chapter 15- marijuana

Sinsemilla

- A method of growing more potent marijuana - Particular strains are selected and the male plants are removed prior to pollination so that the female plants produce more flowers and no seeds

anxiety toxicity potential

- Characterized by fear of loss of control - Some people seek medical treatment - Example: sedatives - The best treatment is likely "talking down"

Potency of Cannabis preparations depends on the amount of resin present

- Cigarettes made from flowering tops may contain up to around 20 percent T H C - Cigarettes made from leaves have as little as 1% THC

LaGuardia Report, 1944

- Concluded that marijuana use had less serious effects than commonly believed - Strong negative reactions by some authorities were motivated by factors other than the actual data

marijuana withdrawal

- D S M‐5: No listing of cannabis withdrawal - Research suggests a withdrawal syndrome does exist - Not life threatening but unpleasant - Begins about 1 day after the last dose - Lasts 4 to 12 days - Symptoms include anxiety, irritability, disrupted sleep, and decreased food intake

Chronic Cognitive Effects of Marijuana

- Difficult to make definitive statements about effects on long‐term cognitive functioning, studies have had divergent findings and interpretations - Current evidence suggests that after abstaining for more than a month, regular marijuana use produces few effects on cognition

infrequent users

- Euphoria, "high," mellowness, hunger, and stimulation - Infrequent users experience similar but more intense effects compared to experienced smokers - At high T H C concentrations, infrequent users may report negative effects such as mild paranoia

behavioral effects

- Experienced marijuana smokers can readily distinguish T H C‐related effects - Cannabis self‐administration is influenced by social factors

immune toxicity system effects

- Findings have been mixed - Some evidence suggests that marijuana use reduces immunity to infection - Mortality data do not show a relationship between marijuana use and overall death rate

Marijuana Tax Act of 1937

- Followed the regulation‐by‐taxation theme of the Harrison Act of 1914: Grower, distributor, seller, and buyer were taxed - result: administratively almost impossible to deal with Cannabis - State laws made possession and use illegal - 1969: United States Supreme Court declared the Marijuana Tax Act unconstitutional

CB-1 receptor

- Found throughout the body, but primarily in the brain - High density is found in specific brain regions: Basal ganglia and cerebellum, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, nucleus accumbens

acute toxicity physiological effects

- Increased heart rate - Harmful for someone with preexisting cardiovascular disease - No human overdose deaths have been reported

Under controlled laboratory conditions, participants prefer:

- Marijuana cigarettes with higher THC content - More oral THC during periods of social interaction

hashish

- Most potent preparation - Prepared by scraping or breaking off the tiny hairlike trichomes and packing them together, with up to 65 percent T H C by weight - Relatively rare in the United States

chronic toxicity lung exposure

- Most recent research indicates that marijuana is not associated with respiratory symptoms or lung disease - Marijuana smoke contains many of the carcinogens found in tobacco smoke - Not yet clear whether marijuana smokers are at an increased risk for cancer

causation toxicity

- Psychotic symptoms prior to using marijuana - Influence of other drug use on the psychotic symptoms

THC physiological effects

- Reddening of the eyes - Dryness of the mouth and throat

US regulation 1920

- Series of newspaper articles linked marijuana and crime - Public interest increased - Most early regulation efforts: Based on concerns about use and criminal behavior, Concerns were not based on direct evidence

Infrequent users: marijuana disrupts cognitive performance

- Slowed cognitive processing - Disrupted short‐term memory - Disrupted inhibitory control - Loss of sustained concentration or vigilance - Disrupted visuospatial processing

Frequent users: marijuana causes less dramatic effects

- Slowed cognitive processing - Frequent users may be tolerant to cognitive effects

metabolism

- THC has a half‐life of 19hours - Complete elimination of T H C and its metabolites may take 2 to 3 weeks - is selectively taken up and stored in fatty tissue to be released slowly - excretion primarily thru feces - there's no easy way to monitor levels and relate them to behavioral and/ or physiological effect - THC on brain and other organs might have effect not yet determined

After oral administration

- THC is absorbed more slowly - Peak effects occur about 60 to 90 minutes following ingestion - when in edible, THC slowly and poorly absorbed and less than 20% reaches brain due to extensive metabolism in liver

after smoking cannabis

- THC is absorbed rapidly by the blood and travels to the brain and then to the rest of the body - Peak mood‐altering and cardiovascular effects occur within 5 to 10 minutes, 30 minutes its gone from the brain

renewed interest in medical uses

- To treat glaucoma - To reduce the nausea in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy - To increase appetite in AIDS patients - short term relief from neuropathic pain

marijuana tolerance

- Tolerance to many marijuana effects develops after high levels of regular use - May not develop uniformly to all effects

verbal behavior

- Verbal exchanges decrease - nonverbal social interactions increase

Dronabinol

- brand name: marinol - an oral THC - Used as an antiemetic - Used to stimulate appetite

Chemistry of cannabis

- is complex - More than 400 chemicals are present in marijuana - About 70 are cannabinoids - THC: most pharmacologically active cannabinoid, made in 1964 - Major active metabolite is 11‐hydroxy‐delta‐9‐T H C

delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol or THC

- primary psychoactive in Cannabis - concentrated in resin

middle east and north africa cannabis history

1000 A D: Social use of the plant had spread to the Middle East and North Africa - "Hashishiyya" religious cult carried out political murders, word assassin originated from this term - Hashish use is mentioned frequently in The Arabian Nights

As of publication of our textbook, at least _____ states and Washington, D.C. have passed ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical marijuana

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Cannabis sativa

used primarily for its fibers from which hemp rope is made

chronic pulmonary effects

Heavy marijuana smoking over a long period could lead to clinically significant impairment of pulmonary function

A great number of studies have consistently reported that smoked marijuana and oral THC both produce

Increased total daily food intake

The current shift in the U.S. public's attitude towards marijuana laws is probably partly related to which of the following?

Increasing evidence that marijuana is relatively innocuous, A desire to spend federal funds more wisely and gain tax revenue

driving toxicity ability

Laboratory studies: significant impairment is found in infrequent users

food intake behavioral effects

Significantly increased by Marijuana and oral THC

marijuana madness toxicity

Some studies have found a correlation between marijuana use and psychotic symptoms

The 70 chemicals that are known to be unique to the cannabis plant are called:

cannabinoids

neuropathic

chronic condition that leads to persistent pain symptoms

Most of the resin is in which part of the cannabis plant?

flowering tops

Cannabis indica

grown for its psychoactive resins

THC cardiovascular effects

increases heart rate in a dose‐dependent fashion - Time course differs depending on route of administration

In 1985, the FDA approved the sale of dronabinol (Marinol), which:

is a capsule containing THC

marijuana

is a preparation of leafy material from the Cannabis plant that is usually smoked

Nucleus accumbens

is involved in reward

hippocampus

is involved in the memory storage

The 1944 LaGuardia report of the New York Academy of Medicine concluded that "those who have been smoking marihuana for a period of years . . ."

showed no mental or physical deterioration

Studies of the effects of marijuana on automobile driving show

significant impairments when inexperienced users are studied in a laboratory environment

Basal ganglia and cerebellum

are involved in the movement coordination

cannabis extraction

A variety of organic solvents are used to extract T H C from the plant material - doesn't dissolve well in water - EX: Ethanol and liquid carbon dioxide

Data indicate that:

Abuse potential of oral THC is modest at best

dronabinol use as antiemetic

Approved by F D A in 1985 for sale to cancer patients experiencing nausea from chemotherapy

dronabinol used to stimulate appetite

Approved by F D A in 1993 for sale to AIDS patients

After the Marijuana Tax Act

Cost of marijuana increased significantly - use of marijuana increased throughout the 1950s to 1960s, use peaked in 1970s - Marijuana use decreased in the 1980s, but rose again in the 1990s

cannabis Chinese history

Earliest mention is in 2737 BC in a Chinese pharmacy book - Recommended several medical uses

acute pulmonary effects

Few effects on breathing

Medical Uses of Cannabis

Medical use declined before the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act for several reasons - New and better drugs were developed to treat most illnesses - Variability of product - Active ingredient is insoluble in water and thus cannot be injected - Oral dose has delayed onset of action

Studies show that marijuana increases which of the following?

Nonverbal social interactions

self administration

Studies show young adults self‐administer smoked marijuana and oral THC - less than 10% will become addicted to drug @ some point - if THC was removed far fewer people would consume sustance

oral THC cardiovascular effects

peak HR elevations don't occur til 90 minutes following ingestion and remain elevated for @ least 4 hours other drug administration

smoked marijuana

peaked heart elevations occur within 10 minutes and return to baseline levels after 90 minutes

edibles

plant materials can be included in baked edibles - cookies, brownies, candy, chocolate, soda

Cerebral cortex

regulates higher cognitive functions

In a study of heart rate changes following smoked marijuana with 4 percent THC or 20 mg oral THC

the peak effects were similar, but smoking produced a faster onset of effects