THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF CANNABIS

AKA: marijuana, grass, weed, pot, ganja, skunk, hash, dope.

Price: marijuana and cannabis resin, £100-£140 an ounce (28g). Generally 
bought in quarters, priced £25-£35

Form: cannabis comes in three forms: marijuana (or grass), the herbal form, 
comprising the heads of the female plants (the most important psychoactive 
ingredients in cannabis are tetrahydrocannabinols or THCs, which are 
concentrated in the top of plants); cannabis resin (or hash), a compressed 
brown or black powder that is heated and crumbled for use; and, more 
rarely, cannabis oil, a thick dark brown, viscous substance extracted by 
infusing the plant in solvents, which come packed in a paper or plastic 
wrap and is removed with a warm knife. All forms can be smoked (mixed with 
tobacco and/or pure) or eaten (most commonly in cakes or pure)

Duration of high: approximatley two hours.

Legal status: Class B

History: the plant Cannabis Sativa originated in Asia, first cultivated by 
the Chinese. Its stem fibre has long been used in the production of hemp 
rope, coarse weave cloth and paper and its seeds, when crushed, yield oil 
used in cooking, paint and soap. Easily grown in tropical and temperate 
climates, the plant soon spread from Asia through Europe. It is thought to 
have been brought to North America by the Spanish. Cannabis was introduced 
into Western medicine in the 1840s and, throughout the nineteenth century, 
was used to treat everything from period pains, headaches and insomnia to 
strychnine poisoning and delirium tremens. More recently, cannabis has also 
been recognised as effective in the treatment of glaucoma in America, and, 
more controversially as a muscle relaxant in the treatment of multiple 
sclerosis and as a means of triggering the desire to eat in people with 
AIDS. Though in India, where the plant's consciousness altering effects 
first became known, it has been used in religious ceremonies for thousands 
of years, cannabis has only been widespread, recreational use in Western 
society for about the past 50 years. It was first made illegal in this 
country 1925.

Highs: cannabis causes enhanced feelings of well-being, relaxation and 
happiness. Users claim increased intuitive insight, heightening of the 
senses and, occasionally, when used in large amounts (particularly eaten), 
hallucinations. Perhaps the safest of the illegal substances, cannabis is 
non-addictive and causes little or no hangover. No one has ever died of a 
cannabis overdose but a lethal dose is thought to be around 1½ lbs eaten in 
one go. Enough to make an army see God.

Lows: the said increased intuitive insight is likely to bore anyone within 
a tenmile radius at which point, rampant paranoia may set in, not helped by 
physical effects which include reddening of the eyes, an increased pulse 
rate, a drop in blood.pressure, a dry throat and mouth, tiredness and 'the 
munchies' -an uncontrollable urge to eat everything in sight.

Tips: smoking cannabis is easy to regulate, eating is more difficult. If 
you are going to eat it, in food or pure, be prepared for more dramatic 
effects. Also, recent batches from Holland (skunk, in particular) have been 
found have an unusually high THC content. Here again, the effects is likely 
to be more extreme.

From the magazine TimeOut No.1239 May 18-25 1994

Typed by Dr. Benway

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