CANNABIS

Cannabis sativa, the hemp plant, grows wild throughout most of the tropic and temperate regions of the world. It is a single species. This plant has long been cultivated for the tough fiber of the stem, the seed used in feed mixtures, the oil as an ingredient of paint, as well as for its biologically active substances, most highly concentrated in the leaves and resinous flowering tops.

The plant material has been used as a drug for centuries. The plant and its derivatives (such as marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil) contain the active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of 61 cannabinoids, which are chemicals unique to cannabis.

Cannabis products are usually smoked in the form of loosely rolled cigarettes (joints). They may be used alone or in combination with other substances. They may also be administered orally, but are reported to be about three times more potent when smoked. The effects are felt within minutes, reach their peak in 10 to 30 minutes, and may linger for 2 or 3 hours. A condensed description of these effects is apt to be inadequate or even misleading; so much depends upon the experience and expectations of the individual as well as the activity of the drug itself. Low doses tend to induce restlessness and an increasing sense of well-being, followed by a dreamy state of relaxation and, frequently, hunger-especially a craving for sweets. Changes of sensory perception- a more vivid sense of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing-may be accompanied by subtle alterations in thought formation and expression. Stronger doses intensify these reactions. The individual may experience shifting sensory imagery, rapidly fluctuating emotions, and a flight of fragmentary thoughts with disturbed associations. It may also result in an altered sense of self-identity, impaired memory, and a dulling of attention despite an illusion of heightened insight. This state of intoxication may not be noticeable to an observer. High doses may result in image distortions, a loss of personal identity, and fantasies and hallucinations. Very high doses may result in a toxic psychosis.

During recent years, there has been a resurgence in the scientific study of cannabis. One goal of the study has been to develop therapeutic agents that, if used as directed in medical treatment, will not produce harmful side effects. While THC can now be synthesized in the laboratory, it is a liquid insoluble in water, and it decomposes on exposure to air and light, so that it is difficult to prepare stable dosage units. Two of the most active areas of research are for the control of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of cancer and for decreasing intraocular pressure in the treatment of glaucoma. None of the synthetic cannabinoids have so far been detected in the drug traffic.

Three types of drugs that come from cannabis are currently distributed on the U.S. illicit market- marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil. Having no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, they remain under Schedule I of the FCSA.

Marijuana

The term marijuana (or marihuana) is used in this country to refer to the cannabis plant and to any part or extract of it that produces somatic or psychic changes in man. A tobaccolike substance, produced by drying the leaves and flowering tops of the plant, marijuana varies significantly in its potency, depending on the source and selectivity of plant

materials used. Most wild U.S. cannabis is considered inferior because of a low concentration of THC, usually less than 0.5 percent. Jamaican, Colombian, and Mexican varieties range between 2.5 and 6.9 percent. The most selective product is reputed to be sinsemilla (Spanish, sin semilla: without seed). prepared from the unpollenated female cannabis plant, samples of which have been found to contain up to 8 percent THC. Southeast Asian "Thai sticks," consisting of marijuana buds bound onto short sections of bamboo, are also encountered infrequently on the U.S. illicit market. See figures 7-20 through 726.

Figure 7-20.-Female marihuana flower.

Figure 7-22.-Marijuana buds.

Figure 7-21.-Field of marijuana.

Figure 7-25.-25-pound marijuana brick.

Figure 7-23.-Thai Sticks.

Figure 7-26.-100-pound marijuana bale (contains 4 25-pound bricks).

Figure 7-24.-10-pound marijuana brick.

Hashish

The Middle East is the main source of hashish. Hashish consists of the drug-rich resinous secretions of the cannabis plant that are collected, dried, and then compressed into a variety of forms such as balls, cakes, or cookielike sheets (fig. 7-27). Hashish in the United States varies in potency as in appearance, ranging in THC content from trace amounts up to 10 percent. The average is reported to be 1.8 percent.

Hashish Oil

The name comes from the drug culture and is a misnomer in suggesting any resemblance to hashish other than its objective of further concentration. Hashish oil (fig. 7-28) is produced by a process of repeated extraction of cannabis plant materials to yield a dark viscous liquid, current samples of which average about 20 percent THC. In terms of its psychoactive effect, a drop or two of this liquid on a cigarette is equal to a single joint of marijuana.