Marijuana

Daniel R. Neuspiel

doi:10.1542/pir.33-7-333

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Daniel R. Neuspiel, MD, MPH

University of North Carolina School of Medicine Charlotte, NC

Suggested Reading

Monitoring the Future. National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings, 2010. Johnston LD, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan; 2011. Available at: http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2010.pdf. Accessed August 18, 2011.
A Meta-analytic Review of School-Based Prevention for Cannabis Use. Porath-Waller AJ, Beasley E, Beirness DJ. Health, Education & Behavior. 2010;37:709–723
OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text
InfoFacts: Marijuana. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, revised November 2010. Available at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Marijuana.pdf. Accessed August 18, 2011.
Testing for Drugs of Abuse in Children and Adolescents: Addendum—Testing in Schools and at Home. Committee on Substance Abuse. Pediatrics. 2007;119:627–630
OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text
The Role of Schools in Combating Illicit Substance Abuse. Council on School Health and Committee on Substance Abuse. Pediatrics. 2007;120:1379–1384
OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text

Author Disclosure
Drs Neuspiel and Serwint have disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this In Brief. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.

Marijuana (cannabis), the illicit drug used most frequently in the United States, may be smoked in cigarettes (joints, nails, reefers), pipes (bongs, bowls), or cigars (blunts); mixed with food; or brewed as a tea. Hashish (hash), a potent resin of cannabis, also may be used as a sticky black liquid (hash oil). Other street terms are pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, and ganja.

The 2010 Monitoring the Future study, which assesses adolescent substance use patterns, revealed that admitted lifetime marijuana use among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders in the United States was 17.3%, 33.4%, and 43.8%, respectively; daily use was 1.2%, 3.3%, and 6.1%, respectively. Trends in use have varied in recent decades.

The primary active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Increased cultivation of sinsemilla made from buds of female cannabis plants has raised mean THC content from 0.7% in the 1970s to 8.5% in 2008, with wide variability in dose. Street marijuana also may be contaminated with a variety of other drugs, toxins, and infectious agents.

After smoking marijuana, THC rapidly passes …