Flowering buds of the female plant have the highest THC content. Male plants do contain THC, but not in the same quantity.
Cannabis comes in several forms:.
Marijuana is the dried leaf of the flower tops of female plants.
Resin or hashish is the secretion of the plant that has been dried and processed into blocks.
Hash oil is a concentrate involving a solvent-based extract.
Cannabis is most commonly inhaled, usually rolled in paper and smoked much like a cigarette. Inhalation provides the quickest relief and the intake can be more easily controlled. .
Dronabinol (Marinol) is an orally active cannabinoid, which like other cannabinoids has complex effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Cannabinoid receptors have been discovered in neural tissues. These receptors may play a role in mediating the effects of dronabinol and other cannabinoids (Schaffer).
Marijuana has been found to have analgesic, anti-emetic, anti-inflammatory, sedative, anti-convulsants, and laxative actions (Hanrahan).
The drugs used to treat cancer are among the most powerful, and most toxic, chemicals used in medicine. They destroy both cancer and healthy cells, producing dangerous side effects. The most common is vomiting and nausea after treatments. Cannabis can be used as an anti-emetic, which relieves the nausea and allows the patient to eat. Smoking cannabis can be more effective than taking the synthetic pill, Marinol. Many patients have a hard time swallowing and keeping the pill down.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is another disease which the anti-emetic effect of cannabis can be beneficial. Patients with AIDS suffer from wasting syndrome' which is defined by the Center of Disease Control as "the involuntary loss of more than 10% of baseline average body weight in the presence of diarrhea or fever of more than 30 days that is not attributable to other disease processes-. Current therapy for wasting syndrome' is the use of appetite stimulants.
