Frequently Asked Questions
About Marijuana
Frequently Asked Questions
About Marijuana
-It seems that everybody has questions about marijuana. Hopefully, this page will help answer those questions, and will help you decide if marijuana is right for you.
What does marijuana look like?
How will marijuana make me feel?
Is marijuana really a gateway drug?
Is it safe to drive while high?
Is today's marijuana 10x more potent than marijuana of the 70's?
Is marijuana addictive in any way?
How does one consume marijuana?
How does marijuana get me high?
Can a person overdose on marijuana?
What are my opinions of marijuana and society's views on the illicit herb?
What does marijuana look like?
Marijuana is usually a lush, green plant ranging anywhere from 2-20 feet after it has reached maturity. A marijuana plant will have jagged leaves covering most of the plant and a few flowers at the top. Here are a couple of pictures of marijuana plants. The plants on the left are fully mature, while the plants on the right are still in the vegetative stage.
Honestly, it depends on several different factors. What strain you smoke really determines
what your high will feel like. Some strains give a very heavy, stoney high while other strains
give a light, spacey high. Your surroundings play a large part on your experience.
Marijuana simply intensifies your current mood. If you are in strange surroundings
with people who you are not comfortable with, then you may become paranoid. If you are
in your own house with some close friends, your chances for an enjoyable experience
are much greater.
Initially, a user will probably notice their body feels heavier than usual. Laughter and an all around feeling of pleasantness are often experienced. Some fine motor skills will not be as sharp. At some time, a user will inevitably experience a phenomena simply know as...The Munchies.
The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, simply
called THC. THC has not been found harmful to the body. In fact, it is most likely
that the only physically harmful effects actually come from smoking. Smoking marijuana
exposes the body to several carcinogens. Ingesting marijuana by other means can eliminate
these harmful effects.
Hmmmm... now that is a tough one. A gateway drug is defined as one which leads to other
drugs. It is true that most crack cocaine users have tried marijuana, but most marijuana
users have not tried crack. Maybe marijuana use has led to harder drugs, who knows?
In word, NO. Driving is never safe. Driving under the influence of marijuana only increases
one's chances of being involved in an accident. If at all possible, one should have a
designated driver or remain in one place.
Most of the marijuana from the 1970's was between .5% and 6% THC. It is said that any
marijuana with less than 1% THC gives more of a headache than a high. Today, one can expect
to find a typical commercial grade marijuana with a slightly higher percentage of THC.
In most cases, the amount of THC is not 10x times higher. There have been some recent
reports of marijuana with almost 30% THC. This is by far an extreme circumstance. Most
marijuana will have well under 10% THC.
Much to many's surprise, more potent marijuana is actually less damaging to the user. With more potent marijuana, people will smoke less to get the desired effects. This will cut down on the amount of carcinogens consumed.
Marijuana is not physically addictive. PERIOD. The question is if marijuana is mentally
addictive. The effects of marijuana are desired by most of its users. I personally believe
that if most people had to quit using marijuana, they could. However, there are exceptions to
this. Like all things, marijuana should be used in controlled quantities.
The most popular way of consuming marijuana is by smoking it. Smoking marijuana is the
fastest method of feeling its effects. However, some of the THC is broken down when
exposed to fire. Marijuana can be rolled into a cigarette, known as a joint. Joints
are a portable and stealth way of smoking marijuana. One can easily disguise a joint
as a tobacco cigarette. Marijuana can also be smoked through a hand pipe. Hand pipes
are usually not as portable as joints because joints usually stay lit, while a pipe
has to be lit repeatedly. The least portably way to smoke is out of a water bong.
Smoke is drawn through water after traveling down a stem. The smoke is cooled, making
it less harsh on the mouth, throat, and lungs. The picture on the left is of some handpipes with
a bong in the middle. The picture in the middle is a water bong. The one on the right is a vaporizer.
One can also eat marijuana by baking it into a favorite dish. Eating marijuana takes longer to feel high, but the effects last longer and are sometimes more intense. Marijuana can be made into an alcoholic drink known as Green Dragon. Marijuana is added to grain alcohol such as Everclear. Since marijuana is alcohol soluble, the THC is slowly leached out over a period of time. This process usually takes several weeks of preparation to be effective.
Vaporizing marijuana is by far the least popular way to consume the herb simply because most people don't own a vaporizer. A vaporizer heats up marijuana to boiling temperatures and the THC vaporizes. This is a good way to reduce several carcinogens while consuming marijuana.
After marijuana is consumed, the psychoactive ingredients travel through the body
until they reach the brain. Marijuana triggers the same receptors that are effected
by caffeine, thus making the user feel high.
Yes, but it's impossible. In order to overdose on marijuana, one would have to smoke
pound after pound in a time period of fifteen minutes. So, in theory, one could overdose,
but its never happend before.
Personally, I feel I know the dangers of marijuana fairly well. I know of the potential
health hazards that come with smoking marijuana. I do feel that marijuana has the
potential for abuse, although I believe alcohol is much easier to abuse. I ask
myself, "Why is marijuana illegal, while alcohol has been integrated as an accepted
part of our society?" It just doesn't make sense. I hope that sometime in my life, we
end marijuana prohibition. It's the sensible thing to do. Billions of dollars are spent
on confiscating crops, locking users in prison, and marijuana prevention. Twenty-five
percent of the people in federal prison are in for marijuana related "crimes". Violent
criminals and rapists are walking the streets because law enforcement spends an insane
amount of time and resources enforcing marijuana prohibition. Why? Nobody knows...
Oh wait. Yes, I do know why the government offers such blatent propaganda on the subject.
Major corporations such as the oil companies, timber indusry, cotton farmers, Big
Tobacco and the alcohol manufaturers find it benificial to their buisiness not to
have hemp and cannibus products. These corporations back anti-marijuana propaganda
because cannibus and hemp products would severely cut into their profits.
