Cannabis

Question 1

CB1

Answer 1

responsible for the psychoactive effects of THC
in the brain and immune system

Question 2

CB2

Answer 2

only in the immune system

principally involved in anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive actions.

Question 3

Addiction

Answer 3

tolerance + withdrawal

Question 4

Hypothesis: marijuana causes mental/emotional deterioration! Unproven

Answer 4

Study in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece compared heavy long-term use (7 or more joints a day) with non-users and found no evidence of intellectual or neurologic damage, no changes in personality or no loss of will to work or participate in society. (Substance Abuse Handbook)

Question 5

Amotivational Syndrome

Answer 5

Findings: there is no credible evidence that what is meant by this syndrome is related to any inherent properties of the drug than to different sociocultural adaptations on the part of the user.

Question 6

Gateway Hypothesis

Answer 6

• “Smoking marijuana leads to the use of opiates and other illicit drugs” (SAH)
• …has been rejected after extensive study by the Institute of Medicine and Canadian Senate…
• No evidence?!
• “only the unsophisticated continue to believe that cannabis leads to violence and crime, cannabis suppresses it.”

Question 7

Cannabis and Psychosis

Answer 7

: “ cannabis may precipitate exacerbations in the psychotic processes of some patients with schizophrenia at the time when their illnesses are otherwise reasonably well controlled with antipsychotic drugs” (SAH)

Question 8

Toxic psychosis

Answer 8

in some individuals after ingestion of huge amounts of marijuana = clouding of consciousness, restlessness, confusion, bewilderment, disorientation, dream-like thinking, apprehension, fear, illusions and hallucinations…clears when cessation begins…

Most frequent adverse reaction: “Some marijuana users suffer what are usually short-lived, acute, anxiety states, sometimes with or without accompanying paranoid thoughts”. (SAH)

Question 9

Long Term Use

Answer 9

Smoking narrows and inflames air passages and reduces breathing capacity.

Possible side-effects: bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer.

Question 10

unusualy safety

Answer 10

No lethal dose
Does not disturb physiologic functions
No damage to body organs…When used in therapeutic range

Question 11

Medicinally used for

Answer 11

Epilepsy
Parkinson’s
MS
CP
Asthmatics (aerosol spray)
Glaucoma
Cancer pain, appetite stimulation, reduce tumor growth, antiemetics
AIDS
Anxiety/depression