Culinary

Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively.

Chapter One of this book discusses differences across motivation variables and marijuana use. Chapter Two compares the medical necessity of marijuana to the political agenda. Chapter Three examines the evidence for and against the medical use of marijuana, and the effects and implications of its recent legalisation in several states especially with regard to its use by college-age young adults. Chapter Four examines the issues surrounding legalisation and teen use and the policy steps that might be taken to effectively communicate the risks to adolescents amidst an ever more socially acceptable climate. Chapter Five discusses the recent rise of legally sold marijuana, the risks of use, arguments in support of mandating warnings on packages of legally sold marijuana, the likely benefits and costs of mandating warnings, ways of evaluating proposed and actual warnings, and specific recommended warnings. Chapter Six exhibit how and the extent to which federal government marijuana regulation and policy contributes to disparities in arrest, in particular for African Americans of lower socioeconomic standing. This book ends with a commentary on aims to answer the question of whether marijuana and video games can engender "real" addictions.

Marijuana has the distinction of being the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. This video traces the history of marijuana and goes on to explain some of the many uses of the hemp plant; the effects of THC—the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana, sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil—on the body; the short- and long-term health implications of marijuana abuse; and teenage attitudes toward marijuana. In addition, the video investigates the concept of psychological dependency and considers whether marijuana is a gateway drug.