Cannabis

Source
Plants of the genus Cannabis, particularly Cannabis sativa.

Forms and appearance
Herbal:
dried plant material, similar to a coarse-cut tobacco-like mixture. Usually greenish brown in colour. Sometimes the mixture has been compressed into blocks; occasionally it is seen wound with thread around a thin stick.

Resin:
dried and compressed resinous sap, found in blocks of various sizes and shapes. Ranges in colour from black or grey, through every shade of brown,to a pale honey colour. Ranges in consistency from hard and brittle, for hard and dense, to soft and oily, to dry and crumbly.

Oil:
extracted from the resin form by the use of a chemical solvent. Seen as a thick heavy oil ranging in colour from dark green or dark brown to jet black and with a distinctive smell like rotting vegetation.

Marketing
Sold by the ounce or as fractions of an ounce in a variety of packaging and sometimes with no packaging at all. Available in every city,town and village in the UK, in public houses and clubs, on the street, outside schools and colleges – indeed, anywhere that young people gather.

Legal position
Class C controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Methods of use
Commonly smoked in a variety of ways. Can be put into food or made into drinks. Occasionally eaten on its own.

Effects of use
Relaxation, happiness, congeniality, increased powers of concentration, sexual arousal,loss of inhibitions,warmth,increased appetite,talkativeness.

Adverse effects
Loss of short-term memory, impaired judgement, impaired driving skills, dry mouth, lethargy, decreased blood pressure, bloodshot eyes, dizziness, confusion, anxiety, panic, paranoia, psychosis, depression, schizophrenia,
potential for causing cancers and breathing disorders.

Tolerance potential
Tolerance develops rapidly with continued use.

Habituation potential
True physical habituation is rare, but most users will develop a strong psychological habituation with continued use.

Withdrawal effects
Disturbed sleep patterns, anxiety, restlessness, irritability and aggression, nausea and cramping.

Overdose potential
It is not thought to be possible to fatally overdose with cannabis.