Sinsemilla, which is made from just the buds and flowering tops of female plants, has an average THC concentration of 7.5 percent, although it can be as high as 24 percent. A typical joint contains between 0.5 and 1.0 gram of cannabis plant matter, which varies in THC content between 5 and 150 milligrams. The drug also can be smoked in a pipe. One well-known type of water pipe is the bong. Within the past few years, users have found another way to smoke the drug, by slicing open cigars and replacing the tobacco with marijuana.
Some users also mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea.
According to the 1994 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an average of 10 million Americans use marijuana each month. NIDA's 1995 Monitoring the Future study found that from 1991 to 1995, marijuana use in the 12 months before the surveys rose from 23.9 to 34.7 percent among the Nation's 12th graders, from 16.5 to 28.7 percent among 10th graders, and from 6.2 to 15.8 percent among 8th graders. Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana smoke, users likely experience dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, and slower reaction times, along with intoxication. Blood vessels in the eye expand. For some people, marijuana raises blood pressure slightly and can double the normal heart rate.