliminated from the body within 6 - 8 hours after being taken.
When used in excessive quantities, the smoke inhalation can lead to lung cancer, delayed sexual development in men, suppression of ovulation in women, memory lapses and lack of concentration.
Symptoms of excessive use of marijuana
One has to use vast quantities of marijuana over a long period of time before the symptoms of drug abuse become as apparent as they are in the case of drugs like heroin and cocaine.
People who smoke five joints a week expose themselves to as many cancer-causing chemicals as people who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. They inhale more deeply and keep the smoke in their lungs for longer.
This isn't true for people who suffer from psychiatric illnesses and others who are on heavy medication. In these cases, reaction to marijuana can be quite dramatic and these individuals should steer completely clear of it as they should of alcohol and all other mind-altering substances.
The effects of long-term use of marijuana include:
- Glassy, red eyes
- Socially inappropriate behaviour such as loud talking and puzzling bursts of laughter
- Sleepiness often at strange times
- A sweet burnt scent on the user or in the room
- Loss of interest in activities formerly enjoyed
- Loss of motivation
- Weight gain or loss
- Lung and respiratory problems related to smoke inhalation
- Concentration difficulties
- Memory lapses
- Difficulty learning new things
What does the detoxification process look like?
Nothing like the withdrawal symptoms from hardline drugs such as heroine or crack. Marijuana in itself doesn't seem to be addictive, as the people who suddenly stop their use appear to have a greater psychological dependence than a physiological dependence on it.
A mild increase in irritability and aggression is reported in heavy users who suddenly stop taking marijuana. Those who are light weekend users seem to have no withdrawal symptoms at all.
