Similar term(s): marijuana, grass, pot, weed, hashish.
Definition:
A generic term for several psychoactive preparations of the marijuana (hemp)
plant, Cannabis sativa. They include marijuana leaf (in street jargon: grass,
pot, dope, weed, or reefers), bhang, ganja, or hashish (derived from the resin
of the flowering heads of the plant), and hashish oil.
Cannabis can be rolled with tobacco in a spliff or joint, smoked on its own in
a pipe or bong, or eaten as part of a cake or cookie.
Cannabis intoxication produces a feeling of euphoria, lightness of the limbs,
and often social withdrawal. It impairs driving and the performance of other
complex, skilled activities; it impairs immediate recall, attention span,
reaction time, learning ability, motor co-ordination, depth perception,
peripheral vision, time sense (the individual typically has a sensation of
slowed time), and signal detection. Other signs of intoxication may include
excessive anxiety, suspiciousness or paranoid ideas in some and euphoria or
apathy in others, impaired judgement, bloodshot eyes, increased appetite, dry
mouth, abnormally rapid heart rate, as well a feeling of tiredness and lack of
energy.
Although it is mostly quite mild, some forms of cannabis such as skunk are
very strong and smokers can have a hallucinogenic reaction.
There are reports of cannabis use precipitating a relapse in schizophrenia.
Acute anxiety and panic states and acute delusional states have been reported
with cannabis intoxication; they usually remit within several days.
