Cannabis
See: Drugs in American Society, 5th, 6th, and 7th, 8th, and 9th editions, Erich Goode, McGraw-Hill, 1999/2005/2008/2012/2014. Chapter 9/10, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior (7th ed), Ray and Ksir, Mosby, 1996. Chapter 16. Statistics are gathered from the various surveys discussed, especially: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014.

(click here for a fun background)

Basic Facts

• A Vegetal Substance
• Parts used (ASC): Leaves, Flowering Tops- (Buds), Resin
• Parts Used (Other): Fibers (rope), Seeds (oil--diesel fuel, cosmetics and food), Entire plant (paper, clothing, etc.)
• Psychoactivity: Plant genetics and environment
• Three Species: Named in 1793 by Linneaus
1. Cannabis Sativa (Asia- fibers, up to 18 ft., Specified in Law)
2. Cannabis Indica (Grown specifically for resin, 2-3 ft.)
3. Cannabis Ruderalis (Russian) (see also)
4. Varieties
• Hemp (local) versus Cannabis

WWW Links

1. Cannabis Links
2. PDX NORMAL Article Links
3. William Novak's "High Culture"  1980.
4. The Lycaeum
5. The Vaults of Erowid: Exposing Marijuana Myths
6. Yahooka
7. Cannabis Research Library
8. Drug Policy Alliance Library (Lindesmith Center) (Medical Marijuana)
9. Safety First Fact Sheet on Marijuana
10. Marijauna (NIDA)
11. http://www.drugscience.org Cannabis Rescheduling
12. "Busted: America's War on Marijuana" (PBS)
13. YouTube Marijuana Videos
14. A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, EMCDDA, Lisbon, June 2008 (local copy in .pdf)
15. Ancient Marijuana
16. Why is Marijuana Illegal? (local copy) A nicely done "blog" by Peter Guither
17. Marijuana Superstore (CNN video: January 29, 2010)
18. K2? States and localities moving swiftly to ban K2
19. Newsweek 2010: Potopia
20. The Pot Book
21. Idrasil, the cannabis pill (May 2012)(see the video)
22. DEA Cannabis Information (The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse)
23. Hemp Jeopardy
24. The Price of Weed
25. Chronic marijuana use is about as bad for your health as not flossing. Washington Post Wonkblog, 6/2/2016.
26. What happens when we make cannabis legal? Washington Post Wonkblog 6/21/2016.
27. Support for legalizing cannabis at an all time "high" 1969-2016, Abigail Geiger, Pew Research Center, October 12, 2016.
28. Support is getting "higher". New (10/18/16) Gallop poll shows support for legalization at 60%. Ingraham, Christopher. October 19, 2016. Gallop: Support for Marijuana Legalization Surges to New Highs. Washington Post Wonkblog. Accessed 10/19/16: http://wpo.st/4SE72.
29. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research, 2017. A Report by the National Academies of Sciences-Engineering-Medicine, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
30. Yahoo News/Marist Poll: Weed and the American Family, Marist ICollege Institute for Public Opinion, April 17, 2017. See also, Washington Post: 11 Charts that Show Marijuana has Truly Gone Mainstream, April 19, 2017.
31. Bill before City of St. Louis to legalize marijuana, October 25, 2017 (the bill)

Active Ingredients

• About 400 Chemicals in the smoke of cannabis
• 61==> Cannabinoids (found only in cannabis)
• Primary Active Ingredient: Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

1. Mexican cannabis (1960-1970's): ~2-6% THC
2. Columbian cannabis: 4-8% THC
3. Sinsemilla: 6-20% (Female versus Male plant)
4. Domestically cultivated cannabis today can contain up to 20% THC but this is rare (about 10% of confiscated samples have THC content above 15%
5. Cannabis potency in Europe, 2005
6. Street level content today: 1-20%; typical 4-10% !!! No Significant Change. More potent forms more easily available, but no dramatic (20-30 times) increase in potency as reported by press and governmental agencies. See also: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/373/marijuanapotency.shtml, and http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v09n3/09320gie.html
   1. Reports from the DEA Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project indicate perhaps a doubling of average potency over past 10 years
   2. Cannabis Potency 1988-2008

Traditional Indian Preparations

Charas (pure resin)

Ganja (Top and pistillate flowers) from the female plant (Sinsemilla)

Bhang: All the rest

Red Oil of Cannabis

1. Boil plant substance in ETOH
2. Filter
3. Evaporate=> (Hash Oil): up to 50% THC
4. Long known and utilized for a variety of recreational and medicinal purposes.

Street level content today: 1-20%; typical 4-10% !!! No Significant Change. More potent forms more easily available, but no dramatic (20-30 times) increase in potency as reported by press and governmental agencies. See also: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/373/marijuanapotency.shtml, and http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v09n3/09320gie.html

1. Reports from the DEA Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project indicate perhaps a doubling of average potency over past 10 years

Other Psycho-Active Agents

• 11-Hydroxy-delta-9-THC (major metabolite of THC)
• Cannabidiol (CBD): common in low potency Cannabis, primarily a sedative effect (pain relief, anti-inflammatory)
• Cannabinol (CBN): Produced when THC is exposed to the air. (Little in fresh substance- typically more potent). CBN heightens disorienting qualities of drug.
• Biosynthetic precursor to THC produced by plant: THC Acid. Over time, warmth changes THC Acid=> THC.
• At any time plant material contains THC in all three states: Inactive THC Acid, active THC, and disorienting CBN.
• THC isolated and synthesized in 1964
• Dronabinol (Marinol) (medical cannabis): FDA approved for use in 1985.
• Other cannabinoids
• K2
• A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, EMCDDA, Lisbon, June 2008 (local copy in .pdf). Chapter 3: Pharmacology of Cannabis

Metabolism of THC

Cannabis and the Brain

• 1988-90- Researchers at St. Louis University identified specific receptor site for cannabinoids in the brains of laboratory rats.
• 1992- the chemical substance (neurotransmitter) anandamide (there's a second one, too: 2-AG [2-arachidonoyl glycerol]) is identified- a endogenous cannabinoid produced by the body which is tied to the above receptor sites.
• Jon Gettman's 1995 article reviewing this discovery in "High Times" magazine: Part 1 and Part 2. Also available through PDX NORML
• FAQs on Cannabis

• Legend--Earliest reference: 2737 B.C.- Chinese Emperor Shen Nung=> "Liberator of Sin" (euphoria) and medicinal uses=> "female weakness, gout, absent mindedness (Goode-page 214, 5th edition-suggests current research indicates this actually comes from a text of the first or second century!)
• BUT--here's some interesting evidence of ancient use of cannabis
• There are accounts that demonstrate Cannabis fibers being used in pottery that dates back 10,000 years in China (p. 213, from Ernst Abel: Marijuana the First Twelve Thousand years, 1982, p.4)
• Other References
• By 1000 A.D.-- social use spread to Muslem world; North Africa. Legend of the "cult"- Hashishiyya (assassin). Story spread by Marco Polo (1259), Topic in literature (Arabian Nights, etc.), circulated widely in Europe.
• American Colonial Use:
  
1. 1619-Jamestown; 1631-Massachusetts Law requiring every household to cultivate=> important resource for a maritime society: Hemp fibers-> Rope vital to military development, military uniforms, sails, and varnish from oil (as well as for lamps)
2. 1763-1767 Virginia: imprisonment for not growing
3. George Washington grew plant (as many others did); once commenting in a diary his neglectfulness in separating out the male plants
4. Thomas Jefferson (Tobacco vs. Hemp):
   "It is impolitic. The fact is well established in the system of agriculture that the best hemp and the best tobacco grow on the same kind of soil. The former article is of first necessity to the commerce and marine, in other words to the wealth and protection of the country. The latter, never useful...derives its value from taxes." (Jefferson's Farm Journal (16 March 1791), see Robert Nelson's, A History of Hemp)
5. Widely used medicinally
6. 1850 (Post-colonial): 8,327 hemp plantations of 2,000 acres or more. Hemp and industry.

• By end of 19th Century- other drugs introduced (barbiturates and narcotics common) and use declined. Hashish never really significant in "middle" America.
• American psychologist William James: introduced idea of using psychoactive substance in the study of psychological processes. One psychologist is recorded as saying:

"To the psychologist it (Cannabis) was as useful as the microscope to the naturalist; it magnifies psychological states and in this way is an aid to its study"

20th Century USA

• Early--little discussed or used recreationally
• But, significant commercial use: Paints, varnishes, and other industrial applications
• 1935: 116 million pounds of hempseed oil used-- "The Billion Dollar Crop" (Total DEA seizures 1988 -all parts of plants- 130,200 pounds)
• Use by Mexicans started surfacing in the 1920's- associated with deviant behavior, Newspaper series in 1926 from New Orleans linked Cannabis and crime and stimulated national interest
• Bureau of Narcotics file on Cannabis was less than 2 inches thick in 1931: Treasury Department memo- "No cause for alarm"

See Also: Clifford Schaffer's History of Drugs and Why is Marijuana Illegal? (local copy) A nicely done "blog" by Peter Guither.

Yet- 1935: 36 states pass laws, 1936: all 48, and 1937: Marijuana Tax Act. (Transcripts)

Moral and Economic Entrepreneurs: Harry Anslinger, William R. Hearst, DuPont chemical, and Andrew Mellon

(source: Oregon NORML) (careful about conspiracies)

• Technological improvements in cultivation and harvesting=> equivalent of the cotton gin.
• Supreme court ruling: Enabled the legislation of taxes as a means of prohibiting things.
• DuPont: 1937 patented a process to make plastics/nylon: direct competitor to hemp. Also a process to make paper from wood pulp. These processes used chemicals to which DuPont owned the rights
• Prior to the Marijuana Tax Act passage, a report to DuPont shareholders indicated:

"radical changes (were coming) from the revolution raising government into an instrument for forcing new ideas of industry and social reorganization"

• DuPont's financial backer==> Andrew Mellon. Mellon served as President Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury. Mellon appointed Harry Anslinger (a relative) to be the head of the Bureau of Narcotics (1931).
• Anslinger viewed marijuana and its"spreading use" as a cause for the "greatest national concern."
• Federal hearings are held.
• 1936 "Scientific American" article: marijuana makes smokers vicious- fight and kill. "Popular Science Monthly"-- "a horrible crime: look first at the marijuana smokers"
• One contrary report in the "Literary Digest" linked criminal violence to alcohol-- largely ignored.
• Anslinger's "Pyramid of Prejudice":
  1. Anslinger's agents testify at hearing: presenting hearsay evidence
  2. Medical journal cites testimony: often in letter to editor
  3. Anslinger writes article citing JAMA as source of information
• Hearst's newspapers, dominating the American market, provided further "documentation" that minorities such as "mexicans, negroes, and chinamen" were responsible for most of the crimes in American society
• This association with "deviant" minorities, coupled with the depression which led to a distrust of "foreign influences" helped steamroll the act through congress.
• Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (1937) (On Youtube and try this)
• Reefer Madness (1938) (part 1, too)
• Ads and media focus: Reefer Madness, too.
• 1935-1940: 95% of popular magazine characterize marijuana as dangerous, with use leading to violence. Moderate use was discounted, and the "marijuana addict" became a public menace. (Himmelstein, in Goode, 2005, page 123)
• Bill was introduced to the Ways and Means Committee, bypassing other appropriate committees (Ways and Means is only committee which can send its bills directly to House floor without debate within other committees).
• Testimony from the AMA representative urging not to pass the bill was covered up: When asked if the AMA had been consulted, Committeeman Vinson answered "Yes, they are in complete agreement."
• Tax Act passed on Oct. 1, 1937: Taxed growers, distributors, sellers, and buyers- making it impossible to legitimately engage in production or use.
• Bureau of Narcotics writes uniform law (been pushed since 1934)- specifically naming C. Sativa, for adoption by the 48 states, making production, sale and consumption illegal.
• After passage: reports of criminal behavior decline rapidly
• Price of Cannabis on the streets goes up by a factor of 6.
• Concern over "violence" and Cannabis use wanes, by the 1970s, it's the "drop-out drug."

Post 1937 to Today

See Also Clifford Schaffer's Collection of Major Studies

Portland NORML's Article collection

• Ned Polsky (1960s research): Use spreads from Mexican-Americans in S.W. USA to working class Blacks- especially linked to New Orleans.  From there, use spreads to urban north, working class and jazz musicians (1920s).  From there recreational use   spreads to other entertainment subcultures to the "beats" and finally the college scene.  By the 1970s!!! (p. 213, see: Polsky, Hustlers, Beats, and Others, 1969)
• Hemp for Victory--cultivation during WWII
(see it)
• Henry Ford's Hemp Bodied Car.
• LaGuardia (Mayor NYC) becomes aware of the 1930 Panama study linking troubles to alcohol rather than Cannabis. Orders own study by the New York Academy of Medicine.
• Report issued in 1944: Agrees with the 1890 Indian Hemp Commission Report, and the Panama Canal Zone Report of the 1930's==> Slight impairment of intellectual functioning when under the influence, no impact on basic personality structure, no overt increase in behavioral activity, no long term mental or physical deterioration.
• 1950-1960's: No research
• Studies in New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, and the USA during the 1970's support.
• 1970: Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act: Marijuana-- Schedule I
• 1972: National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse: Allow private use and possession. AMA favors. ABA: Decriminalize.
• Even William F. Buckley agrees
• 1973: Oregon decriminalizes-- $100 fine
• 1977: President Carter suggested decriminalization.
• During 1970's: De facto decriminalization

• This was at the time of nationwide peak in use.
• Thirteen other states follow suit (through May 2012): Maine, Colorado, California (est. $95 million saved between 1976-1985), Connecticut, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio (possession up to 100 grams: $100 fine), Nebraska, Nevada, Massachusetts, (Explore the list).
Alaska (2005) (re)legalized use of Cannabis for personal/home use.
• World Health Organization 1981, and U.S. National Academy of Science 1982 Report to the Congress of the United States: Both agree that there is no evidence of Cannabis being a dangerous drug.
• Alaska first legalized private use in the and possession- up to 4 oz. in the 1980s, but in 1990 recriminalized. In 1996 it's legal again: Alaska penalties.
• 1980's: President Reagan: Get Tough- focus on domestic cultivation, international interdiction, seizure of private property.
• 1988: Anti-Drug Abuse Act=> $2.7 billion for enforcement
• 1990: $6.5 billion
• In 1991 Oregon raised the fine for possession to $500, currently a debate to recriminalize is being held.
• FY 1996: $9.3 billion ($5.3 for demand reduction)
• New Strategy for 1996: Cannabis targeted as "The Gateway Drug" (debunked?) (see also, Denise B. Kandel, Does Marijuana Use Cause the Use of Other Drugs?, JAMA 289:4, January 2003, 482-483).
(now, nicotine as the new Gateway Drug?)

21st Century

• Cannabis 2002: Legalization? (Time Magazine (11/4/02) The New Politics of Pot)
• 2002: Cost of "War on Marijuana."
• 2003 Marijuana Arrests
• September 2004: Alaska Supreme Court Upholds Marijuana Use at Home
• November 2004: Alaska Rejects Legalization
• Other November 2004 Results
• March 2005: 12 states have decriminalized Cannabis
• War on Drugs Shifts to War on Marijuana ("A study of FBI arrest and conviction data by a Washington think-tank has underscored a dramatic shift in US drug policy in the decade of the 1990s. "The War on Marijuana: The Transformation of the War on Drugs,", released Tuesday by the Sentencing Project, reports that from 1992 to 2002, the proportion of drug arrests involving marijuana increased from 28% to 45% of all drug arrests, while arrests for the much more dangerous cocaine and heroin decreased from more than half of all drug arrests to less than 30%. " http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/385/shifted.shtml 5/6/05))
• Marijuana Remains Legal in Alaska 5/13/05
• Supreme Court rules that federal authorities can prosecute individuals using marijuana on doctors' orders (June 2005).
• Cannabis use by young people not increased in states that legalized the medical use of cannabis (9/05).
• Arrests for marijuana at an all time high: 2004. (local copy)
• A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, EMCDDA, Lisbon, June 2008 (local copy in .pdf)
• October 2009: Attorney General Eric Holder "orders" an end to federal prosecution of medicinal Cannabis in states with medicinal Cannabis legislation.
• K2 (Localities and states move to ban K2 almost as soon as stories of its use surface, see this and this, while merchants bemoan the fact) (Local copies). And: Hanna J. "Not in Kansas Anymore... Arresting Vendors of Grey Market Psychoactives". Erowid.org. Mar 11, 2010.
• Decriminalization in Portugal (Time, April 2010)
• 2010: Nearly 3/4s of the Americans favor allowing the sale and use of medicinal marijuana (Pew Research Organization)(see also, IACM).
• July 24, 2010: V.A. eases rules for users of medical marijuana.
• November 2010: Proposition 19 in California--Will it be legalized??? NO. 2018--yes.
• November 2010: Arizona is the 15th state to legalize Cannabis for medical purposes. 2011: New Jersey #16 (01/2010 governor signs 7/2011)
• Newsweek 2010: Potopia
• Dutch Cafes banning "pot tourists."
• October 2011: Gallup Poll- Record-High 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use
• November 2012: 2 states legalize marijuana for recreational purposes: Colorado | Washington.
• January 2013: City of St. Louis moving to decriminalize?
• 2013: Federal government not pursuing legal action against states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use
• 
• October 2013: Gallup Poll-58% of Americans favor legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes
• January 1, 2014: Legal sale of recreational Cannabis begins in Colorado
• May 2014: US House of Representitives stops federal prosecution of medical cannabis users in states, where it is legal. (Washington Times, May 30, 2014)
• October 21, 2015, Gallop Poll: Support for legal marijuana at an all-time high and likely to grow (Washington Post, Wonkblog, 10/21/15)
• What happens when we make cannabis legal? Washington Post Wonkblog 6/21/2016.
• Support for legalizing cannabis at an all time "high" 1969-2016, Abigail Geiger, Pew Research Center, October 12, 2016.
• Support is getting "higher". New (10/18/16) Gallop poll shows support for legalization at 60%. Ingraham, Christopher. October 19, 2016. Gallop: Support for Marijuana Legalization Surges to New Highs. Washington Post Wonkblog. Accessed 10/19/16: http://wpo.st/4SE72.
• As of November 2020: 49 states and DC have medicinal marijuana legislation (16 are CBD specific) (Missouri passed medicinal legislation! --November 2018. Federal: illegal--Schedule I.
• And, 17 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes: Alaska | Colorado | Washington | Oregon | California | Nevada | Maine| Massachusetts| Vermont|Michigan (2018)|Illinois (2019/2020)|South Dakota (2020)| Montana (2020)| New Jersey (2020) | Virginia (2021) | New York (2021) | New Mexico (2021) | (City of St. Louis decriminalizes 4/1/2013). November 2020: Oregon decrinimalizes possession of small quantities of all illegal drugs and legalizes psilocybin (Washington DC decriminalizes psilocybin, too). 
  
• Support is getting "higher". New (10/18/16) Gallop poll shows support for legalization at 60%. Ingraham, Christopher. October 19, 2016. Gallop: Support for Marijuana Legalization Surges to New Highs. Washington Post Wonkblog. Accessed 10/19/16: http://wpo.st/4SE72.
• Yahoo News/Marist Poll: Weed and the American Family, Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, April 17, 2017. See also, Washington Post: 11 Charts that Show Marijuana has Truly Gone Mainstream, April 19, 2017.
• Taking a step backwards: January 2018: Trump's Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinds "an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors in most cases from bringing charges wherever the drug is legal under state laws". See: Savage, Charlie and Healy, Jack. "Trump Administration Takes Step That Could Threaten Marijuana Legalization Movement". New York Times, January 4, 2018. (local copy)

Current State and Federal Laws

Use of Cannabis
Current Use Data: MTF and NSDUH

• Pervasive, relatively universal- all who have desired have had experience:

• 2013 NSDUH:
• In 2013, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 19.8 million current (past month) users. It was used by 80.6 percent of current illicit drug users. Nearly two thirds (64.7 percent) of current illicit drug users used only marijuana in the past month. Also, in 2013, 8.7 million persons aged 12 or older were current users of illicit drugs other than marijuana (or 35.3 percent of illicit drug users aged 12 or older). Current use of other drugs but not marijuana was reported by 19.4 percent of illicit drug users, and 15.9 percent reported using both marijuana and other drugs.
• The number and percentage of persons aged 12 or older who were current users of marijuana in 2013 (19.8 million or 7.5 percent) were similar to the estimates in 2012 (18.9 million or 7.3 percent). The rate of current marijuana use in 2013 was higher than the rates in 2002 to 2011. For example, during the period from 2002 to 2008, the rates varied from 5.8 to 6.2 percent. By 2009, the rate increased to 6.7 percent, then continued to increase to the rate in 2013.
• An estimated 8.7 million persons aged 12 or older (3.3 percent) were current users of illicit drugs other than marijuana in 2013. The majority of these users (6.5 million persons or 2.5 percent of the population) were nonmedical users of psychotherapeutic drugs, including 4.5 million users of pain relievers (1.7 percent), 1.7 million users of tranquilizers (0.6 percent), 1.4 million users of stimulants (0.5 percent), and 251,000 users of sedatives (0.1 percent).

Marijuana Use by Current Illicit Drug Users 2013 (24.6 million 12 years of age and older)

• In 2013, 43.7% of the population reports lifetime use, 12.6% report past year use, and 7.5% report use in the past month. (NSDUH)
• 2012: Use common among High School students. 45.2% 12th graders report lifetime use, 22.9% report use in past 30 days (trend 1991-2012) (MTF)
• Nearly as many current (past year) users than have ever used cocaine, 6x current users than current cocaine users. 12x past month users than past month cocaine users.
• Used much more frequently, probably more frequently than all other illicit drugs combined.
• Baby-Boomers and Pot: 2009-2012 (1)(2)(3)

Frequency of Marijuana Use

• In 2013, 5.7 million persons aged 12 or older used marijuana on a daily or almost daily basis in the past 12 months (i.e., on 300 or more days in that period), which was an increase from the 3.1 million daily or almost daily users in 2006. The number of daily or almost daily users of marijuana in 2013 represented 17.4 percent of past year users. (NSDUH 2013)
• Daily or Almost Daily Marijuana Use in the Past Year and Past Month among Persons Aged 12 or Older: 2002-2013

Effects

Mechanism of Action (THC)

• Impacts electrical properties of nerve membranes=> Alters turnover rate of serotonin (deep sleep and hallucinations) and dopamine (reward centers)- New research on cannabinoid receptors challenges this idea of THC's impact on dopamine- , and effects prostaglandin synthesis (without prostaglandin experience of pain is reduced).
• Whether and which of these is the central effect--? They may be byproducts of another effect.
• Psychopharmacology depends on which effect of Cannabis one wants to study.

Acute Objective Effects

• Main:
  1. Increase pulse rate and Blood pressure
  2. Reddening of the eyes
  3. Dryness of the mouth and throat
  4. Broncodilation
  5. Impact on brain: promotes brain cell growth and maintains cognitive abilities
• Other:
  1. Motor coordination: complex, unfamiliar tasks; tracking. Especially for inexperienced (Cannabis and Driving)(Erowid on Cannabis and Driving)
  2. Tolerance: Paradoxical- Experienced users report greater subjective impact at lower doses=> Placebo effect (table below, from Ray and Ksir, 1996, 414--415) or reverse tolerance?

intoxication level (100 highest)	Marijuana (# reporting)	Placebo (# reporting)
0-19	15	35
20-39	11	28
40-59	20	21
60-79	32	12
80-100	22	4
average	61	34
physiological change
pulse rate	+24	-4
salivary flow	-1.6	+.8
redness of eyes	+1.92	+.04

 

When THC containing cigarettes were smoked, infrequent users report more significant effect, than regular users. (Tolerance? See Jon Gettman's 1995 article reviewing this discovery in "High Times" magazine:  Part 2 for discussion of dynamic tolerance.)

	Infrequent user	Regular (<7x/month)
A. Marijuana	67	52
A. Placebo	22	48
B. Marijuana	62	56
B. Oral extract	72	32
B. Placebo cigarette	26	51
B. Placebo oral extract	2	5
Physiological Changes
Pulse rate	+31*	+17
Salivary flow	-1.8*	-.9
Redness of eyes	2.1	+1.5

• STML: learning and remembering new information and/or directions while intoxicated==> related to sense of time distortion (subject effect). A. Wikler (in Ray and Ksir,8th, p. 413):

"The drunkard staggers only when he walks, The pothead forgets- only when he talks"

Subjective Effects

• Goode:
  1. Peaceful, relaxed
  2. heightened sensory awareness
  3. deeper thoughts
  4. cosmic
  5. comical
  6. time distortion
  7. appetite stimulated
• Favorable
• Little paranoia (social context)
• Recreational use (associated with other pleasurable activities)
• Used to intensify other experiences
• Avoid use with serious activities
• Few panic reactions (inexperienced, setting)

Chronic-objective effects

• 1970's scares: Chromosomal distortion, sterility
• Research problems: Impact of poly-drug use (esp. Alcohol), laboratory studies vs. Reality of use
• Cerebral atrophy and other brain damage (very questionable research; current research-- some changes in brain structure; not permanent.
• Immune system: yes. but caused by exposure to high doses unlikely for typical user to experience through smoking
• Reproduction: lowering of sperm count in males, yet still within normal range. Some, although insignificant impact on fetus: But, don't do drugs when pregnant (goes for the man who got the woman pregnant , too!)
• Lungs and cancer: Maybe not, actually, No. Less frequency of use and THC appears to "kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous."
  • Tashkin, Donald P. 2013. "Effects of Marijuana Smoking on the Lung." Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 10: 239-247.
  • Zhang L. R., Morgenstern H, Greenland S, Chang SC, Lazarus P, Teare MD, Woll PJ, Orlow I, Cox B; on behalf of the Cannabis and Respiratory Disease Research Group of New Zealand, Brhane Y, Liu G, Hung RJ. 2014. "Cannabis smoking and lung cancer risk: Pooled analysis in the International Lung Cancer Consortium." International Journal of Cancer. 135: Epub ahead of print.
• Marijuana use during pregnancy harms the fetus.
• Marijuana is an addictive drug versus Chronic marijuana use is about as bad for your health as not flossing. Washington Post Wonkblog, 6/2/2016.
• AMS: sure. When people are high, they sit around and avoid hard work (not really and not always).
1. Are users high most of the time
2. Is there a long lasting effect?
3. Role of metabolites? (Heavy users tend to excrete them faster)
• Use highly correlated with certain indicators: school performance, etc.
• But, Reality of a Non-Achieving Sub-Culture
• And, direction of influence? Could lose motivation and turn to drugs

Medical Use???

• Long history here, see: A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, EMCDDA, Lisbon, June 2008 (local copy in .pdf). Chapter 1: Cannabis and Medicine in 19th Century Europe
• 200 A.D.: China- mixed with wine as anesthetic
• Extensively used in India
• Widely used in Europe during the 1800's
• 1839: Reviewed by British doctor in India: nontoxic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, relieves pain of rheumatism
• 1860: Ohio Medical Association (C. Indica): Stomach pain, chronic cough, gonorrhea
• Problems: Variability
• 1902: Parke, Davis and Co.: new standardization- chocolate covered tablet, 1/4 grain.   Also, fluid extract of cannabis,
• 1937: all 28 legal preparations dropped from the market
• 1941: removed from the National Formulary and U.S. Pharmacopoeia (wasn't much in use)
• 1949: Compare to dilantin as an anticonvulsant, perhaps useful for treatment of tension and migraines
• 1972: Interoccular Pressure. 1975 Glaucoma patient arrested, charges dropped, doctor certifies use and government supplies: FDA "compassionate use" protocol
• 1975: THC seen as effective in reducing the nausea associated with chemo-therapy
• 1982: National Academy of Science: Marijuana holds promise for-
  1. glaucoma
  2. chemotherapy
  3. seizures
  4. spasticity
• 1985: FDA approves Donabinol (Marinol) (Marinol image) for appetite stimulation in the treatment of cancer patients and AIDS
• NORML: Pushes for approval of marijuana
• DEA Chief Legal Counsel: Recommends Schedule II
• 1992: DEA==> NO! Since "pure" THC is now available, no need.
  • No medical value?
  • Time for medical regulation?
• FDA silently stopped reviewing "compassionate use" proposals for the plant substance
• 36 states had approved Cannabis use under physician's prescription; only 13 patients had received FDA approval over the 17 years of the program.
• Marijuana as Medicine:A Plea for Reconsideration. From the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston.  (Dr Grinspoon). JAMA, June 21, 1995 -- Vol. 273, No. 23 1875.
• Marijuana Policy Project Page of State Laws Concerning Medicinal Use of Marijuana
• 1999: Institute of Medicine (prepublication release)--Marijuana is Medicine
• Summary of Active State Medical Marijuana Programs
• Overview of medical marijuana use form NORML
• Is Pot Good for You? (Time Magazine, 11/4/02)(alternative site: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1998/a09.html)
• Cannabis Neuroprotective?
• Cannabis and brain cell growth.
• Supreme Court rules that federal authorities can prosecute individuals using marijuana on doctors' orders (June 2005).
• Cannabinoids and medicine (9/05)
• Australian Survey on Cannabis for Medical Purposes (2005)
• Cannabinoids and Pain
• Marijuana a "wonder drug?"
• States with medicinal marijuana laws (NORML)
• Marijuana Vending Machines 2008
• THC induces autophagy in human brain cancer cells (destroying brain cancer cells), 2009
• Search the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine database.
• April 20, 2009: The American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine is founded. "The members of the AACM have the medical training, clinical experience and familiarity with the scientific literature to speak knowledgeably about the current medical utility and future therapeutic potential for cannabis and cannabinoids."
• October 2009: Attorney General Eric Holder "orders" an end to federal prosecution of medicinal Cannabis in states with medicinal Cannabis legislation.
• Medicinal Cannabis Locator (via google)
• Marijuana Superstore (CNN video: January 29, 2010)
• 2010: Review of Clinical Studies on Cannabis (IACM online journal CANNABINOIDS, 13 February)
• Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at the University of California Report on Cannabinoids in Clinical Studies, February 2010.
• April 2010: Nearly 3/4s of the Americans favor allowing the sale and use of medicinal marijuana (Pew Research Organization)(see also, IACM).
• June 2010: Cannabis effective in the treatment of Tourette Syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• July 24, 2010: V.A. eases rules for users of medical marijuana.
• Nederland, Colorado: November 2010: medicinal marijuana-or just plain old marijuana? (local copy)
• Colorado 2011
• Cannabinoids regulate cocaine's effect (local copy)
• U.S. Attorneys in California Set Crackdown on Marijuana, NY Times, Oct. 7, 2011.
• Eddy, Mark. 2010. Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies.Congressional Research Service, 7-5700. RL33211. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_medical_law2_2010_crs_review.pdf
• May 2012: Idrasil, the cannabis pill.
• First televised commercial for medical marijuana: March 2014
  
  http://youtu.be/jyzxs33B6FA
• Still-Divided Washington Readies for Start of Recreational Marijuana Sales (NY Times July 7, 2014, local copy)
• 2016: DEA contemplating change to marijuana's legal status. Decision expected summer 2016.
• What happens to teens when you make cannabis leagl? Washington Post, June 12, 2016.
• April 2021: 45 states and DC have medicinal marijuana legislation (16 are CBD specific). Federal: illegal--Schedule I.
• 17 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes: Alaska | Colorado | Washington | Oregon | California | Nevada | Maine| Massachusetts| Vermont|Michigan (2018)|Illinois (2019/2020)|South Dakota (2020)| Montana (2020)| New Jersey (2020) | Virginia (2021) | New York (2021) | New Mexico (2021) | (City of St. Louis decriminalizes 4/1/2013). November 2020: Oregon decrinimalizes possession of small quantities of all illegal drugs and legalizes psilocybin (Washington DC decriminalizes psilocybin, too). 

Who Uses Marijuana?

Radosevich (1980): Selective Interaction/Socialization

Structural Factors

• Age: peaks for 18-25 year olds: growing independence and freedom (2013 table)
• Gender: Men slightly more than women (48.6% vs. 39.9%). Once 2x as likely. Still higher rates of heavy use. Pattern typical for all drug use, except young cigarette use (no difference) and prescription drug use (females higher)(2013 tables)
• Class, race, and residence

Socio-interactional Factors

• Peer influence: Reciprocity, Selective Socialization.
• Social context
• Friends legitimate
• Friends define experience
• Friends provide access to the drug

Attitudinal Variables

• Unconventionality
• Tolerance for deviance
• Risk-taking
• Less authoritarian
• Low religiosity

Use in International Setting: The Netherlands

(A Menu from the Wallstreet Cafe in Maastricht) (a newer menu)

• Technically Illegal, but allowed
• Supervised and control
• Clear distinction between cannabis and other drugs
• Very recently: stiffening of controls, yet focus on "Harm Reduction"
• Controls that work, or?
• A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, EMCDDA, Lisbon, June 2008 (local copy in .pdf). Chapter 9 Chapter 9: An open front door: the coffee shop phenomenon in the Netherlands
• A Dutch City Seeks to End Drug Tourism (NY Times, 8/18/2010) by Suzanne Daley (local copy)
• Dutch Cafes banning "pot tourists."
• Dutch coffee shops face new curbs on cannabis sale, Reuters, Oct. 8, 2011

The Gateway Drug?

• Intrinsic:
  1. Drug itself
  2. Tolerance
  3. Desensitizes
  4. Leads to the need of a stronger substance
  5. Hardin Jones: Gross tolerance to marijuana leads to heroin use
  6. O'Donnell and Clayton: relationship exists, marijuana use precedes heroin use, "no other intervening variables" (??)
• Sociocultural
  • Involvement: Activity of use vs. Experience of the drug effect
  • Friends use of other drugs
  • Access and exposure to other drugs
  • Relationship is not spurious, the intrinsic explanation IS.

• Gate Drug Myth Debunked (see also, Denise B. Kandel, Does Marijuana Use Cause the Use of Other Drugs?, JAMA 289:4, January 2003, 482-483).

Maybe prescription drugs are the new "gateway drug?" (local copy). Or, maybe it's alcohol?



Hallucinogens


URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/180/pot.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel rok@umsl.edu
References and Credits for this Page of Notes
Last Updated: Sunday, April 11, 2021 2:30 PM