Health and Recreational Drugs
Health Topics on this page:
How does it affect the body? Cannabis is also known as Indian Hemp, marijuana or ganja in its herbal form and hashish in its resin form. Cannabis is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa The major biologically active chemical compound in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly referred to as THC.
Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, usually by smoking it, with or without tobacco or ingesting it mixed in with other foods. The minimum amount of THC required to have a noticeable effect is about 5 mg. Relatively high levels of THC are common in African dagga (marijuana), and in hashish from the northwest Himalayas.
Humans have been consuming cannabis since prehistory. However, in the 20th century there was a rise in its use for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. It is estimated that cannabis is now regularly used by four percent of the world's adult population.
How does cannabis affect the body?Cannabis contains a chemical substance that acts on the central nervous system resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behaviour. The drug may be used recreationally to purposely alter consciousness, for ritual or spiritual purposes, or as medication, mostly as a muscle relaxant and for pain relief. Hemp oil, made from the seeds of the hemp plant is an oil containing high levels of omega 3 and 6 and good for health.
Cannabis use can cause many health effects such as problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. It can also cause a user to have a voracious appetite, to become forgetful, and to lose motivation.
Because psychoactive substances affect the brain and bring about subjective changes in mood, behavior and perception that the user finds pleasurable, many psychoactive substances are abused, that is, used outside of the guidance of a medical professional and for reasons other than what they were originally intended for.
With sustained and prolonged use, physical dependence may develop, making the cycle of abuse even more difficult to break. Drug rehabilitation can involve a combination of psychotherapy, support groups and even other psychoactive substances to break the cycle of dependency.
Some of marijuana's adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of the immune cells were inhibited.
In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumours.
What is the difference between recreational use and drug abuse?A distinction is frequently made between recreational use of drugs and drug abuse, although there is much controversy as to where the dividing line is from a drug user to a drug abuser. Some health experts say that abuse begins when the user begins shirking responsibility in order to afford drugs or to have enough time to use them.
Some say it begins when a person uses what is deemed to be excessive amounts, while others draw the line at the point of legality. Still others believe it amounts to chronic use when a person's mental and physical health begins to degenerate. Some think that using any intoxicating drug is bad for mental and physical health. A further distinction can be made in that it is the use of the drug that is recreational, and not the drug itself.
In part because of this potential for abuse and dependency, the ethics of drug use are the subject of a continuing debate. Many governments worldwide have placed restrictions on drug production and sales in an attempt to control drug abuse.
What are the laws against Cannabis use?The possession, use, or sale of psychoactive cannabis products became illegal in most parts of the world in the early 20th century. Since then, some countries have intensified the enforcement of cannabis prohibition while others have reduced the priority of enforcement, almost to the point of legalisation, as is the case in the Netherlands.
The production of cannabis for drug use remains illegal throughout most of the world through the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
While simple possession of small quantities is either legal, or treated as an addiction rather than a criminal offense in a few countries, as in the UK, The laws in the United States vary from state to state, some having decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana although it is still a federal crime.
Is Cannabis Addictive?It has been reported that commercial hashish is often no more potent than high quality seedless marijuana. However, carefully produced and screened hashish is up to three times as potent as the highest quality herbal varieties.
Animal research has shown that the potential for cannabis psychological dependence does exist, and includes mild withdrawal symptoms. Although not as severe as that for alcohol, heroin, or cocaine dependence, marijuana withdrawal is usually characterized by insomnia, restlessness, loss of appetite, irritability, anger, increased muscle activity (jerkiness), and aggression. Aggression is usually a result of sudden withdrawal after prolonged use and as a result of increased body tolerance.
Prolonged marijuana use produces changes in how the drug is absorbed, distributed in the body, and excreted. There are also changes in how the drug interacts with target cells of the body. These changes makes the user need higher doses of the drug to achieve the same desirable effect. It also slows down the body’s systems for filtering and excreting the drug.
Help for Cannabis DependencySome early health research, published in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, indicates that cannabis addiction can be offset by a combination of therapy and incentives.
Participants previously diagnosed with marijuana dependence took part in a study, and received either vouchers or therapy. These vouchers could be redeemed for movie passes, sporting equipment etc. and were given as incentives to stay drug free. Another approach was a period of cognitive-behavioural therapy, or both approaches were used over a 14-week period.
At the end of 3 months, 43 percent of those who received both treatments were no longer using marijuana, compared with 40 percent of the voucher group, and 30 percent of the therapy group. At the end of a 12-month follow-up, 37 percent of those who got both treatments remained abstinent, compared with 17 percent of the voucher group, and 23 percent of the therapy group.
How does Cannabis compare to other addictive drugs?A 1998 French governmental report commissioned by Health Secretary of State Bernard Kouchner, and directed by Dr. Pierre-Bernard Roques, classed drugs according to addictiveness and how neurotoxic it is.
The term neurotoxic is used to describe a substance, condition or state that damages the nervous system and/or brain, usually by killing neurons (the cells involved with tranmitting messages to the brain). The term is generally used to describe a condition or substance that has been shown to result in obvious physical damage.
The report placed heroin, cocaine and alcohol in the most addictive and lethal categories; anti-depressants, tranquilisers and tobacco in the medium category, and cannabis in the last, or least harmful category. Health Secretary Bernard Kouchner concluded that : "Scientific facts show that, for cannabis, no neurotoxicity is demonstrated, to the contrary of alcohol and cocaine."
This is not to say that cannabis is completely safe for health. Although it is the least harmful drug out of the 3 categories, ALL drugs that affect the brain and consciousness can lead to dependency.
There are other reasons to avoid it too - its use is still against the law in many countries, so it can also carry other kinds of risks. Smoking cannabis with tobacco also carries a higher risk to health because of higher levels of free radicals.
Does Cannabis have any Therapeutic Benefits?Oddly enough, the most compelling argument so far as to the therapeutic value of cannabis comes from the US drug enforcement Agency. Between 1986-88 it heard evidence from doctors and patients and studied thousands of pages of documentation. When the conclusions were reached in September 1988, it caused some political furore as the administrative law judge Francis J Young stated that:
Marijuana in its natural form does not have any potentially lethal or toxic effects, unlike most medicines and drugs. By any measure of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.
In the last century, the therapeutic value of cannabis was widely recognised, but then found to be politically and commercially profitable to ditch the drug. Today’s, substances such as cocaine, morphine, barbiturates and diazepam are all available as legal medicines, but not cannabis – despite this being the only one on the list which has never been reliably linked with any fatalities.
Tests still continue of the drug, both through Home Office-licensed and informal, into the possible therapeutic value, and there have been promising developments in the area of multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, epilepsy, stimulation of appetite, asthma, pain relief and as a remedy for nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy drugs. There is also evidence from patients themselves as to the sometimes-spectacular results from using the drug.
MS sufferers have spoken of cannabis relieving muscle spasm and other symptoms to the point when they can leave their wheelchairs; people with glaucoma say that cannabis can restore their eyesight by reducing the pressure in the eyeball (a cause of the disease which damages the optic nerve). People who had been unable to eat because of prolonged vomiting and nausea were able to eat normally after taking cannabis.
The major problem with cannabis therapy, as perceived by the political authorities, is the “high” the drug gives. However many other of these types of drugs, such as morphine falls into this category, but is not considered.
The whole argument with drugs companies is that it would be difficult and unprofitable to market. It is a weed and as such would not command a high price. Trying to extract the active ingredients from the plant produces products of greater potency and so have the potential to do more harm. This process also kills off the therapeutic qualities or “magic” of the weed.
If the potential benefits for health that cannabis holds are to be made generally available, it will be through winning the argument against legislation and not through any drugs companies initiatives.
Further Reading
More about the health effects of smoking tobacco
How alcohol and caffiene can also be addictive
How prescription drugs can affect wellbeing by depleting nutrients from the body
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