Marijuana can be a confusing topic. It has its own language and culture, without agreement on what to call it or how it’s measured.

For doctors and lawyers, this can become a challenge when working with marijuana cases – one only made worse by the fact that often the client or patient doesn’t know much about it.

“I always tell my patients, ‘Listen, do not buy your pot from your babysitter’s boyfriend,’ but they do,” said Matthew Garlinghouse, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “And do they know what’s in it? No. Do they know if its sativa or indica? No. Does that matter? Yeah, you bet.”

The Omaha Bar Association held its annual joint meeting with the Metro Omaha Medical Society on March 5 at the Marriott Regency.

Garlinghouse discussed basic information on marijuana, the dried flower of a cannabis plant that is also called pot, grass, weed, reefer, and a variety of other names. The substance is often simply referred to as cannabis.

Measurement is often a challenge, he said. Typically, cannabis is sold by 1 gram (about the size of a grape), 1/8th of an ounce (kiwi), 1/4th of an ounce (apple), 1/2 ounce (grapefruit), 1 ounce (coconut) or 1 pound (watermelon).

“If you find someone who can smoke an ounce in a week or two, they’re smoking a lot,” he said. “It’s almost an effortful amount. You almost have to want to smoke that much.”

Cannabis contains dozens of cannabinoids, or compounds, but the two most commonly considered are THC, which gives a “high” feeling, and CBD, which is often extracted from industrial hemp, which is a member of the cannabis plant family.

Smoked cannabis comes in two main varieties: indica, which is the focus of the medical marijuana industry, because of its higher concentration of CBD gives a more sedating effect; and sativa, which is the focus of recreational marijuana, because of its higher concentration of THC, gives an increased “high.”

“I’m neither pro-cannabis or anti-cannabis.” Garlinghouse said. “I just feel like we should have a common language that we can use.”