Cannabis smoking
A "blunt" is a method for smoking marijuana in which the marijuana is smoked inside a tobacco leaf obtained from the outer layer of a cigar.
There are three main methods for producing blunts. The first method is to hollow out the interior of a pre-made cigar and fill it with cannabis. The second method is to rip or cut the cigar lengthwise from end to end, after which the contents are discarded and the wrapping rerolled like a new cigar. The third method is to buy cigar paper (commonly referred to as a wrap) which can come in a variety of flavors, and roll it like a joint.
The term "blunt" may have originally referred to a type of cigar, the Phillie Blunt, which has become highly popular for creating marijuana blunts.[citation needed]
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Shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a shotty, brainer, charge, super, or blowback) can have many meanings, but most commonly refers to one user taking a "hit" of a blunt or joint, turning it around so the lit end is inside the mouth, and blowing the hit out through the blunt/joint into the mouth of another user, who sucks it in. Also known as "Power-hit" it's a really intimate way for a couple to share a marijuana cigarette, since the lips nearly kiss (actual kissing works even better). A "Stinger" has the same concept except smoke is inhaled through the nasal passage. The "first" user of a one-hitter can finish the toke, turn the instrument around, cup mouth around the crater-head, and blow air steadily through to the partner who sucks from the mouthpiece. This method works well on a low supply, because two people both get the effects out of only one hit.
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Mixing with tobacco and other herbs
Often cannabis is combined with tobacco (also known as spinning) or other smokable herbs prior to smoking. When cannabis is mixed with tobacco to role a joint it is known as a spliff. This can be done to enhance the flavor; to make a small amount of cannabis last longer by "cutting" it with another substance; or in the case of other psychoactive herbs, to increase and/or modify the effects on the user.
Mixing cannabis with tobacco is common in Europe but less so in the United States. At least one source has suggested that the practice of mixing tobacco with cannabis can lead to nicotine dependence.[6]
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Health effects
Reports decreased gas exchange capacity and the existence of particle residue in the lungs of marijuana smokers several times greater than for tobacco smokers.[7] These findings,however, may have been exaggerated. In both studies, smoked marijuana was not filtered, while smoked tobacco was. Tashkin et al. notes that, "these differences could largely account for more than twofold greater tar yield from marijuana than tobacco that was measured using syringe-simulated puffs of similar volume and duration." Smoking cannabis through a water-pipe may filter out water soluble carcinogens and will also greatly cool down the smoke. Also, cannabis need not be smoked: In Middle Eastern countries, it has been consumed through teas and food for centuries, avoiding the carcinogenicity of smoke altogether.
Despite cannabis' suspected negative effects to lung function, there has never been a reported case of lung cancer. Tobacco, though, is expected to kill 400,000 people this year.[8] The question has been raised as to why there are not thousands of cases of marijuana related cancers, given its widespread use.
Marijuana smoking can also lead to Gum Disease. Researchers studied a group of more than 900 New Zealanders who smoked marijuana more than 40 times a year. They found that smoking that much pot regularly from the age of 18 greatly increased the chance of developing periodontal disease by age 32.[9]
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References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
- ^ Verhoeckx KC, Korthout HA, van Meeteren-Kreikamp AP, Ehlert KA, Wang M, van der Greef J, Rodenburg RJ, Witkamp RF (2006-04-06). "Unheated Cannabis sativa extracts and its major compound THC-acid have potential immuno-modulating properties not mediated by CB1 and CB2 receptor coupled pathways". International Immunopharmacology. PMID 16504929.
- ^ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2006), World Drug Report, vol. 1, pp. 187-192, ISBN 92-1-148214-3, <http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2006/wdr2006_chap2_annex1.pdf>. Retrieved on 22 November 2007
- ^ DI Abrams, et.al. (2007). "Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System: A Pilot Study". Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 82 full text (pdf).
- ^ "Cannabis use in a drug and alcohol clinic population", McBride A. J. 1994
- ^ Put that in your pipe and smoke it: a traveler's guide to smoking pot in New Zealand
- ^ Australian Government Department of Health: National Cannabis Strategy Consultation Paper, page 4. "Cannabis has been described as a 'Trojan Horse' for nicotine addiction, given the usual method of mixing cannabis with tobacco when preparing marijuana for administration."
- ^ [Tashkin et al.] (1990)
- ^ (Glenn, 1992)
- ^ http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080205/pot_gums_080205?s_name=&no_ads=
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Marijuana, being smoked in copious amounts over a long period of time can cause the smokers memory, in particular their short term memory to deteriorate.
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