Cannabis

Marijuana is the slang term for portions of the Cannabis plant. It is one of the oldest psychoactive substances used by man.

Marijuana, also called pot, weed, ganja, mary jane, and a host of other nicknames, is made from the Cannabis plant, which has three species: Cannabis sativa; Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis. The flowering plant, which can grow to 16 feet (5 meters) high, likely originated in the Central Asian steppe, near the Altai or Tian Shian Mountains, and was first cultivated in China and India, according to “Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Potential,” (Routledge, 2002).

The leaves, stems, flower buds and extracts from the marijuana plant can be eaten, brewed in a tea or put into a tincture. It can also be vaporized using an e-cigarette pen. Yale University researchers surveyed 3,847 Connecticut high school students about this practice in a 2015 study that was published in the journal Pediatrics. The study found nearly one in five e-cigarette users also have vaporize cannabis or byproducts like hash oil using the device.