Also known as

• dope
• pot
• spliff
• hash(ish)
• marijuana
• Mary Jane
• weed
• puff
• grass
• herb
• draw
• wacky backy
• ganja
• hemp
• skunk (a much stronger variety)
• 420 (US, pronounced ‘four-twenty’).

What is cannabis?

Cannabis is a psychoactive drug, which means it changes your mood. It's made mostly from the buds/flowers of the cannabis plant.

In its resin form cannabis is a softish, greenish-brown block (hashish). When smoked cannabis is mixed with tobacco in a joint (spliff), or a pipe or bong, a kind of water pipe. It can also look like dried herbs - known as weed, marijuana or grass - or as an oil which is painted onto the side of a cigarette then smoked. Cannabis can also be drunk in hot drinks or eaten, for example baked in a cake.

What's the attraction?

The drug relaxes people and makes them feel sociable, talkative and giggly, with greater appreciation of sound and colour. Some people find it gives them new insights into things. It also increases appetite and causes light-headedness, sleepiness and haziness (being high or stoned). The effect lasts around three to four hours if eaten; less if smoked.

Cannabis also acts as a painkiller.

Cannabis and sex

Some say cannabis makes you feel horny. The drug can heighten feelings of touch and sound.

If the dose is too high, its tranquilising effects get in the way of sex. Sex might seem to last longer as time may seem to slow down. The drug relaxes and lowers inhibitions. Orgasms may seem less intense but more sensual, and felt not just in the dick. There can be a stronger sense of connection to the other man, with sex being more ‘touchy feely’.

But the drug can make people feel withdrawn and less interested in sex. Long-term use can lower sex drive: some studies show it lowers levels of the male hormone testosterone.

Smoking cannabis with tobacco carries the same increased rates of erection problems seen in tobacco smokers.