Psychoactive Plants: Marijuana, Opium Poppy, and Coca

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering psychoactive plant classification, chemical components like THC and morphine, and specific plant species such as Cannabis sativa and Erythroxylum coca.

Telophase

The stage of mitosis where two nuclei re-form.

Cytokinesis

The division of the cytoplasm, occurring simultaneously with telophase.

Psychoactive

A plant compound that alters the mental state rather than the physical state.

Hallucinogen

A non-addictive substance that causes hallucinations, which involve perceiving or sensing things that have no reality, such as seeing, hearing, or smelling things that are not there.

Narcotic

A very addictive psychoactive compound that elicits psychological dependence, physiological dependence, and tolerance.

Stimulant

A substance that excites and enhances mental alertness and physical activity.

Depressant

A substance that dulls mental awareness, reduces physical performance, and induces a sleep or trance-like state.

Cannabis sativa

One of the oldest cultivated plants in the world; it is a dioecious annual with palmately compound leaves and glandular trichomes that produce resin.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

The psychoactive component of marijuana that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the human brain; notably, it is not an alkaloid.

Hemp

A tall, erect cultivar of Cannabis sativa subspecies sativa characterized by long internodes and very little THC.

Marijuana

The wild plant Cannabis sativa subspecies indica, which is short, bushy, and high in THC content.

Hashish

A form of cannabis consisting of resin from recently fertilized flowers that is smoked, eaten, or drunk.

Bhang

The weakest form of cannabis; it consists of dried plants gathered green and powdered to be made into a drink or candy.

Ganja

A form of cannabis that is $2$ to $3$ times stronger than bhang, consisting of dried female tops with resin mostly removed, containing seeds and no twigs.

Charas

A form of cannabis that is $10 imes$ stronger than bhang, consisting of pure resin removed from the leaves and stems of wild indica.

Anandamide

An endocannabinoid produced naturally by the body that binds to the same receptors as THC.

Papaver somniferum

The scientific name for the opium poppy, a flower native to the Middle East whose mature capsule exudes a milky latex that turns into opium.

Morphine

An alkaloid isolated in $1806$ that is $10$ times stronger than opium; it acts as a CNS depressant and is a powerful analgesic that binds to endorphin receptor sites.

Heroin

A semisynthetic derivative of morphine introduced in $1898$ by Bayer Co. as a cough medication; it is $6$ times more addictive than morphine.

Methadone

A synthetic opiate used as a gradual substitute for recovering heroin patients due to its lower addiction potential and milder withdrawal symptoms.

Erythroxylum coca

The coca plant, a small tree or shrub native to the Andes Mountains whose major alkaloid is cocaine.

Crack cocaine

A highly addictive form of cocaine made by heating freebase cocaine with baking soda to produce solid chunks of "rock."

Lophophora williamsii

The cactus known as peyote, native to Mexico and southwestern Texas, which contains the hallucinogenic alkaloid mescaline.

Kava (Piper methysticum)

A small shrub from the South Pacific whose roots contain lactones used as a tranquilizer to induce relaxation.

Caapi

A plant from the Amazon whose bark contains harmine, a powerful narcotic and potent hallucinogen.