Marijuana Facts

Marijuana Facts: About Marijuana

  • Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture composed of dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant.
  • Marijuana comes from a hemp plant called "Cannabis Sativa" which grows indoors and outdoors in many parts of the world, including the United States. (Hashish and hashish oil are also drugs that come from cannabis)
  • Marijuana grown in other countries accounts for most of the marijuana used in the United States. However, a great deal of marijuana is also grown here in the United States.
  • In many parts of the United States, marijuana is the number one cash crop. This is mostly because it fetches a very high price on the black market.
  • The word “marijuana” is a Mexican slang term which became popular in the late 1930's in America, during a series of media and government programs which we now refer to as the “Reefer Madness Movement.” It refers specifically to the part of cannabis which Mexican soldiers used to smoke.
  • There is about half a gram of marijuana in a single joint.
  • Marijuana is the most often used illegal drug in this country.
  • Marijuana is classified as a "psychotropic" or "psychoactive" drug and is highly addictive for some individuals.
  • Marijuana has a strong and distinct odor that is not easy to wash off and that can remain on the breath despite repeated brushing.

Marijuana Facts: How Marijuana is Used

  • Most users roll loose marijuana into a cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or smoke it in a pipe. One well-known type of water pipe is the bong. Some users mix marijuana into foods by baking it in brownies or using it to brew tea.
  • Another method is to slice open a cigar and replace the tobacco with marijuana, making what's called a blunt. When the blunt is smoked with a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor, it is called a "B-40."
  • Marijuana cigarettes or blunts sometimes include crack cocaine, a combination known by various street names such as "primos" or "woolies." Joints and blunts are also sometimes dipped in PCP and are called "happy sticks," "wicky sticks," "love boat," or "tical."
  • Marijuana has also been vaporized in hookahs/shisha pipes. Recently, vaporizers have been made to heat the plant matter to a point where the active chemicals become airborne, but the plant does not burn.
  • THC (the active chemical in marijuana) can also be topically absorbed when dissolved in an appropriate carrier oil. Tinctures of marijuana can be made using strong alcohol, which is then dropped under the tongue and held there to penetrate the mucus membrane of the mouth.
  • Marijuana users make home made pipes and bongs with empty soda cans, fruit (such as apples), empty toilet paper rolls, empty water bottles, plumbing hardware, tinfoil, etc.

Marijuana Facts: Marijuana Effects and Side Effects

  • Effects of smoking marijuana are felt within minutes, reach their peak in 10 to 30 minutes, and may linger for two or three hours.
  • Marijuana decreases the body's ability to fight diseases.
  • People who smoke marijuana often develop the same kinds of breathing problems that cigarette smokers have including coughing and wheezing. They tend to have more chest colds than nonusers. They are also at greater risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia.
  • Smoking marijuana decreases blood flow to the brain.
  • Studies have shown that marijuana lowers testosterone levels in men.
  • Marijuana use can also lower sperm counts, possibly resulting in difficulty having children.
  • Females who use marijuana, over time, increase their levels of testosterone which can result in increased facial hair and acne. It may also adversely affect reproductive functioning in women.
  • THC in marijuana is strongly absorbed by fatty tissues in various organs. Generally, traces (metabolites) of THC can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days after a smoking session. However, in heavy chronic users, traces can sometimes be detected for weeks after they have stopped using marijuana.
  • Sometimes marijuana makes users feel thirsty and very hungry, an effect called "the munchies."
  • Marijuana affects memory, judgment, and perception.

 

 
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