| Brief Guide to Cannabis |
| Cannabis |
| Cannabis comes from the Hemp plant. The problem with hemp is that the hemp plant is also known as the Cannabis plant, also known as the marijuana plant!. Cannabis sativa is believed to be a native plant of India; it probably came from a region just north of the Himalayan Mountains. You can buy marijuana seeds and related paraphenalia from the weed seed site. |
| The Hemp Plant. |
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This is a herbaceous annual that can grow to a height of between 13 and 18 feet (4 to 5.4 metres). The plant has flowers that bloom from late-summer to mid-autumn. The plants normaly have one of two types of flowers, male or female; though some plants have both. Male flowers grow in elongated clusters along the leaves and turn yellow and die after blossoming. Female flowers grow in spike-like clusters and remain dark green for a month, until the seed ripens.
The following quotation is from Encyclopedia Britannica: Hemp (species Cannabis sativa): plant of the family Cannabaceae and its fibre, one of the bast fibre group. The plant is also grown for its seed, which contains about 30 percent oil, and for the narcotic drugs marijuana and hashish derived from its leaves and blossoms. Hemp is a plant with an long history stretching back some two or three thousand years. Hemp is a not unlike flax. Flax is where linen comes from. In both hemp and flax, the fibres are to be found in the stalk of the plant. The fibres are not unlike the threads you see in a celery stalk - long, sinewy and strong. The fibres tend to be coarser than those found in cotton but they are very strong. This strength makes hemp a really useful fibre for making ropes. The reason why hemp shows up in organic magazines and catalogues is because it is eco-friendly. Thus, environmentalists like these aspects of hemp: Hemp fibres can be used in a number of different ways. They can be used to make cloth, paper, cardboard, and fibreboard. By using hemp for paper and construction materials, the pressure on forests is lessened. Hemp generally grows much faster and more densely than trees. This contrasts with cotton which as a crop requires millions of pounds / dollars of pesticides and fertilizers. It is a crop that takes a lot of nutrients out of the land. Insects and other bugs (like boll weevils) love cotton and need to be controlled with insecticides. Hemp, on the other hand, is basically a weed (see www.weeds.co.uk ). So you can grow hemp using much less fertilizer and pesticide than many other crops. |
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However, it is the connection with marijuana (cannabis, pot, grass, marihuana, dope, weed, gage, sess, sens, smoke, skunk, Mary Jane, grass) that makes hemp such a contentious plant or topic! There are varieties of fibre hemp that eliminate the drug component from the plant to a large degree, but many are concerned that it would be very easy to hide drug rich plants in a crop of fibre plants.
The active component in cannabis is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is one of the oldest hallucinogenic drugs known to society. There is evidence that cannabis extracts were used by the Chinese as a herbal remedy in the first century AD. |
| What does Cannabis do to you ? |
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Every time, someone smokes a spliff or joint ( a marjuana cigarette) or eats marijuana in the form of a cookie, cannybutter, chocolate brownies, chocolate etc then the THC and other related chemicals enter the body. The chemicals make their way through the bloodstream to the brain and the rest of the body. It is the THC that is mainly responsible for the "high" associated with the drug.
The most common way of using hash, gangja, marijuana is by smoking it. It is also the most direct way of getting the THC into the blood. When the smoke from the spliff is inhaled, the THC goes directly to the lungs, which are lined with millions of tiny air sacs. These air sacs have a large surface so they make it easy for the THC to enter the body and bloodstream. The smoke is absorbed within seconds after inhaling and a few seconds later it hits the brain. Marijuana users often describe the experience of smoking as relaxing, giving a feeling of well being and light-headedness. The eyes may dilate, causing colours to seem more intense, and other senses may be enhanced. Sometimes, feelings of a paranoia and panic may be experienced (later) felt by the user. In the brain, there are groups of special receptors, which take up the THC, and they have an effect on several mental and physical activities:
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| Medical uses of Cannabis |
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Cannabis (in various forms) has been used to alleviate pain and the symptoms of a number of conditions. In 1839, a professor of medicine at the University of Calcutta by the name of W B O'Shaughnessy, introduced cannabis into Western medicine. Cannabis has been used to help patients with various forms of cancer, where it may offer some relief from pain and it may help boost appetite in some with advanced cancer.
The other condition where Cannabis has attracted a lot of attention is in the alleviation of some of symptoms and pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis. It is variously claimed to reduce muscle spasm, pain and bladder problems. A number of clinical trials have been conducted and an aerosol preparation (sprayed under the tongue for rapid absorption into the blood) containing cannabinoids (purified chemicals derived from the plant) may be given official approval this summer. Useful sites with medical connections MS and cannabis at the BBC The MS resource centre You can buy marijuana seeds and related paraphenalia from the weed seed site. |
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