CANNABIS FACTS

WHAT IS CANNABIS?

Cannabis is a generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the plant Cannabis sativa ( see picture below).The major psychoactive constituent in cannabis is the compound THC (tetrohydrocannabinol).Compounds which are structurally similar to THC are referred to as cannabinoids. In addition, a number of recently identified compounds that differ structurally from cannabinoids nevertheless share many fothe pharmacological properties. The Mexican term 'marijuana' is frequently used in referring to cannabis leaves or other crude plant material in many countries. The unpollinated female plants are called hashish. Cannabis oil (hashish oil) is a concentrate of cannabinoids obtained by solvent extraction of the crude plant material or of the resin. Cannabis has many slang names, hash, blow, weed, bud, skunk, ganja to name but a few.

Cannabis in Ireland comes in two main forms commonly known as hash and weed.

Hash (cannabis resin) is made by separating the sticky resin of the plant from the buds and leaves and drying and moulding it into a block ( see picture at bottom of page).

Marijuana (Often known as weed) refers to a strong form of herbal cannabis. It consists of cannabis leaves or other crude plant material. ( see picture at bottom of page).

On average weed is stronger than hash. Although thi depends on how much it has been 'cut' with other substances. The effects of hash or weed are different, with hash having a more relaxing and sedating effect than weed which causes a 'trippier' effect.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS?

As with any drug, the effects of cannabis depend on your personality, mood and experience as well as when and where it’s taken, how much you take, how you take it and the strength of what you take be it hash or weed. It is possible to develop a dependency  to cannabis.

Physically, cannabis increases your pulse rate and decreases blood pressure. The eyes may become bloodshot, the mouth dry, the user may feel hungry and dizzy.

Cannabis impairs psychomotor performance in a wide variety of tasks, such as motor coordination, divided attention, and operative tasks of many types; human performance on complex machinery can be impaired for as long as 24 hours after smoking as little as 20mg of THC in cannabis; there is an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents among persons who drive when intoxicated by cannabis.

Your lungs were not designed to take in hot, noxious gases. Smoking can cause illnesses such as bronchitis and cancer.

Psychologically , the sedative effect of cannabis enables the user to relax, become more talkative and sociable. Sensory experiences may be enhanced and time might seem like it is standing still.

Some people experience unpleasant effects when they use cannabis, such as anxiety, panic attacks or paranoia. Usually these symptoms stop once the effects of cannabis has worn off. If a person has had a mental health problem before or there is a history of mental health problems in the family cannabis can trigger serious mental health problems. There is also a concern that people who use cannabis a lot when they are young may be vulnerable to mental health problems later in life.

Thoughts

Thinking can become more imaginative and creative but less logical and focused. You are likely to have better ideas but more likely to forget them. Cannabis weakens your short and long term memory. Cannabis impairs your capabilities of learning, including associative processes; free recall of previously learned items is often impaired when cannabis is used both during learning and recall periods. Chronic use can cause the selective impairment of cognitive functioning which include the organisation and integration of complex information involving various mechanisms of attention and memory processes. Prolonged use may lead to greater impairment, which may not recover with cessation of use, and which could affect daily life functions.

Behaviour 

Cannabis stimulates appetite receptors in the brain, leading to an effect known as the 'munchies'. When stoned cannabis users often talk quickly and eagerly, usually about a silly or obscure subject, while going of onto other subjects, getting very animated and not noticing if anyone is even listening.

Cannabis can induce bouts of intense laughter, the cause of which is unclear to people who are not stoned.

CANNABIS CAN REDUCE ANXIETY IN THE SHORT TERM FOR SOME PEOPLE BUT IT IS A TEMPORARY FIX THAT CAN MAKE IT HARDER TO DEAL WITH IT IN THE LONG RUN. IT IS BETTER TO GET HELP TO FIND OTHER WAYS TO DEAL WITH THIS ANXIETY 

                         Block of Hash                                                                     Bag of Weed

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