What Kind of Drug Is It?

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal controlled substance in the world. Although the drug has been illegal in the United States since the 1930s, an estimated 40.6 percent of the U.S. population over twelve years of age (forty out of every one hundred people) has tried it at least once. As recently as 2003, 25.2 million people—basically one in ten Americans—reported using the drug at least once that year, as reported by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Marijuana, or the plant Cannabis sativa, has been used as a medicine, as a part of religious ceremonies, and even as a fiber for making clothing, rope, and paper for many thousands of years. It has also been used RECREATIONALLY in many cultures, both ancient and modern. Still, its effects on the brain and body are not yet completely understood. Scientists differ...