Cannabis

drug-info-cannabis
Friday, August 28, 2009

Cannabis is a drug that comes from the sativa plant. the main active chemical in cannabis is THC (delta-0 tetrahydrocannabional). There are three main forms of cannabis: marijuana, hashish and hash oil. Marijuana is the most common and least powerful form of cannabis, consisting of the dried leaves and flowers of the plant.

  1. What it is

    Cannabis is a drug that comes from the cannabis sativa plant. There are three main forms of cannabis:

  2. Health effects

    Short-term effects
    Greater quantities of cannabis can cause unpleasant effects, including:

  3. Dependence, addiction and overdose risk

    Cannabis does have mild addictive properties. Also, people who use it regularly might develop dependency on the drug because they are used to functioning and performing certain behaviours under the influence of cannabis.

  4. Law and penalities

    It is illegal to grow, sell, distribute or possess cannabis in New Zealand. People can be charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Marijuana is scheduled under Class C of the Act, and stronger forms such as Hashish and cannabis oil are scheduled under Class B.

  5. Drug trends

    Conservative estimates state that at least half of all New Zealanders have tried cannabis.

  6. Reducing the harm

    The Drug Foundation’s message is clear: no drug use is the safest drug use. But we realise there will be occasions when people ignore warnings and use drugs. In order to limit the harm from their drug use, we provide information about effective methods of drug harm minimisation. Such information directly benefits the person using drugs, and also protects the wider community.

  7. How to get help

    There are a number of services around New Zealand that offer counselling, support and assistance to people who are trying to cut down or stop their cannabis use. If you feel that you or anyone you know needs help, then you can call these services in strict confidence.

  8. Medicinal cannabis

    The scientific and clinical evidence to support the medicinal use of cannabis and cannabis-derived products is not yet overwhelming but is well-established enough to suggest that cannabis has therapeutic benefits in treating people with serious conditions.

  9. Cannabis psychosis

    There is growing evidence indicating a link between cannabis and psychotic conditions.

  10. The Gateway theory

    The issue of whether cannabis leads to the use of harder, more dangerous drugs has been a controversial subject for many years. One side of the argument states that if someone uses cannabis they will begin on a path to using harder drugs.

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