Cannabis, better known as marijuana or pot, is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, and tends to be the first illegal drug teens use. Marijuana is derived from the cannabis plant. When the upper leaves, tops, and stems of the plant are cut, they are then dried and rolled into cigarettes, or joints. Hashish is the dried resin that seeps from the tops and undersides of cannabis leaves. Usually, marijuana is smoked in a cigarette or packed into a pipe and smoked. It can also be taken orally by mixing it with tea or eating it as an ingredient in food.
Users get high by holding the smoke in their lungs. The physical effects of marijuana use can be acute. Some short term effects include; sleepiness, difficulty keeping track of time, increased heart rate, bloodshot eyes, dry mouth and throat, decreased social inhibitions, paranoia and hallucinations.
Long term effects of using marijuana include; enhanced cancer risk, decrease in testosterone level for men, lower sperm counts and difficulty having children for men, increase in testosterone levels for women, diminished or extinguished sexual pleasure, psychological dependence requiring more of the drug to get the same effect.
Marijuana blocks the messages going to your brain and alters your perceptions, emotions, vision, hearing and coordination.
If you would like more information about marijuana, contact the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at 800-662-4357, or visit them online at csat.samhsa.gov.
Phone code: 1777
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