The Legal Status of Medical Marijuana in Australia

Introduction

Cannabis was first used in China around 6,000 years ago and is one of the oldest psychotropic drugs known to man. [1] There are several species of cannabis, the most common are Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica andCannabis ruderalis. [2] The two main products that are derived from cannabis are, hashish – the thick resin of the plant, and marijuana – the dried flowers and leaves of the plant. [1] Cannabis contains over 460 chemicals and 60 cannabinoids (chemicals that activate cannabinoid receptors in the body). [1,2] The major psychotropic constituent of cannabis is known as delta-9-tetrahydrocanabinol (THC); others include cannabinol and cannabidiol (CBD).

Cannabinoids exert their effect throughout the body through binding with specific cannabinoid receptors. There are two types of cannabinoid receptors found in the body: CB1 and CB2. Both are G-protein coupled plasma membrane receptors. The CB1 receptors are mostly found in the central nervous system, whilst CB2 receptors are mainly associated with immunological cells and lymphoid tissue such as the spleen, tonsils, and thymus. [3,4]

Delta-9-tetrahydrocanabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids are strongly lipophilic and are rapidly distributed around the body. [5] Because of its strong lipophilic nature cannabinoids accumulate in adipose tissue and have a long elimination time of up to 30 days, although the psychoactive effects generally wear off after a few hours. Medical cannabis can be dispensed and taken in a variety of ways including as a herbal cigarette, ingestible forms, or as herbal tea. However, marijuana cigarettes are commonly preferred as they provide higher bioavailability. [5]

Medical marijuana users represent a large range of ages, levels of education attainment, employment statuses, and racial groups. [6] A Californian study examining medical marijuana use showed 76.6% of medical marijuana users use seven grams of marijuana or less per week. Therefore, the majority of medical...