Marijuana is a crude drug composed of the leaves and flowers of plants in the genus Cannabis. The term marijuana is sometimes used interchangeably with cannabis. However, cannabis refers specifically to the plant genus, which comprises C. sativa and, by some classifications, also includes the species C. indica and C. ruderalis. Marijuana is also known by a variety of other names, including pot, tea, grass, and weed. It is usually dried and crushed and put into pipes or formed into cigarettes (joints) for smoking. In the early 21st century the use of e-cigarettes for vaping an oil derived from marijuana became popular. Marijuana can also be added to foods and beverages. People use marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes.
Marijuana varies in potency, depending on several factors. These include the variety and where and how it is grown, prepared for use, and stored. The active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is present in all parts of both the male and female plants. However, it is most concentrated in the resin (cannabin) in the flowering tops of the female. Hashish, another form of the drug, is made by collecting and drying this resin. Since hashish does not contain extra plant material, it is generally stronger than marijuana.
Marijuana’s effects vary, depending upon the strength and amount consumed, the setting in which it is taken, and the experience of the user. Psychological effects are most common, with the user frequently experiencing a mild euphoria. Many users have alterations in vision and judgment, which result in distortions of time and space. Ingesting large amounts may occasionally bring about visual hallucinations, anxiety, depression, extreme mood swings, paranoid reactions, and psychoses lasting a few hours. Marijuana’s physical effects include reddening of the eyes, dryness of the mouth and throat, moderate increase in heartbeat, tightness of the chest (if the drug is smoked), drowsiness, unsteadiness, and muscular incoordination. Because of the negative effects of marijuana on the body, driving a motor vehicle while under the influence is dangerous and in many cases unlawful.
Chronic use of marijuana does not cause physical dependence, and the regular user does not suffer extreme physical discomfort after withdrawal. However, the user may become psychologically dependent upon the effects of marijuana. Research indicates that marijuana use during the teenage years is associated with an increased risk of depression in young adulthood.
The medicinal use of marijuana began thousands of years ago. A Chinese book dating from 2700 bc about the medicinal properties of plants mentions marijuana. Marijuana has long been considered valuable as an analgesic, an anesthetic, an antidepressant, an antibiotic, and a sedative. Although it was usually used externally (for example, as a balm or smoked), in the 19th century its tips were sometimes administered internally to treat gonorrhea and angina pectoris.
The worldwide use of marijuana and hashish as intoxicants has raised various medical and social questions. Therefore, both substances have been under continuing scientific investigation. This has been especially true since the mid-1960s, when scientists first isolated and produced THC synthetically. Scientists sought to identify the short- and long-term physical effects of marijuana. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries researchers discovered various therapeutic effects of marijuana and THC. They revealed that the substances are useful in lowering internal eye pressure in people suffering from glaucoma. They also found that the substances alleviate nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer patients and those with AIDS. In addition, researchers discovered that marijuana reduces the muscle pain associated with multiple sclerosis and prevents epileptic seizures in some patients.
In the late 1980s researchers discovered a receptor for THC and THC-related chemicals in the brains of certain mammals, including humans. This finding indicated that the brain naturally produces a THC-like substance that may perform some of the same functions that THC does. Scientists subsequently found such a substance and named it anandamide, from the Sanskrit ananda(“bliss”). Anandamide, like THC, helps contribute to a person’s feelings of well-being and happiness.
International trade in marijuana and hashish was first placed under controls during the International Opium Convention of 1925. By the late 1960s most countries had enforced restrictions on trafficking and using marijuana and hashish and had imposed generally severe penalties for their illegal possession, sale, or supply. Beginning in the 1970s some countries and jurisdictions reduced the penalty for the possession of small quantities. The Netherlands is a notable example. The government there decided to tolerate the sale of small amounts of marijuana. Other European countries also began debating the decriminalization of so-called “soft drugs,” including marijuana. Scientists classify soft drugs as those that are less harmful to a person’s health than other drugs.
In the United States several states passed legislation in the late 1970s and early ’80s to fund research on or to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. However, some of these statutes were later repealed or they lapsed. Renewed decriminalization efforts in the 1990s led to the legalization of medicinal marijuana in more than a dozen states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. In 2001, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Therefore, though some individual states passed laws to allow it, the federal government did not permit marijuana use. Later in 2001 Canada passed legislation easing restrictions on medicinal marijuana. That country’s new regulations included licensing marijuana growers to produce the drug for individuals with terminal illnesses or chronic diseases. In 2018 Canada made recreational use of marijuana legal, thus allowing adults to buy, grow, and use the product.
In 2009 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a new set of guidelines for federal prosecutors in states where the medical use of marijuana was legalized. Under the new policy federal resources were to focus primarily on prosecuting illegal use and trafficking of marijuana. Therefore, cases of medical use, in which those individuals in possession of the drug are clearly in compliance with state laws, were less likely to undergo excessive legal investigation.
Many U.S. states in the late 20th and early 21st centuries decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. They imposed penalties such as a civil fine rather than jail time as punishment. In 2012 the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington became the first in which citizens voted in favor of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana by adults. Each state passed its own regulations regarding use, including the age of users, where the product can be consumed, and how much each person is allowed to possess.