Facts about Marijuana - Essay Example

Drug of Abuse – Fact sheet: Marijuana School Summary Marijuana is the most common used illicit drug which is often smoked, piped, inhaled, or consumed as a tea. The psychoactive agent in Marijuana is THC and this agent has both psychological as well as physiological effects. The drug is used for medical as well as recreational usage (mainly because of the hallucinogenic effect) (NIDA, 2012). The prevalence of marijuana usage is about 6.6% yearly in the UK, which is ten times higher than the world average. Chronic use of marijuana can have serious impact on health causing addiction. Many countries across the world have considered marijuana as an illegal drug. Marijuana may be used in various medical conditions for the management of pain. The drug can interact with other potential drugs of abuse causing a disastrous effect (WHO, 2012). Physical description of the drug The drug being discussed is cannabis, marijuana or Spanish marihuana (in Mexico) and may be known by common street names such as pot, grass, joint, weed, Mary Jane, herb, skunk, gangster, kif, ganja, chronic, stuff, etc. The common synonyms or street names may differ from one area to another. Marijuana is usually the shredded leaves or stems of the Cannabis sativa plant, and the mixture so obtained is green, gray or brown in colour. The psychoactive agent present in marijuana is known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, and in general more than 400 chemicals are present in marijuana. The strength of the marijuana being consumed depends on the extent to which THC is present (NIDA, 2012). Medical and recreational uses Marijuana is frequently used for recreational, religious, ritualistic and medicinal purposes. Marijuana was first used in the III century BC and, since the XX century, cannabis use has been strictly restricted across the world which includes cultivation, sale, possession and distribution. According to the UN, cannabis is the most often used illicit drug. For recreational purposes the drug may be smoked like a cigarette or piped. People often consume marijuana with other drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, and alcohol. Marijuana can also be consumed in the form of a tea or laced in the food. When the drug is smoked it has a pungent distinctive sweet and sour odour. In parts of India, Marijuana is used by the Hindu religious saadhus. Many of the tribal communities in Africa and in the islands of the Indian Ocean use Marijuana for ritualistic and social purposes. Prevalence of drug use (UK) The UN Office of Drug and Crime published the World Drug Report 2011 to provide the list of the countries and the respective annual prevalence of the usage of marijuana as a percentage of the population of the ages between 16 to 64 years (adult population). According to the World Drug Report (2011), the annual prevalence of the use of marijuana was 6.6% in England and Wales, 8.4% for Scotland, 7.2% for Northern Island, and 6.3% for Ireland. In various nations in the Middle East, the prevalence of usage of marijuana is the lowest at about 0.1 to 2 %. In the US, the prevalence of marijuana usage is 13.7% (WHO, 2012). Legal status of drug Throughout the world, the usage, possession, cultivation and sale of cannabis has been either restricted or regulated. In the UK, Cannabis usage is illegal but usually the punishments for the same are either minor or unenforced. Most often, if the drug is found with any person, it is usually confiscated and the police maintain a record of all the cannabis users in its database. Usually, the police would arrest a person if caught in possession of cannabis more than once within 12 month duration. The UK is the signatory to the International Cannabis Warning Process. Cannabis has been illegal in the UK since 1928 (NIDA for Teens, 2012). Typical doses in medicinal and recreational use Cannabis exerts both psychological and physiological changes in the body. For the psychoactive effects to be noticed, about 10 microgram of THC per kilogram body weight are needed. However, deaths from the usage of the drug are rare, but sometimes may occur following intravenous use of hashish oil. Medically, cannabis has several therapeutic effects including controlling pain, controlling nausea and vomiting, acting as an appetite stimulant, and relieving the intra-ocular pressure. The drug can be given as tablets, injections, oral sprays and inhaled (BBC Health, 2012). Typical routes of administration The marijuana can be consumed in various forms for recreational purposes including smoking, pipes, portable bongs, or to be used as a vaporizer. The fresh dried leaves of the cannabis plant may be consumed orally as an extract or in the form of teas. Hashish which is an extract oil of cannabis is usually taken intra-venously. Medically, cannabis can be administered in the form of tablets, syrups, injections, oral sprays or inhalant (WHO, 2012). Mechanism of drug action THC acts on certain cells present in the brain to produce increased amounts of dopamine. The sites that the THC would be affecting are the cannabinoid receptors causing a series of cellular reactions which ultimately result in increased secretion of THC. Besides, different parts of the brain have different densities of cannabinoid receptors. For example, the areas that control pleasure, memory, thinking, time perception, attention and movements would have higher cannabinoid receptors. Some of the effects of marijuana usage include: Hallucinogenic effects Distortion of reality Person becomes talkative or giggly Increases hunger or may even cause nausea Mild sedation Feeling a false sense of wellbeing Reduces pain stimuli Affects thinking, judgement, coordination, movement, learning, memory and problem-solving capabilities Chronic usage can result in memory and learning problems Additive potential May be associated with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia Increases the heart rate Increased risk of developing heart attack May be associated with lung cancer for chronic users Chronic cough and high phlegm production (NIDA, 2012) Pharmacokinetics Once the drug is smoked, the peak plasma levels are obtained within 10 minutes, and it takes about 2-3 hours for the psychoactive agents to act. THC has a long half-life as it is lipid-soluble and may get redistributed in the fats present in the body. The presence of THC can be detected in the urine even after several months of usage. The liver enzyme cytochrome P450 plays an important role in metabolizing THC. About 30% of THC are excreted through the kidneys, whereas 67% may get distributed to the intestinal route (Altmed, 2012). Drug testing methods Using chromatography, the presence of the drug can be detected in the blood, urine, body fluids, hair and sweat. Using the quantitative testing of chromatography, active users can be differentiated from the passive users. Cannabinoid immunoassays help to determine the level of THC or its metabolite in the blood. For testing large groups of people for cannabis usage, Duquenois-Levine test is used to screen for marijuana usage at a public health level (Erowid, 2012). Drug interactions with common drugs of abuse When cannabis is used with any other sedative agent, it would behave as a stronger sedative. They may interact with other protein-bound compounds such as warfarin. With cocaine, as the onset of action would be hastened and increased bioavailability, the subjective symptoms of cocaine are increased and the heart rate is increased. Vasodilatation caused by the cannabis drug of the nasal mucosa can result faster absorption of cannabis (NIDA, 2012). Reference List Altmed 2012. Pharmacodynamics of Marijuana. [online] Available at: BBC Health 2012. Marijuana. [online] Available at: Erowid 2012. Cannabis Drug Testing. [online] Available at: NIDA 2012. InfoFact: Marijuana. [online] Available at: NDA for Teens 2012. Marijuana. [online] Available at: WHO 2012. Cannabis. [online] Available at: Read More