ties, coordination, blood pressure, and pulse. The most common result is the state commonly referred to as a “high”, including an increased sense of well-being (euphoria), relaxation, and sleepiness. Short-term memory is impaired, and the capacity to carry out goal-directed problems requiring multiple and mental steps is reduced. Users may experience feelings of strangeness and unreality (Potter 112). Sights and sounds may take on new qualities. The sense of time is often altered to that minutes may seem like hours. Balance and stability are impaired even with low doses, as are complex behaviors (perception, information processing) involved in driving (Potter 113). Low doses also produce increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure, and a reddening of the eyes due to dilation of conjunctival vessels. Higher doses can produce hallucinations, delusions, and unrealistic suspiciousness and feeling of persecution. Anxiety increases, and a state of panic may occur. Thinking becomes confused and disorganized. Because the onset of the drug effect is rapid when marijuana is smoked, most users learn to avoid overdose by taking only as many inhalations as are required to produce the desired “high” (Potter 113). Smoking high doses of marijuana or hashish over long periods of time produces severe bronchitis, and the “tar” produced when marijuana is smoked is more potent than the “tar” from tobacco in causing cancer in animals. Medical UsesThe pharmacological effects of the hemp plant have been known since ancient times. A Chinese pharmacopoeia compiled nearly 2,000 years ago recommended it for treating a number of disorders, and it was used in India before the 10th century AD (Cohen 86). There are no currently approved uses for marijuana in the United States, except for two states California and Arizona, which have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Clinical research has s...
