Definition of marijuana
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Marijuana is a drug made from cannabis ( Cannabis sativa ). It is a mixture of the aboveground parts of the plant. When extracting the plant resin, a more active product, hashish, is obtained. Cannabis (a generic term for the labeling of psychoactive cannabis products) contains three major cannabinoids: cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinol, and cannabinol.
The main form of using marijuana is smoking. High solubility of cannabinoids in lipids ensures their rapid capture by the lung surfactant. Cannabinoids have a number of effects characteristic of amphetamine, alcohol, sedatives, atropine and morphine. The psychological effects of cannabis include euphoria, onyroidism, calmness and drowsiness. Intoxication appears almost immediately after smoking marijuana (after 2-3 puffs), reaches a maximum within 30 minutes and lasts from 2 to 4 hours (after 4 hours the concentration of cannabinoids in the blood decreases). With oral administration of the drug, the peak effect may be delayed up to 3-4 hours, but the effect is longer - 5-12 hours. The concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol in the blood 10 minutes after smoking 10 mg is 0.019-0.026 mg / l (0.06-0.033 μmol / l). Approximately 70% of the marijuana dose is excreted after 72 hours, approximately in equal proportions with urine and feces.
For cannabinoid intoxication, two important clinical signs are characteristic: increased heart rate and redness of the conjunctiva. The latter correlates well with the concentration of the active principle in the blood.
With frequent use of high doses of cannabis, there is a certain tolerance and a slight abstinence.
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