Never mind about whether or not we should avoid marijuana . . . Here's what I wanna know:

Are there any effects on one's body when one smokes marijuana? Not effects on others, such as when the user is driving and stuff like that. I mean, what does marijuana do to the body of the one using it?

What does it do to the brain? Lungs? Liver? Et cetera?

I deduce, since marijuana is smoked for medical purposes, that there are no malignant effects on the body, or that these maignant effects are fewer or less severe as those of other medications. Am I right in my deduction?

Thanks in advance!

- Peace, Love, Health, and Happiness to all! Âðelwulf.

I'm a prissy goody goody I know, because I can't speak from experience on this. All I really know is that it releases endorphins and somehow (over longterm) retards the memory. But how about a link instead of hearsay:

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/marijuana.html

Effects on the Brain

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.

In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement(5).

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term marijuana use indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse. For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system(6) and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine(7). Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.

Effects on the Heart

One study has indicated that a user’s risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana(8). The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from marijuana’s effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

Effects on the Lungs

A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers(9). Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Even infrequent use can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways(10). Smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck, and the more marijuana smoked the greater the increase(11). A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong evidence that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.

Marijuana use also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens(12, 13). In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke(14). It also produces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells(15). Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that, puff for puff, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of cancer more than smoking tobacco.

Other Health Effects

Some of marijuana’s adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited(16). In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumors(17, 18).

Hmm . . . Interesting link. Thanks, Endorphin . . . And may I be the first to say, "Welcome to SciForums!"?

To put it in simpler terms:

It has the opposite affect of adrenaline. Well..to the other extreme.

My knowledge of the effects of adrenaline aren't solid . . . What is the opposite?

um well, the "adrenaline rush" is what kicks your body into hyperaction after some sort of stimuli... like fear. If you're crossing a street and a car swerves and almost hits you, you freak out, your blood pressure hits the roof, etc... that's adrenaline I guess. Maybe someone else can explain it more technically.

Bascially, marijuana is supposed to mellow you out... you just kind of sit there, laugh at random stuff, and supposedly everything feels a lot better. A stress reliever. Although it apparently can make a person paranoid and gives them the munchies.

oh yeah, and thanks for the welcome!

long term use can lead to paranoia and brain damage, but its less addictive than nicotene, and less damaging to your physical health than tobacco, it also has been proven to reduce the risk of developing tumors.

short term, it gives you a high, sort of like the headspin ya get when ya stand up after half a bottle of vodka, exept you can still walk in a straght line, and you dont get a hangover.

long term, it stays in your fat molecules for 6 months after using it, so your ok if yau mr ueber body builder, but joe average will tend to get flashbacks at random times, what a flashback is: when the THC stored in your body fat get released and you get a second stonig, except this can happen at totally random times

but you must also remember that the only guy i know of who has died smoked 5 joints a day for 15 years. this does not mean you are safe from tar, as with any form of smoking, the ash clogs up your lungs, but unlike the chemicals in tabacco that causne cancer, chemicals in weed help to fight cancer.

a joint every weekond or so is almost risk free, but if you find yourself getting addicted or having random flashbacks, cut it out. and also, never smoke it the night before school, if possible, try to do it friday night, but whatever you do, never use it to calm your nerves for a test or anything, coz ule be too fucked to do the test

Marijuana use also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens(12, 13). In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke(14). That doesn't sound like it's helping fight cancer. Oh, and by the way, nicotine is the most addictive drug on the planet, it's hardly suprising THC is less addictive.
whatever you do, never use it to calm your nerves for a test or anything, coz ule be too fucked to do the test Personal experience?

You know, to avoid some disadvantages, do not smoke it, bake it into cookies or a cake. ;)

short term, it gives you a high, sort of like the headspin ya get when ya stand up after half a bottle of vodka, exept you can still walk in a straght line, and you dont get a hangover.


I had difficulties walking in a straight line last time. Am I a freak?

Ya were already a freak, Mr. Monkey . . . :p

I'm curious about how marijuana compares to other drugs, like cocaïne, extacy, LSD, and alcohol.

How addictive is it compared to other drugs? How harmful? Is there a risk of having stuff that shouldn't be in there mixed in when bought in the streets (like the problem with crack [I think])? Or is marijuana just straight marijuana no matter where and how ya get it?

You know, to avoid some disadvantages, do not smoke it, bake it into cookies or a cake. ;)Thank you. It's a sad commentary on the impact of the "War on Drugs" that sensible information like this simply is not readily available. We children of the 1960s (actually I'm a child of the 1950s but the 1960s were way more fun) have known for decades that smoking anything is pretty bad for you. Some of us (I got all this from my friend Zeke, I have no personal experience due to my asthma) have tried various other ways of getting THC.

The most common way, as you say, is to bake it into something. This completely does away with all the respiratory problems. However, it makes a qualitative difference in the effect. You don't get a rush like when you smoke it, because you wait patiently for it to pass through your stomach walls, which is a very slow process. In most people it starts about 30 minutes after ingestion and peaks about 60 minutes after that. However high you are at that point, you'd better like it, because you're going to stay there for about four hours and then come down slowly. Difficult to say, "I want a little more," and wait 90 more minutes for that dose to take effect. Impossible to say, "Whoops, too much," you won't sober up until tomorrow.

The other problem is that to be most effective you want to ingest it into an empty stomach. So taking food with it is counterproductive. Slows down the metabolization of the THC. The way to minimize that is to make your brownies or cookies as strong as possible. Sounds great until you try it, pot tastes absolutely terrible.

You don't actually have to cook it to take it orally, all you need to do is break down the cellulose. You can do that by running it through a coffee grinder until it's literally dust. Then you can just eat it by the pinch, but again there's that godawful taste. You can mix the powder into some tea and add sweetener. Some people soak a pound of powder in a quart of 181 proof rum for a few weeks until all the THC is dissolved in the rum, then use a cloth or a press to separate the liquid from the solids and discard them. But that's a real operation, most people aren't up to it. And I understand that it still doesn't taste very good, and on top of it you have to swallow a couple cc's of almost pure alcohol, a very daunting feat. I suppose you could make a mixed drink out of it.

There's a new device that vaporizes the THC without actually setting it on fire. Without the smoke, most of the problems of inhaling pot go away. The principle seems sound but my friend Zeke hasn't actually been able to get his hands on one to test it. It's available in Holland but not here in The Land Of The Free, naturally.

As for the effect on brain cells, remember that practically everything we do kills brain cells. Most of my college friends figured that they had more IQ points than they'd ever need, so losing a few of them wouldn't hurt. They are still fine, holding down good jobs, raising families, so perhaps they were right. They don't seem stupid to me, the control group of one. Oh wait, I worked for the government for almost 30 years. At five IQ points lost per year due to the stultifying effect of a civil service environment, that means my own IQ is now, let's see, oh drenn I can't do long division any more, or is that subtraction, hey does anybody have a calculator?

I'm curious about how marijuana compares to other drugs, like cocaïne, extacy, LSD, and alcohol.

A hell of a lot less dangerous.
Cocaine and E are both amphetamines, so too much use will actually rewire your brain forming a chemical dependency. The high from E and coke are way better than marijuana, making them more addictive, and they're cost-prohibitive.

LSD isn't addictive, but it will goof your brain up. It essentially causes temporary insanity, and sometimes it's not temporary. Pure LSD is hard to manufacture, too, so the sub-par quality can also goof you up.

Alcohol is chemically addictive, but in small amounts is good for you. Prolonged abuse will damage the liver, kidneys, heart and brain.

Behavior on any amphetamine can lead to irrationality and violence. This is bad because two coke heads fighting won't notice how bad they're hurting each other. The nature of coke and E kills pain, so you can soak up a lot of bullets before you go down.

LSD can make you do some really crazy stuff, like self-mutilation.

Alcohol can make you aggressive, too. That means that when you come to after drinking all night you're bruised and broken. I know this guy who broke his neck while drunk, but didn't notice it was broke until the next day when it hurt a lot and he was no longer drunk.

How is alcohol "good for you" in small amounts?

It protect against heart disease, has a relaxing effect on the body and can make be used to transform an introvert into an extrovert (in small amounts.)

Yeah, it protects against heart disease.

damn i had provided some insight on this my own 2 cents if you will, but the page rejected my post because i had not logged on, it was quite a lenghty post but all in all i did post a book recommendation "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer. :m:

yeah, and a glass of wine at dinner is supposed to be healthy, kills bacteria and reduces heart disease. there was also supposed to be something about reducing cholesterol, the bad kind. :m:

I hear that there are some drugs that are especially risky to take when ya buy them off the streets. Something about ya not knowing what stuff the drug maker used to make the drug, and that some of that stuff can be lethal. I can't really recall what that's about. Maybe someone knows what I'm talking about?

Does marijuana carry that risk?

im not sure, but it might, if the farmers used harmful pesticides and chemicals. funny thought. :m:

The risk is typically higher when you buy something that is 'cut,' like meth, coke, heroin, crack or any of the hard stuff. Since the hard stuff costs a lot, other subtances are mixed in with it to make it appear like there's more or inhance the high. I had a friend who was smoking crack that was cut with vitamin powder. I heard it tasted pretty shitty.

The likelihood of marijuana being cut with something bad is, IMO, much less than the hard stuff. However, you should always purchase from people you know, since you can hold them accountable for the quality. Strangers are bad news. If you find the right crowd, you can always find a reliable dealer through one or two degrees.

The danger of marijuana being laced is low for two reasons:
1. There's no reason to cut it, as it's cheap and people aren't paying for the kind of high you get from coke

2. The drug trade is a no holds-barred free market. That means the consumer has heaps of control. News of laced product gets around, especially in the relatively low-key world of marijuana. The dealers are in it for cash, not poisoning kids.

dope just aint like it used to be. Now days (in oz anyway) most is skunk of some variety or another, grown in hydro setups and is plied with so many chemicals to make it more potent, faster growing and bigger yields for the grower. The shit just leaves you feelin cloudy, sleepy and shithouse for the rest of the day. Grown ya own. Natural is betta, a plant might take 5 - 6 months to fully mature and bud outdoors, but the result is a fresher, cleaner smoke and no budover after comedown. Besides, with your own plant you get to pat and name it. Plant seeds around fathers day (sthn hemisphere) septemberish for best results.

or so i've heard... ;)

Well, if I want some, I can just drive over the border and buy some in Holland... never would I try that crap they sell on the streets. If you get high from that I would be surprised, if you get poisonend I would not.

Yeah you should be careful about where you get your stuff, because it's often mixed with god knows what. I think you'd get mixed stuff much more often than pure stuff. Last thing I heard on the news about drugs was that, in clubs, they started mixing E with viagra (a few years back, I don't watch TV anymore). You may think it's fun but, uh.... It's awful for you, healthwise.

Edit: it's often the combination of mixed stuff that proves to be lethal at once, or at least awful for your health.

I hear that there are some drugs that are especially risky to take when ya buy them off the streets. Something about ya not knowing what stuff the drug maker used to make the drug, and that some of that stuff can be lethal. I can't really recall what that's about. Maybe someone knows what I'm talking about? Does marijuana carry that risk?They're talking about drugs that require a lot of processing like LSD or MDMA. It takes a serious chemistry lab to create those compounds. The lab work can be done wrong and you can end up with a lot of chemical fractions in the end result that aren't supposed to be there. Nobody will have any idea how they will react in your body because nobody bothered to identify them, much less catalog them.

Even heroin can have this problem, although as I understand it refining heroin is not as tedious a process as MDMA.

Surely everyone knows that even alcohol, in fact especially alcohol, can be mighty dangerous if created by amateurs. The distillation process, if not done carefully, can produce methyl alcohol in addition to the ethyl alcohol (or perhaps I've got that backwards, I'm no chemist), and the wrong kind of alcohol will render you blind and then kill you. This was a common problem during Prohibition when people were making bootleg whiskey in the dark in jury-rigged stills on the back forty.

You don't have that problem with marijuana. They cut it down, separate the buds from the rest of the plant, and sell you the buds. No chemistry, just working with shears. The guys who do the tedious work of packaging the buds get to take the leaves home and either smoke drenn or grind it up and add it to brownie batter or an alcohol infusion.

Back in the 1960s some of the imported marijuana was soaked in opium, they called them "Thai sticks." That wasn't particularly a safety issue because opium is rather easy to refine safely, but it could be a big surprise to find yourself on an opium high and a pot high at the same time. Not everybody reacts pleasantly to depressants. Today since California is the world's leading producer of pot, there's not much danger of contaminated supplies in the USA.

How do ya know ya'll have a bad reaction to a high? Is there something ya can do, like a test, to see whether or not ya'll have a bad reaction? Or do ya just hafta take yer chances?

Does this relate to yer reaction from alcohol, or are they two totally different things?

You've got your alcohols right, Fraggle.

You have to understand, when you buy drugs from your dealer, it's most likely he or his gf bagged it and weighed it at home with no sophisticated equipment. Mary is put into the bags by hand. If the drug you're getting is a combination of things, nobody knows what reaction is taking place and what effect it'll have. A drug dealer is no chemist or researcher, it's a regular person like you or me.

In countries where alcohol is sold on the streets by regular persons (not businessmen), the alcohol is risky, too. There were many cases in Russia when vodka had dangerous percentage of alcohol in it.

well if you want a form that doesnt need to be smoked but will have a quick effect, then hash oil is what you want. it is the reisn scraped from the buds, this stuff is about 10 times more potent than a joint tho, so dont take more than 2 at a max, or you will probably OD

Surely everyone knows that even alcohol, in fact especially alcohol, can be mighty dangerous if created by amateurs. The distillation process, if not done carefully, can produce methyl alcohol in addition to the ethyl alcohol (or perhaps I've got that backwards, I'm no chemist), and the wrong kind of alcohol will render you blind and then kill you. This was a common problem during Prohibition when people were making bootleg whiskey in the dark in jury-rigged stills on the back forty.

Nah, you got that right. A high amount of methyl will make you blind, depending on the dosis, it might not be permanent, but I do not think that it is a chance I would take.

Am I glad that the state tests all the legally sold alcoholic beverages here in Germany.


Also, I would be cautios when combining drugs. Never had any problems when combining aclohol and joints (in fact I did not notice any change after three joints, I only felt the effects of the bottle of vodka and half a bottle of whiskey...).
Taking drugs combined can cause your death, especially if some of them are cut with god-knows what.

gorw your own, or get it from someone you know. i only ever used to by it form friends, now that i have my own small crop there is no need, and i even sell a bit to my friends sometimes

If heroin is the heavy metal of drugs, then marijuana would be teen pop. Of course, a lot of f'ed up kids I know of use heavy doses of marijuana, but I don't know if its the cause, or the consequence.

gorw your own, or get it from someone you know. i only ever used to by it form friends, now that i have my own small crop there is no need, and i even sell a bit to my friends sometimes

Is it legal for ya to grow yer own crop in New Zealand? Hmm . . .

How do ya grow a crop? Are there seeds ya hafta get? Are they hard to get?

I dont know what the laws are in NZ, but in South Aust where i used to live growing for personal use was decriminalised...still illegal, but you wouldn't get a criminal record if caught. Emphasis on "personal use". Don't grow a whole crop unless ya lookin for trouble, stick to one or two plants, infact don't grow anything until you find out what the penalties are in your area!

Then ya gotta decide whether your growin indoors (hydro) or outdoors. Hydro gets expensive with the setup you gotta buy and the cost of runnin about 1000w of lights for 18 hrs every day, for about 3 months. However, had a mate who use to pull a pound of buds off one plant every 3 months. Bout $2500 a pound, you do the math! But then your talkin commercial quantities and the penalties if caught increase severely.
I personally used to prefer outdoor, as long as you've got somewhere safe and well hidden to grow it. Outdoor takes about twice as long, you get about half the yield and there's greater chance of someone rippin it off... but its worth it coz its a much cleaner high IMO due to less chemicals.

If you can score a bag of dope, you can score seeds, but clones are a better option for hydro, if you can get them, you can be pretty sure its gonna be good smoke coz people dont bother cloning crap plants!

ScRaMbLe,

Then ya gotta decide whether your growin indoors (hydro) or outdoors. Hydro gets expensive with the setup you gotta buy and the cost of runnin about 1000w of lights for 18 hrs every day, for about 3 months.

Why is all that setup necessary?

However, had a mate who use to pull a pound of buds off one plant every 3 months. Bout $2500 a pound, you do the math!

Fuck! Exactly how much does this shit sell for?! And how much of a pound is the normal smoking ammount?

But then your talkin commercial quantities and the penalties if caught increase severely.

Where's the border between commercial quantities and personal use?

Outdoor takes about twice as long, you get about half the yield and there's greater chance of someone rippin it off... but its worth it coz its a much cleaner high IMO due to less chemicals.

Why is it that it takes longer to grow and ya only get half the yield? And what chemicals are involved? Miracle Grow?

Why is all that setup necessary?

Artificial lighting and extra nutrients makes the plants grow a lot quicker than natural conditions coz the plants getting the equivalent of 18 hours of perfect sunny days for its entire lifespan (except switch to 12 hours cycles to enduce and during budding...makes the plant think winters comin!). The plant thinks its found the perfect spot in the world to reproduce so of course it will produce more buds!
Also you cant grow outdoors through winter, hydro lets you go all year round.

Fuck! Exactly how much does this shit sell for?! And how much of a pound is the normal smoking ammount?

These are all local prices of where i used to live, it varies A LOT elsewhere. I forget, i think its 16 ounces to the pound (funny how Aust is metric in everything except buds!) bout 10 -12 bags to the ounce, depending on how well packed the bags are! 15 - 30 bongs to the bag, depending on how big ya pack em. Pounds go for between $2000 - $3000, ounces $180 - $250, bags $25.

Where's the border between commercial quantities and personal use?

Thats the headache question. In the last 10 years in SA it went from 10 plants to 7 plants to 10 plants to 7 plants to 3 plants to 1 outdoor plant with all hydro considered commercial. And then they started getting into the actual weight of buds aswell... he he prob coz of guys like my mate who was pullin commercial quantities off one plant!
Again you'd have to somehow find out the official laws where you live. Ask ten people on the street you'll get ten different answers.

Why is it that it takes longer to grow and ya only get half the yield? And what chemicals are involved? Miracle Grow?

In Aust you can buy a two part product called "grow rite" and "bud rite". 1st contains higher nitrogen for quicker leaf growth for early stages of the plants life, 2nd contains more phosphorus (i think) for bigger buds when you switch to the 12 hour budding cycle. Both have many other nutrients as well.

These are all local prices of where i used to live, it varies A LOT elsewhere. I forget, i think its 16 ounces to the pound (funny how Aust is metric in everything except buds!) bout 10 -12 bags to the ounce, depending on how well packed the bags are! 15 - 30 bongs to the bag, depending on how big ya pack em. Pounds go for between $2000 - $3000, ounces $180 - $250, bags $25.

Are ya talking in Australian dollars ("Aust" is short for "Australia", right?) or American dollars?

Australian dollars, but those are SA (south australia) prices, cheapest dope in the country because of the decriminalisation laws, about half the price of most other states in aust. I haven't smoked in almost a year so i have no idea about prices where I'm livin now.
I know it seems like a lot of easy money and it can be, but you could be asking for more trouble than its worth if you think about growing commercial quantities, bikie gangs are pretty much the only groups with the financial clout to buy pounds at a time, some bikers are good blokes, some are not, just stick to growing personal.

its decriminalised in some parts of the north island ofr personal use, most cops outside of the city wont worry unles ur growing an entire farm of the stuff, everyone has their own crop. but hey, we decriminalsied prostitution last year, holland here we come

How do ya know ya'll have a bad reaction to a high? Is there something ya can do, like a test, to see whether or not ya'll have a bad reaction? Or do ya just hafta take yer chances? Does this relate to yer reaction from alcohol, or are they two totally different things?There's no way to tell. I suppose if a person were worried, the best thing to do would be the U.S. Air Force poison test. Take a tiny bit the first day. If no bad reaction, take a bit more the next day. With mushrooms it takes three days. With a psychoactive drug you'd probably want to be more cautious because you're risking an upset head instead of an upset stomach.

But so much of a person's reaction is caused by attitude. If you're not a hundred percent enthusiastic about it and have reservations, why bother trying? It could be a self-fulfilling prophesy. One of the most common bad reactions to pot is paranoia. If you go into it worrying that something might go wrong, and what you're doing is deliberately changing your brain chemistry, then you're probably doing the worst thing possible.

On the other hand, bad reactions to marijuana are extremely rare. Coughing and wheezing from the smoke are more common than actual bad trips.

No, you can't make any judgments based on your reaction to alcohol. Chemistry is not chemistry.

Thanks, everyone, for yer help.

This is certainly educational. I'll try to think up some more questions.