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Battle of the Lys (1918)

The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as Operation George but was reduced to Operation Georgette, with the objective of capturing Ypres, forcing the British forces back to the Channel ports and out of the war. In planning, execution and effects, Georgette was similar to (although smaller than) Operation Michael, earlier in the Spring Offensive.

Strategic developments
The German attack zone was in Flanders, from about 10 km east of Ypres in Belgium to 10 km east of Béthune in France, about 40 km south. The front line ran from north-north-east to south-south-west. The Lys River, running from south-west to north-east, crossed the front near Armentières in the middle of this zone. The front was held by the Belgian Army in the far north, by the British Second Army (under Plumer) in the north and centre and by the British First Army (under Horne) in the south.

Tactical developments
The German attacking forces were the Sixth Army in the south (under Ferdinand von Quast), and the Fourth Army in the north (under Sixt von Armin). Both armies included substantial numbers of the new stosstruppen, trained to lead attacks with the new stormtroop tactics.

The British First Army was a relatively weak force; it included several worn-out formations that had been posted to a "quiet sector". This included two divisions of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, which were undermanned, lacked almost half of their officers, had very low morale and were set to be replaced the day of the German attack.

German plan of attack
The German plan was to break through the First Army, push the Second Army aside to the north, and drive west to the English Channel, cutting off British forces in France from their supply line which ran through the Channel ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne.

Battle of Estaires (9–11 April)
The German bombardment opened on the evening of 7 April, against the southern part of the Allied line between Armentières and Festubert. The barrage continued until dawn on 9 April. The Sixth Army then attacked with eight divisions. The German assault struck the Portuguese Second Division, which held a front of about 11 km. The Portuguese division was overrun and withdrew towards Estaires after hours of heavy fighting. The British 55th (West Lancashire) Division, to the south of the Portuguese in a more defensible position, pulled back its northern brigade and held its ground for the rest of the battle, despite attacks from two German reserve divisions. The British 40th Division (to the north of the Portuguese) collapsed under the German attack and fell back to the north.

Horne committed his reserves (First King Edward's Horse and the 11th Cyclist Battalion) to stem the German breakthrough but they too were defeated. The Germans broke through 15 km of front and advanced up to 8 km, the most advanced probe reaching Estaires on the Lys. There they were finally halted by British reserve divisions. On 10 April, the Sixth Army tried to push west from Estaires but was contained for a day; pushing north against the flank of the Second Army, it took Armentières.

Battle of Messines (10–11 April)
Also on 10 April, German Fourth Army attacked north of Armentières with four divisions, against the British 19th Division. The Second Army had sent its reserves south to the First Army and the Germans broke through, advancing up to 3 km on a 6 km front, and capturing Messines.

The 25th Division to the south, flanked on both sides, withdrew about 4 km. By 11 April, the British situation was desperate; it was on this day that Haig issued his famous "backs to the wall" order.

Battle of Hazebrouck (12–15 April)
On 12 April, the Sixth Army renewed its attack in the south, towards the important supply centre of Hazebrouck, another 10 km to the west. The Germans advanced some 2 – and captured Merville. On 13 April they were stopped by the First Australian Division, which had been transferred to the area. The British Fourth Division defended Hinges Ridge, the Fifth Division held Nieppe Forest and the 33rd Division was also involved.

Battle of Bailleul (13–15 April)
From 13–15 April, the Germans drove forward in the centre, taking Bailleul, 12 km west of Armentières, despite increasing British resistance. Plumer assessed the heavy losses of the Second Army and the defeat of his southern flank and ordered his northern flank to withdraw from Passchendaele to Ypres and the Yser Canal; the Belgian Army to the north conformed.

Retirement from Passchendaele Ridge
On 23 March, Haig had ordered Plumer to make contingency plans to shorten the line along the Ypres Salient and release troops for the other armies. On 11 April, Plumer authorised a withdrawal of the southern flank of the Second Army and ordered the VIII and II corps in the Passchendaele Salient to retreat the next day into the Battle Zone, behind outposts left in the Forward Zone of the British defensive system. The divisional commanders were ordered that the Forward Zone must be held and that the Germans must not be given the impression that a withdrawal was in progress. At noon on 12 April, the VIII Corps ordered the infantry retirement to begin that night and the 59th Division was withdrawn and transferred south, to be replaced by part of the 41st Division. The II Corps had begun to withdraw its artillery at the same time as VIII Corps on the night of 11/12 April and ordered the 36th and 30th divisions to conform to the VIII Corps withdrawal which were complete by 13 April, without German interference; VIII Corps HQ was transferred to reserve.

During 13 April, General Headquarters (GHQ) discussed the retirements in the Lys valley, which had lengthened the British front line and Plumer agreed to a retirement in the Ypres Salient to the Mt Kemmel, Voormezeele (2.5 mi south of Ypres), White Château (1 mi east of Ypres) to Pilckem Ridge defence line but ordered only that artillery ammunition be carried to the rear; the 4th Army reported on 14 April, that the British were still occupying the Passchendaele Salient. The next day was quiet in the salient and the withdrawal of the II Corps and XXII Corps divisions was covered by the outposts in the original front line and artillery, which was divided into some active batteries which fired and a greater number of batteries kept silent, camouflaged and not to fire except in an emergency. Plumer gave orders to begin the retirement by occupying the line before the night of 15/16 April, while maintaining the garrisons in the outpost line and holding the Battle Zone with a few troops as an intermediate line. During the night of 15/16 April, the outpost line garrisons were to be withdrawn behind the new front line at 4:00 a.m. and the intermediate line in front of the Battle Zone was to be held as long as possible, to help the troops in the new line to get ready.

On 16 April, patrols went forward during the morning and found the area between the old and new front lines to be empty, the Germans still apparently in ignorance of the retirement; one patrol captured a German officer scouting for observation posts who did not know where the British were. Only in the late afternoon did German troops begin to close up to the new line and the British troops in the Battle Zone easily repulsed the German infantry, the 4th Army diary recorded that patrols discovered the withdrawal at 4:40 a.m. that afternoon.

Battle of Merckem (17 April)
On 17 April, the Belgian Army defeated an attack from Houthulst Forest (The Battle of Merckem) against the 10th and 3rd Belgian divisions from Langemarck to Lake Blankaart by the 58th, 2nd Naval and the 6th Bavarian divisions, with help from the II Corps artillery. The Germans captured Kippe but were forced out by counter-attacks and the line was restored by nightfall. On the afternoon of 27 April, the south end of the outpost line was driven in when Voormezeele was captured, re-captured and then partly captured by the Germans; another outpost line was set up north-east of the village. Belgian losses were 619 killed, wounded or missing. The Germans lost between 1922 and 2354 men, of which 779 were taken prisoner.

First Battle of Kemmel (17–19 April)
The Kemmelberg is a height commanding the area between Armentières and Ypres. On 17–19 April, the German Fourth Army attacked and was repulsed by the British.

Battle of Béthune (18 April)
On 18 April, the German Sixth Army attacked south from the breakthrough area toward Béthune but was repulsed.

Second Battle of Kemmel (25–26 April)
French General Ferdinand Foch had recently assumed supreme command of the Allied forces and on 14 April agreed to send French reserves to the Lys sector. A French division relieved the British defenders of the Kemmelberg.

From 25–26 April, the German Fourth Army made a sudden attack on the Kemmelberg with three divisions and captured it. This success gained some ground, but there was no progress made toward a new break in the Allied line.

Battle of the Scherpenberg (29 April)
On 29 April, a final German attack captured the Scherpenberg, a hill to the north-west of the Kemmelberg.

Analysis
During Georgette, the Germans managed to penetrate Allied lines to a depth of 15 km. However, they failed in their main objective to capture Hazebrouck and force a British withdrawal from the Ypres salient. More French reinforcements arrived in the latter part of April, after the Germans had suffered many casualties, especially among the Stoßtruppen. By 29 April, the German high command realized they could no longer achieve their objectives and called off the offensive.

Casualties
In 1937, C. B. Davies, J. E. Edmonds and R. G. B. Maxwell-Hyslop, the British official historians gave casualties from 9–30 April as c. 82,000 British and a similar number of German casualties. Total casualties since 21 March were British: c. 240,000, French: 92,004 and German: 348,300.

In 1978, Middlebrook wrote of 160,000 British casualties, 22,000 killed, 75,000 prisoners and 63,000 wounded. Middlebrook estimated French casualties as 80,000 and German as c. 250,000 with 50–60,000 lightly wounded.

In 2002, Marix Evans recorded 109,300 German casualties and the loss of eight aircraft, British losses of 76,300 men, 106 guns and 60 aircraft and French losses of 35,000 men and 12 guns. In 2006 Zabecki gave 86,000 German, 82,040 British and 30,000 French casualties.

The German ace Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron," was killed in action.

title: Battle of the Lys (1918)


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DMF

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title: DMF


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User talk:Chrkl

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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/État québécois

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was keep. Keep 11 / Merge 7 / Delete 5. Delete and merges (2), but counted as either delete OR merge. Merging requires to save the page history, so merging is really merge and redirect. -- AllyUnion (talk) 05:17, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

État québécois
This article is meaningless. There is no such thing as an "L'État québécois" (Quebec State). There is only Quebec, a Province in the Country of Canada.
 * Submitted by JillandJack, (who self-admittedly got stuck with some of the VfD steps). --Deathphoenix 18:36, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * Comment: This subject matter seems notable enough, but I don't know enough about Quebec (ie, I don't live there) to be able to verify if this term is in common use by the Québécois. If someone can tell me that this finds common use, I will change my vote to Keep and cleanup to remove some of the POV. Conversely, if this term isn't commonly used, I will change my vote to Delete. --Deathphoenix 18:45, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I did neither (see below). --Deathphoenix 20:42, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * If there's "no such thing as an 'L'État québécois'", only the "Province in the Country of Canada," why are there over 800 uses of "État québécois" on the websites of that same Quebec provincial government? (25200 uses on the Web as a whole, which is very high for a French Canadian topic.) This nomination strikes me as being based on a POV of Canadian nationalism/Quebec federalism, which I agree with completely in my personal life, but would never seek to press on a neutral point of view encyclopedia by deleting a valid or potentially valid article. Strongest keep, and cleanup as necessary. Samaritan 18:56, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * From strongest keep to a normal keep. The way the nomination was put got my back up. Also, I fixed my broken google links. Samaritan 00:46, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, the proposer's wording seems to reflect a strident partisan federalist agenda, which I don't share. It's a shame it was worded this way, insisting on "province". -- Curps 01:58, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Do a search for just "Quebec" at gouv.qc.ca... you get 663,000 hits. It's a big website, with tons of obscure policy papers and bureaucratic forms online.  Just 800 hits for "état québécois" on that site?  That's nothing, insignificant. -- Curps 01:44, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * The term has no official standing whatsoever and has never been officially used (or even commonly used) even by the previous sovereignist governments. You are being quite misleading: if the term is used within http://www.gouv.qc.ca/ (official Quebec government website) at all, it's only buried several levels deep within obscure documents and position papers, in places that you could only reach by using the "Search" box, never by clicking on links from the home page to any commonly viewed page. Go to the home page, go to "Accueil" → "Portrait du Québec" → "Politique" → "Institutions politiques", the term is nowhere to be found: it's simply "Le Québec". Same with the tourism portal http://www.bonjourquebec.com/ . Even the Parti Québécois website at http://www.pq.org/ nearly always sticks to "le Québec". -- Curps 00:40, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I didn't suggest anything else. I don't think being on a main page is necessary for a phrase in political discourse, with complicated enough suggestions and implications, to merit a short article discussing its history and usage. Samaritan 00:46, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * But the phrase is not used in discourse. It's a bureaucratic "officialese" term that is not even official or widely used by officials (even sovereignist officials). Most people simply get around the "province" issue by saying "Quebec" or "le Québec". -- Curps 01:11, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, cleanup as necessary, per Samaritan. Kappa 19:05, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete and merge. "The Quebecois State" is propogandic terminology whipped up by the PQ with no legislative basis.  Commentary on this usage belongs in the main Quebec article, not as an entity in an of itself. NPOV is a two-way street. -The Tom 19:08, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet sits happily by, and everyone would agree it's less encyclopedic, more propagandistic, has no grounding in truth whatsoever, was used exclusively as a joke, and only during one election, and has more obvious merger targets in Ontario general election, 2003 and/or Dalton McGuinty. It would be a travesty if this subject were deleted, Quebec is far too general for it to be discussed fully, and no other subject I can think of is closely enough related. (Note also that the current Quebec Liberal Party government is strongly federalist, but retains hundreds of pages using this term in their gouv.qc.ca webspace.) Samaritan 22:29, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * "No grounding in truth whatsoever"? You're missing the point, have you actually read that article? That kitten-eater article is not about the factual truth over whether anyone eats kittens, or propagandistic POV political advocacy; it's simply an article about how some dumb practical joke backfired during a local political campaign. Likely too obscure for Wikipedia but I can't be bothered to propose it for deletion. In any case, what's the relevance? -- Curps 00:57, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment: Not to mention that it was a huge thing in the '03 Ontario election. I don't know if that entire incident made or broke the Tory's chances, but it was a huge factor in getting McGuinty the extra votes. --Deathphoenix 03:04, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * What information would be suppressed by deleting this page? When you clean up the POV in État québécois, you have only a sentence or two of actual information, which could easily be fit into Quebec sovereignty movement (and be seen by more people there, actually).  Again you are being misleading about http://gouv.qc.ca/ ... every major page there simply refers to "le Québec", and "État québécois" can be found only buried several levels deep in obscure documents... and this has been true during previous sovereignist governments just as much as today with a federalist government in office. -- Curps 01:00, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and strong clean-up. There seems to be evidence that the concept exists and that it is note-worthy enough for a Wikipedia article. I struggle with this article because its tone is propagandistic. The problem is that the concept itself is a propaganda concept, and I'm not sure how to write an NPOV article about a propaganda concept. perhaps someone can try to neutralise the article before we reach a conclusion on the VfD? Kevintoronto 19:15, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, combination of polemics and duplicated content. Unhelpful. Wyss 19:19, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Merge into Quebec and redirect. Let the editors of Quebec work together to present a neutral and balanced article. This is yet another example of the recent tendency to break out articles in order to allow presentation of a specific point of view. If Province du Québec and État québécois are not the same subject seen from two different points of view, what are they? Dpbsmith (talk) 19:37, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Merge into Quebec and redirect. Dpbsmith makes a good point about breakaway articles used to present a POV. I was going to recommend no redirect (I don't fully agree with redirecting a POV title to an NPOV article), but then I realise that not redirecting would mean losing the history. --Deathphoenix 20:42, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete or merge as only a sentence or two into Quebec sovereignty movement or Quebec. This term is never used in English, and if kept would have to be suitably renamed; but I know of no such commonly or even occasionally used English term. -- Curps 21:39, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Would you agree to delete jihad (or, at best, merge to holy war or struggle?) Or move Taliban to, uh, Students of Islam (Afghan movement)? Closer to this, Parti Québécois and Bloc Québécois obviously need to go, and since they too don't have any commonly or even occasionally used English terms for them, they'd have to be deleted or merged to Quebec or something. We can and do discuss non-English language political discourse in English under non-English titles! If Wikipedia has a policy against loanwords in titles, please point me to it? We're giving this POV deletion proposal too much credit by focusing on red herrings. Samaritan 22:29, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * "Jihad" and "Taliban" are commonly used in English; these are the English terms. In fact, they are now English words. Similarly, "Parti Québécois" and "Bloc Quebecois" are the only English terms for these political parties; they have no other English names.  These names are very commonly used in English-language media in Canada and Quebec, as Google shows. However, "État québécois" is not used at all in English, even in Canada or Quebec (as Google shows).  This is not a loanword in English; it is simply never used in English, even among political scientists and other specialists.  Occasionally you find use of "Quebec State" or "State of Quebec", but nearly always only as literal translations of those French documents that use them; native English documents or articles originally written in English essentially never use them.  The term also has no official standing; the Quebec government website http://www.gouv.qc.ca/ does not use it, even in pages that describe Quebec political institutions in French (such as  and subpages).  And finally, simply read the État québécois article... what information does it actually contain?  Other than POV advocacy, it merely informs us that some (not all) francophones in Quebec would prefer to use this term... why could this information not be incorporated into a sentence or two in Quebec or Quebec sovereignty movement?  Why puff this up into an entire article?  And by the way, it seems a much more common way to get around the P-word ("province") is simply to refer to "Quebec" (or "le Québec" in French), plain and simple. -- Curps 00:25, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I fixed my broken google links above, showing over eight hundred hits for the term at gouv.qc.ca. I'm sorry. Samaritan 00:46, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * And not a single one accessible by drilling down and clicking links starting at the main page, I'd bet. Contrast with http://www.elysee.fr/ (President of France's website)... the word "République" is used everywhere, beginning at the home page. -- Curps 01:21, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * What's more, if you search for just "Quebec" at gouv.qc.ca... you get 663,000 hits. It's a big website, with tons of obscure policy papers and bureaucratic forms online.  So a mere 800 hits for "état québécois" on this enormous website actually weakens your position rather than strengthening it. -- Curps 01:44, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * What's more, how many of your Google hits actually refer to the subject of the État québécois article? In French, it's common to use the word "état" where English would use "federal government", for instance "les relations entre l'État et les citoyens" would be idiomatic French for what in English would probably be phrased as "relations between the federal government and its citizens".  In other words, "l'état québécois" in most contexts would properly be translated as "the Quebec government" and would not have the meaning of "Republic of Quebec" or "State of Quebec". -- Curps 01:33, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Note: The user who proposed this for deletion has apparently allegedly (I haven't followed up on the details) also been on a POV-tagging binge. See the section "User:JillandJack and NPOV disputes" on the Canadian wikipedians' notice board. Samaritan 22:37, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) (strikethrough/clarification Samaritan 23:33, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC). I spoke too strongly, to my discredit.)
 * Keep Spinboy 22:45, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Cleanup and keep. Notable, encyclopedic, interesting and useful. --Centauri 00:39, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment. Imagine an article called State of Puerto Rico or Estado de Puerto Rico.  And imagine that that article consists of nothing but POV advocacy for the use of the term "Estado de Puerto Rico" because some people find the term "commonwealth" humiliating and colonial, and because Puerto Rico might someday become a US state or independent state.  Would there be any reason for such an article to exist, any reason why that information could not be incorporated into a sentence or two within Puerto Rico itself? For those of you who have no familiarity with Canadian or Quebec politics, you could simply base your vote on whether you would vote to keep an Estado de Puerto Rico article. -- Curps 01:00, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, POV political. This term is rarely used. Mention of this can be made in the main Quebec article but as it stands this doesnt warrant having an article on its own. Megan1967 01:27, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I took note of this some months back. The user who originally created it, Liberlogos, also undertook widespread edits to direct "Canadian province of Quebec" references to this article instead; these were reverted by Mathieugp as POV. I must note, however, that a term which originates with Jean Lesage cannot be viewed as solely a subtopic of Quebec sovereignism, as Lesage was not connected to that movement in any significant way. If a merge and redirect is deemed necessary, Quebec nationalism (which is not the same thing, as one can be simultaneously a Quebec nationalist and a federalist) is the only appropriate redirect. However, my own vote on the subject is to keep, as the term does have currency in Quebec politics whether we like it or not. Bearcat 01:33, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Jean Lesage was in power four decades ago. It's not a matter of liking it or not, in current use, the term does not have much currency in Quebec politics or daily speech. Note Samaritan's 800 hits are almost negligible in a government website http://www.gouv.qc.ca/ that has more than 660,000 pages. -- Curps 01:50, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * How long ago he was in power isn't relevant to the statement I made, which is that he wasn't connected to the political movement that some people want to redirect this to. If it's to be redirected, it has to go to Quebec nationalism or to Lesage himself; it can't go to Quebec sovereignty movement, because it doesn't come from that movement. Bearcat 01:56, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect to Quebec nationalism instead of Quebec sovereignty movement would be fine. -- Curps 02:00, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Oh, and just for the record, Samaritan's 25,000 hits for the term on Google say everything that needs to be said about its currency in Quebec. You've disputed the significance of the 800 government hits, but you haven't even touched the vastly more telling number. Bearcat 03:17, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, I have touched on the fact that most of these cases are used in contexts where the usual English translation would be expressed idiomatically as "government of Quebec" rather than "State of Quebec". In other words, it's simply a way of referring to the government, judiciary, civil service and state apparatus as an overall institution, slightly more non-partisan than "gouvernement" since the latter could also be used to refer to a particular governing party in power, or just to the executive/legislative branch.  In other words, most of these hits are not about the topic of the État québécois article. -- Curps 03:47, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * The other problem which you have not touched on is that all these hits are in French. Unlike Bloc Québécois and Parti Québécois, the term "état québécois" is simply never used in English, as shown by Google (even by political science specialists, and even in English language media in Quebec where use of untranslated French terms is not unusual). So if kept, the article would properly be moved to Quebec State. -- Curps 03:47, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * There are dozens of articles on Wikipedia where a foreign-language phrase which isn't used in English, but whose literal translation would distort the article's context and encyclopedic value, are titled with the original foreign language phrase. See eg. Tiocfaidh ár lá, Céad míle fáilte, Arbeit macht frei, Jedem das Seine, Amaya o los vascos en el siglo VIII, Inglés de escalerilla, Fiesta patronal, Dicionário Aurélio, etc. This is neither unprecedented nor, in and of itself, invalid as long as the article is written in English. Bearcat 03:13, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and cleanup. —Mar·ka·ci: 2005-02-9 01:47 Z
 * Delete. This designation for Quebec is part of the vision of the future put forward by Quebec nationalists. It perhaps merits a mention in that article.   A separate article on the designation is either going to be no more than a couple of sentences, or more likely yet another recap of the Quebec nationalist point of view in the guise of explaining the term.  (Which is what the article is now.) We don't need multiple articles in the Wikipedia that go over the same basic ground.  --BM 02:10, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. The basic points of the article are neither POV nor propagandistic -- they simply chronicle the history of an idiom which (for good or ill) is common currency in Quebec. If some parts of the article seem biased or insulting, the correct course of action is to *fix* them, not to delete the entire article. (Also note that User:JillAndJack has inserted POV tags on several articles having to do with Quebec nationalism in the last day or so. He (She? They?) seem/s to be taking issue with pages that depict Quebec nationalism in favourable terms, or cast ill aspersions on British colonial rule. It looks as though someone's grinding an axe ...) CJCurrie 02:45, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. I'm with Curps. Denni ☯ 04:29, 2005 Feb 9 (UTC)
 * Merge with redirect to Politics of Quebec, or even the Quebec main article. The existence of this term and information on its origins are quite relevant—it's what the government calls itself. I note that one of the early links in the Québec government Googling above is an open letter from the Premier of Québec (Jean Charest, also a federalist), and he seems to use l'État québécois as equivalent to the English phrase 'government of Québec'. (Letter in English and French). Since Google searches of the Québec government site seem popular, I should note that the term Province du Québec garners only 39 hits . I'd say that the article should be kept (and I'd be okay with that) but it would remain forever stubby unless filled out with unnecessary POV federalist and separatist ranting. --TenOfAllTrades | Talk 05:41, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Concur with sentiments CJCurrie expressed. ElBenevolente 07:11, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Who cares if it exists or not, if it's a notable term? Everyking 08:29, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Merge relevant into relevant page about quebec nationalism and delete (and please state who those "some people" are)- Skysmith 10:30, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * If you mean my "some people", I meant the people right on this very page who proposed redirecting to "Quebec sovereignty movement". Bearcat 22:08, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I was referring to "some people" in the first paragaph of the article - Skysmith 10:04, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete and merge. As we are the English Wikipedia and we have a good English phrase in common use we should use it and include any useful material from this article in it or Quebec nationalism. If the constitutional status of Quebec changes we can review the issue then. Capitalistroadster 10:44, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, concurring with Samaritan and CJCurrie. --Circeus 18:10, Feb 14, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, The expression La province de Québec has indeed fallen out of fashion some 45 years ago. In all Quebec official documents, Quebec is Le Québec, the province is L'État québécois (and yes, a province is indeed a state attached to some other) and the government is the Governement du Québec. This can be easily verified online at www.gouv.qc.ca. Nevertheless, this article has no use and I suggested its deletion to its author a while ago because I felft this was bad exemple of "everythingism". In other words, there is not enough matter to cover here and I don't think the use of a term that is only used in French anyways deserves a full article inside Wikipedia. -- Mathieugp 13:44, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
Cannabis (drug)

Cannabis, also known as marijuana or weed among other names, is a non-chemically uniform drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory, impaired body movement (balance and fine psychomotor control), relaxation, and an increase in appetite. Onset of effects is felt within minutes when smoked, but may take up to 90 minutes when eaten (as orally consumed drugs must be digested and absorbed). The effects last for two to six hours, depending on the amount used. At high doses, mental effects can include anxiety, delusions (including ideas of reference), hallucinations, panic, paranoia, and psychosis. There is a strong relation between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis, though the direction of causality is debated. Physical effects include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy; short-term side effects may also include dry mouth and red eyes. Long-term adverse effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started regular use as adolescents, chronic coughing, susceptibility to respiratory infections, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

Cannabis is mostly used recreationally or as a medicinal drug, although it may also be used for spiritual purposes. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis (2.7% to 4.9% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65). It is the most commonly used largely-illegal drug in the world, with the highest use among adults in Zambia, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria. Since the 1970s, the potency of illicit cannabis has increased, with THC levels rising and CBD levels dropping.

Cannabis plants have been grown since at least the 3rd millennium BCE and there is evidence of it being smoked for its psychoactive effects around 500 BCE in the Pamir Mountains, Central Asia. Since the 14th century, cannabis has been subject to legal restrictions. The possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis has been illegal in most countries since the 20th century. In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalize recreational use of cannabis. Other countries to do so are Canada, Georgia, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand. In the U.S., the recreational use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia, though the drug remains federally illegal. In Australia, it is legalized only in the Australian Capital Territory.

Etymology
Cannabis is a Scythian word. The ancient Greeks learned of the use of cannabis by observing Scythian funerals, during which cannabis was consumed. In Assyrian, cannabis was known as qunubu. The word was adopted in to the Hebrew language as kaneh bosem.

Medical

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, refers to the use of cannabis to treat disease or improve symptoms; however, there is no single agreed-upon definition (e.g., cannabinoids derived from cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids are also used). The rigorous scientific study of cannabis as a medicine has been hampered by production restrictions and by the fact that it is classified as an illegal drug by many governments. There is some evidence suggesting cannabis can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, or to treat chronic pain and muscle spasms. Evidence for its use for other medical applications is insufficient for drawing conclusions about safety or efficacy. There is evidence supporting the use of cannabis or its derivatives in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, neuropathic pain, and multiple sclerosis. Lower levels of evidence support its use for AIDS wasting syndrome, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, and glaucoma.

The medical use of cannabis is legal only in a limited number of territories, including Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and many U.S. states. This usage generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws.

Recreational
According to DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, "cannabis is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man". Being under the effects of cannabis is usually referred to as being "high". Cannabis consumption has both psychoactive and physiological effects. The "high" experience can vary widely, based (among other things) on the user's prior experience with cannabis, and the type of cannabis consumed. When smoking cannabis, a euphoriant effect can occur within minutes of smoking. Aside from a subjective change in perception and mood, the most common short-term physical and neurological effects include increased heart rate, increased appetite, impairment of short-term and working memory, and impairment of psychomotor coordination.

Additional desired effects from consuming cannabis include relaxation, a general alteration of conscious perception, increased awareness of sensation, increased libido and distortions in the perception of time and space. At higher doses, effects can include altered body image, auditory and/or visual illusions, pseudohallucinations and ataxia from selective impairment of polysynaptic reflexes. In some cases, cannabis can lead to dissociative states such as depersonalization and derealization.

Spiritual
Cannabis has held sacred status in several religions and has served as an entheogen – a chemical substance used in religious, shamanic, or spiritual contexts – in the Indian subcontinent since the Vedic period. The earliest known reports regarding the sacred status of cannabis in the Indian subcontinent come from the Atharva Veda, estimated to have been composed sometime around 1400 BCE. The Hindu god Shiva is described as a cannabis user, known as the "Lord of bhang". In modern culture, the spiritual use of cannabis has been spread by the disciples of the Rastafari movement who use cannabis as a sacrament and as an aid to meditation.

Modes of consumption

Many different ways to consume cannabis involve heat to decarboxylate THCA into THC; common modes include:
 * Smoking, involves burning and inhaling cannabinoids ("smoke") from small pipes, bongs (portable versions of hookahs with a water chamber), paper-wrapped joints, tobacco-leaf-wrapped blunts, or the like.
 * Vaporizing, heating various forms of cannabis to 165 –, causing the active ingredients to form vapor without combustion of the plant material (the boiling point of THC is 157 °C at atmospheric pressure).
 * Edibles, adding cannabis as an ingredient to a wide variety of foods, including butter and baked goods. In India it is commonly consumed as the beverage bhang.
 * Cannabis tea, prepared with attention to the lipophilic quality of THC, which is only slightly water-soluble (2.8 mg per liter), often involving cannabis in a saturated fat.
 * Tincture of cannabis, sometimes known as green dragon, is an alcoholic cannabis concentrate.
 * Capsules, typically containing cannabis oil, and other dietary supplement products, for which some 220 were approved in Canada in 2018.

Consumption by country
In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis (2.7% to 4.9% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65). Cannabis is by far the most widely used illicit substance, with the highest use among adults in Zambia, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria.

United States
Between 1973 and 1978, eleven states decriminalized marijuana. In 2001, Nevada reduced marijuana possession to a misdemeanor and since 2012, several other states have decriminalized and even legalized marijuana.

In 2018, surveys indicated that almost half of the people in the United States had tried marijuana, 16% had used it in the past year, and 11% had used it in the past month. In 2014, surveys said daily marijuana use amongst US college students had reached its highest level since records began in 1980, rising from 3.5% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014 and had surpassed daily cigarette use.

In the US, men are over twice as likely to use marijuana as women, and 18–29-year-olds are six times more likely to use as over-65-year-olds. In 2015, a record 44% of the US population has tried marijuana in their lifetime, an increase from 38% in 2013 and 33% in 1985.

Marijuana use in the United States is three times above the global average, but in line with other Western democracies. Forty-four percent of American 12th graders have tried the drug at least once, and the typical age of first-use is 16, similar to the typical age of first-use for alcohol but lower than the first-use age for other illicit drugs.

A 2022 Gallup poll concluded Americans are smoking more marijuana than cigarettes for the first time.

Short-term

Acute negative effects may include anxiety and panic, impaired attention and memory, an increased risk of psychotic symptoms, the inability to think clearly, and an increased risk of accidents. Cannabis impairs a person's driving ability, and THC was the illicit drug most frequently found in the blood of drivers who have been involved in vehicle crashes. Those with THC in their system are from three to seven times more likely to be the cause of the accident than those who had not used either cannabis or alcohol, although its role is not necessarily causal because THC stays in the bloodstream for days to weeks after intoxication.

Some immediate undesired side effects include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, reddening of the eyes, dizziness, feeling tired and vomiting. Some users may experience an episode of acute psychosis, which usually abates after six hours, but in rare instances, heavy users may find the symptoms continuing for many days.

Legalization has increased the rates at which children are exposed to cannabis, particularly from edibles. While the toxicity and lethality of THC in children is not known, they are at risk for encephalopathy, hypotension, respiratory depression severe enough to require ventilation, somnolence and coma.

Fatality
There is no clear evidence for a link between cannabis use and deaths from cardiovascular disease, but a 2019 review noted that it may be an under-reported, contributory factor or direct cause in cases of sudden death, due to the strain it can place on the cardiovascular system. Some deaths have also been attributed to cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. There is an association between cannabis use and suicide, particularly in younger users.

A 16-month survey of Oregon and Alaska emergency departments found a report of the death of an adult who had been admitted for acute cannabis toxicity.

Psychological effects
A 2015 meta-analysis found that, although a longer period of abstinence was associated with smaller magnitudes of impairment, both retrospective and prospective memory were impaired in cannabis users. The authors concluded that some, but not all, of the deficits associated with cannabis use were reversible. A 2012 meta-analysis found that deficits in most domains of cognition persisted beyond the acute period of intoxication, but was not evident in studies where subjects were abstinent for more than 25 days. Few high quality studies have been performed on the long-term effects of cannabis on cognition, and the results were generally inconsistent. Furthermore, effect sizes of significant findings were generally small. One review concluded that, although most cognitive faculties were unimpaired by cannabis use, residual deficits occurred in executive functions. Impairments in executive functioning are most consistently found in older populations, which may reflect heavier cannabis exposure, or developmental effects associated with adolescent cannabis use. One review found three prospective cohort studies that examined the relationship between self-reported cannabis use and intelligence quotient (IQ). The study following the largest number of heavy cannabis users reported that IQ declined between ages 7–13 and age 38. Poorer school performance and increased incidence of leaving school early were both associated with cannabis use, although a causal relationship was not established. Cannabis users demonstrated increased activity in task-related brain regions, consistent with reduced processing efficiency.

A reduced quality of life is associated with heavy cannabis use, although the relationship is inconsistent and weaker than for tobacco and other substances. The direction of cause and effect, however, is unclear.

The long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. There are concerns surrounding memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, and the risk of schizophrenia in young people.

Neuroimaging
Although global abnormalities in white matter and grey matter are not consistently associated with cannabis use, reduced hippocampal volume is consistently found. Amygdala abnormalities are sometimes reported, although findings are inconsistent.

Cannabis use is associated with increased recruitment of task-related areas, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is thought to reflect compensatory activity due to reduced processing efficiency. Cannabis use is also associated with downregulation of CB1 receptors. The magnitude of down regulation is associated with cumulative cannabis exposure, and is reversed after one month of abstinence. There is limited evidence that chronic cannabis use can reduce levels of glutamate metabolites in the human brain.

Cannabis dependence
About 9% of those who experiment with marijuana eventually become dependent according to DSM-IV (1994) criteria. A 2013 review estimates daily use is associated with a 10–20% rate of dependence. The highest risk of cannabis dependence is found in those with a history of poor academic achievement, deviant behavior in childhood and adolescence, rebelliousness, poor parental relationships, or a parental history of drug and alcohol problems. Of daily users, about 50% experience withdrawal upon cessation of use (i.e. are dependent), characterized by sleep problems, irritability, dysphoria, and craving. Cannabis withdrawal is less severe than withdrawal from alcohol.

According to DSM-V criteria, 9% of those who are exposed to cannabis develop cannabis use disorder, compared to 20% for cocaine, 23% for alcohol and 68% for nicotine. Cannabis use disorder in the DSM-V involves a combination of DSM-IV criteria for cannabis abuse and dependence, plus the addition of craving, without the criterion related to legal troubles.

Psychiatric
From a clinical perspective, two significant school of thought exists for psychiatric conditions associated with cannabis (or cannabinoids) use: transient, non-persistent psychotic reactions, and longer-lasting, persistent disorders that resemble schizophrenia. The former is formally known as acute cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms (CAPS).

At an epidemiological level, a dose–response relationship exists between cannabis use and increased risk of psychosis and earlier onset of psychosis. Although the epidemiological association is robust, evidence to prove a causal relationship is lacking.

Cannabis may also increase the risk of depression, but insufficient research has been performed to draw a conclusion. Cannabis use is associated with increased risk of anxiety disorders, although causality has not been established.

A review in 2019 found that research was insufficient to determine the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat schizophrenia, psychosis, or other mental disorders. Another found that cannabis during adolescence was associated with an increased risk of developing depression and suicidal behavior later in life, while finding no effect on anxiety.

Physical
Heavy, long-term exposure to marijuana may have physical, mental, behavioral and social health consequences. It may be "associated with diseases of the liver (particularly with co-existing hepatitis C), lungs, heart, and vasculature". A 2014 review found that while cannabis use may be less harmful than alcohol use, the recommendation to substitute it for problematic drinking was premature without further study. Various surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019 found that many users of cannabis substitute it for prescription drugs (including opioids), alcohol, and tobacco; most of those who used it in place of alcohol or tobacco either reduced or stopped their intake of the latter substances.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a severe condition seen in some chronic cannabis users where they have repeated bouts of uncontrollable vomiting for 24–48 hours. Four cases of death have been reported as a result of CHS.

A limited number of studies have examined the effects of cannabis smoking on the respiratory system. Chronic heavy marijuana smoking is associated with respiratory infections, coughing, production of sputum, wheezing, and other symptoms of chronic bronchitis. The available evidence does not support a causal relationship between cannabis use and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Short-term use of cannabis is associated with bronchodilation. Other side effects of cannabis use include cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a condition which involves recurrent nausea, cramping abdominal pain, and vomiting.

Cannabis smoke contains thousands of organic and inorganic chemical compounds. This tar is chemically similar to that found in tobacco smoke, and over fifty known carcinogens have been identified in cannabis smoke, including; nitrosamines, reactive aldehydes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benz[a]pyrene. Cannabis smoke is also inhaled more deeply than tobacco smoke. , there is no consensus regarding whether cannabis smoking is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Light and moderate use of cannabis is not believed to increase risk of lung or upper airway cancer. Evidence for causing these cancers is mixed concerning heavy, long-term use. In general there are far lower risks of pulmonary complications for regular cannabis smokers when compared with those of tobacco. A 2015 review found an association between cannabis use and the development of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), particularly non-seminoma TGCTs. Another 2015 meta-analysis found no association between lifetime cannabis use and risk of head or neck cancer. Combustion products are not present when using a vaporizer, consuming THC in pill form, or consuming cannabis foods.

There is concern that cannabis may contribute to cardiovascular disease, but, evidence of this relationship was unclear. Research in these events is complicated because cannabis is often used in conjunction with tobacco, and drugs such as alcohol and cocaine that are known to have cardiovascular risk factors. Smoking cannabis has also been shown to increase the risk of myocardial infarction by 4.8 times for the 60 minutes after consumption.

There is preliminary evidence that cannabis interferes with the anticoagulant properties of prescription drugs used for treating blood clots. , the mechanisms for the anti-inflammatory and possible pain relieving effects of cannabis were not defined, and there were no governmental regulatory approvals or clinical practices for use of cannabis as a drug.

Emergency department visits
Emergency room (ER) admissions associated with cannabis use rose significantly from 2012 to 2016; adolescents from age 12–17 had the highest risk. At one Colorado medical center following legalization, approximately two percent of ER admissions were classified as cannabis users. The symptoms of one quarter of these users were partially attributed to cannabis (a total of 2567 out of 449,031 patients); other drugs were sometimes involved. Of these cannabis admissions, one quarter were for acute psychiatric effects, primarily suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety. An additional third of the cases were for gastrointestinal issues including cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, there were 455,000 emergency room visits associated with cannabis use in 2011. These statistics include visits in which the patient was treated for a condition induced by or related to recent cannabis use. The drug use must be "implicated" in the emergency department visit, but does not need to be the direct cause of the visit. Most of the illicit drug emergency room visits involved multiple drugs. In 129,000 cases, cannabis was the only implicated drug.

Reproductive health
There is sufficient evidence of reproductive health harms from cannabis that its use when trying to conceive, during pregnancy, and while breastfeeding, is not advisable.

It has been recommended that cannabis use be stopped before and during pregnancy as it can result in negative outcomes for both the mother and baby, such as behavioral problems. However, maternal use of marijuana during pregnancy does not appear to be associated with low birth weight or early delivery after controlling for tobacco use and other confounding factors.

Mechanism of action
THC is a weak partial agonist at CB1 receptors, while CBD is a CB1 receptor antagonist. The CB1 receptor is found primarily in the brain as well as in some peripheral tissues, and the CB2 receptor is found primarily in peripheral tissues, but is also expressed in neuroglial cells. THC appears to alter mood and cognition through its agonist actions on the CB1 receptors, which inhibit a secondary messenger system (adenylate cyclase) in a dose-dependent manner.

Via CB1 receptor activation, THC indirectly increases dopamine release and produces psychotropic effects. CBD also acts as an allosteric modulator of the μ- and δ-opioid receptors. THC also potentiates the effects of the glycine receptors. It is unknown if or how these actions contribute to the effects of cannabis.

Pharmacokinetics
The high lipid-solubility of cannabinoids results in their persisting in the body for long periods of time. Even after a single administration of THC, detectable levels of THC can be found in the body for weeks or longer (depending on the amount administered and the sensitivity of the assessment method). Investigators have suggested that this is an important factor in marijuana's effects, perhaps because cannabinoids may accumulate in the body, particularly in the lipid membranes of neurons.

Chemical composition
The main psychoactive component of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is formed via decarboxylation of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) from the application of heat. Raw leaf is not psychoactive because the cannabinoids are in the form of carboxylic acids. THC is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD).

Detection in body fluids
THC and its major (inactive) metabolite, THC-COOH, can be measured in blood, urine, hair, oral fluid or sweat using chromatographic techniques as part of a drug use testing program or a forensic investigation of a traffic or other criminal offense. The concentrations obtained from such analyses can often be helpful in distinguishing active use from passive exposure, elapsed time since use, and extent or duration of use. These tests cannot, however, distinguish authorized cannabis smoking for medical purposes from unauthorized recreational smoking. Commercial cannabinoid immunoassays, often employed as the initial screening method when testing physiological specimens for marijuana presence, have different degrees of cross-reactivity with THC and its metabolites. Urine contains predominantly THC-COOH, while hair, oral fluid and sweat contain primarily THC. Blood may contain both substances, with the relative amounts dependent on the recency and extent of usage.

The Duquenois–Levine test is commonly used as a screening test in the field, but it cannot definitively confirm the presence of cannabis, as a large range of substances have been shown to give false positives. Researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice reported that dietary zinc supplements can mask the presence of THC and other drugs in urine. However, a 2013 study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine refute the possibility of self-administered zinc producing false-negative urine drug tests.

Varieties and strains

CBD is a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, which is under laboratory research to determine if it has an anxiolytic effect. It is often claimed that sativa strains provide a more stimulating psychoactive high while indica strains are more sedating with a body high. However, this is disputed by researchers.

A 2015 review found that the use of high CBD-to-THC strains of cannabis showed significantly fewer positive symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, better cognitive function and both lower risk for developing psychosis, as well as a later age of onset of the illness, compared to cannabis with low CBD-to-THC ratios.

Psychoactive ingredients
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), "the amount of THC present in a cannabis sample is generally used as a measure of cannabis potency." The three main forms of cannabis products are the flower/fruit, resin (hashish), and oil (hash oil). The UNODC states that cannabis often contains 5% THC content, resin "can contain up to 20% THC content", and that "Cannabis oil may contain more than 60% THC content."

Studies have found that the potency of illicit cannabis has greatly increased since the 1970s, with THC levels rising and CBD levels dropping. It is unclear, however, whether the increase in THC content has caused people to consume more THC or if users adjust based on the potency of the cannabis. It is likely that the higher THC content allows people to ingest less tar. At the same time, CBD levels in seized samples have lowered, in part because of the desire to produce higher THC levels and because more illegal growers cultivate indoors using artificial lights. This helps avoid detection but reduces the CBD production of the plant.

Australia's National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) states that the buds (infructescences) of the female cannabis plant contain the highest concentration of THC, followed by the leaves. The stalks and seeds have "much lower THC levels". The UN states that the leaves can contain ten times less THC than the buds, and the stalks 100 times less THC.

After revisions to cannabis scheduling in the UK, the government moved cannabis back from a class C to a class B drug. A purported reason was the appearance of high potency cannabis. They believe skunk accounts for between 70% and 80% of samples seized by police (despite the fact that skunk can sometimes be incorrectly mistaken for all types of herbal cannabis). Extracts such as hashish and hash oil typically contain more THC than high potency cannabis infructescences.

Laced cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids
Hemp buds (or low-potency cannabis buds) laced with synthetic cannabinoids started to be sold as cannabis street drug in 2020.

The short-term effects of cannabis can be altered if it has been laced with opioid drugs such as heroin or fentanyl. The added drugs are meant to enhance the psychoactive properties, add to its weight, and increase profitability, despite the increased danger of overdose.

Marijuana
Marijuana or marihuana (herbal cannabis) consists of the dried flowers and fruits and subtending leaves and stems of the female cannabis plant. This is the most widely consumed form, containing 3% to 20% THC, with reports of up to 33% THC. This is the stock material from which all other preparations are derived. Although herbal cannabis and industrial hemp derive from the same species and contain the psychoactive component (THC), they are distinct strains with unique biochemical compositions and uses. Hemp has lower concentrations of THC and higher concentrations of CBD, which gives lesser psychoactive effects.

Kief
Kief is a powder, rich in trichomes, which can be sifted from the leaves, flowers and fruits of cannabis plants and either consumed in powder form or compressed to produce cakes of hashish. The word "kif" derives from colloquial Arabic كيف , meaning pleasure.

Hashish

Hashish (also spelled hasheesh, hashisha, or simply hash) is a concentrated resin cake or ball produced from pressed kief, the detached trichomes and fine material that falls off cannabis fruits, flowers and leaves, or from scraping the resin from the surface of the plants and rolling it into balls. It varies in color from black to golden brown depending upon purity and variety of cultivar it was obtained from. It can be consumed orally or smoked, and is also vaporized, or 'vaped'. The term "rosin hash" refers to a high quality solventless product obtained through heat and pressure.

Tincture
Cannabinoids can be extracted from cannabis plant matter using high-proof spirits (often grain alcohol) to create a tincture, often referred to as "green dragon". Nabiximols is a branded product name from a tincture manufacturing pharmaceutical company.

Hash oil
Hash oil is a resinous matrix of cannabinoids obtained from the cannabis plant by solvent extraction, formed into a hardened or viscous mass. Hash oil can be the most potent of the main cannabis products because of its high level of psychoactive compound per its volume, which can vary depending on the plant's mix of essential oils and psychoactive compounds. Butane and supercritical carbon dioxide hash oil have become popular in recent years.

Infusions
There are many varieties of cannabis infusions owing to the variety of non-volatile solvents used. The plant material is mixed with the solvent and then pressed and filtered to express the oils of the plant into the solvent. Examples of solvents used in this process are cocoa butter, dairy butter, cooking oil, glycerine, and skin moisturizers. Depending on the solvent, these may be used in cannabis foods or applied topically.

Marihuana prensada
Marihuana prensada ('pressed marijuana') is a cannabis-derived product widespread among the lower classes of South America, especially from the 90s. Locally it is known as "paraguayo" or "paragua", since its main producer is Paraguay. Marijuana is dried and mixed with binding agents that make it toxic and highly harmful to health. It is cut into the shape of bricks (ladrillos) and sold for a low price in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and even the United States.

Ancient history

Cannabis is indigenous to Central or South Asia and its uses for fabric and rope dates back to the Neolithic age in China and Japan. It is unclear when cannabis first became known for its psychoactive properties. The oldest archeological evidence for the burning of cannabis was found in Romanian kurgans dated 3,500 BC, and scholars suggest that the drug was first used in ritual ceremonies by Proto-Indo-European tribes living in the Pontic-Caspian steppe during the Chalcolithic period, a custom they eventually spread throughout Western Eurasia during the Indo-European migrations. Some research suggests that the ancient Indo-Iranian drug soma, mentioned in the Vedas, sometimes contained cannabis. This is based on the discovery of a basin containing cannabis in a shrine of the second millennium BC in Turkmenistan.

Cannabis was known to the ancient Assyrians, who discovered its psychoactive properties through the Iranians. Using it in some religious ceremonies, they called it qunubu (meaning "way to produce smoke"), a probable origin of the modern word cannabis. The Iranians also introduced cannabis to the Scythians, Thracians and Dacians, whose shamans (the kapnobatai – "those who walk on smoke/clouds") burned cannabis infructescences to induce trance. The plant was used in China before 2800 BC, and found therapeutic use in India by 1000 BC, where it was used in food and drink, including bhang.

Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual use and has been used by religions around the world. It has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. The earliest evidence of cannabis smoking has been found in the 2,500-year-old tombs of Jirzankal Cemetery in the Pamir Mountains in Western China, where cannabis residue were found in burners with charred pebbles possibly used during funeral rituals. Hemp seeds discovered by archaeologists at Pazyryk suggest early ceremonial practices like eating by the Scythians occurred during the 5th to 2nd century BC, confirming previous historical reports by Herodotus. It was used by Muslims in various Sufi orders as early as the Mamluk period, for example by the Qalandars. Smoking pipes uncovered in Ethiopia and carbon-dated to around c. AD 1320 were found to have traces of cannabis.

Modern history
Cannabis was introduced to the New World by the Spaniards in 1530–1545. Following an 1836–1840 travel in North Africa and the Middle East, French physician Jacques-Joseph Moreau wrote on the psychological effects of cannabis use; he founded the Paris' Club des Hashischins in 1844. In 1842, Irish physician William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, who had studied the drug while working as a medical officer in Bengal with the East India Company, brought a quantity of cannabis with him on his return to Britain, provoking renewed interest in the West. Examples of classic literature of the period featuring cannabis include Les paradis artificiels (1860) by Charles Baudelaire and The Hasheesh Eater (1857) by Fitz Hugh Ludlow.

Cannabis was criminalized in some countries beginning in the 14th century and was illegal in most countries by the middle of the 20th century. The colonial government of Mauritius banned cannabis in 1840 over concerns on its effect on Indian indentured workers; the same occurred in Singapore in 1870. In the United States, the first restrictions on sale of cannabis came in 1906 (in the District of Columbia). Canada criminalized cannabis in The Opium and Narcotic Drug Act, 1923, before any reports of the use of the drug in Canada, but eventually legalized its consumption for recreational and medicinal purposes in 2018.

In 1925, a compromise was made at an international conference in The Hague about the International Opium Convention that banned exportation of "Indian hemp" to countries that had prohibited its use, and requiring importing countries to issue certificates approving the importation and stating that the shipment was required "exclusively for medical or scientific purposes". It also required parties to "exercise an effective control of such a nature as to prevent the illicit international traffic in Indian hemp and especially in the resin". In the United States in 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, and prohibited the production of hemp in addition to cannabis.

In 1972, the Dutch government divided drugs into more- and less-dangerous categories, with cannabis being in the lesser category. Accordingly, possession of 30 g or less was made a misdemeanor. Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local "coffeeshops" and possession of up to 5 g for personal use is decriminalized, however: the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border. Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official decriminalization.

In Uruguay, President Jose Mujica signed legislation to legalize recreational cannabis in December 2013, making Uruguay the first country in the modern era to legalize cannabis. In August 2014, Uruguay legalized growing up to six plants at home, as well as the formation of growing clubs (Cannabis social club), and a state-controlled marijuana dispensary regime.

, when recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Canada, dietary supplements for human use and veterinary health products containing not more than 10 parts per million of THC extract were approved for marketing; Nabiximols (as Sativex) is used as a prescription drug in Canada.

The United Nations' World Drug Report stated that cannabis "was the world's most widely produced, trafficked, and consumed drug in the world in 2010", and estimated between 128 million and 238 million users globally in 2015.

Culture

Cannabis has been one of the most used psychoactive drugs in the world since the late 20th century, following only tobacco and alcohol in popularity. According to Vera Rubin, the use of cannabis has been encompassed by two major cultural complexes over time: a continuous, traditional folk stream, and a more circumscribed, contemporary configuration. The former involves both sacred and secular use, and is usually based on small-scale cultivation: the use of the plant for cordage, clothing, medicine, food, and a "general use as an euphoriant and symbol of fellowship." The second stream of expansion of cannabis use encompasses "the use of hemp for commercial manufacturers utilizing large-scale cultivation primarily as a fiber for mercantile purposes"; but it is also linked to the search for psychedelic experiences (which can be traced back to the formation of the Parisian Club des Hashischins).

Legality
[[File:Map-of-world-cannabis-laws.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of world cannabis laws| Legal status of cannabis possession for non-medical use

{{legend|#0d00f2|Legal}} {{legend|#ffb700|Illegal but decriminalized}} {{legend|#ff9e9e|Illegal but often unenforced}} {{legend|#ff3c3c|Illegal}}

See also countries that have legalized medical use of cannabis. ]]

Since the beginning of the 20th century, most countries have enacted laws against the cultivation, possession or transfer of cannabis. These laws have had an adverse effect on cannabis cultivation for non-recreational purposes, but there are many regions where handling of cannabis is legal or licensed. Many jurisdictions have lessened the penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis so that it is punished by confiscation and sometimes a fine, rather than imprisonment, focusing more on those who traffic the drug on the black market.

In some areas where cannabis use had been historically tolerated, new restrictions were instituted, such as the closing of cannabis coffee shops near the borders of the Netherlands, and closing of coffee shops near secondary schools in the Netherlands. In Copenhagen, Denmark in 2014, mayor Frank Jensen discussed possibilities for the city to legalize cannabis production and commerce.

Some jurisdictions use free voluntary treatment programs and/or mandatory treatment programs for frequent known users. Simple possession can carry long prison terms in some countries, particularly in East Asia, where the sale of cannabis may lead to a sentence of life in prison or even execution. Political parties, non-profit organizations, and causes based on the legalization of medical cannabis and/or legalizing the plant entirely (with some restrictions) have emerged in such countries as China and Thailand.

In December 2012, the U.S. state of Washington became the first state to officially legalize cannabis in a state law (Washington Initiative 502) (but still illegal by federal law), with the state of Colorado following close behind (Colorado Amendment 64). On 1 January 2013, the first cannabis "club" for private marijuana smoking (no buying or selling, however) was allowed for the first time in Colorado. The California Supreme Court decided in May 2013 that local governments can ban medical cannabis dispensaries despite a state law in California that permits the use of cannabis for medical purposes. At least 180 cities across California have enacted bans in recent years. On 30 April 2024, the United States Department of Justice announced it would move to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance.

In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalize growing, sale and use of cannabis. After a long delay in implementing the retail component of the law, in 2017 sixteen pharmacies were authorized to sell cannabis commercially. On 19 June 2018, the Canadian Senate passed a bill and the Prime Minister announced the effective legalization date as 17 October 2018. Canada is the second country to legalize the drug.

In November 2015, Uttarakhand became the first state of India to legalize the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes. Usage within the Hindu and Buddhist cultures of the Indian subcontinent is common, with many street vendors in India openly selling products infused with cannabis, and traditional medical practitioners in Sri Lanka selling products infused with cannabis for recreational purposes and well as for religious celebrations. Indian laws criminalizing cannabis date back to the colonial period. India and Sri Lanka have allowed cannabis to be taken in the context of traditional culture for recreational/celebratory purposes and also for medicinal purposes.

On 17 October 2015, Australian health minister Sussan Ley presented a new law that will allow the cultivation of cannabis for scientific research and medical trials on patients.

On 17 October 2018, Canada legalized cannabis for recreational adult use making it the second country in the world to do so after Uruguay and the first G7 nation. This legalization comes with regulation similar to that of alcohol in Canada, age restrictions, limiting home production, distribution, consumption areas and sale times. Laws around use vary from province to province including age limits, retail structure, and growing at home. The Canadian Licensed Producer system aims to become the Gold Standard in the world for safe and secure cannabis production, including provisions for a robust craft cannabis industry where many expect opportunities for experimenting with different strains.

As the drug has increasingly been seen as a health issue instead of criminal behavior, cannabis has also been legalized or decriminalized in: Czech Republic, Colombia, Ecuador,   Portugal, South Africa and Canada. Medical marijuana was legalized in Mexico in mid-2017 and legalized for recreational use in June 2021.

Germany legalized cannabis for recreational use in April 2024.

Legal status by country
As of 2022, Uruguay and Canada are the only countries that have fully legalized the cultivation, consumption and bartering of recreational cannabis nationwide. In the United States, 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of cannabis – though the drug remains illegal at the federal level. Laws vary from state to state when it comes to the commercial sale. Court rulings in Georgia and South Africa have led to the legalization of cannabis consumption, but not legal sales. A policy of limited enforcement has also been adopted in many countries, in particular Spain and the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis is tolerated at licensed establishments. Contrary to popular belief, cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands, but it has been decriminalized since the 1970s. In 2021, Malta was the first European Union member to legalize the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. In Estonia, it is only legal to sell cannabis products with a THC content of less than 0.2%, although products may contain more cannabidiol. Lebanon has recently become the first Arab country to legalize the plantation of cannabis for medical use.

Penalties for illegal recreational use ranges from confiscation or small fines to jail time and even death. In some countries citizens can be punished if they have used the drug in another country, including Singapore and South Korea.

Production

Sinsemilla (Spanish for "without seed") is the dried, seedless (i.e. parthenocarpic) infructescences of female cannabis plants. Because THC production drops off once pollination occurs, the male plants (which produce little THC themselves) are eliminated before they shed pollen to prevent pollination, thus inducing the development of parthenocarpic fruits gathered in dense infructescences. Advanced cultivation techniques such as hydroponics, cloning, high-intensity artificial lighting, and the sea of green method are frequently employed as a response (in part) to prohibition enforcement efforts that make outdoor cultivation more risky.

"Skunk" refers to several named strains of potent cannabis, grown through selective breeding and sometimes hydroponics. It is a cross-breed of Cannabis sativa and C. indica (although other strains of this mix exist in abundance). Skunk cannabis potency ranges usually from 6% to 15% and rarely as high as 20%. The average THC level in coffee shops in the Netherlands is about 18–19%.

The average levels of THC in cannabis sold in the United States rose dramatically between the 1970s and 2000. This is disputed for various reasons, and there is little consensus as to whether this is a fact or an artifact of poor testing methodologies. According to Daniel Forbes writing for slate.com, the relative strength of modern strains are likely skewed because undue weight is given to much more expensive and potent, but less prevalent, samples. Some suggest that results are skewed by older testing methods that included low-THC-content plant material such as leaves in the samples, which are excluded in contemporary tests. Others believe that modern strains actually are significantly more potent than older ones.

The main producing countries of cannabis are Afghanistan, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Price
The price or street value of cannabis varies widely depending on geographic area and potency. Prices and overall markets have also varied considerably over time.

 * In 1997, cannabis was estimated to be overall the number four value crop in the US, and number one or two in many states, including California, New York, and Florida. This estimate is based on a value to growers of ~60% of retail value, or 3000 $/lb.
 * In 2006, cannabis was estimated to have been a $36 billion market. This estimate has been challenged as exaggerated. The UN World Drug Report (2008) estimated that 2006 street prices in the US and Canada ranged from about US$8.8 to $25 per gram (approximately $250 to $700 per ounce), depending on quality. Typical U.S. retail prices were $10–15 per gram (approximately $280–420 per ounce).
 * In 2017, the U.S. was estimated to constitute 90% of the worldwide $9.5 billion legal trade in cannabis.

After some U.S. states legalized cannabis, street prices began to drop. In Colorado, the price of smokable buds (infructescences) dropped 40 percent between 2014 and 2019, from $200 per ounce to $120 per ounce ($7 per gram to $4.19 per gram).

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports that typical retail prices in Europe for cannabis varied from €2 to €20 per gram in 2008, with a majority of European countries reporting prices in the range €4–10.

Cannabis as a gateway drug
The gateway hypothesis states that cannabis use increases the probability of trying "harder" drugs. The hypothesis has been hotly debated as it is regarded by some as the primary rationale for the United States prohibition on cannabis use. A Pew Research Center poll found that political opposition to marijuana use was significantly associated with concerns about the health effects and whether legalization would increase cannabis use by children.

Some studies state that while there is no proof for the gateway hypothesis, young cannabis users should still be considered as a risk group for intervention programs. Other findings indicate that hard drug users are likely to be poly-drug users, and that interventions must address the use of multiple drugs instead of a single hard drug. Almost two-thirds of the poly drug users in the 2009–2010 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey used cannabis.

The gateway effect may appear due to social factors involved in using any illegal drug. Because of the illegal status of cannabis, its consumers are likely to find themselves in situations allowing them to acquaint with individuals using or selling other illegal drugs. Studies have shown that alcohol and tobacco may additionally be regarded as gateway drugs; however, a more parsimonious explanation could be that cannabis is simply more readily available (and at an earlier age) than illegal hard drugs. In turn, alcohol and tobacco are typically easier to obtain at an earlier age than is cannabis (though the reverse may be true in some areas), thus leading to the "gateway sequence" in those individuals, since they are most likely to experiment with any drug offered.

A related alternative to the gateway hypothesis is the common liability to addiction (CLA) theory. It states that some individuals are, for various reasons, willing to try multiple recreational substances. The "gateway" drugs are merely those that are (usually) available at an earlier age than the harder drugs. Researchers have noted in an extensive review that it is dangerous to present the sequence of events described in gateway "theory" in causative terms as this hinders both research and intervention.

In 2020, the National Institute on Drug Abuse released a study backing allegations that marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs, though not for the majority of marijuana users. The National Institute on Drug Abuse determined that marijuana use is "likely to precede use of other licit and illicit substances" and that "adults who reported marijuana use during the first wave of the survey were more likely than adults who did not use marijuana to develop an alcohol use disorder within 3 years; people who used marijuana and already had an alcohol use disorder at the outset were at greater risk of their alcohol use disorder worsening. Marijuana use is also linked to other substance use disorders including nicotine addiction." It also reported that "These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a "gateway drug". However, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances."

Research
Research on cannabis is challenging since the plant is illegal in most countries. Research-grade samples of the drug are difficult to obtain for research purposes, unless granted under authority of national regulatory agencies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration.

There are also other difficulties in researching the effects of cannabis. Many people who smoke cannabis also smoke tobacco. This causes confounding factors, where questions arise as to whether the tobacco, the cannabis, or both that have caused a cancer. Another difficulty researchers have is in recruiting people who smoke cannabis into studies. Because cannabis is an illegal drug in many countries, people may be reluctant to take part in research, and if they do agree to take part, they may not say how much cannabis they actually smoke.

title: Cannabis (drug)


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