According to the United Nations cannabis is the most widely and frequently used illegal substance in the World. Although some countries (and, at the time of writing, thirteen US states) allow the production and sale of cannabis for medicinal use, recreational use of the plant is currently prohibited in all Western Nations.
Cannabis contains a number of psychoactive chemicals that produce feelings of relaxation and euphoria. The main compound responsible for the effects of cannabis intoxication is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, although several other compounds present in cannabis also have an effect on the body. Some studies have suggested that long-term exposure to cannabis, or exposure to high concentrations of THC over shorter time periods, is a significant risk factor in developing some mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia.
Concerns about the effects of cannabis upon mental health, together with (statistically unfounded) claims that cannabis is a ‘gateway drug’ that raises the user’s risk of going on to do harder drugs form the basis of the argument in favour of the plant’s continued illegality.
Whether cannabis should remain illegal, be completely legalized or else subject to some level of decriminalization, regulation and taxation lies beyond the reach of this article, though it is clear that the current legislation and approach to cannabis is woefully inadequate and ineffective. Currently all of the wealth generated from the production and sale of cannabis (estimated in the US alone to be billion annually) is controlled by criminal gangs, while prohibiting its use has clearly failed to prevent cannabis use rising rapidly year on year. In the UK it is estimated that some three million people regularly smoke cannabis, and thought that as many as fifty percent of eighteen to twenty-four year olds have tried cannabis at least once.
Whilst many people around the world are prepared to break the law and use cannabis for recreational purposes, many others prefer to achieve a similar effect using herbal or synthetic smoking mixtures made from plants or substances that are not controlled. These products – known as legal weeds – are usually made from legal plants that have mild psychoactive properties, or else plants that produce cannabis-like flowers which can be infused with synthetic legal highs.
Many legal weed mixtures use the herb Lion’s Tail which is noted for its relaxing and mildly hallucinogenic properties. Mugworts are also common ingredients of legal weeds, being known for their mild hallucinogenic effects.
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