Facts About Marijuana

Among the many facts about marijuana, the World Drug Report of 2008 estimates that 162 million adults are marijuana users and 22.5 million are daily users.

According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6,000 people use marijuana for the first time every day. Most of these first time users (62.2 percent) were under 18 years of age.

Your heart rate increases 20 to 100 percent after you smoke, and this can last up to three hours. Marijuana abusers increase their risk of having a heart attack 4.8 times in an hour after smoking.

Marijuana can cause someone to experience psychological distress including depression, panic attacks, anxiety and paranoia. These symptoms are usually temporary and follow shortly after smoking. Some marijuana users who eat the drug rather than smoke it will experience toxic psychosis, but this is also temporary.

People who use marijuana weekly or more often increase their risk of suffering from depression.

According to a recent study by Zammit, S et al., teenagers who used marijuana heavily (50 or more times) before 18 years of age had an increased risk of a schizophrenia diagnosis later in life.

There are approximately 400 chemicals found in marijuana. Many of them are carcinogenic and have 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than regular cigarettes do.

Marijuana has over 200 slang or street names. Some of these include:

• Pot
• Weed
• Ganja
• Moocah
• Bammy

People used to pick up marijuana at a general store or pharmacy for labor pains, nausea and rheumatism until 1942.

Marijuana was first restricted in 1937 by the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It placed high amounts of tax on cannabis so that most people couldn't afford it. Less than 40 years later, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 made marijuana illegal.

California is the first state to allow doctors to recommend the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Canada was the first country in 2003 to offer it to patients in pain.

For more information on drug abuse, watch these slideshows:

• Signs of Drug Abuse

• Books on Drug Abuse