original article NewScientist

Stoners may be trading sexual highs for the chemical kind. Males who smoke marijuana daily are four times more likely to have trouble reaching orgasm than men who don’t inhale, finds a new study of 8,656 Aussies.

Other smokers had the opposite problem, experiencing premature ejaculation at nearly three times the rate of non-smokers, find a team led by Marian Pitts at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Her team analysed data collected as part of a 2005 telephone survey of 16 to 64-year-olds. Overall, 8.7 per cent of respondents said they had gotten high in the last year, with twice as many men (11.2 per cent) admitting to marijuana use as women (6.1 per cent). People under 36 were more likely to smoke marijuana than older participants.

Even though many male smokers experienced sexual problems, they reported more partners than non-smokers. Marijuana users were twice as likely to have had two or more sex partners in the previous year than men who didn’t smoke pot.

Smoking in bed

Pitts’ team found an even stronger trend for increased sexual activity among female smokers, who were also seven times more likely to have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the last year than non-smokers. However, female smokers had no more problems in the bedroom than abstainers, Pitts’ team found.

Her team’s results generally back up prior studies connecting increased promiscuity and sexual problems to marijuana use.

For instance, a 2007 study led by Marie Eloi-Stiven at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York found that marijuana users were far more likely than others to take sildenafil (Viagra) recreationally. This is presumably to counteract the perceived libido-sapping effects of marijuana, her team concluded.

Complicating factors

However, the new study doesn’t establish a cause-effect relationship between marijuana and sexual performance, notes Sharon Johnson, an epidemiologist at the University of Missouri St. Louis, who has also found associations between drug use and sexual problems.

Many of the correlations between marijuana and sexual performance became apparent only after accounting for other factors, such as age, tobacco and alcohol use and occupation. “Why does it appear that the more marijuana you use the more sex difficulties you have,” Johnson asks. “There is a more complicated relationship out there somewhere.”

Medical effects of marijuana

Pharmacologically, it has been used in various medical preparations since ancient times and, even today, some advocate its use for relieving the symptoms of glaucoma, asthma, stiff muscles resulting from brain injuries and multiple sclerosis, and the toxic effects resulting from chemotherapy.

Side effects of using marijuana

The dried leaves can be smoked as a cigarette, the dried tops of the female plant full of resin smoked with tobacco.
A user may experience dry mouth, rapid pulse rate, high blood pressure, tremors, vertigo, loss of coordination, dry reddened eyes, dilated pupils, depression, moodiness, temporary amnesia (because of its suppression of the brain hormone vasopressin), an uncontrollable fear of death, and panic.
A1986 Italian study found that smoking one joint can increase melatonin levels in the body 4000 percent.

It is not physically addictive, but could result in psychological dependence, and habitual use could require higher and higher doses to achieve the same effects.
Hash smoke, especially when combined with tobacco smoke, can result in bronchitis and other respiratory ailments.
Additional dangers include buying marijuana laced with other drugs or the herbicide paraquat, or dealing with assassin bugs that tend to inhabit crops.
Some growers have been able to produce super¬potent strains that contain 20 percent THC, or almost double that of naturally grown plants.

Many are saying in these tough economic times, taxing legalized pot could be a way to bring in more money. But others say it’s not a good idea.
Legalize weed makes the statement that if marijuana was legalized it could be used by the government as a “source of tax revenue”. This statement is extremely presumptuous.
The latest studies show that the U.S. collects about $8 billion yearly in taxes from alcohol. The problem is, the total cost to the U.S. in 2008 due to alcohol-related problems was $185 billion, and the government pays about 38% of that cost (about $72 billion), all due to consequences of alcohol consumption, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism. For every dollar the government collects in alcohol taxes, it expends about $9 (for such things as Medicare and Medicaid treatment for alcohol-related health troubles, long-term rehabilitation treatment, and unemployment costs, and Welfare).
Some proponents of legalizing marijuana argue that alcohol is far more addictive and destructive than marijuana. But opponents said that legalizing marijuana would lead to more users and may not make a significant impact in the overall debt.
Meanwhile voters in some regions of the U.S. have shown strong support for legalization of medical marijuana.
Clearly, legalization of medical marijuana use is a more persuasive battle cry than that of recreational highs.

The FDA has already approved synthetic THC in pill and suppository form to stimulate appetite (the marijuana “munchies”) and to ease the nausea of chemotherapy in seriously ill or terminal patients. Anti-inflammatory and pain-perception benefits may be important as well.
Governmentust to study thoroughly all sides to understand if legalization of marijuana is makes sense for society.

Of all the youth’s ages 12–17 years who were in drug treatment in 2000, about 62 percent had a primary marijuana diagnosis. Approximately half of them were referred to treatment from the criminal justice system, and the other half were referred from other sources. According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were 14.6 million marijuana users of all ages in 2002.

Of these individuals, 4.8 million were heavy users and reported using marijuana for 20 or more days in a month. There were about 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2002.
Males generally use marijuana more than females. Most people obtain their marijuana from a friend, whether they receive it for free or they purchase the drug.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 79 percent of marijuana users received the drug at no cost from a friend and 81.8 percent purchased their marijuana from a friend.

A urine test can detect drug usage that has occurred within about one to five days (with some exceptions, such as marijuana, which can persist in the urine for weeks to months after the last use).
The Federal Drug-Free Workplace program uses a urine test that detects the presence of MARIJUANA, OPIATES, COCAINE, AMPHETAMINES, and phencyclidine.
Urine tests are also available that can detect the presence of alcohol, lysergic acid diethylamide, and other drugs.
The hair can be tested for drugs.

Testing of the hair can determine drug use that has occurred within as long as the past 90 days, depending on the length of the hair. However, it cannot detect drug use within about one to seven days of the test. As a result, the hair test is a better way to check for long-term drug use.
Hair cannot be used to detect alcohol intake.
Saliva can also be used to test for drugs. This test can be taken under direct observation, in contrast with the urine test, which can be substituted or adulterated by the subject. (Usually the saliva sample is taken by swabbing the inside of the cheek.

The disadvantage of this test is that it is less efficient than the urine or hair test.
The oral fluids test detects drug use within the past 10–24 hours. The sweat patch is another means of drug testing, although some studies have found it to be unreliable. This is a skin patch that is placed on the subject for a time frame ranging from one to seven days, depending on the type of patch used. The disadvantage is that not many laboratories process the sweat patch results. Also, subjects with any cuts, abrasions, or excessive hair cannot wear the sweat patch.

The patch detects drug use within the past seven days

The most famous users of cannabis were the ancient Hindus of India and Nepal.
Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and is found in pharmacological cults around the world.
Much has been written about the history of the medical uses of cannabis. In the past two centuries, there have been numerous references to the use of cannabis extracts for a wide range of disorders.

In the early part of the 20th century, a standardized cannabis elixir was marketed in the United States. Following the introduction of synthetic drugs such as barbiturates and opioids into medicine, interest in cannabis elixir declined.

The discovery of the primary active constitutent in marijuana, 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in 1964 rekindled interest in the area. However, the emphasis shifted to synthetic cannabinoids rather than the plant or plant extracts.

For example, in the 1970s, clinical studies were conducted in an effort to determine the efficacy of THC as an analgesic, antiemetic , antidepressant , appetite stimulant , and for treatment of glaucoma .

These efforts resulted in the approval of THC (dronabinol, Marinol™) for treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in 1985 and for appetite stimulation in 1992.

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MARIJUANA users are four times more likely to have depressive symptoms than those who are not users of the drug, and they are also more likely to suffer from suicidal thoughts.
Heavy users of marijuana may develop an addiction to the drug, experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they do not use marijuana.
Marijuana has an intoxicating effect on the user, which is the key reason why it is used.

Regular users of marijuana may develop bronchitis and poor lung function. They may also develop problems with short-term thinking and memory, which is one of the reasons why students who start using marijuana usually experience a significant drop in their school performance and their grades. In addition, regular users may develop an increased heart rate and even have a doubling of their normal rate.

They may also experience effects of panic attacks and anxiety attacks.
Because marijuana contains NICOTINE, experts believe that it causes lung cancer. Teenage tobacco smokers are 14 times likelier to try marijuana than those who have never smoked. As a result, isolating the carcinogenic effect of marijuana from the effect of cigarettes has been impossible. However, it is known that marijuana smokers are prone to lung infections, and long-term use increases the risk of chronic cough, bronchitis, and EMPHYSEMA.
Because marijuana lowers inhibitions, users are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.
Marijuana users are more likely to have multiple sexual partners and to fail to engage in safe sex.
Chronic marijuana users may develop problems with DEPRESSION and ANXIETY DISORDERS.

However, whether the marijuana causes mood disorders or if it is used more frequently by individuals who are already depressed, anxious, and unconsciously seeking to self-medicate their distressing emotions is unclear. As with the use of other hallucinogens, heavy users of marijuana can also develop psychotic disorders.

In individuals who are already severely mentally ill, such as those with schzophreniz, marijuana can exacerbate psychotic symptoms.

Cannabis is a term that applies to marijuana as well as other drugs that come from the same plant, Cannabis sativa. Another form of cannabis is sinsemilla, which may have 9 percent THC or as high as 25 percent THC. Sinsemilla is made from the buds and flowering tips of the plants. HASHISH is a strong form of cannabis. It contains from 9 percent to as high as 19 percent THC.

Marijuana is a drug that is primarily smoked, either in rolled-up cigarette papers (referred to as a joint) or in a pipe. A bong is a water pipe that is used to smoke marijuana. Some users smoke crack cocaine that is mixed with the marijuana. Marijuana can also be eaten. Traces of the drug (metabolites) usually stay in the body for several days.
However, heavy users of marijuana may have traces of the drug in their bodies for weeks after they have ceased using marijuana. As marijuana is very addictive you shoul know all facts about what marijuana is.

“This study validates the experience people living with HIV/AIDS and their doctors have reported for years- medical cannabis provides much-needed relief from pain and suffering.” said NAPWA Executive Director Frank Oldham Jr. “That is why we are joining Americans for Safe Access to call on Congress to address cannabis for its medicinal value.”

An estimated 3-4 million people in the U.S. suffer from neuropathic pain and as many as 37% of people living with HIV/AIDS use cannabis to treat neuropathy and other symptoms associated with the disease.

The UCSF study was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 50 patients who had an average of six years of neuropathic pain. The pain reduction in the group receiving the medical cannabis was twice that of the placebo group.

“I have been living with HIV/AIDS for 21 years and owe my life to the benefits of medical cannabis,” said UCSF study participant Diana Dodson. “It reduces the pain and side-effects such as nausea and stomach pains that are caused by the drugs I need to take in order to stay alive. But I need the government to grant me safe access to my medicine.”

The study builds on other international evidence and a 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Marijuana and Medicine, Assessing the Science Base.

“This study demonstrates the potential effectiveness of medical cannabis to treat the chronic pain of people living with HIV/AIDS,” said Dr. Barbara T. Roberts, Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs for Americans for Safe Access and former Senior Policy Analyst at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. “In addition to people living with HIV/AIDS, there are thousands of vets returning from Iraq who will spend decades coping with neurological pain. By implementing the recommendations of the IOM report, the federal government would be exploring more options for their long-term treatment of neuropathic pain.”

The groups are calling on Congress to hold hearings on the IOM report to adopt its recommendations to allow patients and researchers to have access to medical cannabis.

“It’s time for Washington to stop playing politics with patients’ lives and advance this important scientific discovery,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access. “The study is a wake-up call for Congress to hold hearings to investigate therapeutic use and encourage research.”