Marijuana

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. It might also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash, as well as terms derived from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum, Northern Lights, Fruity Juice, Afghani #1, and a number of Skunk varieties.

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The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana.

Marijuana Extent of Use

In 2004, 14.6 million Americans age 12 and older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed. About 6,000 people a day in 2004 used marijuana for the first time.1 million Americans. Of these, 63.8 percent were under age 181. In the last half of 2003, marijuana was the third most commonly abused drug mentioned in drug-related hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the continental United States, at 12.6 percent, following cocaine (20 percent) and alcohol (48.7 percent)

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Prevalence of lifetime, annual, and use within the last 30 days for marijuana remained stable among 10th- and 12th-graders surveyed between 2003 and 2004. However, 8th-graders reported a significant decline in 30-day use and a significant increase in perceived harmfulness of smoking marijuana once or twice and regularly3. Trends in disapproval of using marijuana once or twice and occasionally rose among 8th-graders as well, and 10th-graders reported an increase in disapproval of occasional and regular use for the same period.

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We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then. We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then. We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then. We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then.

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Anyway, i think (hope) i made SOME progress with her. It wasn't the usual screaming session "im not quitting!!" "then you wont live in my house!!" type deal. It was a calm, relaxed, mature conversation about it. Even though she doesn't believe in marijuana, she feels I should stick up for what i belive in and go to Law School and eventaully try to get it legalized. We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then.

Anyway, i think (hope) i made SOME progress with her. It wasn't the usual screaming session "im not quitting!!" "then you wont live in my house!!" type deal. It was a calm, relaxed, mature conversation about it. Even though she doesn't believe in marijuana, she feels I should stick up for what i belive in and go to Law School and eventaully try to get it legalized.

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I asked her how many times shes smoked and how long its been. She said it hasnt been since like college and she did it on multiple occasions and never liked the feeling. I told her it was probably really bad pot and thats why she didnt like it, and suggested she should try it again. She wouldn't go for that at all. Anyone have any ideas on how i can convince her to try it again? I dont know why, but i would love to smoke with my mom.We went out to Outback Steakhouse, and marijuana came up. We had about a 10-15 minute talk about it. She believes its "an escape", isn't good for you at all, has no positive values, etc. I really tried my best to explain to her the benefits, how it really isn't that bad for you, and I would never do it as an escape. I told her I'd have a problem if i was using it as an escape. I jokingly suggested she should buy me a vaporizer so there really aren't any harmful side effects She rolled her eyes at me then.

I asked her how many times shes smoked and how long its been. She said it hasnt been since like college and she did it on multiple occasions and never liked the feeling. I told her it was probably really bad pot and thats why she didnt like it, and suggested she should try it again. She wouldn't go for that at all. Anyone have any ideas on how i can convince her to try it again? I dont know why, but i would love to smoke with my mom.

Marijuana Common use

The tough fiber of the plant, cultivated as hemp, has numerous textile uses. Its seed, chiefly used as caged-bird feed, is a valuable source of protein, energy, and long-chain fatty acids, and also contain oil that can be used to make paints, varnishes, and soaps. Most concentrated in the resin in the buds of the female plant, mildly psychedelic and other psychoactive and physiologically active chemical compounds known as cannabinoids are consumed for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. When so purposed, preparations of buds and leaves, sometimes called marijuana, and preparations derived from resinous extract, sometimes called hashish, are today usually consumed by inhaling vapor released by smoking or other heating, or by oral ingestion. Historically, tinctures, teas, and ointments were also common preparations.

Marijuana Plant physiology

Cannabis reproduces sexually. The flowers of the female plant, in cannabis usually called buds, are arranged in racemes and can produce hundreds of seeds. Males reach sexual maturity several weeks prior to females. Although genetics disposes a plant to become male, environmental factors, including the diurnal light cycle, can alter the sex. Natural hermaphrodites, with both male and female parts, are usually sterile but artificially induced hermaphrodites can have fully functional reproductive organs. 'Feminized' seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers are derived from artificially hermaphrodytic females that lack the male gene or by treating the seeds with hormones.

Cannabis uses C4 photosynthesis, which is not dependent upon a night cycle for carbon dioxide absorption. A cannabis plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life cycle can thrive under twenty-four hour daylight conditions, although some growers advocate a small rest period to avoid overstressing the plant. Flowering usually occurs when darkness exceeds eleven hours per day and can take up to six weeks.

In soil, the optimum pH for the plant is 5.8 to 6.5. In hydroponic growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.5 to 6.1, making cannabis well-suited to hydroponics because this pH range is hostile to most bacteria and fungi.

Marijuana family cannatbaceae

The family Cannabaceae was formerly placed with the nettles in the order Urticales, but is now considered to be in the order Rosales. There is phylogenetic controversy as to whether the cultivated varieties of the plant are of a single species (Cannabis sativa) or represent distinct species (such as those called Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalis, or Cannabis americana). That there are different strains of cannabis has not been in question; whether these strains possess qualities of a true species or lesser taxonomic designations, such as races, ecotypes, cultivates, chemovars, and so on, has been at issue (Schultes and Hofmann 1980). Current research indicates the classification consists of more than one species. Botanists such as Richard E. Schultes at Harvard University and Loran C. Anderson at Florida State University conclude sufficient scientific evidence exists to support three species of cannabis: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. C. sativa grows to a height of 18 feet (6 metres), is loosely branched, and thrives in cool, damp climates. C. indica grows from 3.5 to 4 feet (1.3 metres), is conical in shape, and thrives in hot, dry climates. C. ruderalis grows from 1 to 2.5 feet (0.4 to 0.7 m), is dense and never branches, and is found primarily in Russia. There are other distinguishing features as well, related to cell and leaf structures. There are gelatinous fibers in the wood and vessels that exist singly or in small groups in C. sativa. C. indica has liberiform fibers in its wood and its vessels occur in large groups. C. ruderalis is mostly intermediate in these characteristics. Although the number of leaflets may vary within a species, C. sativa normally has seven leaflets, C. indica has nine , and C. ruderalis has three. The leaflet of C. sativa is narrow, or lanceolate. The C. indica leaflet is broad, or oblanceolate. And the C. ruderalis leaflet is oval, or elliptic, being broadest at the mid-length of the leaf (Anderson 1974, 1980). All three species contain THC; C.indica produces the most and C. ruderalis the least. Cannabis has been cultivated for thousands of years for its intoxicating flowering tops and leaves, its fibrous stems and branches, and its nutritious seeds. A strain that is high in one of these three qualities tends to be low in the other two. C. indica, for example, is very low in fiber content but generates the most potent marijuana. C. sativa produces the hemp fibers that have been used for centuries for making rope and coarse woven produces, but races of C. sativa high in this quality contain very little THC (less than 0.5 percent). The seeds of C. sativa can also be harvested for use as animal feed and for producing oil that is used in cooking and in making paint.

Marijuana Active ingredients

Though the main psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant is known to contain about sixty cannabinoids, including two others of particularly high concentration, cannabinol (CBN) and cannabidiol (CBD). Differences in the chemical composition of cannabis varieties can produce substantially different effects in humans, and the complexity of the composition of the plant is one reason why its effects can differ significantly from those of synthetic THC, like the synthetic version dronabinol, marketed under the brandname Marinol as an appetite stimulant and ocular pressure-reducing agent. THC is associated with an energetic, cerebral high, while CBD is associated with a relaxed, more drowsy high. CBN is less understood, but high concentrations may have hallucinogenic effects.

Although the potency of most cannabis varieties is uncertain, most cannabis contains below 8% THC. Selective breeding and modern cultivation techniques like hydroponics have produced varieties of up to 25% THC content. With varieties containing below 2-3% THC, such as those specifically cultivated for use as hemp, smoking may produce lightheadedness or mild headache but not inebriation. The THC content is also affected by the sex of the plant, with female plants generating substantially more resin than their male counterparts. Seedless varieties derived from unpollinated female plants have high THC content and are traditionally known as sinsemilla (Spanish: "without seed").

Because THC breaks down into CBD as buds mature, the time of harvest can substantially modify the effects of the plant. Because many commercial process growers often wait until the buds fully mature to ensure maximum weight, low-grade cannabis is usually high in CBD with relatively low THC content.