Cannabinoids: Marijuana

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Cannabinoids Marijuana Hashish
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Cannabinoid Description

• Describes a host of Chemicals found in Cannabis
  family of plants.
• Many different varieties of Cannabis Plants grown
  in many locations throughout the world
• Popular varieties include
• Sativa Ruderalis
• Indica Hybrids

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Cannabis Leave Varieties
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Cannabinoids and THC
Most prominent Psychoactive Component is a
complex compound referred to as THC. THC
Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol THC is most
commonly found as a powder or resin-like
substance located on the leaves and buds of the
plant
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Cannabinoid Forms THC Concentrations
Marijuana Leaves 1-4 THC Marijuana Buds 3-6
THC Sinsemilla 5-8 THC Hashish 8-15
THC Hashish Oil 15-60 THC Hashish Oil Crystals
60 THC
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Hashish Hashish Oils
Collected Resin from Indian/Afgani variety. Plant
Very High THC compared to Marijuana
Hashish Oil is made by boiling Hashish in Alcohol
and evaporating and filtering the by-product. THC
comes out in Solution.
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Hashish Harvesting
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Cannabinoid Smoking

• Carcinogens By-products
• CANCER RISK- 1 JOINT IS EQUIVALENT TO
• 5 CIGARETTES IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF CARBON
  MONOXIDE INTAKES.
• 4 CIGARETTES IN TERMS OF TAR INTAKE
• 10 CIGARETTES IN THE AMOUNT OF MICROSCOPIC DAMAGE
  TO CELLS LINING THE AIRWAYS

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Cannabinoid By-Products
Analysis of Marijuana / Cannabis shows upwards of
400 Chemicals in varying amounts /
concentrations Many are found to be
carcinogens. While many may be filtered out,
many others remain and are not filtered out by
Traditional Methods
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Paraphernalia Shop in Amsterdam
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Course of Effects
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Positively Experienced Effects

• mood lift
• relaxation, stress reduction
• creative, philosophical or deep thinking ideas
  flow more easily
• increased appreciation of music. More aware of,
  deeper connection to music.
• increased awareness of senses. (eating, drinking,
  smell)
• change in experience of muscle fatigue. Pleasant
  body feel. Increase in body/mind connection.
• pain relief (headaches, cramps)
• reduced nausea, increased appetite (used
  medically for this)

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Additional Effects Experienced

• general change in consciousness (as with many
  psychoactives)
• increased appetite, Munchies
• slowness (slow driving, talking)
• tiredness
• blood shot eyes (more common with certain
  varieties of cannabis and inexperienced users)
• mouth dryness, sticky-mouth (varies with strain)
• interrupts linear memory. Difficulty following a
  train of thought.
• cheek, jaw, facial tension / numbness (less
  commonly reported)
• racing thoughts (especially at high doses)

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Negative Effects Experienced

• nausea, especially in combination with alcohol,
  some pharmaceuticals, or other psychoactives
• coughing, asthma, upper respiratory problems
• difficulty with short term memory
• racing heart, agitation, feeling tense
• mild to severe anxiety
• panic attacks in sensitive users or with very
  high doses (oral use increases risk of getting
  too much)
• headaches
• dizziness, confusion
• paranoid anxious thoughts more frequent
• clumsiness, loss of coordination at high doses

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Chronic Effects

• Sensitivity Frequent users often find that it
  takes less of a dose, become intoxicated quicker
  and to a greater extent than less experienced
  users

• Dependence Physical Dependence is unlikely to be
  easily detectable.
• Dependence is largely psychological, yet THC
  impairs many functions for extended periods of
  time.

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Chronic Effects

• Immune System Suppression
• Reproductive Effects
• Men Testosterone Reduction
• Sperm Abnormalities
• Women Reduced (LH) Hormones

• Amotivational Syndrome
• Cognitive Deficits in
• Memory
• Executive Functioning
• Basically a long-term extension of Acute
  Impairments w/out the high

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Withdrawal Symptoms

• Severity of symptoms is related to frequency of
  use and individual sensitivity.
• May last for 1-6 weeks after cessation
• Mild to moderate, non life-threatening
• anxiety,
• anhedonia (reduced experience of pleasure)
• headaches
• general unease/discomfort,
• difficulty sleeping,
• loss of appetite
• a desire to smoke pot slight
• finding non-stoned life a bit dull, increased
  boredom

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Neuropsychological Deficits Among College
Students Who Smoke Marijuana

• Problems with executive functioning
• Attention
• New word learning
• Verbal fluency

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Cannabis State Dependent Mental and Behavioral
Profile 10 Year Study of 400 cannabis users

• Poor analytic and synthetic skills
• Difficulty sorting and classifying information
• Poor concentration
• Weakness in psycho-spatial skills including
  differentiating time and space
• Changes were observed in individuals who used
  more than once every 6 weeks (correlates with
  long half life of THC)