Cannabis
{Weed, marijuana, kush, pot, hash, skunk}
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Harm Reduction
There are certain precautions you should take before using cannabis. The advice below helps to prepare you both physically and mentally. We want you to be safe and enjoy your experience as much as possible, so if you have a bad experience or are struggling with especially bad after-effects, please take note of the advice below.
AVOID TOBACCO
It is common to mix cannabis with tobacco to consume the former. However, this habit increases the chances of dependence and of developing cancer. We recommend to avoid smoking cannabis, but if you do instead of using tobacco you could use herbal smoking blends without nicotine and other toxins found in tobacco.
GET SOME WATER
While you are under the effects of cannabis, you should drink regular water to avoid feeling unwell. People tend to forget about drinking water, so try to get some water in advance.
RIGHT MINDSET
Try not consume cannabis alone, this will increase the chance of unpleasant experiences, unsafe circumstances, and dependence. You should also avoid smoking to numb anger or sadness, this can lead to bad experiences too.
COMFY PLACE
Cannabis can have some hallucinogenic effects and it can sometimes make people paranoid. To avoid bad experiences, try to consume cannabis in a comfortable and safe space.
THC:CBD
In recent years, the potency of cannabis in the UK has been increasing, i.e. the concentration of the major psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis, THC, has increased. Within the same time-frame, the number of young people seeking treatment for cannabis dependence has also increased5,10. This upsurge is thought to be due to the rising THC levels. At the same time as THC levels have risen, there has been a corresponding decrease in the amount of the primary non-psychoactive, and possibly protective, cannabinoid called Cannabidiol (CBD)14.
Cannabis users are advised to smoke varieties of cannabis that are high in CBD e.g. resin/hash and to avoid 'skunk'. If you don't have much experience with cannabis, you are more likely to get paranoia if the strain is low in CBD and high in THC.
Written by Chandni Hindocha, PhD student at UCL
References
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2 Curran, H. V., Freeman, T. P., Mokrysz, C., Lewis, D. A., Morgan, C. J., & Parsons, L. H. (2016).Keep off the grass? Cannabis, cognition and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(5), 293-306.
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4 Filbey, F. M., McQueeny, T., Kadamangudi, S., Bice, C., & Ketcherside, A. (2015). Combined effects of marijuana and nicotine on memory performance and hippocampal volume. Behavioural brain research, 293, 46-53.
5 Freeman, TP., Morgan, C.J.A., Hindocha, C., Schafer, G., & Curran, H.V (2014). Just say 'know': how do cannabinoid concentrations influence users' estimates of cannabis potency and the amount they roll in joints? Addiction 109(10):1686-94; doi: 10.1111/add.12634
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7 Hindocha, C Freeman, T.P., WInstock, A.R, Lynskey, M.T. (2016) Vaping cannabis (marijuana) has the potential to reduce tobacco smoking in cannabis users. Addiction 111(2); 375 -- 375; doi: 10.1111/add.13190.
8 Hindocha, C., Freeman, T.P., Ferris, J.A., Lynskey, M.T., & Winstock, A.R., (2016) No Smoke without tobacco? A global overview of cannabis and tobacco routes of administration and their association with intention to quit. Front Psychiatry, 7, 104.
9 Hindocha, C., Shaban, N. D., Freeman, T. P., Das, R. K., Gale, G., Schafer, G., ... & Curran, H. V. (2015). Associations between cigarette smoking and cannabis dependence: a longitudinal study of young cannabis users in the United Kingdom. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 148, 165-171.
10 <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664945/Young-people-statistics-report-from-the-national-drug-treatment-monitoring-system-2016-2017.pdf>
11 <https://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_dose.shtml>
12 <https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Printable_Cannabis1.pdf>
13 <http://www.drugscience.org/dl/dl_comparison.html>
14 Iversen, L. L. (2001). The science of marijuana. Oxford University Press.
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16 Kouri EM, Pope HG. Abstinence symptoms during withdrawal from chronic marijuana use. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2000;8(4):483-92.
17 Nutt, D. (2012). Drugs without the hot air. Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs. Cambridge: UIT Cambridge Ltd Nutt, D. J., King, L. A., & Phillips, L. D. (2010).
18 Piomelli, D., & Russo, E. B. (2016). The cannabis sativa versus cannabis indica debate: an interview with Ethan Russo, MD. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 1(1), 44-46.
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