HASHISH/CANNABIS/WEED/SKUNK

Bhang, black, blast, blow, blunts, Bob Hope, bush, dope, draw, ganga, grass, hash, HASHISH, hemp, herb, marijuana, pot, puff, Northern Lights, resin, sensi, sensemilla, skunk, smoke, spliff, wacky backy, weed, zero etc.

Some names are based on country of origin such as Afghan, Colombian, homegrown, Lebanese, Moroccan, Pakistani etc.

Cannabis comes from Cannabis sativa, a bushy plant that grows in many parts of the world and is also cultivated in the UK

The main active ingredients in cannabis are the tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). These are the chemicals that cause the effect on the brain.

Different forms of cannabis come from different parts of the plant and have different strengths. 'HASHISH' or 'hash' is the commonest form found in the UK. It is resin scraped or rubbed from the dried plant and then pressed into brown/black blocks. It is mostly imported from Morocco, Pakistan, the Lebanon and Afghanistan. Herbal cannabis is made from the chopped, dried leaves of the plant. It is also known as 'grass' , 'bush' and 'ganga' and in America as 'marijuana' and is imported from Africa, South America, Thailand and the West Indies. Some is 'homegrown' and cultivated in this country, sometimes on a large scale to sell but sometimes by individuals in their homes or greenhouses for their own use.

Herbal cannabis is usually not as strong as the resin form. However, some particularly strong herbal forms such as 'sensemilla' and 'skunk' have recently been cultivated in Holland and this country.

Cannabis oil is the least common form of cannabis found in the UK It is made by percolating a solvent through the resin.

In the UK cannabis is usually smoked rolled into a cigarette or joint, often with tobacco. The herbal form is sometimes made into a cigarette without using tobacco. Cannabis is also sometimes smoked in a pipe, brewed into a tea or cooked into cakes.

Bought on the streets, herbal cannabis costs about £50-80 per ounce. Resin costs £60- £100 per ounce. Heavy and regular cannabis users might use an eighth of an ounce per day. Many people only smoke occasionally.

Recently, stronger types of herbal cannabis have become available with names like northern lights and skunk. They are grown from special seeds and can have hallucinogenic effects. Some people may find them too strong and find the experience of smoking them very disturbing.

The debate about 'legalising' or 'decriminalising' cannabis for personal use has being hotting up. Some people say we should follow the example of Holland and, from a civil liberties point of view, adopt a more liberal approach to possession of the drug for personal use. Others are very much against the idea on both health and moral grounds. There are many issues to debate, few of which have been discussed in detail in the UK.

Some doctors and patients also say cannabis is useful to treat glaucoma (an eye disease), control the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and for other illnesses. At present doctors cannot prescribe smokable cannabis to their patients, although synthetic THC preparations are available to help deal with the sickness caused by some cancer treatments. There is growing pressure on the British government to change the law so cannabis can be prescribed by doctors. In the meantime, a doctor has been given a licence to grow cannabis for research purposes.

HISTORY

Use of cannabis for pleasure also dates back to ancient China and India. The drug was brought to Western Europe by soldiers in Napoleon's army who had been fighting in north Africa at the beginning of the 19th century.

Non medical use of cannabis was first banned in the UK in 1928 after South African and Egyptian delegates at an international conference about opium persuaded other countries that cannabis drove people mad.

"HASHISH absorbed in large quantities produces a furious delirium and... predisposes to acts of violence and produces a characteristic strident laugh... [With habitual use] the countenance of the addict becomes gloomy, his eye is wild, and the expression of his face is stupid... his intellectual faculties gradually weaken and the whole organism decays. The addict very frequently becomes neurasthenic and eventually insane." - Dr El Guindy, Egyptian delegate, Second International Opium Conference, 1924.

This idea that cannabis drove people mad and that it led to them being out of control was popularised in the 1930s and 1940s in America by the head of the Narcotics Bureau, Harry Anslinger. He organised pamphlets, stories in magazines and newspapers and even a film called 'Reefer Madness' to convince people that terrible crimes were committed by people who used cannabis.

At the time cannabis was hardly used in the UK and up to the mid 1960s its use was confined mainly to the London jazz scene and some West Indian communities. In the 1960s its use grew rapidly, especially among young university and college students. In 1973, as part of the introduction of the Misuse of Drugs Act, the government decided that cannabis had no medical uses and banned it being available on a doctor's prescription.

Although with the passing of the 1960s 'hippy' period, use of cannabis became less newsworthy, its actual use spread to other groups in society beyond middle class students and media personalities. There was more attention for cannabis during the reggae boom of the mid 1970s and once again more recently on the back of the general rise in drug use among young people in the 1990s.

THE LAW

Cannabis is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act. It is illegal to grow, possess or supply to another person. Special to cannabis (and opium) is the offence of allowing your house (or any other premises you have responsibility for) to be used for growing cannabis or smoking it. This means a parent who allows their children to grow plants or smoke cannabis in their house is breaking the law.

In 1997 over 70,000 people in the UK were caught committing cannabis offences. 90% were for possession for personal use. Of all cannabis offenders over half the people involved received a caution rather than being taken to court. Cautioning has become much more common, especially for first time possession offences. A caution does not count as a criminal conviction, but the offence is noted and the person involved is given a stern warning by the police. Where someone is found guilty in a court for cannabis possession and receives a small fine it does count as a criminal conviction and it can bar them from future jobs, especially jobs which involve working with children. Whilst cautioning has become much more common exactly what the police do when they catch someone with cannabis varies from area to area around the country.

EFFECTS/ RISKS

Smoking cannabis causes a number of physical effects including increased pulse rate, decreased blood pressure, bloodshot eyes, increased appetite and occasional dizziness. Effects start within a few minutes and may last several hours depending on how much is taken. When eaten the effects take longer to start but may last longer. Eating cannabis may mean a large dose is taken in one go making it difficult to avoid any unpleasant reactions.

"When I first started it was just to relax. It reduced the tension after a days work. We just used to sit around giggling and playing music and then getting the munchies and eating our heads off. And next morning I felt fine. No hangover at all".

Cannabis has a mild sedative effect but the experience can vary greatly depending on the users mood and what they expect to happen. Many people find that the when they first use cannabis nothing much happens. Generally cannabis makes people relax. They may become giggly and very talkative or alternatively quieter and subdued. Users often report that they become more aware of music and colours and that time seems to stand still.

"Music is beautiful when you're high. Every note is separate, perfect and complete - similarly every word. Beauty and love is epitomized in each note. Your hearing becomes so acute - you can hear sounds miles away and differentiation between different tones, notes, sounds, no matter how close in tone they might be to one another, is heard without any effort or thought. Your eyesight is affected also. Things become more defined, distinct, more silhouetted - colours are more beautiful. There's nothing I enjoy more when I'm smashed than to sit in a garden full of flowers, with birds singing, while the sun is going down. I really saw God in his own wonder then, for the first time." - J. Berke and C. Hernton, The cannabis experience. Peter Owen, 1974.

Whilst under the influence of cannabis short term memory (such as recall of what has just happened or been thought about) may be affected but this stops once the effects of cannabis wear off. Co-ordination can be affected meaning accidents may be more likely especially if people drive or operate machinery whilst stoned.

Loss of inhibitions may mean people are more likely to get into sexual situations they later regret and that they are less likely to practice safer sex and use condoms.

Some people find that cannabis makes them very anxious, panicky and paranoid (feeling everyone is out to get them). This can happen with inexperienced users or if people are already anxious or consume strong varieties or high doses of cannabis. Very heavy use by people who already have mental health problems may lead to very distressing experiences.

"I once had what is known as 'the horrors' when I had not been smoking long. The marijuana was a very strong variety, far stronger than anything I had ever smoked before, and I was in an extremely tense and unhappy personal situation. I lost all sense of time and place and had slight hallucinations - the walls came and went, objects and sounds were unreal and people looked like monsters. It was hard to breathe and I thought I was going to die and that no one would care. This feeling receded every now and then and I glimpsed reality. It lasted about half an hour and then I feel asleep." - J. Berke and C. Hernton. The cannabis experience. Peter Owen, 1974.

There is no conclusive evidence that moderate, long term use of cannabis causes lasting damage to physical or mental health. However, it is probable that frequent inhalation of cannabis smoke over a period of years will contribute towards bronchitis and other respiratory disorders and possible cancers of the lung and parts of the digestive system. Risks are greater if cannabis is smoked with tobacco. It is not clear which of the two is the most damaging although cannabis smokers tend to inhale more deeply and cannabis contains higher concentrations of carcinogenic tars than tobacco.

There is no physical dependence associated with cannabis use. Regular users who stop smoking do not suffer withdrawal symptoms in the same way as with drugs like heroin. Even so regular users can become psychologically dependent and come to rely on using cannabis to get them through the day. It is not unknown for some people to use cannabis so frequently that they are almost constantly stoned.

"Now I need to smoke it most of the time. At the moment it's all I really think about. My daily routine is work, think about a joint, get stoned, sleep, back to work. I can't imagine life without it. Whilst I'm stoned my memory sometimes goes. Where did I put the keys? Why did I walk into this room? What have I got to do? I've reached a point where I was smoking so much and I couldn't take any more spliff. The paranoia was too much. Your life tends to float along in a haze".

Some people have claimed that cannabis use can lead to long term mental problems or 'cannabis psychosis'. Cannabis use can worsen the condition of some people who already have problems such as schizophrenia but there is no convincing evidence to suggest that cannabis use can actually cause such problems.

Someone who uses cannabis excessively may appear apathetic, lack energy and motivation and perform poorly at their work or education. This state may carry on for weeks after stopping use of the drug. However, such a condition seems rare and is similar to what would be expected from someone who drinks too much or regularly uses tranquillisers.

It has also been claimed that cannabis use leads to use of drugs like heroin and cocaine. Most heroin and cocaine users have used cannabis but the vast majority of people who have used cannabis have never used heroin or cocaine. In other words cannabis use does not automatically lead to use of other drugs.

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