Basic Facts About Marijuana
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. It
is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves
derived from the hemp plant
Cannabis sativa. The main active chemical
in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short.
How is Marijuana Abused?
Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe. It is also
smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and
refilled with a mixture of marijuana and tobacco. This mode of delivery combines
marijuana's active ingredients with nicotine and other harmful chemicals.
Marijuana can also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated,
resinous form, it is called hashish; and as a sticky black liquid, hash oil.
Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor.
How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain?
Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to
produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from
the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and
other organs throughout the body.
THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors,
kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the "high"
that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many
cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of
cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure,
memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated
movement.
Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions,
impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and
problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that, in chronic users,
marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks
after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone
who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual
level all of the time.
Research into the effects of long-term cannabis use on the structure of the
brain has yielded inconsistent results. It may be that the effects are too
subtle for reliable detection by current techniques. A similar challenge arises
in studies of the effects of chronic marijuana use on brain function. Brain
imaging studies in chronic users tend to show some consistent alterations, but
their connection to impaired cognitive functioning is far from clear. This
uncertainty may stem from confounding factors such as other drug use, residual
drug effects, or withdrawal symptoms in long-term chronic users.
Addictive Potential
Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite the known harmful effects upon functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent) and among daily users (25-50 percent).
Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report withdrawal symptoms including: irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to remain abstinent. These symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2-3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.
Marijuana and Mental Health
A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be an important risk factor, where early use is a marker of increased vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or reflects an attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence.
Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses - including addiction - stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. Currently, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders.4 High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.
Addictive Potential
Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite the known harmful effects upon functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent) and among daily users (25-50 percent).
Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report withdrawal symptoms including: irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to remain abstinent. These symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2-3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.
Marijuana and Mental Health
A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be an important risk factor, where early use is a marker of increased vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or reflects an attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence.
Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses - including addiction - stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. Currently, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders. High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.
Behavioral interventions, including
cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational incentives (i.e., providing vouchers for goods or services to patients who remain abstinent) have shown efficacy in treating marijuana dependence. Although no medications are currently available, recent discoveries about the workings of the cannabinoid system offer promise for the development of medications to ease withdrawal, block the intoxicating effects of marijuana, and prevent relapse.
The latest treatment data indicate that in 2008 marijuana accounted for 17 percent of admissions (322,000) to treatment facilities in the United States, second only to opiates among illicit substances. Marijuana admissions were primarily male (74 percent), White (49 percent), and young (30 percent were in the 12-17 age range). Those in treatment for primary marijuana abuse had begun use at an early age: 56 percent by age 14.
