Marijuana is a unique and controversial drug. It is a popular psychoactive drug, easily accessible and relatively inexpensive. Marijuana is often considered a recreational drug despite its illegal status. It is illegal because there are many uncertainties surrounding this substance. In fact, some are in favor of using marijuana for medicinal purposes while others are against it. Marijuana opponents insist that legal approval will lead to serious personal and social problems. There are three species of marijuana. The most common and most psychoactive is a prepared mixture of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. Cannabis indica is known to be less potent, and cannabis ruderalis contains virtually no psychoactive ingredients. Cannabis sativa will be analyzed in detail as it is the most commonly used species. This plant grows spontaneously but can be cultivated in both temperate and tropical areas. Cannabis products can be smoked with pipes or cigarettes. They can also be ingested with food. The products produced range from paper to ink (WWW 2). Each plant varies slightly in composition, and different parts of the plant vary in chemical constituents. In 1993, researchers discovered 400 to 500 chemicals. Some of the major types of chemical constituents in marijuana preparations include acids, alcohols, aldehydes, and amino acids. Cannabinoids, esters, enzymes, glycoproteins, hydrocarbons, ketones, lactones, nitrogenous compounds, phenols, pigments, proteins, sugars, steroids, terpenes and vitamins are others (Carroll 1993). These are some of the naturally occurring chemicals in marijuana and were derived by the Institute of Medicine and the Marijuana Project at the University of Mississippi. Additionally, researchers have found that when cannabis is burned, additional chemicals are formed that can be found in the gas and smoke. One of the chemicals produced is benzopyrene, which is a known carcinogen. It is approximately 70% more abundant in marijuana smoke than in tobacco smoke (Carroll 1993). Only about 30 of the chemicals found in marijuana have been studied extensively for their psychoactive effects. Of these, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to be the most psychoactive chemical. This chemical is converted by the liver into over 60 other psychoactive metabolites (Carroll 1993). These chemical reactions, however, have proven to be insignificant or not enough research has been conducted to prove their importance. Researchers have mainly been concerned with the interaction of THC in the human body. The concentration of THC in the human body depends on many factors. First, the concentration of THC varies within the plant.