cannabis

Question 1

what is cannabis produced from?

Answer 1

Cannabis Sativa
(Hemp)

Question 2

what does THC stand for?

Answer 2

(delta 9) tetrahydrocannabinol

Question 3

what is THC?

Answer 3

psychoactive agent

Question 4

what is a psychoactive agent?

Answer 4

• drugs or substances that affects how the brain works
• causes changes in mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, behaviour

Question 5

where can you find THC?

Answer 5

• primarily in sticky resin secreted in flowering tops of female cannabis plans
• all parts of plant

Question 6

identify some uses of cannabis

Answer 6

used to make:
- rope
- cloth
- paper
- seeds for oil
- birdfeed

Question 7

what forms can cannabis come in?

Answer 7

• marijuana
• sinsemilla
• Hashish (“solid”)
• Hash oil

Question 8

describe marijuana

Answer 8

• dried crumbled leaves
• flowering tops of cannabis plant particularly dried down
• small stems
• usually smoked in joints, pipes, bongs
• THC content varies

Question 9

explain how a bong works

Answer 9

• have water in bong
• put weed in the socket/cone
• finger covers any air holes
• burn the weed
• mouth over opening of bong
• inhale
• water cools down smoke
• When you lift finger, you inhale all the smoke that has been accumulating
• airflow of smoke into lungs
• exhale

Question 10

describe sinsemilla

Answer 10

• variant of marijuana
• treated specially
• pollination is prevented
• done by keeping female plant separate
• preventing pollination increases potency of THC (increasing content of marijuana

Question 11

describe hashish

Answer 11

• condensed resin from plant
• potency varies with concentration

Question 12

describe hash oil

Answer 12

• hashish reduced to alcoholic extract
• single drop placed into joint

Question 13

where is cannabis thought to be originated from?

Answer 13

China / Asian region

Question 14

where is Hashish more commonly used?

Answer 14

Arab world

Question 15

how much cannabis does a typical joint contain?

Answer 15

0.5 - 1 gram

Question 16

How much THC is in 1gram of cannabis?

Answer 16

40mg (of active substance)

Question 17

what % of original THC is absorbed from lungs into blood plasma?

Answer 17

20%

Question 18

Outline Black et al. (1998) study that looks at increasing THC absorption

Answer 18

• instructed ppts to smoke joint and hold breathe for either 7 seconds or 15 seconds
• ppts that were instructed to hold breathe for 15 seconds reported experiencing an increased high

Question 19

what happens after peak level of THC being absorbed into blood plasma?

Answer 19

• THC concentration falls
• this is through metabolism in liver and fat storage

Question 20

what happens after peak level of THC being absorbed into blood plasma?

Answer 20

• THC concentration falls
• this is through metabolism in liver and fat storage

Question 21

what is the half life of THC plasma concentration

Answer 21

20 - 30 hours

(half life: time is takes for amount of drugs active substance in body to reduce by half)

Question 22

what did Devane et al. (1988) discover?

Answer 22

discovered that you could identify the location of cannabis receptors in the brain

Question 23

how did Devane et al. (1988) go about identifying the location of cannabis receptors in the brain

Answer 23

• looked at scans of rat brains
• found that cannabis receptors are consistent with behavioural effects
• receptors cluster around regions that primarily have behavioural effects

Question 24

give examples of where cannabis receptors are located and the behavioural effect that is consistent with cannabis use

Answer 24

cluster of receptors in hippocampus
- effects spatial memory

cluster of receptors in the substantia nigra
- indicates cannabis has effects of reward system

Question 25

identify the name of the cannabis receptor

Answer 25

CB1 receptor

Question 26

what is the agonist (what increases the activity of the receptor)?

Answer 26

THC

Question 27

what is the antagonist (what decreases the activity of the receptor)?

Answer 27

SR 141716

Question 28

identify acute behavioural effects of cannabis (Iversen, 2000)

Answer 28

- the "buzz" - the "high" - being "stoned"

Question 29

explain 'the "buzz"'

Answer 29

- lasts briefly -feelings of light-headedness, dizziness

Question 30

explain 'the "high"'

Answer 30

- quickly follows 'the buzz' - feelings of euphoria, exhilaration - disinhibition to brain system - disinhibition gives rise to 'giggles' -

Question 31

explain 'being '"stoned"'

Answer 31

- achieved with large amount of marijuana - feelings of calm, relaxed, dreamlike - sensations of floating, enhanced visual and auditory perception - slowing of perception of time - changes in sociability (can increase/decrease)

Question 32

what are some psychopathological effects of taking cannabis?

Answer 32

- paranoia - anxiety - panic - more common in first time users OR after taking very high dose

Question 33

identify physiological effects of cannabis

Answer 33

- increased blood flow to skin -> sensation of warmth - increase in heart rate -> sensation of a pounding pulse - increase in hunger - hyperphagia (increase in appetite) - palatability (increase in likeness of food)

Question 34

briefly explain how Williams & Kirkham (2002) provide evidence for hyperphagia/increase in appetite/the munchies

Answer 34

- introduced THC - reported feelings of hunger - found that introducing the antagonist (SR141716) suppressed feelings of hunger - palatability also increases in rats upon administering THC

Question 35

Outline Huestis et al. (2001) study into antagonistic effects (effects of marijuana when antagonist is administered)

Answer 35

- had ppts smoke joint containing 2.46% THC - one group administered with CB1 antagonist - SR 141716 - other group administered a placebo - collected self-report - had ppts record their responses - ppts in placebo group reported feeling more high than those in antagonist group - same with feeling stones and heart rate

Question 36

outline Agurell et al (1986) study into administration effects (effects of marijuana depending on how it is consumed)

Answer 36

- compared blood plasma level of THC following smoking a joint vs oral consumption - when smoking joint, THC goes through lungs and into blood plasma - when ingesting marijuana, THC goes through digestive tract, then metabolised in liver - found that in smoking marijuana, THC levels in blood plasma are high but drop off quickly - found that in orally digesting marijuana, THC levels are higher in concentration and last longer

Question 37

Outline Curran et al (2002) study into oral THC administration on verbal memory

Answer 37

- administered ppts with either a placebo, 7.5mg THC and 15mg THC - found that relatively low dose has few effect on verbal memory - high dose of cannabis greatly impairs verbal memory - however, effect of cannabis is reduced in long term users - low doses = few effects on cognitive function UNLESS task is demanding

Question 38

outline 2 studies that show the effects of administering antagonist

Answer 38

Richardson et al (1988) - found SR 141716 induces hyperalgesia (increase in pain sensitivity) - administering cannabis reverses this Black (2004) - found SR 141716 reduces food consumption - administering cannabis increases food consumption