Marijuana

                   
Marijuana is the most common illicit drug in the United States with new users numbering in their millions each year. Opinion is divided on the effects of this popular drug which has a reputation for helping pain management for people with chronic illnesses.

It's role as a recreational drug has also been compared with that of alcohol which is not illicit. The argument runs that alcohol incites violent and aggressive behavior while marijuana makes users mellow and peaceful.

Composed of dry shredded leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the hemp plant, this green-brown substance is typically rolled into joints, or nails and smoked. A less popular method is smoking a pipe or bong or a blunt, a hollowed out cigar where the tobacco has been replaced with marijuana that is often mixed with other illicit drug substances like PCP.

Marijuana can also be baked into cookies or brownies, cooked into food or drunk in a tea. It is called by many street names some of the most popular being: pot, weed, grass, herb, ganja and hash.

When smoked marijuana gives off a very distinctive sour-sweet smell that is a dead give away.

The active chemical ingredient in marijuana is THC -- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. When marijuana is taken into the body this chemical goes straight to certain nerve cell membranes in the brain that contain protein receptors that bind to the THC.

These nerve cell sites are referred to as cannabinoid receptors and are found throughout the brain in varying concentrations. They are associated with areas of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception and co-ordinated movement.

The argument against the legalization of marijuana strongly states the effects it has on the brain where habitual use can create memory and learning problems, distorted perception and difficulty thinking and problem solving.

Sources: National Institute on Drug Abuse (Public Domain)