Cannabis or hemp are a product of the plant Cannabis sativa , indica and ruderalis. It is consumed in different forms and goes by various names such as grass, weed, marijuana or ganja in its herbal form and ‘hashish’, ‘solid’ or ‘soap bar’ in its resinous form. Cannabis can also come as an oil and is now used in medicine as a spray (Sativex) and other applications such as suppositories and patches are being explored. Back to all training on drugs »
Though the main psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis is THC, the plant is known to contain about sixty or so cannabinoids. One other cannabinoid of particularly high concentration in some plants is cannabidiol (CBD), which is not psychoactive but has recently been shown to block the effect or control the onset and duration of THC in the nervous system. Differences in the chemical composition of cannabis varieties may produce different effects in humans.
It has been reported that commercial hashish is often no more potent than high quality seedless marijuana. However, carefully produced and screened hashish is up to three times as potent as the highest quality herbal varieties.
The most obvious confounding factor in cannabis research is the prevalent usage of other recreational drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. Such complications demonstrate the need for studies on cannabis that have stronger controls, and investigations into the symptoms of cannabis use that may also be caused by tobacco.
