CBD is marketed as an ingredient in many consumer products, including supplements, foods, oils, and lotions. Cannabis is a term that’s being increasingly used to refer to weed or marijuana. Regardless of what you call it, cannabis has a range of short- and long-term effects, which can be both beneficial and harmful. The term hemp is used to name the durable soft fiber from the Cannabis plant stem (stalk).
When the flowers of these plants are harvested and dried, you’re left with one of the most common drugs in the world. Some call it weed, some call it pot, and others call it marijuana. Mapping the morphological concepts to scientific names in the Small 1976 framework, “Sativa” generally refers to C. Kafiristanica (also known as afghanica), and “Ruderalis”, being lower in THC, is the one that can fall into C.
Cannabis has a wide variety of effects
Not all hospital systems and healthcare providers certify medical marijuana in states where it’s legal. This is mainly due to the lack of thorough research and clinical trials on the medical uses of marijuana. There are currently no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of cannabis use disorder or for medically assisted withdrawal,69 but research is ongoing. Cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of short-term psychosis and long-term mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. The short-term use of oral cannabinoids may improve symptoms of spasticity among people with multiple sclerosis, but the positive effects are modest.
Joe Biden issued a mass pardon of all persons convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. Marijuana is a drug composed of the leaves and flowers of plants in the genus Cannabis. Documented as far back as 2700 BCE in China, marijuana has long been considered valuable as an analgesic, an anesthetic, an antidepressant, an antibiotic, and a sedative. Adolescents using cannabis are four to seven times more likely than adults to develop cannabis use disorder. When you smoke marijuana, THC quickly passes from your lungs into your bloodstream.
Is cannabis a “gateway” drug?
This has resulted in many reclassifications based on evolutionary systematics. The plant is also known as hemp, although this term is usually used to refer only to varieties cultivated for non-drug use. Hemp has long been used for fibre, seeds and their oils, leaves for use as vegetables, and juice.
In an emergency? Need treatment?
In the United States, for example, several states have legalized recreational and medical cannabis. Others even experience withdrawal symptoms when not using cannabis, such as irritability, low appetite, and mood swings. Cannabis is made up of more than 120 components, which are known as cannabinoids.
- At the top of a flowering plant, this number again diminishes to a single leaflet per leaf.
- Marijuana is one of the most used drugs in the United States, particularly among young adults.
- When you smoke marijuana, THC quickly passes from your lungs into your bloodstream.
- For example, prescription CBD oils may be well tolerated when taken orally, whereas inhaled dried cannabis can cause irreparable lung damage.
- While research into the efficacy of medicinal cannabis as a treatment for psychiatric disorders is promising, it is still in its early stages.
While medicinal cannabis may aid in the treatment of several health conditions, it is not without its risks. The medical benefits of cannabis most commonly come from cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance.
marijuana
- It was first isolated from the Indian hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) and synthesized in 1965.
- Mapping the morphological concepts to scientific names in the Small 1976 framework, “Sativa” generally refers to C.
- However, cannibas refers specifically to the plant genus, which comprises Cannabis sativa and, in some classifications, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis.
- In the late 1980s researchers discovered a receptor for THC and THC-related chemicals in the brains of certain mammals, including humans.
- While it may reduce symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, it may worsen others, such as suicidal thoughts and violent behavior.
In addition, different instances of marijuana use can cause different effects in the same person. The NIDA-funded Monitoring the Future survey measures drug and alcohol use and related attitudes among adolescent students nationwide. NIDA supports the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®), which follows nearly 12,000 children ages 9 and 10—before substance use typically begins—into young adulthood. Cannabis use disorder can be diagnosed as mild (when a person has two or three of these symptoms), moderate (four or five of these symptoms), or severe (six or more of these symptoms). People commonly use cannabis by smoking dried plant material (“buds” or “herb”) in joints like a cigarette, in blunts—cigars or cigar wrappers that have been partly or completely refilled with cannabis—or in pipes or bongs (water pipes). Dried cannabis can also be vaped using electronic vaporizing devices such as dry herb vaporizers and vape pens.
Are some cannabis products safe and effective medicines?
The active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is present in all parts of both the male and female plants but is most concentrated in the resin (cannabin) in the flowering tops of the female. Hashish, a more powerful form of the drug, is made by collecting and drying this resin and is about eight times as strong as the marijuana typically smoked in the United States. The word marijuana is sometimes used interchangeably with cannabis.
Physical Side Effects
Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who start using cannabis before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a cannabis use disorder than those who start using it later in life. Experts are still trying to fully understand the long-term effects of using cannabis. There’s lots of conflicting research on this topic, and many of the existing studies have only looked at animals. These are loose categories used to indicate the effects of different cannabis products. Here’s a primer on some common strains and their potential effects.
Medicinal cannabis may be of particular use in reducing neuropathic (nerve) pain. Mentioned in a Chinese herbal dating from 2700 bce, marijuana has long been considered valuable as an analgesic, an anesthetic, an antidepressant, an antibiotic, and a sedative. Although it was usually used externally (e.g., as a balm or smoked), in the 19th century ce its tips were sometimes administered internally to treat gonorrhea and angina pectoris. Cannabis—which can also be called marijuana —is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same harmful components as tobacco smoke.
How does cannabis use impact older adults?
Many people use cannabis and cannabis products as a treatment for chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and mental health conditions. However, research has identified both benefits cannabis withdrawal management and risks to using cannabis as a medicinal treatment. A 2024 systematic review looked at the results of 99 clinical trials that compared cannabis with opioids for managing chronic non-cancer pain.