A GCSE Biology Case Study on Whether Cannabis Should be reclassified to a Class B Drug

Marijuana is a mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems and flowers from a hemp plant better know as Cannabis sativa. Uses of marijuana can be recreational or medical and the earliest recorded uses date from the 3rd millennium BC. (Rudgley, “The

Marijuana—often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, Mary Jane, or MJ—is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried out, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flow¬ers of Cannabis sativa—the hemp plant. A large amount marijuana smokers use hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, amongst other names; some use pipes often calles bongs. Marijuana cigars, or blunts, are also popular. To make blunts, users cut open cigars, eliminate some of the tobacco, and mix the remain¬der with marijuana (Timberlake, 2009).

Marijuana also called weed, pot, herb, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and is a variety of combinations of dried leaves, flowers ,stems, and seeds from the hemp plant, and cannabis sativa. This plant contains a mind altering chemical called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is mostly responsible for the psychological

1.1 In October 2001 the Home Secretary asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (the ‘Council’) to review the classification of cannabis preparations in the light of current scientific evidence. The Council is established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to keep under review the drug situation in the United Kingdom and to advise government ministers on the measures to be taken for preventing the misuse of drugs or for dealing with the social problems connected with their misuse. In particular, the Council is required to advise on the appropriate

First, a little background. Marijuana is a plant. It can also be used interchangeably with cannabis or hemp. Marijuana has many different components within itself, but the two I 'll be referring

The latest form of marijuana is in the form of wax. Its consistency is like ear wax and that is why one of its other names is called ear wax. It is a very strong form of weed and taking it can get you really high real quick.

Is cannabis dangerous? This particular issue has been discussed, contemplated, and argued in several settings throughout our country’s history, but it is a particularly prominent issue in today’s society. Many individuals have their own opinions on marijuana, whether it be positive or negative, but an objective perspective is necessary to justly weigh the benefits and detriments of marijuana use and legalization. When an unbiased person analyzes the controversial topic of cannabis, he or she would realize that the substance does not plainly fall into a single category. There is ample, scientific proof that marijuana has numerous medicinal purposes, such as treating glaucoma and different seizure disorders. However, there is equivalent

What is Cannabis? Cannabis is a depressant drug derived from the Cannabis Sativa plant. (Year 10 HPE, Drug Education, 2015) Cannabis slows down the messages going to and from the brain to the body. (Australian Drug Foundation, 2015). It is also commonly known as Marijuana, pot, weed, hash, and dope. High doses of cannabis can also lead to hallucinations, making activities such as driving or operating machinery exceptionally dangerous. The main active chemical in cannabis is THC, which affects the parts of the brain responsible for thinking, memory, pleasure, coordination and time perception. (Live Science, 2015) The risk of injury or death is considerably higher when using hallucinogenic drugs such as Cannabis, as users cannot accurately perceive dangers or risks.

In the United States, marijuana is being categorized as a Class A Drug, but in reality marijuana has been known to help cure and fight many sicknesses and diseases. Marijuana is being criticized by people that never studied the drug or even know about the medicinal benefits from the drug. Over the years, marijuana has been called a gateway drug to harder narcotics, but this isn’t the case. Marijuana has many medicinal benefits that the media and government avoid releasing to the society but it's about time we come forward with the facts and truths about this herb called marijuana. Marijuana should not be illegal or even be considered a Class A Drug.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. Cannabis isn’t just a single drug molecule, like alcohol or cocaine, but a mix of over 420 different chemical components. 61 of the called cannabinoids are unique to marijuana. THC is the chemical that triggers cannabis’ main drug action and effects in the body and brain. THC is like a feel-good chemical bomb that explodes on contact, and then breaks up into at least 80 different by products (or metabolites) before it’s eliminated from the body. The process starts as soon as THC enters the blood stream, and begins zeroing in on cannabinoid receptors in the brain and central nervous system Once it checks into the brain, THC takes its own time in checking out. Unlike many other drugs, which are excreted from the body within hours, THC metabolites stick around--stored

Marijuana is the preparation of Cannabis for use as a medicine or drug. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug that “affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior,” (Wikipedia, “Psychoactive Drug.”) these affects I believed were what we call a high. With so many compounds in the drug I wondered which ones were the main causes for getting some one high. After reading more about marijuana, tertrahydrocannabinol or THC was revealed as the compound responsible for getting users high. THC has many effects such as “relaxation, alteration of visual, auditory, and olfactory senses, fatigue, and appetite stimulation” (Wikipedia, "Tetrahydrocannabinol.”) while also treating pain. While studying THC, my main wonder was how much of it was present in marijuana. I learned that THC is actually reduced in marijuana when prepared for medical use. I also learned that marijuana itself has many forms for consumption such as resin and oil, some forms having higher amounts of THC than others.

Usually, green and gray mixture in color that is a hemp plant that produce flowers, called Cannabis. (Nida, 2013). Many smoke marijuana in a rolled cigarette that is handmade called open. Also edible forms, especially for medicinal uses, involves cookies or brownies and tea. Additionally, resin from the marijuana contains the most active ingredient, involving hash oil, wax and hard shatter that is amber-like, are also favored by users recreationally and medicinally. (Nida, 2013).

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).

There are numerous ways to use marijuana. The most common method to use marijuana is to smoke it as a cigarette (joint,) or in a pipe (bong). Additionally, marijuana can be smoked in a blunt; which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana. Often times, when marijuana is used in a blunt it is combined with an additional drug such as crack cocaine. Marijuana can also be used mixed in food or brewed as a tea. Likewise, there are others who smoke Marijuana in pipes or eat it after it is baked in food such as brownies. Marijuana as a more concentrated, resinous form is called hashish, which is often used in vaporizer or a bong. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive smell which is usually a sweet-and-sour odor (Inaba, &

Drug addiction is one of society 's biggest problems and it is rampant among teenagers and young adults and one of the most abused drugs is marijuana. Cannabis sativa or marijuana usually grows throughout tropical and temperate climates and then plant 's stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds are then dried. What attracts to most users is the mind altering effect these parts produce which is addictive to some extent. It is usually smoked as cigarette, or in a pipe. It is also smoked in blunts, in which cigars will be emptied of tobacco and refill with marijuana or sometimes it is combined with another drug. It can also be brewed as tea or mixed in food. Hashis is a more concentrated, resinous form which is sticky black liquid, hash oil. The