什麼是大麻

印度大麻植物（Cannabis sativa），或是用其花、葉晾乾切碎後製成的生藥。有效成分是四氫大麻酚（THC）。亦稱鼻煙（pot）、茶（grass）、草煙（weed），長期用於鎮靜和止痛。西元前3世紀就已經在中國使用，西元500年傳到歐洲。如今大麻已在全世界廣泛使用，但是從1925年「國際鴉片公約」以來大麻的使用一般是違法的。其心理和生理效用，如中度興奮、視覺和判斷力的改變，會隨着效力、攝取量、環境以及使用者的經驗而變化。長期使用在生理上不會上癮，但是在心理上有可能略微上癮。大麻也可在醫學上用於治療青光眼、愛滋病以及化學療法所出現的副作用。大麻合法化的支持者提出，與酒精相比，大麻是一種良性藥物；反對者則認為大麻可以成癮並可導致吸食更為嚴重的毒品。哈希什（hashish，一種迷幻藥）就來源於大麻的樹脂（大麻脂）。

marijuana

Indian hemp plant ([plant]Cannabis sativa), or the crude drug made of its dried and crushed leaves or flowers. The active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Also called pot, grass, and weed, the drug has long been used as a sedative or analgesic; it was in use in China by the 3rd millennium BC, and had reached Europe by AD 500. Today it is used worldwide, though it has been generally illegal at least since the International Opium Convention of 1925. Its psychological and physical effects, including mild euphoria and alterations in vision and judgment, vary with strength and amount consumed, the setting, and the user's experience. Chronic use is not physically habit-forming but may be mildly psychologically habit-forming. Marijuana has been shown to be medically therapeutic for patients suffering from glaucoma, AIDS, and the side effects of chemotherapy. Supporters of legalization claim that it is a more benign drug than alcohol; opponents contend that it is addictive and leads to use of more serious drugs. A resin from the plant is the source of hashish.