Cannabis (drug)/ja: Difference between revisions

{{excerpt|Cannabis in pregnancy/ja|paragraph=1}}

===Secondhand cannabis smoke===

A 2022 study found that smoking cannabis using a bong can greatly increase background levels of [[Particulates|fine particulate matter]], a [[carcinogen]], in an enclosed space such as a living room. After 15 minutes, mean levels of particulate matter were more than twice the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] hazardous air quality threshold, and after 140 minutes, the concentrations were four times greater than those generated by smoking tobacco using a cigarette or [[hookah]]. This suggests secondhand cannabis smoke from bongs may present a health risk to non-smokers.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

==Pharmacology==

===Mechanism of action===

{{see also|Effects of cannabis#Biochemical mechanisms in the brain}}

THC is a weak partial agonist at [[CB1 receptor|CB₁ receptor]]s, while CBD is a [[CB1 receptor|CB₁ receptor]] antagonist.

The CB₁ receptor is found primarily in the brain as well as in some peripheral tissues, and the CB₂ receptor is found primarily in peripheral tissues, but is also expressed in [[neuroglia]]l cells. THC appears to alter mood and cognition through its agonist actions on the CB₁ receptors, which inhibit a [[secondary messenger system]] ([[adenylate cyclase]]) in a dose-dependent manner.

Via CB₁ receptor activation, THC indirectly increases [[dopamine]] release and produces [[psychotropic]] effects. [[Cannabidiol|CBD]] also acts as an [[allosteric modulator]] of the [[μ-opioid receptor|μ-]] and [[δ-opioid receptor]]s. THC also potentiates the effects of the [[glycine receptor]]s. It is unknown if or how these actions contribute to the effects of cannabis.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Pharmacokinetics===

The high [[lipophilicity|lipid-solubility]] of cannabinoids results in their persisting in the body for long periods of time. Even after a single administration of THC, detectable levels of THC can be found in the body for weeks or longer (depending on the amount administered and the sensitivity of the assessment method). Investigators have suggested that this is an important factor in marijuana's effects, perhaps because cannabinoids may accumulate in the body, particularly in the lipid membranes of neurons.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

==Chemistry==

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Chemical composition===

{{See also|Difference between C. indica and C. sativa}}

The main psychoactive component of cannabis is [[tetrahydrocannabinol]] (THC), which is formed via decarboxylation of [[tetrahydrocannabinolic acid]] (THCA) from the application of heat. Raw leaf is not psychoactive because the [[cannabinoid]]s are in the form of [[carboxylic acids]]. THC is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, such as [[cannabidiol]] (CBD).

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Detection in body fluids===

{{Main|Cannabis drug testing}}

THC and its major (inactive) metabolite, [[THC-COOH]], can be measured in blood, urine, hair, oral fluid or sweat using [[chromatographic]] techniques as part of a drug use testing program or a forensic investigation of a traffic or other criminal offense. The concentrations obtained from such analyses can often be helpful in distinguishing active use from passive exposure, elapsed time since use, and extent or duration of use. These tests cannot, however, distinguish authorized cannabis smoking for medical purposes from unauthorized recreational smoking. Commercial cannabinoid [[immunoassay]]s, often employed as the initial screening method when testing physiological specimens for marijuana presence, have different degrees of cross-reactivity with THC and its metabolites. Urine contains predominantly THC-COOH, while hair, oral fluid and sweat contain primarily THC. Blood may contain both substances, with the relative amounts dependent on the recency and extent of usage.

The [[Duquenois–Levine test]] is commonly used as a [[Presumptive and confirmatory tests|screening test]] in the field, but it cannot definitively confirm the presence of cannabis, as a large range of substances have been shown to give false positives. Researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice reported that dietary zinc supplements can mask the presence of THC and other drugs in urine. However, a 2013 study conducted by researchers at the [[University of Utah School of Medicine]] refute the possibility of self-administered zinc producing false-negative urine drug tests.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

==Varieties and strains==

[[File:Cannab2 new.png|thumb|right|Types of cannabis]]

[[File:Macro cannabis bud.jpg|thumb|A macro cannabis bud]]

CBD is a [[5-HT1A receptor|5-HT_1A receptor]] agonist, which is under laboratory research to determine if it has an [[anxiolytic]] effect. It is often claimed that sativa strains provide a more stimulating psychoactive high while indica strains are more sedating with a body high. However, this is disputed by researchers.

A 2015 review found that the use of high CBD-to-THC strains of cannabis showed significantly fewer [[positive symptoms]], such as delusions and hallucinations, better [[cognitive function]] and both lower risk for developing psychosis, as well as a later age of onset of the illness, compared to cannabis with low CBD-to-THC ratios.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Psychoactive ingredients===

According to the [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] (UNODC), "the amount of THC present in a cannabis sample is generally used as a measure of cannabis potency." The three main forms of cannabis products are the flower/fruit, resin (hashish), and oil (hash oil). The UNODC states that cannabis often contains 5% THC content, resin "can contain up to 20% THC content", and that "Cannabis oil may contain more than 60% THC content."

Australia's [[National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre]] (NCPIC) states that the buds ([[infructescence]]s) of the female ''Cannabis'' plant contain the highest concentration of THC, followed by the leaves. The stalks and seeds have "much lower THC levels". The UN states that the leaves can contain ten times less THC than the buds, and the stalks 100 times less THC.

After revisions to [[Cannabis reclassification in the United Kingdom|cannabis scheduling]] in the UK, the government moved cannabis back from a [[class C drug|class C]] to a [[class B drug]]. A purported reason was the appearance of high potency cannabis. They believe [[Skunk (cannabis strain)|skunk]] accounts for between 70% and 80% of samples seized by police (despite the fact that skunk can sometimes be incorrectly mistaken for all types of herbal cannabis). [[Extract]]s such as [[hashish]] and [[hash oil]] typically contain more THC than high potency cannabis infructescences.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

====Laced cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids====

{{See also |Synthetic cannabinoids#Hemp (or low potent cannabis) buds}}

Hemp buds (or low-potency cannabis buds) laced with [[synthetic cannabinoids]] started to be sold as cannabis street drug in 2020.

</div>

The short-term effects of cannabis can be altered if it has been laced with [[opioid]] drugs such as heroin or [[fentanyl]]. The added drugs are meant to enhance the psychoactive properties, add to its weight, and increase profitability, despite the increased danger of overdose.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

==Preparations==

|File:Marijuana-Cannabis-Weed-Bud-Gram.jpg|Dried flower buds (marijuana)

|File:Kief (yellow).jpg|A gram of [[kief]]

|File:Hashish-2.jpg|Hashish

|File:Drop of cannabis oil.jpg|Hash oil

|File:Cannabis Butter.JPG|Infusion (dairy butter)

===Marijuana===

{{further|Marijuana (word)|l1=''Marijuana'' (word)}}

Marijuana or marihuana (herbal cannabis) consists of the dried flowers and fruits and subtending leaves and stems of the female cannabis plant. This is the most widely consumed form, containing 3% to 20% THC, with reports of up to 33% THC. This is the stock material from which all other preparations are derived. Although herbal cannabis and [[Hemp|industrial hemp]] derive from the same species and contain the psychoactive component (THC), they are distinct strains with unique biochemical compositions and uses. Hemp has lower concentrations of THC and higher concentrations of CBD, which gives lesser psychoactive effects.

===Kief===

{{Main|Kief}}

Kief is a powder, rich in [[trichome]]s, which can be sifted from the leaves, flowers and fruits of [[Cannabis sativa|cannabis plants]] and either [[One hitter (smoking)|consumed in powder form]] or compressed to produce cakes of [[hashish]]. The word "kif" derives from [[colloquial Arabic]] {{lang|ar|كيف}} ''{{transliteration|ar|2=kēf<span style="margin:1.5px">/</span>kīf}}'', meaning ''pleasure''.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Hashish===

{{Main|Hashish}}

[[File:Legal hashish shop in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1973.jpg|alt=Legal hashish shop in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1973|thumb|upright=1.1|Legal hashish shop in [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]] in 1973]]

Hashish (also spelled hasheesh, hashisha, or simply hash) is a concentrated [[resin]] cake or ball produced from pressed kief, the detached trichomes and fine material that falls off cannabis fruits, flowers and leaves, or from scraping the resin from the surface of the plants and rolling it into balls. It varies in color from black to golden brown depending upon purity and variety of cultivar it was obtained from. It can be consumed orally or smoked, and is also vaporized, or 'vaped'.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Tincture===

{{main|Tincture of cannabis}}

Cannabinoids can be [[Extraction (chemistry)|extracted]] from cannabis plant matter using high-[[alcoholic proof|proof]] [[herbalism#Routes of administration|spirits]] (often [[rectified spirit|grain alcohol]]) to create a [[tincture]], often referred to as "green dragon". [[Nabiximols]] is a branded product name from a tincture manufacturing pharmaceutical company.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

Hash oil is a [[resin]]ous matrix of [[cannabinoid]]s obtained from the cannabis plant by [[solvent extraction]], formed into a hardened or viscous mass. Hash oil can be the most potent of the main cannabis products because of its high level of psychoactive compound per its volume, which can vary depending on the plant's mix of essential oils and psychoactive compounds. [[Butane]] and [[Supercritical fluid|supercritical]] [[carbon dioxide]] hash oil have become popular in recent years.

</div>

There are many varieties of cannabis infusions owing to the variety of non-volatile solvents used. The plant material is mixed with the solvent and then pressed and filtered to express the oils of the plant into the solvent. Examples of solvents used in this process are cocoa butter, dairy butter, cooking oil, [[glycerine]], and skin moisturizers. Depending on the solvent, these may be used in [[cannabis foods]] or applied topically.

</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Marihuana prensada===

{{main|Marihuana prensada}}

</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

{{lang|es|Marihuana prensada}} ('pressed marijuana') is a cannabis-derived product widespread among the lower classes of South America, especially from the 90s. Locally it is known as "{{lang|es|paraguayo}}" or "{{lang|es|paragua}}", since its main producer is [[Paraguay]]. Marijuana is dried and mixed with [[Binder (material)|binding agents]] that make it toxic and highly harmful to health. It is cut into the shape of bricks (''ladrillos'') and sold for a low price in [[Argentina]], Brazil, Chile, [[Peru]], [[Venezuela]], and even the United States.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

{{main|History of cannabis|Timeline of cannabis law|Religion and drugs}}

</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Ancient history===

[[File:Jirzankal Cemetery map (Cannabis site).png|thumb|upright=1.3|Present-day map of the Jirzankal Cemetery, site of the earliest evidence of cannabis smoking]]

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

Cannabis is [[indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]] to Central or South Asia and its uses for fabric and rope dates back to the [[Neolithic age]] in China and Japan. It is unclear when cannabis first became known for its psychoactive properties. The oldest archeological evidence for the burning of cannabis was found in Romanian [[kurgan]]s dated 3,500 BC, and scholars suggest that the drug was first used in ritual ceremonies by [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] tribes living in the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe|Pontic-Caspian steppe]] during the [[Chalcolithic]] period, a custom they eventually spread throughout Western Eurasia during the [[Indo-European migrations]]. Some research suggests that the ancient [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] drug [[soma (drink)|soma]], mentioned in the [[Veda]]s, sometimes contained cannabis. This is based on the discovery of a basin containing cannabis in a shrine of the [[second millennium BC]] in Turkmenistan.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

Cannabis was known to the [[History of the Assyrian people|ancient Assyrians]], who discovered its psychoactive properties through the Iranians. Using it in some religious ceremonies, they called it ''qunubu'' (meaning "way to produce smoke"), a probable origin of the modern word ''cannabis''. The Iranians also introduced cannabis to the Scythians, [[Thracians]] and [[Dacia]]ns, whose shamans (the ''[[kapnobatai]]''{{snd}}"those who walk on smoke/clouds") burned cannabis infructescences to induce [[trance]]. The plant was used in China before 2800 BC, and found therapeutic use in India by 1000 BC, where it was used [[cannabis edible|in food and drink]], including ''[[bhang]]''.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

[[File:Cannabissativadior.jpg|thumb|upright|''Cannabis sativa'' from [[Vienna Dioscurides]], {{circa}} 512 CE]]

</div>

Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and has been used by religions around the world. It has been used as a drug for both [[Recreational marijuana|recreational]] and [[Entheogenic use of cannabis|entheogenic]] purposes and in various [[traditional medicine]]s for centuries. The earliest evidence of cannabis smoking has been found in the 2,500-year-old tombs of Jirzankal Cemetery in the [[Pamir Mountains]] in Western China, where cannabis residue were found in burners with charred pebbles possibly used during funeral rituals. Hemp seeds discovered by archaeologists at [[Pazyryk burials|Pazyryk]] suggest early ceremonial practices like eating by the Scythians occurred during the 5th to 2nd century BC, confirming previous historical reports by Herodotus. It was used by Muslims in various [[Sufi]] orders as early as the [[Mamluk]] period, for example by the [[Qalandariyya|Qalandars]]. Smoking pipes uncovered in Ethiopia and carbon-dated to around {{circa}} AD 1320 were found to have traces of cannabis.

Cannabis was introduced to the [[New World]] by the Spaniards in 1530–1545. Following an 1836–1840 travel in North Africa and the Middle East, French physician [[Jacques-Joseph Moreau]] wrote on the psychological effects of cannabis use; he founded the Paris' [[Club des Hashischins]] in 1844. In 1842, Irish physician [[William Brooke O'Shaughnessy]], who had studied the drug while working as a medical officer in Bengal with the [[East India Company]], brought a quantity of cannabis with him on his return to [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], provoking renewed interest in the West. Examples of classic literature of the period featuring cannabis include ''[[Les paradis artificiels]]'' (1860) by [[Charles Baudelaire]] and ''[[The Hasheesh Eater]]'' (1857) by [[Fitz Hugh Ludlow]].

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

[[File:Killerdrug.jpg|thumb|Anti-cannabis propaganda from 1935]]

Cannabis was criminalized in some countries beginning in the 14th century and was illegal in most countries by the middle of the 20th century. The colonial government of Mauritius banned cannabis in 1840 over concerns on its effect on Indian indentured workers; the same occurred in Singapore in 1870. In the United States, the first restrictions on sale of cannabis came in 1906 (in the [[District of Columbia]]). Canada criminalized cannabis in ''The Opium and Narcotic Drug Act, 1923'', before any reports of the use of the drug in Canada, but eventually legalized its consumption for recreational and medicinal purposes in 2018.

In 1925, a compromise was made at an international conference in [[The Hague]] about the [[International Opium Convention]] that banned exportation of "Indian hemp" to countries that had prohibited its use, and requiring importing countries to issue certificates approving the importation and stating that the shipment was required "exclusively for medical or scientific purposes". It also required parties to "exercise an effective control of such a nature as to prevent the illicit international traffic in Indian hemp and especially in the resin". In the United States in 1937, the [[Marihuana Tax Act of 1937|Marihuana Tax Act]] was passed, and prohibited the production of hemp in addition to cannabis.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

[[File:Drug bottle containing cannabis.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|''Cannabis indica'' fluid extract, American Druggists Syndicate ({{nowrap|pre-1937}})]]

In 1972, the Dutch government divided drugs into more- and less-dangerous categories, with cannabis being in the lesser category. Accordingly, possession of {{convert|30|g}} or less was made a misdemeanor. Cannabis has been available for recreational use in [[Coffeeshop (Netherlands)|coffee shops]] since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local "coffeeshops" and possession of up to {{convert|5|g}} for personal use is decriminalized, however: the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border. Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official [[decriminalization]].

In Uruguay, President [[Jose Mujica]] signed legislation to [[Cannabis in Uruguay|legalize recreational cannabis]] in December 2013, making Uruguay the first country in the modern era to legalize cannabis. In August 2014, Uruguay legalized growing up to six plants at home, as well as the formation of growing clubs ([[Cannabis social club]]), and a state-controlled [[marijuana dispensary]] regime.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

{{as of|2018|October|17}}, when recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Canada, [[dietary supplement]]s for human use and [[Holistic veterinary medicine|veterinary health products]] containing not more than 10 parts per million of THC extract were approved for marketing; [[Nabiximols]] (as Sativex) is used as a prescription drug in Canada.

The United Nations' ''[[World Drug Report]]'' stated that cannabis "was the world's most widely produced, trafficked, and consumed drug in the world in 2010", and estimated between 128 million and 238&nbsp;million users globally in 2015.

</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

=== Culture ===

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

Cannabis has been one of the most used [[psychoactive drug]]s in the world since the late 20th century, following only [[tobacco]] and [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] in popularity. According to Vera Rubin, the use of cannabis has been encompassed by two major cultural complexes over time: a continuous, traditional [[Folk culture|folk]] stream, and a more circumscribed, contemporary configuration. The former involves both sacred and secular use, and is usually based on small-scale cultivation: the use of the plant for [[Rope|cordage]], clothing, medicine, food, and a "general use as an [[euphoriant]] and symbol of fellowship." The second stream of expansion of cannabis use encompasses "the use of hemp for commercial manufacturers utilizing large-scale cultivation primarily as a fiber for mercantile purposes"; but it is also linked to the search for [[psychedelic experience]]s (which can be traced back to the formation of the Parisian [[Club des Hashischins]]).

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Legality===

{{Main|Legality of cannabis}}

{{See also|Prohibition of drugs|Drug liberalization}}

[[File:Map-of-world-cannabis-laws.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of world cannabis laws|

'''Legal status of cannabis possession for non-medical use'''

{{legend|#0d00f2|Legal}}

{{legend|#ffb700|Illegal but decriminalized}}

{{legend|#ff9e9e|Illegal but often unenforced}}

{{legend|#ff3c3c|Illegal}}

<small>See also [[:File:Map-of-world-medical-cannabis-laws.svg|countries that have legalized medical use of cannabis]].</small>]]

Since the beginning of the 20th century, most countries have enacted [[prohibition (drugs)|laws]] against the cultivation, possession or transfer of cannabis. These laws have had an adverse effect on cannabis cultivation for non-recreational purposes, but there are many regions where handling of cannabis is legal or licensed. Many jurisdictions have lessened the penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis so that it is punished by confiscation and sometimes a fine, rather than imprisonment, focusing more on those who traffic the drug on the [[black market]].

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

Some jurisdictions use free voluntary or mandatory treatment programs for frequent known users. Simple possession can carry long prison terms in some countries, particularly in East Asia, where the sale of cannabis may lead to a sentence of life in prison or even execution. Political parties, non-profit organizations, and causes based on the legalization of medical cannabis or legalizing the plant entirely (with some restrictions) have emerged in such countries as China and Thailand.

In December 2013, [[Uruguay]] became the first country to legalize growing, sale and use of cannabis. After a long delay in implementing the retail component of the law, in 2017 sixteen pharmacies were authorized to sell cannabis commercially. On 19 June 2018, the Canadian Senate passed a bill and the Prime Minister announced the effective legalization date as 17 October 2018. Canada is the second country to legalize the drug.

In November 2015, [[Uttarakhand]] became the first state of India to legalize the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes. Usage within the Hindu and Buddhist cultures of the [[Indian subcontinent]] is common, with many street vendors in India openly selling products infused with cannabis, and traditional medical practitioners in Sri Lanka selling products infused with cannabis for recreational purposes and well as for religious celebrations. Indian laws criminalizing cannabis date back to the [[Colonial India|colonial period]]. India and Sri Lanka have allowed cannabis to be taken in the context of traditional culture for recreational/celebratory purposes and also for medicinal purposes.

On 17 October 2015, Australian health minister [[Sussan Ley]] presented a new law that will allow the [[Agriculture|cultivation]] of cannabis for scientific research and medical trials on patients.

On 17 October 2018, [[Cannabis in Canada|Canada legalized cannabis]] for recreational adult use making it the second country in the world to do so after Uruguay and the first G7 nation. This legalization comes with regulation similar to that of [[Alcoholic drinks in Canada|alcohol in Canada]], age restrictions, limiting home production, distribution, consumption areas and sale times. Laws around use vary from province to province including age limits, retail structure, and growing at home. The [[List of licensed producers of medical marijuana in Canada|Canadian Licensed Producer]] system aims to become the Gold Standard in the world for safe and secure cannabis production, including provisions for a robust craft cannabis industry where many expect opportunities for experimenting with different strains.

As the drug has increasingly been seen as a health issue instead of criminal behavior, cannabis has also been legalized or [[Decriminalization|decriminalized]] in: [[Czech Republic]], [[Colombia]],[[Ecuador]], [[Cannabis in South Africa|South Africa]] and Canada. Medical marijuana was legalized in Mexico in mid-2017 and legalized for recreational use in June 2021.

==== Legal status by country ====

As of 2022, [[Cannabis in Uruguay|Uruguay]] and [[Cannabis in Canada|Canada]] are the only countries that have fully legalized the cultivation, consumption and bartering of recreational cannabis nationwide. [[Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction|In the United States]], 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of cannabis – though the drug remains illegal at the federal level. Laws vary from state to state when it comes to the commercial sale. Court rulings in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and South Africa have led to the legalization of cannabis consumption, but not legal sales. A policy of limited enforcement has also been adopted in many countries, in particular Spain and the [[Netherlands]] where the sale of cannabis is tolerated at licensed establishments. Contrary to popular belief, cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands, but it has been decriminalized since the 1970s. In 2021, [[Malta]] was the first [[European Union]] member to legalize the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. In [[Estonia]], it is only legal to sell cannabis products with a THC content of less than 0.2%, although products may contain more cannabidiol. [[Lebanon]] has recently become the first Arab country to legalize the plantation of cannabis for medical use.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

===Economics===

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

====Production====

{{Main|Cannabis cultivation|Cannabis industry|Cannabis product testing}}

[[File:Woman selling Cannabis and Bhang in Guwahati, Assam, India.jpg|thumb|Woman selling cannabis and [[bhang]] in [[Guwahati]], Assam, India]]

{{lang|es|Sinsemilla}} (Spanish for "without seed") is the dried, seedless (i.e. [[Parthenocarpy|parthenocarpic]]) [[infructescence]]s of female [[Cannabis sativa|cannabis plants]]. Because THC production drops off once pollination occurs, the male plants (which produce little THC themselves) are eliminated before they shed pollen to prevent pollination, thus inducing the development of [[Parthenocarpy|parthenocarpic]] fruits gathered in dense [[infructescence]]s. Advanced cultivation techniques such as [[Cannabis (drug) cultivation#Hydroponic cultivation|hydroponics]], [[Cannabis (drug) cultivation#Feminized seeds|cloning]], [[Cannabis (drug) cultivation#Light|high-intensity artificial lighting]], and [[Cannabis (drug) cultivation#SOG|the sea of green method]] are frequently employed as a response (in part) to prohibition enforcement efforts that make outdoor cultivation more risky.

{{anchor|Skunk}}"Skunk" refers to several named strains of potent cannabis, grown through selective breeding and sometimes [[hydroponics]]. It is a cross-breed of ''Cannabis sativa'' and ''C. indica'' (although other strains of this mix exist in abundance). Skunk cannabis potency ranges usually from 6% to 15% and rarely as high as 20%. The average THC level in coffee shops in the Netherlands is about 18–19%.

The average levels of THC in cannabis sold in the United States rose dramatically between the 1970s and 2000. This is disputed for various reasons, and there is little consensus as to whether this is a fact or an artifact of poor testing methodologies. According to Daniel Forbes writing for slate.com, the relative strength of modern strains are likely skewed because undue weight is given to much more expensive and potent, but less prevalent, samples. Some suggest that results are skewed by older testing methods that included low-THC-content plant material such as leaves in the samples, which are excluded in contemporary tests. Others believe that modern strains actually are significantly more potent than older ones.

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

====Price====

* In 1997, cannabis was estimated to be overall the number four value crop in the US, and number one or two in many states, including California, New York, and Florida. This estimate is based on a value to growers of ~60% of retail value, or {{convert|3000|$/lb|$/kg}}.

* In 2006, cannabis was estimated to have been a $36&nbsp;billion market. This estimate has been challenged as exaggerated. The UN World Drug Report (2008) estimated that 2006 street prices in the US and Canada ranged from about US$8.8 to $25 per gram (approximately $250 to $700 per ounce), depending on quality. Typical U.S. retail prices were $10–15 per gram (approximately $280–420 per [[ounce]]).  

* In 2017, the U.S. was estimated to constitute 90% of the worldwide $9.5&nbsp;billion legal trade in cannabis.

After some U.S. states legalized cannabis, street prices began to drop. In Colorado, the price of smokable buds (infructescences) dropped 40 percent between 2014 and 2019, from $200 per ounce to $120 per ounce ($7 per gram to $4.19 per gram).

The [[European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction]] reports that typical retail prices in Europe for cannabis varied from €2 to €20 per gram in 2008, with a majority of European countries reporting prices in the range €4–10.

==Cannabis as a gateway drug==

{{See also|Gateway drug effect}}

Some studies state that while there is no proof for the gateway hypothesis, young cannabis users should still be considered as a risk group for intervention programs. Other findings indicate that [[hard and soft drugs|hard drug]] users are likely to be [[poly drug use|poly-drug users]], and that interventions must address the use of multiple drugs instead of a single hard drug. Almost two-thirds of the poly drug users in the 2009–2010 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey used cannabis.

A related alternative to the gateway hypothesis is the common liability to addiction (CLA) theory. It states that some individuals are, for various reasons, willing to try multiple recreational substances. The "gateway" drugs are merely those that are (usually) available at an earlier age than the harder drugs. Researchers have noted in an extensive review that it is dangerous to present the sequence of events described in gateway "theory" in causative terms as this hinders both research and intervention.

In 2020, the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]] released a study backing allegations that marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs, though not for the majority of marijuana users. The National Institute on Drug Abuse determined that marijuana use is "likely to precede use of other licit and illicit substances" and that "adults who reported marijuana use during the first wave of the survey were more likely than adults who did not use marijuana to develop an alcohol use disorder within 3 years; people who used marijuana and already had an alcohol use disorder at the outset were at greater risk of their alcohol use disorder worsening. Marijuana use is also linked to other substance use disorders including nicotine addiction." It also reported that "These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a "gateway drug". However, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances."

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">

==Research==

{{See also|Medical cannabis research}}

Research on cannabis is challenging since the plant is [[Legality of cannabis|illegal in most countries]]. Research-grade samples of the drug are difficult to obtain for research purposes, unless granted under authority of national regulatory agencies, such as the US [[Food and Drug Administration]].