Marijuana appearance

Critics tend to argue that decriminalization is just legalization in disguise. Nevertheless, support for legalization—at least for marijuana—appears to he slowly growing. 

When he took office as the country s Drug Czar in 1996, Barry McCaffrey insisted there was not a shred of scientific evidence that smoking marijuana was useful or necessary. Nevertheless, McCaffrey commissioned yet another report to evaluate the scientific validity of marijuana for patients. The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine undertook an 18-month study of all available scientific evidence on medical marijuana. The 1999 report s authors found that the active components in marijuana appear to be helpful in treating pain, nausea, AIDS-related weight loss,... 

Numerous other neurotransmitters have been discovered, and no doubt many more remain to be found. We have much to learn about the brain s chemical code. For example, one of the most recently discovered neurotransmitters is a lipid called anandamide. It is of considerable interest because the active chemical in marijuana appears to act by mimicking anandamide. 

The AHA report also stated that the cardiac risks from marijuana appear to be much lower than those from cocaine, which causes a much sharper rise in both heart rate and blood pressure than marijuana. The overall public health threat from marijuana, however, could be even greater because marijuana use is more widespread than cocaine use. 

It is the most readily available and widely used illicit drug in the United States. .. Available data suggest that marijuana production is high both in the United States and in foreign source areas. .. Distribution of marijuana appears to be stable ... 

The subjective impression that sensation is heightened by marijuana appeared to find some objective confirmation in earlier reports which pointed to an increase in hearing acuity. Both the studies in question, however, showed certain defects (19 ). A more recent investigation in 30 subjects with placebo controls did not detect any effect of marijuana smoking on standard audiological tests, though it is fair to point out that this experiment was designed to detect adverse effects rather than any increase in the auditory performance of these normal subjects... 

Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) finds many applications outside the chemistry laboratory. If you ve ever had an emissions test on the exhaust system of your car, GLC was almost certainly the analytical method used. Pollutants such as carbon monoxide and unbumed hydrocarbons appear as peaks on a graph such as that shown in Figure 1.7. A computer determines the areas under these peaks, which are proportional to the concentrations of pollutants, and prints out a series of numbers that tells the inspector whether your car passed or failed the test. Many of the techniques used to test people lor drugs (marijuana, cocaine, and others) or alcohol also make use of gas-liquid chromatography. 

Cannabinoids appear to have a very complex interaction with seizure activity, exerting both anticonvulsant and proconvulsant effects. Anecdotal testimonies abound (Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993), but there has been very little controlled human research. In single-case studies both use and withdrawal of marijuana have been linked to the resumption of seizures (Keeler and Reifler, 1967 Consroe et al., 1975). In a randomised placebo-controlled blind study, patients who responded poorly to standard treatments experienced improved seizure control in response to cannabidiol administration. Cannabidiol does not interact with cannabinoid receptors, and animal studies indicate that it has different anticonvulsant effects to other cannabinoids (Cunha et al., 1980). As such it may prove to have useful therapeutic properties. 

The intravenous route is far more effective with THC compounds than the oral route. As Dr. Leo Flollister reported more than a decade after Edgewood trials with TFIC ended, the main psychoactive part of natural marijuana (delta-9 TFIC) is several times more effective by the intravenous route than when smoked. In turn, when it is smoked, it is considerably more effective as by the oral route. If these differences apply to the more potent synthetic isomers, incapacitating symptoms might appear after very low doses. One or more of the... 

Another problem for the makers of naltrexone was recently uncovered by researchers testing the drug on marijuana smokers. To the researchers surprise, people who were given naltrexone and then smoked marijuana reported that they felt greater psychotropic effects from the marijuana than if they had simply smoked the marijuana alone. In other words, while naltrexone blocks the psychotropic effects of alcohol, heroin and opium, it appears to increase the effects of marijuana. 

The resin secreted by Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa, varieties of hemp, is known variously as marijuana, hashish or bhang and is abused as a hallucinogenic drug. It appears however to have some beneficial properties and is currently under test as an antiemetic in cancer therapy. The secretion contains a number of interrelated oxygen heterocycles, some of which are shown in Scheme 281, which attempts to indicate their biosynthetic relationships (70MI22401). The cannabinoids are probably derived from a monoterpene unit based on p-menthane and 5-n-pentylresorcinol (olivetol), acting the part of a polyketide. 2,2-Dimethylchromene biosynthesis also requires the intervention of an isoprene fragment. 

Marijuana smokers are at higher risk than nonusers for chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, lung infections, and emphysema. Research also indicates that heavy marijuana use can lead to the DNA damage and cellular changes that produce lung cancer these changes appeared to occur in marijuana smokers at an... 

And somewhat ironically, nitrous oxide appears to have some use as an treatment for withdrawal symptoms. Several South African studies have demonstrated the usefulness of nitrous oxide in treating withdrawal symptoms and reducing cravings during alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine detoxification. And in early 2002, a small study published in Clinical Psychiatry found that the gas may also be helpful in helping smokers kick the habit. Researchers found that 92% of patients who inhaled a 50%/50% mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen... 

The psychoactive and medicinal chemical compounds found in the resin of the marijuana plant are known as cannabinoids. The cannabis plant contains more than 460 known compounds over 60 of these have a cannabinoid structure. The only cannabinoid that is highly psychoactive and present in large amounts in the resin of the cannabis plant is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The other two major cannabinoids are the cannabidiols and the cannabinols. It appears that the cannabis plant first produces the mildly active cannabidiols, which are converted to the more psychoactive THCs and then broken down to relatively inactive... 

CB1 and CB2 can be found throughout the human body hence, there are a variety of ways that cannabinoids can physically and psychologically affect the body s systems. As an example, the presence of CB1 receptors in the eye may explain how marijuana eases glaucoma and relieves intraocular pressure. Other research indicates that THC can block receptors in the brain and body to produce dizziness, dry mouth, and altered depth perception— all common effects of marijuana use. There appears to be an... 

Peer influence does appear to be one of the strongest factors affecting a teen s decision to use marijuana. Various studies and surveys consistently show that if teens have friends who use marijuana, they are more likely to use marijuana themselves. Those who do not have friends who use marijuana are less likely to use it themselves. Studies show that teens using marijuana tend to move toward new circles of friends who also use marijuana, simultaneously increasing peer acceptance, access to marijuana, and the influence of other marijuanausing friends. The more alienated a teen feels from friends and... 

Researchers use equipment like this oscilloscope, which can measure levels of various neurotransmitters in the brain, in an attempt to understand the mechanisms of addiction better. While physical addiction does not appear to be a risk with marijuana use, psychological dependence on marijuana is a risk factor in its use. 

Black slaves probably brought the knowledge of how to smoke marijuana with them to Brazil, and from there, the practice traveled to Mexico and the United States..— The first definite record of marijuana as a plant in the New World dates from 1545, when Spaniards introduced it from Chile. 25 its use as an intoxicant appears to have been kept hidden by most users and was probably limited during much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

It is worth of note that, apart from executive functions, different aspects of attention appeared to be affected in both the OPPS- and MHPCD-exposed children at school age (Fried and Smith, 2001) these findings are accompanied by data demonstrating that children exposed prenatally to marijuana seem to be impulsive, inattentive, and hyperactive (Fried and Smith, 2001 Goldschmidt et al., 2000). 

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