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The various forms of cannabis mostly come from the plants Cannabis Sativa and
Cannabis Indica, which grow throughout the world. Cannabis is available in three
main forms

a dried herb
(composed of top leaves and buds - usually known as grass)
as a resin
(usually known as hash or hashish and which is extracted from the buds and flower heads in the country of origin)
as a sticky liquid
(hash oil - which is prepared from the resin, although this is less common than the other two).
There is more detailed information just here.

How is cannabis taken?
Cannabis is taken in quite a few different ways......

Cannabis History
Cannabis grows in many parts of the world and so has a long history of use in many cultures, especially in Asia and African, where the plant thrives in the warm climate. The earliest record of cannabis use is from a compendium of medicines which was compiled for the Chinese emperor Shen Nung waaaaayy back in something BC!
Since then the cannabis plant has been used for everything from making rope and cloth to its many medicinal purposes, but the use of cannabis for its psychoactive (intoxicating) effect has always been a political issue. In Britain in the 1950s, cannabis was used by young West Indian immigrants and by people who went to fashionable Soho jazz clubs. In the 1960s hippy culture reached Britain and cannabis became available to a wide range of young people. The use of the drug declined slightly during the 70s but when the dance scene kicked off in the 80s with acid house, then ravers, party goers and clubbers found it the perfect drug to bring them down and chill out with after a hard night's dancing.

Cannabis Effects
The most common and most desired effects are . However tests have clearly shown that tasks involving concentration and co-ordination - such as school work! - are not performed as well whilst under the influence of Cannabis. Driving and so on while under the influence of Cannabis can be dangerous, although the rashness and aggression displayed by drink drivers is not likely to be present.

However, Cannabis users frequently say that using cannabis gives them better performance for tasks involving creativity, such as playing music. Indeed there are many famous literary works which allude to cannabis, possibly including Alice in Wonderland, which has been described as simply being a cannabis-based "hallucination" written down, and where one of the characters is even seen smoking pot!

Cannabis Dangers
There are now many people in the UK who have used Cannabis regularly or occasionally for at least 20 years, yet there is no conclusive evidence that long-term use of Cannabis causes lasting damage to physical and mental health. Short-term memory loss is reported by some users, but the main health problems stem from the method of use. Smoking any substance over a long period of time is a bad idea and frequent breathing in of Cannabis smoke can lead to "bronchitis" and other chest related disorders and may cause lung cancer. Whilst Cannabis does not produce a physical dependency, mixing it with tobacco will almost certainly produce nicotine "addiction" in quite a short period of time.

Cannabis as a medicinal drug
The positive effects of Cannabis as an effective reliever of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, hypoglycaemia and, in certain instances, as a medication for the terminally ill have become topical again recently. It is important to remember that Cannabis has been used medically world-wide for centuries, and in this country up until 1928.

Women
Queen Victoria used cannabis in tincture form to alleviate period pains - which doesn't mean that there aren't better alternatives available nowadays, of course! However, some women may find that heavy Cannabis use can make their periods irregular, whilst Cannabis smoked with tobacco during pregnancy produces the same risks to the mother and child as smoking cigarettes.

(Pass you mouse over the picture to get the Royal verdict on Cannabis!)

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Cannabis and The Law
Cannabis is a Class B drug, except Cannabis Oil which is sometimes considered to be a Class A drug. It is illegal to grow, produce, supply or possess the drug except under special Home Office licence for research or other special cases. It is also an offence to allow premises to be used for growing, producing, supplying or using Cannabis.

There is now considerable debate about whether Cannabis should be legalised (or at least decriminalised) which is what has happened in Holland, Germany and some parts of the USA. In the UK, more than half of those found in possession of the drug recently have been simply cautioned rather than prosecuted. The basis of the argument for legalising cannabis is that it's a safer drug than other, legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, and that (some terminally ill) people find it the only form of pain-relief that works.

Much of the counter-argument seems to hinge around the fact that cannabis is seen as a "gate-way" drug