SOME
BASIC QUESTIONS FROM AN EXPERT ABOUT MARIJUANA (HASH)
Q: What is
Marijuana? Aren't
there different kinds?
A: Marijuana
is a green, brown, or
gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves,
stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp
plant. You may hear marijuana called
by street
names such as pot, herb,
weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane,
gangster, or chronic. There are more
than 200 slang terms for marijuana Sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah; it's a
Spanish word), hashish ("hash" for
short), and hash oil are stronger forms
of marijuana.
All forms of
marijuana are
mind-altering. In other words, they
change how the brain works. They all
contain THC
(delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the
main active chemical in marijuana.
They also contain more than 400 other
chemicals. Marijuana's effects on the
user depend on the strength or potency
of the THC i contains.(5) THC potency
of marijuana has increased since the
1970s but has been about the same
since the mid-1980s.
Q: How is
marijuana used?
A: Marijuana is usually smoked as a
cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or in a
pipe or a bong. Recently, it has
appeared in cigars called blunts.
Q: How long does marijuana
stay in the user's body?
A: 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.
Q: How many
teens smoke marijuana?
A: Contrary
to popular belief most teenagers have not used marijuana and
never will. Among students surveyed in a yearly national survey, only about one
in five 10th graders report they are current marijuana users (that is, used
marijuana within the past month). Fewer than one in four high school seniors
is a current marijuana user.(10)
Q: Why do
young people use marijuana?
A: There are
many reasons why some children and young teens start smoking
marijuana. Most young people smoke marijuana because their friends or
brothers and sisters use marijuana and pressure them to try it. Some young
people use it because they see older people in the family using it.
Others may
think it's cool to use marijuana because they hear songs about it
and see it on TV and in movies. Some teens may feel they need marijuana and
other drugs to help them escape from problems at home, at school, or with
friends.
No matter
how many shirts and caps you see printed with the marijuana leaf, or
how many groups sing about it, remember this: You don't have to use
marijuana just because you think everybody else is doing it. Most teens
do not use marijuana!
Q: What are
the long-term effects of marijuana use?
A: Findings so far show that regular use of marijuana or THC may play a role
in some kinds of cancer and in problems with the respiratory, and immune
systems.
Cancer
It's hard to
know for sure whether regular marijuana use causes cancer.
But it is known that marijuana contains some of the same, and
sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in
tobacco smoke. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per
week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone
who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.(15)
Lungs and
airways
People who smoke marijuana often develop the same kinds of breathing
problems that cigarette smokers have: coughing and wheezing. They
tend to have more chest colds than nonusers. They are also at greater
risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia.
Immune
system
Animal studies have found that THC can damage the cells and tissues in the body
that help protect people from disease. When the immune cells are weakened, you
are more likely to get sick.
Q: Does marijuana lead to the use of other drugs?
A: It could.
Long-term studies of high school students and their patterns of
drug use show that very few young people use other illegal drugs without first
Trying
marijuana. For example, the risk of using cocaine is 104 times greater
for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.(7)
Using marijuana puts children and teens in contact with people who are users
and sellers of other drugs. So there is more of a risk that a marijuana user
will
be exposed to and urged to try more drugs.
To better
determine this risk, scientists are examining the possibility that
long-term marijuana use may create changes in the brain that make a person
more at risk of becoming addicted to other drugs, such as alcohol or cocaine.
While not all young people who use marijuana go on to use other drugs, further
research is needed to predict who will be at greatest risk.
