Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the U.S. It is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, leaves, seeds, and stems derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. The major active chemical is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; commonly called THC.

The use of marijuana started centuries ago. In the early 1900s, there was a marked increase in marijuana use for recreational, spiritual, religious, and medicinal purposes. It is estimated that about four percent of the world population (162 million) use cannabis annually and 0.6 percent (22.5 million) daily. It does not include teenagers. The possession, use, or sale of cannabis became illegal in most parts of the world in the early 1900s.

Ways of using marijuana

Marijuana is normally smoked as a joint or in a pipe and often a water pipe. A water pipe means that the smoke goes through the water and is smoother for the throat so the abuser can take greater puffs. It can also be smoked in blunts. They take cigars and empty it of his tobacco and fill it with marijuana. Since the blunt has the tobacco leaf that wraps the cigar, it combines marijuana's active ingredients with nicotine and other harmful chemicals. Marijuana can also be mixed in food such as cookies, sauces, and butter 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.

Statistics and Trends:

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, for the year of 2006, 14.8 million Americans age 12 or older have used marijuana at least one time 30 days prior to the survey, which is similar to the 2005 survey. About 6,000 individuals a day in 2006 used marijuana for the first time, which translate to 2.2 million Americans for the year. Of these, 63.3 % were under 18 years old.

Marijuana use has been decreasing since late 1999. Since the beginning of the century, marijuana use decreased more than 20 percent amongst high school students. Nevertheless, marijuana use is still at a high level, with more than 40 % of high school seniors who have used it at least once in their lifetimes.

Marijuana and health

Heart: A study found that someone abusing marijuana is four times more at risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking marijuana. Marijuana causes high blood pressure and increased heart rate, and it also reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

Lungs: Numerous studies have shown that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens and is very an irritant to the lungs. Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 % more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than regular tobacco smoke. Individuals who use marijuana normally inhale deeper and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers, it increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke.

Daily Life: Marijuana abusers are decreasing the quality of their daily life. They also make their problem worst. Most marijuana users will take less responsibility in their life in general.

Other form

Hash: It is a concentrated resin composed of heated glandular trichomes that is extracted normally by rubbing, sifting, or with ice. It is smoked in a pipe or mixed with tobacco and rolled with cigarette's paper.

Hash Oil: Hash oil, or honey oil, is an essential oil extracted from the plant using various solvents. It has a high proportion of cannabinoids. It is used by rubbing it on cigarette papers.

 

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^{reference:
http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)}