Background
What is cannabis?
Cannabis is an illegal drug. Its name is taken from the Latin name of the plant 'Cannabis Sativa'. It is classified in law as a Class C type drug – the lowest class of drugs – under the Misuse of Drugs Act (it was reclassified from Class B to Class C in 2004) and in the past has been categorised as both a depressant and stimulant type drug. It is one of the most used popular drugs in the UK. Often referred to as Weed, Hash, Ganga, Dope, Pot or Spliff etc, it comes in different forms – from a solid lump (resin), leaves or oil – to a stalks and seeds format (grass). It is mainly smoked but can also be ingested by eating.
It was first prominent in the UK as far back as the 1920s when it was connected to the opium trade at an international conference. It was legally used in the UK for medicinal and recreational purposes until 1928. Recently its classification has become a political battleground.
Cannabis use has escalated to seriously worrying heights; politicians, the NHS, and legal departments have continually been engaged in debate as to just how serious a drug it has become, and how it should be dealt with. No conclusive evidence regarding cannabis use - and how detrimental it is to health - has been evident, but growing numbers of research conducted throughout the world suggested that it may be damaging in some respects, especially to mental health. Associated paraphernalia includes Rizla rolling papers, pipes and bongs.
Why do people use cannabis?
There is no such thing as a typical cannabis user. People from many different backgrounds use it for many different reasons – from medicinal use, to light, recreational smoking. Some become psychologically dependent. There are various levels of cannabis use and abuse, including its medical use, and it can often be difficult to assess when cannabis becomes a problem within the life of any given individual, or, indeed, within society itself.
What are the effects of cannabis use?
This depends often on the strength, how it is taken, and the person taking it. As with any drug cannabis does affect people in different ways.
Immediate effects:
Felt within a few minutes, users feel chilled, talkative, relaxed and de-stressed and can have heightened creativity and sensitivity to sound and colour. The appetite often becomes active with a yearning for 'munchies' – the need to eat food. Cannabis is sometimes ingested through food whereby the effects are sometimes stronger and more difficult to control.
Longer term effects:
Research has indicated prolonged and regular heavy usage of Cannabis can lead to the development and active regression of positive mental health. This often translates as users suffering from terrifying hallucinations and different levels of paranoia. Heavy usage also leads to difficult withdrawal symptoms. Smoked with tobacco further increases the health risks and include those linked to tobacco use (heart, lung, and respiratory diseases). It can lead to nicotine addiction.
Health risks
Lack of concentration and decreased ability to undertake complex type tasks
Distorted sense of reality
Self harm
Non recollection of events / impaired memory
Lack of motivation, confidence and tiredness
Vomiting and feelings of sickness
Getting 'stoned' – being under the influence of cannabis – significantly increases the chances of risk taking. The dis-inhibiting effects of cannabis can lead to increased risk of accident or injury, having unprotected sex, placing people at high risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or unwanted pregnancy. Long-term usage also suggests that men who smoke cannabis suffer lower sperm count.
Cannabis and the law
All cannabis types, including Oil, Resin and Grass and Class C, are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
1 Cannabis is classified a Class C drug
2 It is an hallucinogenic drug
3 It is illegal to supply, possess, cultivate, produce or export cannabis
4 Possession carries a maximum 2 year sentence and/or a fine
5 The Police can stop and search anyone on suspicion of carrying drugs
6 Every year about 40,000 people in the UK are arrested for drug offences
7 About 38,000 of these get caught with a small amount of cannabis, a 'tab' of a couple of Ecstacy tablets
8 What happens to them depends on the Class of drug they're caught with and what they plan to do with it, eg supply or possession
9 Young people caught in possession of cannabis will be arrested under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which requires young offenders to be dealt with at the police station
10 It is illegal for those responsible for premises to allow them to be used for the smoking, production or supply of cannabis
The consequences
Cannabis is classified as a Class C type drug and carries heavy penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Possession: carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine
Production or dealing: carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine