Marijuana/Cannabis

Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: ganja, hemp), or ‘de herb’ is a psychoactive product of the plant marijuana sativa, or more often, marijuana sativa subsp. indica. The herbal form of the drug consists of dried mature flowers and subtending leaves of pistillate (female) plants. The resinous form, known as hashish, consists primarily of glandular trichomes collected from the same plant material. The major biologically active chemical compound in marijuana is 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), commonly referred to as THC.

Marijuana Addiction Treatment, or some times known as Cannabis treatment has psychoactive and physiological effects when you withdraw from taking it. Teen Challenge’s marijuana addiction treatment is free and open to everyone who needs to find freedom. Our residential rehabilitation programme for marijuana addiction is to help all addicts to take that first step and bridge the gap that helps you move from the dark to the light.

Marijuana has been around for centuries and the plant has been used to make rope, thread, and clothes and even smoked for its psychoactive properties and medicinal purposes. The drug has been widely used in America for more than 40 years. It is estimated that close to 5 million Americans regularly use marijuana. In the last 2 decades, surveys reveal that use of marijuana among the UK younger population of school and college students has widely increased. Recent data indicate the average age when marijuana used is 18 years. Humans have been consuming marijuana since prehistory, although in the 20th century there was a rise in its use for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. It is estimated that about four percent of the world’s adult population use cannabis annually and 0.6 percent daily. Marijuana is the world’s most often used illegal drug. The possession, use, or sale of psychoactive cannabis products became illegal in most parts of the world in the early 20th century. Since then, some countries have intensified the enforcement of cannabis prohibition while others have reduced the priority of enforcement.

The majority of individuals who use marijuana are also frequent users of alcohol and other illicit drugs, and therefore treatment will be necessary if the individual wants it. If you’re struggling with marijuana or other substance addiction, then Teen Challenge can help. Our programme is free to enter, for more information you will need to apply to us.

Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, usually by smoking or ingestion. The minimum amount of THC required to have a perceptible psychoactive effect is about 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight (which, in practical terms, is a varying amount, dependent upon potency). A related compound, 9-tetrahydrocannabivarin, also known as THCV, is produced in appreciable amounts by certain drug strains. This cannabinoid has been described in the popular literature as having shorter-acting, flashier effects than THC, but recent studies suggest that it may actually inhibit the effects of THC. Relatively high levels of THCV are common in African dagga (marijuana), and in hashish from the northwest Himalayas.

Advocates of marijuana for medical use always claim that marijuana has some medical properties in the treatment of glaucoma, nausea, vomiting and tremor. However, today there are excellent and much safer drugs used to treat these medical conditions and there is no justification for the use of marijuana. However, some states do allow legal use of marijuana for improving appetite in Aids patient and decreasing the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.

Possible medical uses for marijuana: Anti emetic, Increase appetite, Decrease tremors, Decrease seizures, Decrease glaucoma, Decrease stress, Marijuana Abuse.

Although marijuana abuse in the younger populations is of a major concern, one needs to be aware that there are other patient groups that also abuse marijuana. Numerous individuals with certain psychiatric disorders such as stress, anxiety, post traumatic disorder and bipolar disorder have also been known to abuse marijuana. These concerns have led to many institutions obtaining direct disclosure of marijuana-related problems/usage, a positive urine drug screen prior to undertaking any therapy.

Marijuana or ganja: the flowering tops of female plants, from less than 1% THC to 22% THC; the wide range is probably one of the reasons for the conflicting results from different studies. Psychoactive potency by cannabis plant part is approximately as follows (descending order):

1. Trichomes
2. Female flowering buds
3. Male flowering buds
4. New shoots
5. Leaves from flower buds
6. Leaves in ascending order of size
7. Stems of leaves (petioles) in ascending order of size
8. Stems in ascending order of size
9. Roots and seeds (Skunk)

Hashish (pressed keif) or charas:

a concentrated resin composed of heated glandular trichomes that have been physically extracted, usually by rubbing, sifting, or with ice.

Kief:

1. The sticky resin saturated bits of plant before pressed into hashish. It’s chopped flowering tops of female cannabis plants, often mixed with tobacco;
2. Moroccan hashish produced in the Rif mountains;
3. sifted cannabis trichomes consisting of only the glandular “heads” (often incorrectly referred to as “crystals” or “pollen”);
4. the crystal (trichomes) left at the bottom of a grinder after grinding marijuana, then smoked.

Hash oil:

is an ethanol extract of cannabis that has had the ethanol evaporated from it, to leave hash oil.

Cannabis is consumed in myriad ways, most of which either involve inhaling smoke from ignited plant or administering orally. Various devices exist for smoking, most common are implements such as bongs, chillums and smoking pipes, joints or blunts. Local methods differ by the preparation of the cannabis plant before use, the parts of the cannabis plant which are used, and the treatment of the smoke before inhalation. Because large particles require a higher burning temperature, herb should be sifted through a 1/16-inch/1.6-mm. mesh screen strainer, and the smoking utensil crater should contain a snug-fitting screen to prevent drawing particles down the channel.

A vaporizer heats herbal cannabis to 365–410 F (185–210 C), which causes the active ingredients to evaporate into a gas without burning the plant material (the boiling point of THC is 392 F (200 C) at 0.02 mm Hg pressure, and somewhat higher at standard atmospheric pressure), A lower proportion of toxic chemicals are released than by smoking, although this may vary depending on the design of the vaporizer and the temperature at which it is set.

An e-cigarette has a rechargeable battery and a heating element which vaporizes (in most brands) liquid nicotine from an insertable cartridge. If THC is loaded into the cartridge instead of nicotine, cannabis users may receive the benefits of a vaporizer at lower initial cost.

As an alternative to smoking, cannabis may be consumed orally. However, the cannabis or its extract must be sufficiently heated or dehydrated to cause decarboxylation of its most abundant cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, into psychoactive THC.

Cannabis material can be leached in high-proof spirits (often grain alcohol) to create a “Green Dragon”. This process is often employed to make use of low-potency stems and leaves.

Cannabis can also be consumed as a cannabis tea. Although THC is lipophilic and only slightly water soluble (with a solubility of 2800 mg per liter), enough THC can be dissolved to make a mildly psychoactive tea.

The majority of marijuana available is smuggled from Mexico and is a low potency, commercial grade product. The high potent marijuana is usually home grown or smuggled in from Canada. Recent seizures indicate that the content of THC has increased in the home grown product. The states in America which continue to cultivate large amounts of marijuana are California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Washington. Law enforcement data indicate that arrests for marijuana possession are up across the nation. The Bureau of Justice Survey indicates that about 12% of prisoners in the nation are serving time for a first marijuana related offense.

Marijuana is obtained from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant. The potency of marijuana depends on the method of preparation. Ganja and hashish are both three-five times more potent than marijuana. Although marijuana is usually smoked, it can also be eaten or mixed in beverages like tea, coffee and in very rare cases, it is also injected. Analysis of marijuana has revealed that the content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is currently much higher than in the past 2 decades. THC is the primary psychoactive component of marijuana. The intoxicating effects of marijuana usually last approximately 2-3 hours.

Prior to any intervention, most drug treatment programs include education, monitoring of drug use, strengthening of social support, treatment of possible comorbid psychiatric disorders and referral to a pain specialist.

Withdrawal and acute panic reactions / flashbacks during marijuana intoxication are usually managed with supportive therapy. In severe cases, low-dose benzodiazepines are used. Generally the withdrawal symptoms from marijuana are mild and do not required any drug therapy.

Patients with marijuana abuse or dependence are referred to a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program. Such programs are designed to avoid relapse and include comprehensive substance abuse and psychiatric evaluations, laboratory testing, group therapy, education, social services, individual counseling, and treatment of any co-morbid psychiatric illness.

Our rehabilitation programmes for Marijuana Addiction is open to everyone both men and women. Wilkerson House Center in London is open to men only and Hope House Center in Wales is for women. Both are residential and the programme term is 12 months, and this service is 100% free.

Often, these programs involve individual reflection about how problems with substance abuse develop the direct and indirect costs of substance abuse, bio-psychosocial triggers for substance use, relapse prevention strategies, ways to enhance coping skills and spiritual issues.