235 Cannabis Abuse and Dependence (305.20/304.3)
DSM-IV-TR criteria
A. Cannabis is a generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the plant Cannabis sativa. The major psychoactive constituent in cannabis is ∆-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Cannabis impairs cognitive development (capabilities of learning), including associative processes; free recall of previously learned items is often impaired when cannabis is used both during learning and recall periods
B. Cannabis impairs psycho-motor performance in a wide variety of tasks, such as motor coordination, divided attention, and operative tasks of many types; human performance on complex machinery can be impaired for as long as 24 hours after smoking as little as 20 mg of THC in cannabis; there is an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents among persons who drive when intoxicated by cannabis.
C. Some difficulties when cannabis is used may interfere with academic or occupational achievement or with social communication. Coding should be in AXIS I: CLINICAL DISORDERS/OTHER DISORDERS THAT MAY BE A FOCUS OF CLINICAL ATTENTION Under Substance-related disorders.
Associated features
- Cannabis used during pregnancy is associated with impairment in fetal development leading to a reduction in birth weight; it also may lead to postnatal risk of rare forms of cancer although more research is needed in this area. Marijuana is the most used illicit drug in the United States. According to the 1994 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, averages of 10 million Americans use marijuana each month. Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana smoke, users likely experience dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, and slower reaction times, along with intoxication. Blood vessels in the eye expand. For some people, marijuana raises blood pressure slightly and can double the normal heart rate. This effect can be greater when other drugs are mixed with marijuana.
- Cannabis has been proven to cause damage with short term memory. This is caused by the THCs effect on the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory formation
- Cannabis smoke contains 50 – 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. This has been suspected to be more likely to cause lung cancer. People inhaling the smoke also tend to hold the smoke in their lungs longer than cigarette smoke.THC has also been proven to inhibit a persons immune system, making them much more vulnerable to infectious diseases.
Child vs. adult presentation
NIDA’s 1995 Monitoring the Future study found that from 1991 to 1995, marijuana use in the 12 months before the surveys rose from 23.9 to 34.7 percent among the Nation’s 12th graders, from 16.5 to 28.7 percent among 10th graders, and from 6.2 to 15.8 percent among 8th graders. Children often present about the same effects as adults on the substance directly after inhalation (see associated features). Peer pressure is a factor for ch