Cannabis
Drug: Cannabis (Skunk)
Street names: Weed, Puff, Draw, Smoke, Dope, Pot,
Ganja, Blow, Hash, Brown, Mary Jane, Blunts, Wacky Backy,
Marijuana, Northern Lights, Spliff, Green, Tweed, Salas, Cheese,
bud, solid, poobar.
Similar drugs: Spice (a herbal smoking mixture)
Drug type: Depressant. Stronger strains of the drug
can be hallucinogenic, making you not see things as they really
are.
Legal status: Cannabis is a Class B drug. It was
reclassified from a class C to a class B drug in January 2009. If
you're caught in possession of it, you could go to prison for five
years. The maximum sentence for dealing is 14 years, plus a
fine.
What is it? Cannabis comes from the female Cannabis
sativa and Indica plants.
Different forms of the drug come from different parts of the
plant. Hash is a brown compressed lump taken from scrapings of the
pollens and resins from the plant. Grass is made from the plant's
dried green leaves, stalks and seeds. Skunk is made from the strong
smelling dried heads of cannabis flowers. Cannabis can also come as
an oil, but this is rarely available in the UK.
You usually smoke cannabis - through joints or spliffs, tooting
pipes or bongs (toots), but you can eat it too. Eating it has
slower, but longer lasting, effects.
Cannabis contains chemicals called cannabinoids which affect how
the brain works. These are responsible for the drug's effects
and can be inhaled as a gas if cannabis is used in a vaporiser.
How it can make you feel: It can make you feel more
relaxed and appreciate music and colours more. Some people become
giggly and talkative while other become more withdrawn and
quiet.
Cannabis can also increase your heart rate, make your
coordination poor, leaving you wobbly on your feet, and deplete
your blood sugar levels, making you feel hungry.
The risks: Cannabis can make you feel anxious and
paranoid. It can trigger serious mental health problems in some
people. Smoking cannabis also increases your risk of developing
respiratory disorders and some cancers.
Cannabis can make you feel unmotivated too, reducing your
interest in other activities. Too much cannabis or mixing it with
alcohol can cause you to 'green out', making you feel very sick and
disorientated.
Cannabis image courtesy of Talk to Frank, Crown Copyright.
Amphetamines
Cocaine