Cannabis

Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used for medical or recreational purposes. The primary psychoactive component of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids. Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

Cannabis has mental and physical effects. It causes a high, or stoned, feeling and other effects including a general change in perception, difficulty thinking, impaired short-term memory, altered sense of time, impaired body movement, relaxation, and an increase in appetite. At high doses, mental effects include psychosis, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and ideas of reference, sometimes with anxiety and panic. Its physical effects include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy. Short-term side effects may include dry mouth, red eyes, and feelings of paranoia or anxiety. Long-term adverse effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started regular use as adolescents, chronic coughing, and susceptibility to respiratory infections. There is a strong relation between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis, though the cause-and-effect is debated. Onset of effects is felt within minutes when smoked, and about 30 to 60 minutes when cooked and eaten. The effects last for two to six hours.

Cannabis is mostly used for recreation or as a medicinal drug, although it may also be used for spiritual purposes. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis (2.7% to 4.9% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65). It is the most commonly used illegal drug both in the world and the United States, though it is also legal in some jurisdictions. The countries with the highest use among adults as of 2018 are Zambia, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria. In 2016, 51% of people in the United States had used cannabis in their lifetimes. About 12% had used it in the past year, and 7.3% had used it in the past month.

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Helen J

Managing Editor

Journal of evolutionary medicine