( Mary & Johnny )( hocus )( Cripple )( firewood )( giggle smoke )( magic dragon )( pot )( bubble gum )( righteous bush )( Jolly green )( cannabis )( skunkweed )(

blonde )( Colorado cocktail )( fruity j uice )( widow )( bad seed )( doobie )( weed )( Aunt Mary )( northern lights )( grass )( Dew )( Juan Valdez )( hash )( bamba )( Christmas tree )( Afghani #1 )( Kentucky blue )( herb )( Canadian black )( ganga )( Mary J )( bhang )( sugar weed )( Puff )

Cannabis SativaLeaves, flowers, stems, and

seeds are smoked, combined with food, or brewed as tea

Marijuana – dried leaves and flowers

Hashish – concentrated, resinous substance from the top of the female cannabis plant

Hash oil – sticky black liquidDelta-9-Tetrahydro-CannabinolAbbreviated THC; the active

chemical in marijuana

The HighPervasive sense of well-being and happiness

A series of cellular reaction is kicked off by membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain binding to the THC

THC connects to cannaboid receptors

The receptors in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement

Marijuana AbuseThe most commonly used

illicit drug in the United States

The marijuana available today is 5 times more potent than what was available in the 1970s

Marijuana abusers accounted for 15% of admissions to drug treatment facilities in the United States in 2002

75% male 55% white

40% were ages 15 -- 19

56% abused the drug by age 14

92% abused the drug by age 18

Short-Term Effects•Mood

Many feel happy

Some feel anxious and paranoid

Mood may be easily influenced by others’ behavior•Temporal Disintegration

Trouble retaining and organizing information

Problems with learning, problem solving, and memory

Disjointed speech and lapses in attention and concentration

•Distorted Perception•Loss of Coordination•Increased Heart Rate

Long-Term Effects•Brain

Increase in activation of the stress-response system

Changes in activity of nerve cells containing dopamine•Heart

Risk of heart attack quadruples in the 1st hour after smoking marijuana•Lungs

Daily cough, phlegm, acute chest illness, heightened risk of lung infection

Increased risk of cancer– marijuana contains 50—70% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke•Impaired Immune System

Long-Term Effects•Learning and Social

Behavior

Depression, anxiety, personality disturbances

Impaired memory, attention, and learning up to 4 weeks after use

•Addiction

Most evidence suggests that people do not develop a tolerance to THC

Reverse tolerance – becoming more sensitive to the effects of marijuana with repeated use (not laboratory tested)

With long-term use, smoking marijuana may become a compulsive behavior

Medicinal Marijuana•Early studies found that

marijuana relieves nausea and vomiting accompanying cancer chemotherapy

•FDA approved synthetic form of oral THC which is now used to treat nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients and AIDS wasting

•Use inhalers with purified active ingredients of marijuana rather than smoking

•Current studies looking at using marijuana to treat tremors in multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, CD4 immunity in AIDS, and neuropathic pain

Medicinal Marijuana•No current accepted

medical use in the United States

•Too few scientific studies conducted to determine therapeutic utility of marijuana

•Negatively affects almost every organ, the central nervous system, the endocrine system, the respiratory/pulmonary system, and the immune systems

•In order for the drug to be approved for medicinal use, the benefits must outweigh the risks

Sarah Kreiger

Psyc 213

Substance abuse disorders