Amusing Facts - Marijuana

Marijuana Neolithic Chinese legend "the gods gave humans one plant to fulfill all their needs."•This plant was Cannabis sativa.• Bast fibers can be used in ropes, fishnets and clothing • Seeds are highly nutritious • oil from the seeds can be used for lamps, paints, lubrication Cannabis is among the oldest cultivated plants • 10,000yr old potsherds imprinted with cordage made from hemp • first true paper was made from hemp in A.D. 105 (China) • hempen clothes were worn to show respect for the dead (China) Marijuana rivals alcohol in regular use • 100 million regular users in 1990 India--Bhang, made with ground Cannabis leaves, milk, sugar and spices Denmark--marijuana and hashish bars Cannabis is native to central Asia • seeds are dispersed by water, wind, birds and animals (most notably humans) • dioecious species with both male and female plants Psychoactive properties • Chinese grew the plants close together to increase fiber production–male and female plants equally productive for fiber • Indians (east) grew the plants spaced far apart to increase resin production–more resin is produced in hot dry areas--the resin coats the leaves and flowers to prevent desiccation–more resin is produced by the female plant than the male plant–resin is produced by the female flowers and upper leaves–Sinsemilla--unfertilized plants, have the most resin • Hashish-relatively pure resin–in Nepal naked men run through fields of flowering female plants and then scrape off the clinging resin globules • Many works of art, both visual and literary were created under the influence of marijuana–Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, Eugene Delacroix, Charles Baudelaire, W. B.Yeats, Oscar Wilde–Tales of the Arabian Nights provided a romantic introduction to hashish

Loss in productivity led to outlawing marijuana in many countries•1870-South Africa passed the first anti-Cannabis law•1920s America--ardent campaigning by Narcotics Bureau led to condemnation of marijuana• Louisiana, Texas and Illinois were the first states to banned the use. League of Nations agreed to an international statute against its use • 1937 the use of Cannabis came under federal jurisdiction with the Marijuana Tax Law which did not outlaw use, but taxed it very heavily. Use as a medicine • Chinese used Cannabis as a relaxant and to correct spiritual imbalances • 15thcentury--given to calm women during childbirth and fed to babies when they were weaned • Has many virtues–1965--THC or delta-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (a complex alcohol) isolated–effective pain reliever–reduces nausea experienced by radiation or chemotherapy patients–provides relief for asthma patients by dilating the bronchial vessels • some states have allowed prescription of marijuana cigarettes or THC pills Action of THC on the brain was discovered in 1990 • found a receptor to which THC binds • this suggested that there is a similar compound produced naturally by the body–anandamide (Sanskrit word meaning "internal bliss" • raises hopes that synthetic drugs with desired medicinal properties but without the psychoactive effects can be designed. No conclusive evidence for addiction or permanent deleterious medical effects with moderate use • heavy use has been correlated with psychological and physiological problems • use does easily become a habit • heavy use leads to reduced motor coordination, impairment of short-term memory and low sperm count  • heavy smokers develop lung disorders similar to tobacco smokers • may be a high probability that heavy users will turn to "hard drugs "Statistics show that marijuana is less deleterious than the legal more widespread counterparts alcohol and tobacco