Het team van AMS werkt er hard aan om ook deze pagina naar het Nederlands te vertalen. Nog even geduld alstublieft.

The Effects of Marijuana

The effects of Marijuana are psychoactive and physiological when smoked or ingested. These are the desired effects by those who smoke joints or ingest cannabis in things such as “hash brownies”. The minimum amount of THC levels required to have a notable psychoactive effect is only about 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. This amount is dependent on the potency of THC levels and varies somewhat in every case.

Tetrahydrocannabivarin, which is also known as THCV, is similar to THC and is produced in appreciable amounts by specific drug strains. THCV has been noted as having a shorter acting and flashier effect than THC. Recent studies, however, suggest that THCV may inhibit the effects of THC. Relatively high levels of THCV are very common in African Marijuana or dagga, as well as in hashish from the northwest Himalayas.

Health issues

When dealing with any narcotic, there are always associated health risks. Using Marijuana has been shown to contribute to several illnesses such as lung cancer, although many studies have proven this to be an inconclusive study. The Canadian government has recently performed a study which states that there are more toxic substances in cannabis than in cigarette smoke. Marijuana was stated to contain 20 times more ammonia and five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxide than tobacco smoke. These chemicals have been linked to heart disease and lung damage by past studies.

Marijuana use has also been linked to psychosis in several studies. In 1987, a Swedish study claimed that a link between the use of Marijuana and schizophrenia was criticized for not noting a difference between Marijuana use and the use of other narcotics. The results of the study have not been officially verified.

A more recent study, the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, has published researched showing that an increased risk of psychosis exists in Marijuana users. In 2007, The Lancet published a study, as well as a poll of mental health experts, that noted a growing number of medical health practitioners are now convinced that the use of Marijuana will increase susceptibility to mental illness, which accounts for approximately 14% of the cases of psychosis in the United Kingdom. The risk to an individual who smokes Marijuana, however, is only increased by 2%.

Although the long term effects of using Marijuana have been polarized in the scientific community which prevents any firm consensus of the actual effects, the short term effects have been well documented. Such effects include short term memory and attention loss disorders, loss of motor skills and dexterity, a reduction in reaction time, and lower abilities to perform skilled activities that could possibly be life threatening, such as driving a vehicle. Marijuana has also been linked to anxiety and panic attacks, and these effects have been noted as possibly long-term with heavy usage.

Other studies have shown that chronic and heavy smoking of Marijuana has been associated with an increase in the symptoms of chronic bronchitis, such as coughing, the production of sputum, and wheezing. The lung function becomes significantly poorer and there is a greater risk for the amount of abnormalities in the large airways of those who frequently smoke Marijuana than in those who do not. To top off the list, the above health issues can be potentially exacerbated by a cannabis dependence syndrome or addiction.

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