Marijuana Addiction treatment

Cannabis and psychosis
It is believed that cannabis use—particularly if heavy and regular—may be related to a condition known as a drug-induced psychosis, or "cannabis psychosis". This can last up to a few days. The episodes are frequently characterised by hallucinations, delusions, memory loss and confusion.
There is certain evidence that regular cannabis use raises the likelihood of psychotic symptoms occurring in an individual who is vulnerable due to a personal or family history of mental illness. It also appears to make psychotic effects worse for those with schizophrenia and lowers the chances of recovery from a psychotic episode.

Marijuana is the most used illicit substance in the United States. Almost 69 million Americans over 12 years old have tried marijuana at least once.
Cannabis is California's largest cash crop.
Today's marijuana is 10 to 15 times stronger than it was in the 60's.
Reaction time for motor skills, such as driving is decreased by 41% after smoking 1 joint and by 63% after smoking 2 joints.
There have been more than 7,000 published scientific and medical reports documenting the damage that marijuana poses. Not one study has shown cannabis to be safe.
Information has shown that individuals high on marijuana show the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had to much to drink.
The daily use of 1 to 3 cannabis joints may produce the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking five times as many cigarettes.
Marijuana is the second most common substance, after alcohol, present in the blood stream of non-fatally and fatally injured individuals.
Among teens 12 to 17, the average age of initiation to cannabis was 14 years old.
A yearly study with students in grades 8 to 12 indicates that 23% of 8th graders have tried marijuana at least once and by tenth grade, 21% are "current" users. Among 12th graders, almost 50% have used marijuana at least once, and about 24% were current users.
Cannabis is a complex material containing 421 chemicals, 60 of which are only present in marijuana.
3 out of 4 drug-related criminal charges are associated with marijuana.
65% of people arrested for marijuana related crimes are for simple possession.
About 50,000 Canadians are arrested each year for cannabis related crimes.
600,000 Canadians have a criminal record for simple possession of marijuana.

Estimates put the value of the cannabis industry to the British Columbia Economy somewhere between $2 billion and $10 billion, making it one of British Colombia's top three industries.

Marijuana (also known as ganja) and hashish are psychoactive substances of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. indica (= C. indica Lam.). The herbal form of the drug is dried mature inflorescences and subtending leaves of pistillate ("female") plants. The resinous form consists mainly of glandular trichomes collected from the same plant product. It has been said that commercial hashish is frequently no more potent than high quality seedless marijuana. Nonetheless, carefully cultivated and screened hashish is up to three times as potent as the highest quality herb.

The main biologically active chemical compound in Cannabis is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, usually referred to as THC. It has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, usually by smoking or ingestion. The minimum quantity of THC needed to have a perceptible psychoactive effect is about 5 mg. A related compound, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabidivarin, also know as THCV, is produced in appreciable quantities by some drug strains. This cannabinoid has been described in the common literature as having shorter-acting, flashier effects than THC, but late studies suggest that it may actually inhibit the effects of THC. Relatively elevated levels of THCV are usual in African dagga (marijuana), and in hashish from the northwest Himalayas.

Humans have been using Cannabis since prehistory, although in the 20th century there was an increase in its use for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. It is approximated that Cannabis is now commonly used by four percent of the world's adult population, with estimates of up to 20% or greater of the adult population in the United States having tried the drug, and 10-30% or greater using the herb in many European countries. The possession, use, or sale of psychoactive Cannabis products became illicit in most regions of the world in the early 20th century. Since then, certain nations have intensified the enforcement of Cannabis prohibition while others have reduced the priority of enforcement, almost to the point of legalization, as is the case in The Netherlands. The cultivation of Cannabis for drug use remains illicit throughout most of the world through the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, while simple possession of small quantities is either legal, or treated as an addiction rather than a criminal offense in a few countries. The laws in the United States change from state to state, some having decriminalized the possession of small quantities of marijuana although it is still a federal crime.

Who uses marijuana?

• Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug in Canada.
• Nearly half (44%) of Canadians admit they have used cannabis at least once in their lifetime.
• During 2005, just over one-quarter (26.5%) of Ontario students (grades 7–12) admitted they had used cannabis in the past year, and one-third (31%) admitted trying it at least once in their lifetime.
• In Ontario, male students are more prone to use cannabis than females (28% versus 25%).
• Students’ rates of cannabis consumption differ across Ontario: Toronto students are less likely to use it (20%) than students in the north (33%) or west (29%).
• Three per cent of Grade 7 students have used cannabis in the past year.
• By the time they have reached Grade 12, almost half (46%) of Ontario students have used cannabis in the past year.
• Approximately one in eight students (12%) who use cannabis use it daily. This is approximately three per cent of all grade 7 to 12 students in the province (about 33,200 students).