Cannabis—which can also be called cannabis, weed, pot, or dope—refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds (or cannabinoids). These compounds include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is impairing or mind-altering, as well as other active compounds, such as cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is not impairing, meaning it does not cause a “high”.
People smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints) or in pipes or water pipes (bongs). They also smoke it in blunts—emptied cigars that have been partly or completely refilled with marijuana. To avoid inhaling smoke, some people are using vaporizers. These devices pull the active ingredients (including THC) from the marijuana and collect their vapor in a storage unit. A person then inhales the vapor, not the smoke. Some vaporizers use a liquid marijuana extract.
People can mix marijuana in food (edibles), such as brownies, cookies, or candy, or brew it as a tea. A newly popular method of use is smoking or eating different forms of THC-rich resins or marijuana extracts.
Short-Term Effects
When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. The body absorbs THC more slowly when the person eats or drinks it. In that case, they generally feel the effects after 30 minutes to 1 hour.
THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals. These natural chemicals play a role in normal brain development and function.
Marijuana over activates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors. This causes the "high" that people feel. Other effects include:
- altered senses (for example, seeing brighter colors)
- altered sense of time
- changes in mood
- impaired body movement
- difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
- impaired memory
- hallucinations (when taken in high doses)
- delusions (when taken in high doses)
- psychosis (risk is highest with regular use of high potency marijuana)
Long-Term Effects
Marijuana also affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Researchers are still studying how long marijuana's effects last and whether some changes may be permanent.
For example, a study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities didn't fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults. Those who started smoking marijuana as adults didn't show notable IQ declines.5
In another recent study on twins, those who used marijuana showed a significant decline in general knowledge and in verbal ability (equivalent to 4 IQ points) between the preteen years and early adulthood, but no predictable difference was found between twins when one used marijuana and the other didn't. This suggests that the IQ decline in marijuana users may be caused by something other than marijuana, such as shared familial factors (e.g., genetics, family environment).6 NIDA’s Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a major longitudinal study, is tracking a large sample of young Americans from late childhood to early adulthood to help clarify how and to what extent marijuana and other substances, alone and in combination, affect adolescent brain development. Read more about the ABCD study on our Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD Study) webpage.
Are there second-hand effects?
Can I fail a drug test?
While it's possible to fail a drug test after inhaling secondhand marijuana smoke, it's unlikely. Studies show that very little THC is released in the air when a person exhales. Research findings suggest that, unless people are in an enclosed room, breathing in lots of smoke for hours at close range, they aren't likely to fail a drug test. Even if some THC was found in the blood, it wouldn't be enough to fail a test.
Can I get high from second-hand exposure?
Similarly, it's unlikely that secondhand marijuana smoke would give nonsmoking people in a confined space a high from passive exposure. Studies have shown that people who don't use marijuana report only mild effects of the drug from a nearby smoker, under extreme conditions (breathing in lots of marijuana smoke for hours in an enclosed room).
Are there other potential effects?
More research is needed to know if secondhand marijuana smoke has similar health risks as secondhand tobacco smoke. A recent study on rats suggests that secondhand marijuana smoke can do as much damage to the heart and blood vessels as secondhand tobacco smoke. But researchers haven't fully explored the effect of secondhand marijuana smoke on humans. What they do know is that the toxins and tar found in marijuana smoke could affect vulnerable people, such as children or people with asthma.
Marijuana use can lead to the development of a substance use disorder, a medical illness in which the person is unable to stop using even though it's causing health and social problems in their life. Severe substance use disorders are also known as addiction. Research suggests that between 9 and 30 percent of those who use marijuana may develop some degree of marijuana use disorder. People who begin using marijuana before age 18 are four to seven times more likely than adults to develop a marijuana use disorder.
Many people who use marijuana long term and are trying to quit report mild withdrawal symptoms that make quitting difficult. These include:
- grouchiness
- sleeplessness
- decreased appetite
- anxiety
- cravings
Treatments
No medications are currently available to treat marijuana use disorder, but behavioral support has been shown to be effective. Examples include therapy and motivational incentives (providing rewards to patients who remain drug-free). Continuing research may lead to new medications that help ease withdrawal symptoms, block the effects of marijuana, and prevent relapse.
Cannabis is different from cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant. CBD is one of the many compounds, along with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), that can be present in the cannabis plant. CBD does not cause a “high” by itself. CBD can be derived from hemp, which is defined as any part of a cannabis sativa plant with no more than 0.3% of THC, or non-hemp plants.
In 2018, the U.S. Congress passed and signed into law the Agriculture Improvement Act. This law removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act, effectively legalizing CBD if it comes from hemp.
However, a few states have not removed hemp from their state’s-controlled substances acts, so legality of CBD products differs across states.
If you feel that any cannabis related business is violating the laws and regulations listed below, you can submit a complaint using the link below.
Submit a Complaint
Listed below are the laws and regulations that govern cannabis businesses in the State. If you have any questions about these and whether a business is in violation, you can call the Department at 555-555-5555 or ACRP@augustuscity.gov
Selling to Minors
Age limits on cannabis sales:
- Under State of Augustus law, adults 21 or older can use, carry, and grow cannabis.
- Use of medicinal cannabis is legal if you have a current physician’s recommendation or a valid county-issued medical marijuana identification card.
- To buy medicinal cannabis, you must be 21or older and have either have current physician’s recommendation, a valid county-issued medical marijuana identification card, or be a Primary Caregiver as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 11362.7(d).
- You can consume cannabis on private property but you cannot consume, smoke, eat, or vape cannabis in public places. Property owners and landlords may ban the use and possession of cannabis on their properties.
- Even though it is legal under Augustus law, you cannot consume or possess cannabis on federal lands like national parks, even if the park is in Augustus.
- It is illegal to take your cannabis across state lines, even if you are traveling to another state where cannabis is legal.
- Every Cannabis dispensaries in the State of Augustus is required to ensure customers are of legal age by checking the State issued medical cannabis card marijuana card and ID proof to confirm the buyer's age, even for CBD products.
Effects of underage use:
Using Cannabis can have harmful and long-lasting effects on a teen’s health and well-being. Unlike adults, the teen brain is actively developing and often will not be fully developed until the mid 20s. Marijuana use during this period may harm the developing teen brain. Negative effects include:
- Difficulty thinking and problem solving.
- Problems with memory and learning.
- Impaired coordination.
- Difficulty maintaining attention.
- Decline in school performance. Students who smoke cannabis may get lower grades and may more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who do not use it.
- Increased risk of mental health issues. Cannabis use has been linked to a range of mental health problems in teens such as depression or anxiety. Psychosis has also been seen in teens at higher risk like those with a family history.
- Impaired driving. Driving while impaired by any substance, including cannabis, is dangerous. Cannabis negatively affects a number of skills required for safe driving, such as reaction time, coordination, and concentration.
- Potential for addiction. Research shows that about 1 in 6 teens who repeatedly use cannabis can become addicted, which means that they may make unsuccessful efforts to quit using cannabis or may give up important activities with friends and family in favor of using it.
Product Concentration Guidelines
Edibles, or food and drink products infused with cannabis and eaten, have some different risks than smoking cannabis, including a greater risk of poisoning. Unlike smoked marijuana, edibles can:
- Take from 30 minutes to 2 hours to take effect. So some people eat too much, which can lead to poisoning and/or serious injury.
- Cause effects that last longer than expected depending on the amount, the last food eaten, and medications or alcohol used at the same time.
- Be very difficult to measure. The amount of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is very difficult to measure and is often unknown in edible products. Many users can be caught off-guard by the strength and long-lasting effects of edibles.
It is also important to remember that marijuana affects children differently than adults. Since marijuana has become legal in some states, children have accidentally eaten marijuana products that looked like candy and treats, which made them sick enough to need emergency medical care.
Effects of overconsumption:
There are no reports of fatal cannabis overdoses, but it is possible to overdose on cannabis resulting in mild to severe symptoms including:
- High levels of anxiety
- Panic attack
- Rapid heart rate
- Difficulty conversing
- Poor coordination
- High or low blood pressure
- Nausea and vomiting
- Extreme confusion and memory problems
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
Over Limit Selling
As of May 2020, the State allows that adults 21 and older can purchase cannabis in a single trip in the following quantities:
- up to 28 grams, or 1 ounce, of marijuana flower
- up to 8 grams of cannabis concentrates (oil, wax, shatter, resin, rosin, etc.)
- up to 800mg of edibles
Buyers are allowed to mix and match flower, edibles and concentrates. The dispensary is responsible for keeping track of purchase totals and for letting the buyer know if they have reached the limit for a single purchase.
These limits are in place for a “single trip,” dispensaries shall only only serve any one buyer once per day.
Improper Advertising or Signage
The State cannabis retail dispensary outdoor advertising signage and advertising laws stipulate:
- They must comply with any applicable local ordinances regulating signs and Advertising.
- It is unlawful for any retail cannabis business to engage in Advertising that is visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park or other public place, including advertising utilizing any of the following media: any billboard or other outdoor general Advertising device; any sign mounted on a vehicle, any hand-held or other portable sign; or any handbill, leaflet or flier directly handed to any person in a public place, left upon a motor vehicle, or posted upon any public or private property without the consent of the property owner.
- The prohibitions set forth in this rule shall not apply to any fixed sign that is located on the same zone lot as a retail cannabis business and that exists solely for the purpose of identifying the location of the retail cannabis business and otherwise complies with any applicable local ordinances
- Signage and Advertising that targets minors is prohibited A retail cannabis business shall not include in any form of Advertising or signage any content that specifically targets individuals under the age of 21, including but not limited to cartoon characters or similar images.
- A retail cannabis business shall not engage in Advertising via marketing directed towards location-based devices, including but not limited to cellular phones, unless the marketing is a mobile device application installed on the device by the owner of the device who is 21 year of age or older and includes a permanent and easy opt-out feature.