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Marijuana use in Idaho
Cannabis is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). It is the most frequently used illicit drug in this country. All forms of marijuana are mind-altering (psychoactive) substances; they all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana. There are about 400 chemicals in a cannabis plant, but THC is the one that mostly affects the brain.
There are several different terms for marijuana. Slang names for drugs change rapidly, and they vary from one part of the country to another. They may even differ across sections of a large municipality. Terms from years ago, such as pot, herb, grass, weed, Mary Jane, and reefer, remain. You might also hear the terms skunk, boom, gangster, kif, or ganja. There are also street names for different strains or "brands" of cannabis, such as "Texas tea," "Maui wowie," and "Chronic." A recent book of American slang lists more than 200 names for different kinds of marijuana.
Cannabis's effect on the user vary according to the strength or potency of the THC it contains. THC potency has rose since the 1970s but has been stable since the mid-1980s. The strength of the substance is calculated by the average amount of THC in test samples confiscated by law enforcement agencies.
Most likely marijuana has an average of 3 percent THC.
Sinsemilla (made only from the buds and flowering tops of female plants) has an average of 7.5 percent THC, with a range as elevated as 24 percent.
Hashish (the adhesive resin from the female plant flowers) has an average of 3.6 percent, with a range as high as 28 percent.
Hash oil, a tar-like liquid distilled from hashish, has an average of 16 percent, with a range as elevated as 43 percent.
Legality
Since the 20th century, the majority of countries have enacted laws against the cultivation, use, possession, or transfer of marijuana for recreational use. Obviously, these laws impact adversely on the cannabis plant's cultivation for non-recreational purposes, but there are many areas where, under certain circumstances, handling of cannabis is legal or licensed and others where laws against its use, possession, or sale are not enforced. Several jurisdictions have also decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis, so that it is punished by confiscation or a fine, rather than imprisonment. By effectively removing the consumer from the criminal justice system, decriminalization focuses more on those who traffic and sell the substance on the market. Nonetheless, this does not solve the issue of how a user will obtain the "legal amount" of cannabis, since buying or growing cannabis is still illegal. Increasingly, numerous jurisdictions also authorize cannabis use for medicinal purposes. Certain nations allow the sale through drug companies. Nonetheless, simple possession can carry long jail sentences in certain countries, especially in East Asia, where the sale of cannabis may lead to a sentence of life in prison or even execution.
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