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Cannabis/Marijuana/Hashish
Dope,draw, blow, pot, grass, hash, spliff, weed... the list of nicknames is endless. Cannabis is the most widely used illegal substance in the world. Despite its associations with hippies and Rastafarians, it is used by people from every walk of life. Cannabis is the Latin name of the plant, while the Spanish word "marijuana" covers all the psychoactive derivatives, includiing hashish, pollen and oil.
There are many different types of cannabis but the plant genus divides into three species-cannabis sativa, cannabis indica and cannabis ruderalis. Sativa is indigenous to tropical places, such as Latin America, South East Asia and parts of Africa, whereas Indica is generally from the Indian sub-continent, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Ruderalis is grown in central Russian regions.
Ruderalis is generally not used as a recreational drug alone, though is sometimes cross-bred with the other types to make them more climate resiliant. Of the other two it is said that the high from indica is more lethargic whereas sativa tends to inspire. Whatever the case, the use of cannabis goes back to Ancient times, with documented evidence of it's ceremonial use amongst many ancient tribes including references in both the Old and New Testament.
Its effects include a distorted perception of time. Time slows down for a user and short periods of time can seem like hours. Some types of cannabis can be very cerebral, with the user drifting off into their own thoughts. Long protracted silences are common. This is why long term use can cause self-doubt and paranoia. Unlike alcohol, it is unusual for a cannabis user to feel aggressive while under the influence. Quite the opposite in fact.
Alternatively, with some types, the user may act drunk, finding everything funny and feeling light headed. Cannabis also makes the user hungry. The user generally craves sweet things, as marijuana causes the blood sugar to drop, thus causing what users call "the munchies".
The user's eyes become bloodshot and the pupils dilated. Depending upon how much the user has had, they may fall asleep. There are no documented cases of anyone dying from a cannabis overdose. It takes 40 000 times the intoxicating dose to kill, but the user would fall asleep long before. To put that into perspective, it takes between five or ten times the intoxicating dose of alcohol to kill. In other words, if it takes three beers to intoxicate you, it would only take between 15 and thirty to kill you. The main immediate danger of cannabis is the risk of an accident while intoxicated, as concentration levels become lower and the user becomes easily distracted.
Arguments in favour of the decriminalisation of cannabis have been around for many years. The Beatles famously signed a petition in favour of this back in the 1960s. There have been controlled experiments in various countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, and even in certain parts of London involving the suspension of the usual laws regarding the drug, and famously, the coffee shops of Amsterdam have long been known as places to "score" legally. There is also a movement in favour of the legalisation of "medicinal cannabis", as the plant has proven anti-inflammatory and pain-killing qualities, and has been used to alieviate the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and arthritis, as well as being used to stimulate the appetite of AIDS and cancer sufferers.
On the negative side, cannabis is well known for making people lethargic. This is particularly the case with indica varieties but large doses of sativa will have the same effect. In the UK, cannabis, especially hashish (cannabis resin, which has to be heated and crumbled) is usually mixed with tobacco and smoked with no filter, thus increasing the risk of cancer. It is also impossible to know what has been added to hashish, and substances such as engine oil, diesel and animal excrement are often used as additives. Smoking pure cannabis is slightly less of a risk, and often people use pipes, bongs (water pipes), chillums (another type of pipe) and various other improvisations including buckets and hot knives. Smoking anything, however, is not good for the human body, and it is generally the preferred way of cannabis use, usually in a joint or sometimes a blunt (a cigar impregnated with cannabis, popular in gangster rap culture).
Cannabis is sometimes eaten, usually in what are known as "space cakes", which cuts the risk of smoking-related complications. Cannabis only dissolves in oil based substances such as butter. The downside of this is that it takes much longer to affect the user and there is no way of controlling the amount taken.
More recently, the technology surrounding the cultivation of cannabis has advanced considerably, and it has become very easy for skunk to be grown in the UK. This variety is extremely pungent and strong. However, it is grown using various chemical pesticides and fertilisers. There has been much debate about the long term effects of skunk on the brain in particular, but many cannabis users will not use it, claiming it is too strong. Its strength is actually lower than the organic marijuana on sale in the Amsterdam coffee shops, which highlights the effects of the chemicals used to cultivate it.
Use of cannabis can be productive in small amounts, indeed some of the greatest music of the 20th century including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Louis Armstrong was written under the influence. At the same time, long term use can result in psychiatric problems and procrastination. It is also known to affect the short term memory. It is a MYTH that cannabis is not addictive. While there is no physical addiction, psychologically people can become dependent on it, and the come-down, particularly with the chemical skunk that has become popular over the last few years, can cause people to become aggressive and possibly violent. There have been cases of schizophrenia and personality disorders that have been linked to cannabis, and though most people don't use it as a stepping stone to harder narcotics, if one tries one flavour of ice-cream, one naturally is curious as to what the others taste like.
There are many different types of cannabis but the plant genus divides into three species-cannabis sativa, cannabis indica and cannabis ruderalis. Sativa is indigenous to tropical places, such as Latin America, South East Asia and parts of Africa, whereas Indica is generally from the Indian sub-continent, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Ruderalis is grown in central Russian regions.
Ruderalis is generally not used as a recreational drug alone, though is sometimes cross-bred with the other types to make them more climate resiliant. Of the other two it is said that the high from indica is more lethargic whereas sativa tends to inspire. Whatever the case, the use of cannabis goes back to Ancient times, with documented evidence of it's ceremonial use amongst many ancient tribes including references in both the Old and New Testament.
Its effects include a distorted perception of time. Time slows down for a user and short periods of time can seem like hours. Some types of cannabis can be very cerebral, with the user drifting off into their own thoughts. Long protracted silences are common. This is why long term use can cause self-doubt and paranoia. Unlike alcohol, it is unusual for a cannabis user to feel aggressive while under the influence. Quite the opposite in fact.
Alternatively, with some types, the user may act drunk, finding everything funny and feeling light headed. Cannabis also makes the user hungry. The user generally craves sweet things, as marijuana causes the blood sugar to drop, thus causing what users call "the munchies".
The user's eyes become bloodshot and the pupils dilated. Depending upon how much the user has had, they may fall asleep. There are no documented cases of anyone dying from a cannabis overdose. It takes 40 000 times the intoxicating dose to kill, but the user would fall asleep long before. To put that into perspective, it takes between five or ten times the intoxicating dose of alcohol to kill. In other words, if it takes three beers to intoxicate you, it would only take between 15 and thirty to kill you. The main immediate danger of cannabis is the risk of an accident while intoxicated, as concentration levels become lower and the user becomes easily distracted.
Arguments in favour of the decriminalisation of cannabis have been around for many years. The Beatles famously signed a petition in favour of this back in the 1960s. There have been controlled experiments in various countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, and even in certain parts of London involving the suspension of the usual laws regarding the drug, and famously, the coffee shops of Amsterdam have long been known as places to "score" legally. There is also a movement in favour of the legalisation of "medicinal cannabis", as the plant has proven anti-inflammatory and pain-killing qualities, and has been used to alieviate the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and arthritis, as well as being used to stimulate the appetite of AIDS and cancer sufferers.
On the negative side, cannabis is well known for making people lethargic. This is particularly the case with indica varieties but large doses of sativa will have the same effect. In the UK, cannabis, especially hashish (cannabis resin, which has to be heated and crumbled) is usually mixed with tobacco and smoked with no filter, thus increasing the risk of cancer. It is also impossible to know what has been added to hashish, and substances such as engine oil, diesel and animal excrement are often used as additives. Smoking pure cannabis is slightly less of a risk, and often people use pipes, bongs (water pipes), chillums (another type of pipe) and various other improvisations including buckets and hot knives. Smoking anything, however, is not good for the human body, and it is generally the preferred way of cannabis use, usually in a joint or sometimes a blunt (a cigar impregnated with cannabis, popular in gangster rap culture).
Cannabis is sometimes eaten, usually in what are known as "space cakes", which cuts the risk of smoking-related complications. Cannabis only dissolves in oil based substances such as butter. The downside of this is that it takes much longer to affect the user and there is no way of controlling the amount taken.
More recently, the technology surrounding the cultivation of cannabis has advanced considerably, and it has become very easy for skunk to be grown in the UK. This variety is extremely pungent and strong. However, it is grown using various chemical pesticides and fertilisers. There has been much debate about the long term effects of skunk on the brain in particular, but many cannabis users will not use it, claiming it is too strong. Its strength is actually lower than the organic marijuana on sale in the Amsterdam coffee shops, which highlights the effects of the chemicals used to cultivate it.
Use of cannabis can be productive in small amounts, indeed some of the greatest music of the 20th century including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Louis Armstrong was written under the influence. At the same time, long term use can result in psychiatric problems and procrastination. It is also known to affect the short term memory. It is a MYTH that cannabis is not addictive. While there is no physical addiction, psychologically people can become dependent on it, and the come-down, particularly with the chemical skunk that has become popular over the last few years, can cause people to become aggressive and possibly violent. There have been cases of schizophrenia and personality disorders that have been linked to cannabis, and though most people don't use it as a stepping stone to harder narcotics, if one tries one flavour of ice-cream, one naturally is curious as to what the others taste like.
Alcohol
We are constantly bombarded by stories of drunken hooligans fighting in city centres after closing time. Alcohol was famously made illegal in the USA during the 1920's and this ill-thought through piece of legislation caused gangland wars on a scale unprecedented, as well as flooding the country with deadly unprocessed forms of alcohol that caused blindness, insanity and death. The parallels between this and the current drug laws are often highlighted, but as alcohol is socially acceptable in most countries and brings in a lot of revenue in the form of taxation, to most people, alcohol is not seen in the same way as other drugs.
It is a drug, however. Although the majority of alcohol users do not develop a dependency, it is well worth knowing what it does to the human body.
Alcohol in whatever form is absorbed in the small intestine and carried in the bloodstream to the liver, where it is metabolised by two enzymes, alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The first of these converts the drink into a highly toxic substance called acetaldehyde. The body excretes spare liquid in the urine, but as one can drink alcohol faster than the liver can process it, it starts to affect the brain, hence drunkenness.
Firstly the neurones are affected, causing dizziness and affecting balance as well as the distortion of the drinker's perception of reality, for example, making the drinker think that they are incredibly interesting and attractive. This is helped by the acetaldehyde, and eventually the body realises it has been poisoned, which causes the user to vomit. As urine is the preferred way of expelling alcohol from the body, (not to mention vomiting), dehydration sets in the next morning. The by-products of alcohol metabolism cause the foul taste in the mouth, while dilated blood vessels (the cause of the thread veins and red nose of hardened drinkers) and low blood glucose levels are responsible for the headache that comes with the hangover.
Vodka is said to be the least vicious hangover, while at the other end of the scale, brandy is the most ferocious.
Apart from the health risks of alcohol, one is much more likely to do things that they wouldn't do in a sober state of mind. There is the argument that "booze brings out the bad in one if it's there in the first place", and the argument "I was drunk" does not wash when trying to justify beating up one's wife for example. Alcohol is one of the most unpredictable drugs so far as effects go, because it can affect people very differently. There are different types of drunk- happy, bored, violent and maudlin being just a few.
A genuine alcoholic cannot go "cold turkey" in the same way that a heroin addict can. While heroin withdrawal will make the user extremely ill and desperate, they will recover, whereas the sudden withdrawal from alcohol will cause the body temperature to change so radically that the user will not survive. With other drugs, heroin included, the brain cells that the drug damages will regenerate. This is not the case with alcohol. These brain cells will not recover from long term alcohol abuse. A recovering alcoholic may suffer the "DTs" (delerium tremens), which causes the shakes, paranoia, sweating, shivering and sometimes hallucinations. In extreme cases it can result in convulsions and even death.
The average proof of hard liquor is around 70 to 80% proof. Industrial alcohol is around 150%. Home made alcohol from a still usually comes out at around 200% and needs to be filtered through activated charcoal and diluted to stop it blinding the user and causing immediate brain damage. Long term alcohol abuse can cause a wide range of complications, some of them highlighted in the photo with this article. The more immediate risk is the chances of having or causing an accident while intoxicated, as well as the anti-social behaviour aspect.
It is a drug, however. Although the majority of alcohol users do not develop a dependency, it is well worth knowing what it does to the human body.
Alcohol in whatever form is absorbed in the small intestine and carried in the bloodstream to the liver, where it is metabolised by two enzymes, alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The first of these converts the drink into a highly toxic substance called acetaldehyde. The body excretes spare liquid in the urine, but as one can drink alcohol faster than the liver can process it, it starts to affect the brain, hence drunkenness.
Firstly the neurones are affected, causing dizziness and affecting balance as well as the distortion of the drinker's perception of reality, for example, making the drinker think that they are incredibly interesting and attractive. This is helped by the acetaldehyde, and eventually the body realises it has been poisoned, which causes the user to vomit. As urine is the preferred way of expelling alcohol from the body, (not to mention vomiting), dehydration sets in the next morning. The by-products of alcohol metabolism cause the foul taste in the mouth, while dilated blood vessels (the cause of the thread veins and red nose of hardened drinkers) and low blood glucose levels are responsible for the headache that comes with the hangover.
Vodka is said to be the least vicious hangover, while at the other end of the scale, brandy is the most ferocious.
Apart from the health risks of alcohol, one is much more likely to do things that they wouldn't do in a sober state of mind. There is the argument that "booze brings out the bad in one if it's there in the first place", and the argument "I was drunk" does not wash when trying to justify beating up one's wife for example. Alcohol is one of the most unpredictable drugs so far as effects go, because it can affect people very differently. There are different types of drunk- happy, bored, violent and maudlin being just a few.
A genuine alcoholic cannot go "cold turkey" in the same way that a heroin addict can. While heroin withdrawal will make the user extremely ill and desperate, they will recover, whereas the sudden withdrawal from alcohol will cause the body temperature to change so radically that the user will not survive. With other drugs, heroin included, the brain cells that the drug damages will regenerate. This is not the case with alcohol. These brain cells will not recover from long term alcohol abuse. A recovering alcoholic may suffer the "DTs" (delerium tremens), which causes the shakes, paranoia, sweating, shivering and sometimes hallucinations. In extreme cases it can result in convulsions and even death.
The average proof of hard liquor is around 70 to 80% proof. Industrial alcohol is around 150%. Home made alcohol from a still usually comes out at around 200% and needs to be filtered through activated charcoal and diluted to stop it blinding the user and causing immediate brain damage. Long term alcohol abuse can cause a wide range of complications, some of them highlighted in the photo with this article. The more immediate risk is the chances of having or causing an accident while intoxicated, as well as the anti-social behaviour aspect.