HIV and Alcohol & Drugs

Chemsex

Alcohol

Cannabis

Cannabis can be smoked, usually with tobacco, eaten, drunk in a ‘tea’ or snorted as a snuff. The drug affects the central nervous system, and as a result, users may experience relief from pain, feel light-headed, relaxed, or sleepy. The drug can also stimulate appetite; the so-called ‘munchies’. However, cannabis is also known to impair co-ordination, can cause nausea and vomiting, as well as emotional and mental health problems such as anxiety and paranoia, which in long-term use may become chronic.

Cannabis is a depressant, meaning that it slows down the messages between the brain and the body. The high from smoking cannabis normally takes effect within minutes and can affect a person for about two to four hours.

Legal Status

It is illegal to import, grow, sell, distribute, possess and use cannabis in New Zealand. People can be charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

Marijuana is scheduled under Class C of the Act, and more potent forms, such as hashish and cannabis oil, are scheduled under Class B.

The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana (Class C) is three months jail and/or a $500 fine. The maximum penalty for importing, cultivating and/or supplying cannabis is eight years imprisonment.

The maximum penalty for dealing (importation, manufacture and supply) a Class B drug (hashish and oil), is 14 years imprisonment. Possession or use offences carry a maximum three month jail term and/or a $500 fine.

Medicinal Use

Medicinal use of cannabis is illegal and therefore there is little verifiable evidence of the drug’s effects when used in the management of chronic health conditions. However, cannabis is widely used by people for medicinal reasons, often for the relief of pain, or as an appetite stimulant. In 1996, a clinical trial in San Francisco found that people with HIV wasting disease who used cannabis were more likely to put on weight. A study in 2007 found that HIV-positive users of the drug had relief from the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. The drug is also widely used to relieve insomnia and the symptoms of anxiety and stress. It is also used by people with multiple sclerosis as a muscle relaxant.

A small number of people have been prosecuted for growing and consuming cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Cannabis extracts, called cannabinoids, are legally used in some licensed pharmaceuticals, mostly pain killers and muscle relaxants, but these can only be obtained on prescription. These products do not make users feel ‘high’ or have any of the other narcotic effects of cannabis.

Risks of Cannabis Use

Short-term risks of cannabis use include anxiety, panic, and paranoia. Memory and attention may also be affected, as might the ability to drive or operate machinery. Research suggests that cannabis use in teenagers is a predictor of later mental health problems. Use during pregnancy has been associated with low birth-weight babies.

If the drug is smoked, long-term use is known to cause many smoking-related respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and heart disease. This may be of particular concern to people with HIV who have suffered lung damage from lung infections, or to those with increased lipids as this may increase the risk of heart attack.

Chronic loss of memory and shortened attention span have been observed in long-term users of the drug, in some cases even after they have ceased, and there is evidence that long-term users can develop psychological dependency on the drug. In one survey, daily use of cannabis by teenagers was found to substantially increase the risk of developing depression later in life and the use of cannabis has also been linked with an increased risk of schizophrenia.

One study found that use of cannabis was associated with more severe liver damage in patients with hepatitis C.

It is not known how cannabis reacts with anti-HIV drugs. A small American study found that cannabis use did not impact on the effectiveness of the protease inhibitor indinavir (Crixivan) even though the drugs use the same mechanism to pass through the body. Like any mood and consciousness-altering drug, cannabis may have an impact on people’s ability to adhere to their medication schedule and people planning to use cannabis, or any other recreational drug, may need to develop strategies to help them take their medication at the right time and in the right way.

Brain function: The ability to learn and remember is impaired by regular cannabis use. Short-term memory is especially affected. Regular users also find it harder to concentrate.

Motivation: Regular users find it hard to stay motivated for sport, school and work, and their energy levels suffer. These effects do diminish over time after cannabis use is stopped.

Hormones: There is evidence that cannabis affects a person’s hormones. Regular users sometimes report a lower sex drive, irregular menstrual cycles for women and lower sperm counts for men.

Immune system: There is emerging evidence that regular cannabis use may harm the immune system.

Mental health: There is growing evidence linking cannabis use and mental illness. Individuals who are susceptible to mental illness put themselves at greater risk of psychotic symptoms when using cannabis. Cannabis also appears to make psychotic symptoms worse for people with schizophrenia.

The above information sourced and edited for New Zealand form contained on www.aidsmap.com
It is intended to support, rather than replace, consultation with a healthcare professional. Please talk to your doctor or another member of your HIV specialist for advice tailored to your situation.

If you find that you can not control your use of alcohol or other drugs, would like to cut back or stop or would like any other support in this area, Body Positive may be able to help.

To talk to us about getting help, please contact us on 0800 HIV LINE

The NZ Drug Foundation has resources on being safer when using alcohol or drugs. They have also released The Level as a straight up guide for people who use drugs.

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