Know Cannabis

[Worcester]

CANNABIS INFORMATION

Smoking cannabis can cause you problems in different areas of your life. Some regular cannabis smokers choose to cut down and stop, many find it easy, others find it hard. Are you in control of your cannabis use? Read on and then decide for yourself.


Dependency

During the last few years it has become clear that cannabis use can result in dependency and lead to problems.

Some users become dependent on cannabis in a similar way to other drugs. Using it most days, over several months or more, can result in psychological dependency.

After smoking for an extended period, you may find you now need to smoke more than you used to, to get the same feeling even just to feel OK. People using cannabis heavily often say they have problems in various areas of their life - money worries, difficult relationships, conflict with family and friends, struggling to manage work or study commitments, ill-health - especially chest illnesses - and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

In general, the symptoms of dependence are:

Using more, or for longer, than you meant to

A constant desire to use, or trying to give it up and failing

Spending a lot of time getting supplies, using and recovering

Spending less time on important activities or giving them up altogether

Keeping on using, even when you know it's harming you

Tolerance (needing more of the drug to get the same effect)

Withdrawal (unpleasant symptoms when you stop)

Are you spending too much time, energy and money on weed?

Does a lot of your day revolve around dope?

Do those close to you complain that you're stoned all the time?


Smoking

Your lungs were not meant to take in hot, noxious gases, so smoking cannabis is bad for you.

If you smoke cannabis with tobacco, you expose your lungs to two harmful drugs and this increases the risks. Smoking can lead to illnesses like bronchitis, emphysema and cancer.

Many cannabis users also become long-term cigarette smokers. Giving up tobacco may be more difficult as a result of your cannabis use.

If you intend to go on smoking, you can reduce the risks to your throat, chest and lungs by not holding smoke in your lungs or inhaling too deeply. Inhaling deeply won't get you more stoned: your lungs will just breathe in more toxins.

Smoking cannabis can damage your health and other people's health too.


Mental health

Have you ever felt tense or agitated after smoking pot? Have you ever had uncontrolled thoughts or become confused after a joint?

Some people experience unpleasant effects when they use cannabis, such as anxiety, panic attacks or paranoia. Usually these symptoms stop once the cannabis has worn off.

If you have had a mental health problem before or if you have a history of mental health problems in your family, cannabis can trigger serious mental health problems (such as schizophrenia). There is also concern that people who use cannabis a lot when they are young may be vulnerable to mental health problems later in life.

If you already have a mental health problem, cannabis will probably make your symptoms worse.

Relationships

Cannabis can make people boring, lifeless and isolated. Smoking dope all the time can lead to problems in both your personal life and at work.

Do you have a vibrant social life, or do you watch a lot of TV?

Is your partner giving you earache about your lack of motivation?

Have you lost interest in seeing friends?

Do you continue to smoke cannabis just because your partner does?

If you feel this is happening to you, cut down, use less often and stop.

Interesting Facts Dont You All Think ???

[Starfire]

No, I don't think it's interesting, as I knew all that **** before. Now you can continue having a dig at recreational drug users, such as myself, or you can get on at some hardcore druggies, how about the effects or heroin?

[Worcester]

Originally Posted by Starfire

No, I don't think it's interesting, as I knew all that **** before. Now you can continue having a dig at recreational drug users, such as myself, or you can get on at some hardcore druggies, how about the effects or heroin?

There are no recreational drugs.... they are all drugs and habbit forming and bad for your health....It starts with the low group of drugs and then you go onto the hard drugs just to get a buzz out of it....

If its so good for you, why dont the goverments in most countries make legal ???

[Starfire]

You know as well as I, that alocohol is more dangerous than weed, the reason the government won't make it legal is because they cannot find a way to tax it. Now, if cannabis is SO BAD why are they attempting to put it into tablet form for medicinal use?

[Ænimα]

Bullshit. There's nothing wrong about it. The only risk is lung cancer from the smoke.

[Weetabix]

OK a few facts for you for all of user's that seem to know everything

Cannabis

Plant name: Cannabis Sativa

Slang: Marijuana, mary jane, grass, draw, blow, weed, puff,hash, ganja, spliff, smoke, wacky backy

Form: It comes as a solid, dark lump known as 'hash' or 'resin', or crushed flower heads & small leaves (sometimes with stalks and seeds) called 'grass', or a sticky, dark oil.

It can be rolled (usually with tobacco) in a spliff or joint, smoked in a pipe - with or without tobacco - or cooked and eaten in food.

Effects:

Its psychological effects can be subtle and hard to classify, but common effects can be relaxation, euphoria, feelings of hilarity and introspection.
In some users it can also produce anxiety or panic, short-term memory loss, confusion and poor coordination.
Heavy users may become lethargic and apathetic and find it hard to concentrate.
May bring on a craving for food (often referred to as 'having the munchies').
Cooking the drug then eating it makes the effects more intense and harder to control.

Some people with Multiple Sclerosis and some other diseases say that cannabis helps relieve their symptoms and pain.

Risks:

Cannabis is high in carcinogens and regular use may cause cancer and damage the lungs.
Although not physically addictive (in the same way as heroin is), regular users can become psychologically dependent, and feel they can't get by without it.
Mixing cannabis and other drugs, including alcohol, can have unpredictable effects.

Law: Cannabis is due to be downgraded from a category B to a category C drug on January 29th 2004. From then on, people will not usually be arrested for possession - but it will remain an illegal substance.

Some circumstances could still lead to you being arrested - like smoking it in public, having the drug around children, or for being a 'habitual user'. Under 17s will still be arrested for using the drug.

There is not yet a fixed amount for what users can say is for their own consumption, which some critics of the new legislation say could be confusing.

If you are cuaght with the drug, you'll be given a warning and ordered to hand it over to the police. If this is repeated, you could be landed with a fine, go to court and have a criminal record.

The maximum jail sentence for being caught in possession of cannabis will be reduced from five to two years, but the maximum sentence for supplying the drug will be unchanged at 14 years.

Although it's not an offence to possess cannabis seeds it is illegal to grow them. Find out more about the law, in One Life's Legal section.

Many people enjoy using or experimenting with cannabis; consider the amount of books and music written extolling its effects. But remember it is still illegal to possess the drug.

[Weetabix]

Is cannabis now legal?

No. From January 2004 cannabis has been downgraded from a Class B drug to a Class C drug. Even after the downgrade, cannabis is still an illegal drug.

To be caught with cannabis is still a criminal offence. The maximum jail sentence for being caught in possession of cannabis has been reduced from 5 to 2 years, but the maximum sentence for supplying the drug is still fourteen years. The police can still arrest you if you use the drug in a public place, or near to sensitive areas like schools, or if it is smoked deliberately in front of a police officer.

Is it true that cannabis leads to short term memory loss?

What was the question again? While you're under the influence of cannabis, you might find that your short term memory suffers a little. This tends to stop though, after the effects of the drug have worn off. But memory isn't the only thing to suffer. Co-ordination is affected too, so it's potentially very dangerous to operate machinery or to drive.

Can I still get arrested for smoking cannabis on the street?

Althought Cannabis has now been downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug, it is still an offence to smoke cannabis in public. To be caught with cannabis is still a criminal offence. The maximum jail sentence for being caught in possession of cannabis has been reduced from 5 to 2 years, but the maximum sentence for supplying the drug is still fourteen years. You will be penalised especially if you are found smoking it near a school or if you smoke it in front of the police.

What's the deal with drugs and driving?

The law states that it's illegal to be driving while you're not capable of it because of drink or any drugs. And although recent tests hinted that regular cannabis use does not badly affect driving, the drug affects different people in different ways and new or irregular cannabis users are more prone to driving dangerously. Remember you're taking a big risk to yourself and others if you drive while you're under the influence of any drug.

How long does cannabis stay in the bloodstream?

Traces of cannabis will usually stay in a person's system for about a week. If you use it a lot, or have a lot in one session, it stays in the system longer. It's fat soluble, meaning that it lodges itself in the fat cells of the body, in the brain, the liver, and the kidneys. Consequently, a heavy cannabis smoker will find that it can be detected sometimes a month after use.

[Nebacudnezar]

Originally Posted by Worcester

CANNABIS INFORMATION

Smoking cannabis can cause you problems in different areas of your life. Some regular cannabis smokers choose to cut down and stop, many find it easy, others find it hard. Are you in control of your cannabis use? Read on and then decide for yourself.


Dependency

During the last few years it has become clear that cannabis use can result in dependency and lead to problems.

Some users become dependent on cannabis in a similar way to other drugs. Using it most days, over several months or more, can result in psychological dependency.

After smoking for an extended period, you may find you now need to smoke more than you used to, to get the same feeling even just to feel OK. People using cannabis heavily often say they have problems in various areas of their life - money worries, difficult relationships, conflict with family and friends, struggling to manage work or study commitments, ill-health - especially chest illnesses - and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

In general, the symptoms of dependence are:

Using more, or for longer, than you meant to

A constant desire to use, or trying to give it up and failing

Spending a lot of time getting supplies, using and recovering

Spending less time on important activities or giving them up altogether

Keeping on using, even when you know it's harming you

Tolerance (needing more of the drug to get the same effect)

Withdrawal (unpleasant symptoms when you stop)

Are you spending too much time, energy and money on weed?

Does a lot of your day revolve around dope?

Do those close to you complain that you're stoned all the time?


Smoking

Your lungs were not meant to take in hot, noxious gases, so smoking cannabis is bad for you.

If you smoke cannabis with tobacco, you expose your lungs to two harmful drugs and this increases the risks. Smoking can lead to illnesses like bronchitis, emphysema and cancer.

Many cannabis users also become long-term cigarette smokers. Giving up tobacco may be more difficult as a result of your cannabis use.

If you intend to go on smoking, you can reduce the risks to your throat, chest and lungs by not holding smoke in your lungs or inhaling too deeply. Inhaling deeply won't get you more stoned: your lungs will just breathe in more toxins.

Smoking cannabis can damage your health and other people's health too.


Mental health

Have you ever felt tense or agitated after smoking pot? Have you ever had uncontrolled thoughts or become confused after a joint?

Some people experience unpleasant effects when they use cannabis, such as anxiety, panic attacks or paranoia. Usually these symptoms stop once the cannabis has worn off.

If you have had a mental health problem before or if you have a history of mental health problems in your family, cannabis can trigger serious mental health problems (such as schizophrenia). There is also concern that people who use cannabis a lot when they are young may be vulnerable to mental health problems later in life.

If you already have a mental health problem, cannabis will probably make your symptoms worse.

Relationships

Cannabis can make people boring, lifeless and isolated. Smoking dope all the time can lead to problems in both your personal life and at work.

Do you have a vibrant social life, or do you watch a lot of TV?

Is your partner giving you earache about your lack of motivation?

Have you lost interest in seeing friends?

Do you continue to smoke cannabis just because your partner does?

If you feel this is happening to you, cut down, use less often and stop.

Interesting Facts Dont You All Think ???

IME SO ADDICTED TO HASHIESH THE SWEETEST DRUG.!

[Starfire]

It's all horse ****, the only thing happens when I smoke it is I relax and feel happy, what happens when ppl drink alcohol, they think they can take on the world, then try and drive a car!

[Weetabix]

Am not saying alcohol is not bad or dangerous ... but its not illegal.

Both of them used over a long period have long term health effects.

The thing is with cannibas aswell is its like medication it effects some ppl differently I have seen some ppl have one spliff and be paranoid and aggresive and I have seen some use it and be laughing there heads off. Same with alcohol different ppl have different tolerent levels of what they can take.

After working on a acute mental health admissions ward now for over 9 years I see it everyday the sad thing is we are getting more and more admissions following misuse of cannibas and alcohol...they end up with what is called a drug/drink induced psychosis ( Paranoid/depression/self harm )

I swear am not trying to scare you but it does happen to ppl who think they haven't got a problem... Star you have admitted several times you have self harmed its just the start of it I think I remember you saying you also had a social/support worker at some point again all the symptoms of a heavy cannibas user.You must of heard of the term dual diagnosis that is when a drug/drink has effected someone so much they are left with a perm mental health problem.