Marijuana

Classification: Psychoactive

Common Names/Nicknames: Pot, weed, grass, herb, hash, ganja, reefer, chronic

Active Compound: Tetrahydrocannibinol (THC)

Found in: Marijuana, sinsemilla, hashish, A-bombs (mixed with cocaine)

Mode of Consumption: Inhalation (smoking), ingestion

DEA Scheduling/Legal Status (in US): Schedule I. Legal in 16 states for medicinal uses with prescription. Illegal in all other states and without prescription

Effects:

Acute: euphoria, relaxation, metacognition, audiovisual illusions, lack of coordination, anxiety, paranoia, dry mouth, red eyes, increased appetite

Chronic: lethargy, decreased memory

Risks:

Psychological addiction, accidental injury, impaired lung function/pulmonary cancer, increased cardiovascular disease, increased multi-organ cancer risk

Males: impotence, gynecomastia

Females: menstrual irregularities

Dangerous Drug Combinations:

Dangerous combination with cocaine. Possibly dangerous with heart or blood pressure medications and with immunosuppressants

Special Considerations:

Marijuana use can lead to psychological addiction (as opposed to physiological addiction). Its legal status is disputed due to medicinal uses in appetite-activation of cancer patients and for slowing macular degeneration in glaucoma.

And remember, if somebody needs help, play it safe and call for medical assistance.

“Students may bring an intoxicated or drug-impaired friend to University Health Services or to a hospital, or seek assistance from College residential life staff or HUPD, and by doing this, neither they nor the friend will face disciplinary action from the College for having used or provided alcohol or drugs.”

The Amnesty Policy
Harvard College Student Handbook

To Alcohol

To Caffeine

To Ecstasy

To Hallucinogens
To Inhalants

To Nicotine

To Opiates

To Sedatives

To Steroids

To Stimulants

To Study Drugs

Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy (Third Edition), by Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, andWilkie Wilson. Published 2008 by W. W. Norton & Company.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), part of the U.S.Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/dea/

Erowid Organization http://www.erowid.org/