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 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 cultivation of cannabis for scientific research and medical trials on patients.On 17 October 2018, 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. The 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. Laws around use vary from province to province including age limits, retail structure, and growing at home.As the drug has increasingly been seen as a health issue instead of criminal behavior, marijuana has also been legalized or decriminalized in: Czech Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Portugal, South Africa and Canada.
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 marijuanas effects, perhaps because cannabinoids may accumulate in the body, particularly in the lipid membranes of neurons.Researchers confirmed that THC exerts its most prominent effects via its actions on two types of cannabinoid receptors, the CB1 receptor and the CB2 receptor, both of which are G protein-coupled receptors. 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 neuroglial 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. CBD also acts as an allosteric modulator of the μ- and δ-opioid receptors. THC also potentiates the effects of the glycine receptors. It is unknown if or how these actions contribute to the effects of cannabis. Chemistry
Chemical composition
The main psychoactive component of cannabis is THC, which is formed via decarboxylation of THCA from the application of heat. Raw leaf is not psychoactive because the cannabinoids are in the form of carboxylic acids.