Mthandazo Ndlovu
Let’s talk about dagga today. How serious is it to an individual? How serious is it to a person who has had the dagga and how do they feel? Do they feel the same or there is a slight change or it totally changes one’s mind and thoughts.
Dagga is the word used to describe the dried flowers, seeds and leaves of the Indian hemp plant. Hashish is a related form of the drug, made from the Indian hemp plant, also called the chocolate, hash or shit. It is on average six times stronger than marijuana.
Cannabis describes any of the different drugs that came from Indian hemp including marijuana and hashish.
Regardless of the name, this drug is a hallucinogen a substance which distorts how the mind perceives the world you live in.
The chemical in cannabis that creates this distortion is known as “THC”. The amount of THC found in any given batch of marijuana may vary substantially.
Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette or a joint, but also can be smoked through the pipe. Less often it is mixed with food and eaten or brewed as tea, and at times put in dough. Sometimes users can open up cigars and remove the tobacco, replacing it with pot called a” blunt.”
Joints or blunts are usually laced with other powerful drugs, such as cocaine or PCP (phencyclidine a powerful hallucinogen.)
When someone smokes a joint, he usually feels its effect within minutes. The immediate sensations increased heart rate, lessened coordination and balance and a dreamy, unreal state of mind.
These can last for about two to three hours, but can take longer depending on the amount used.
As the typical user inhales more of the smoke and holds it longer than he would with a cigarette, a joint creates a severe impact on one’s lungs. It also has been found that consuming one joint gives as much exposure to cancer producing chemicals as smoking five cigarettes.
The mental consequences of marijuana use are equally severe. Marijuana smokers have poorer memories and mental aptitude than non-users.
Marijuana changes the structure of sperm cells; deforming them. Thus even small amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility in men.
Marijuana can also upset a woman’s menstrual cycle. The THC diminishes the mind and disrupts nerve cells in the brain affecting the memory.
Cannabis is one of the few drugs which causes abnormal cell division which leads to hereditary defects. A pregnant woman who regularly smokes marijuana or hashish may give birth to a premature or undersized baby.
Mthandazo Ndlovu is an accredited drug and substance abuse specialist, accredited adolescent counsellor, accredited professional counsellor, and accredited addictions counsellor, complementary therapy practitioner.
For help and information contact 00263772399734 or email [email protected].
