| Cannabis |
Short-Term Effects: Starting minutes after use, 2-5 hours if smoked or 4-7 hours if eaten. Feeling of euphoria, tendency to talk and laugh more than usual -- similar to mild alcohol intoxication; increased pulse rate, reddening of eyes, increased appetite; eventually quiet, reflective, sleepy. Larger doses: distortion of time, sound, colour and other sensations. Impaired short term memory.
Long-Term Effects: Occasional use seems to cause no permanent health damage. Likely that constant heavy use will have adverse effects on health and wellbeing of user. Tar content in smoke is high, so there is a risk of respiratory illness. Loss of energy and motivation, feelings of paranoia, problems with short-term memory and concentration with long-term heavy use. Psychosis may be triggered with rare cases.
Withdrawal: No significant withdrawal syndrome except at very high levels of use. Sudden withdrawal can make users anxious and irritable, with disturbed sleep, appetite loss and nervousness.
Interactions with Other Drugs: Cannabis combined with amphetamines, cocaine, opioids or alcohol produces and unpredictable effect. It can interfere with the actions of the major tranquillisers. There is no evidence that cannabis use leads to the use of other drugs.
Lethality/OD Treatment: No human death has ever been reported solely from cannabis OD. Because of it's ability to alter reaction times, diminish muscular strength and impair performance, cannabis is dangerous in any situation where activities requiring alterness, such as driving, are required.
The information contained in this page is designed simply as an introduction to this topic. |