Cannabis :

• Presentation: Of all illicit drugs, cannabis is the most widely used. Cannabis, or hemp, comes from a plant of the cannabinacea family. Type: Cannabis, species: Sativa L. Cannabis can take several forms, such as weed, resin or oil. The amount of delta9 – tetrahydrocannabinol, a substance causing the pharmacological effects of cannabis, varies depending on the origin of cannabis.

In Europe, cannabis resin is the substance consumed by most people. Consumption is varied, and the most popular modes include joints (cigarettes containing cannabis and tobacco), pipes (narghiles or pipes made of plastic bottles), ingestion, cannabis is also used as an ingredient in baking cakes and cooking, shu bang, a pipe made of cardboard with a tinfoil hearth.

• Effects: The effects of cannabis are mainly due to ?9 – tetrahydrocannabinol but also to the toxic substances contained in the smoke. The short-term effects associated with the use of cannabis are a reversible alteration of some psychomotor and cognitive performances. Taken in small doses, drowsiness, euphoria and a sense of well-being may also be accompanied by a distortion of time, short-term memory troubles, and impaired coordination. Taken in higher doses, speech difficulties and motor coordination disorders can appear and linger for over 24 hours. Other clinical signs associated with cannabis use are vasodilatation, eye irritation, tachycardia, bronchial irritation with coughing, digestion problems.

Psychologically, there have been reports of acute psychiatric complications, such as panic attacks or delirious episodes, and also changes in sexual behaviour, which could become more overt. The effects of cannabis can linger for 2 to 10 hours depending on the doses taken and the individual’s sensibility. Studies have shown the incompatibility of cannabis intoxication with operating heavy machinery or holding positions where the security of the individual and others around him/her could be threatened. The effects of long term use (over 10 times a year) or heavy daily use of cannabis can be both psychological, with the appearance of dependence, or somatics, with the increase of bronco-pulmonary cancers, or cancers of the superior aerodigestive tracts.

• Dependence: While psychological dependence on cannabis seems to be recognised, physical dependence is contested. The existence of cannabis withdrawal syndrome could be considered in the event of regular chronic use, taken in high doses.

• Overdosing: There are no records of death caused by cannabis overdose.