This article will cover the cannabis plant and its different species and uses; its chemical makeup, and the effects on the human body and brain, positive and negative, dangerous and harmless. It will explain the plant’s history throughout the world, from ancient times to present, from a simple agricultural product, to a medicinal treatment, to a spiritual hallucinogenic, to an illegal narcotic. It will cover some of the myths and truths about the cannabis plant, from medical, legal, and individual viewpoints. It will also talk about the controversy over legalizing medical marijuana, and its possible benefits in many health conditions, both debilitating and terminal.
The Plant
Cannabis, the scientific specie name for what we call marijuana, has two major varieties of plants, cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, (there is a third minor specie called cannabis ruderalis found mostly in Russia.) The cannabis sativa plant grows taller and the leaves are more defined and fern like in appearance. Coming from Asia originally, it grows all over the world. Cannabis sativa is used for its plant material (also called hemp), and as a drug for hallucinogenic effects on the brain, giving a defined high. The cannabis indica plant, is more weed like, having a shorter more bushy appearance with broader leaves, it is found all over the United States, and can be grown in colder climates than its cousin cannabis sativa. It is used for its strong more physical hallucinogenic psychoactive effect on the chemicals of the brain, producing a more stoned out of mind experience. Most of the plants grown in the United States are human created hybrids, combining cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, to get the defined high and the stoned effect of both plants in one.
History of Cannabis
The cannabis plant has been prized throughout the ages as an agricultural crop, a medicinal herb, and for its psychoactive properties, from around 6000 B.C.E. to the present day, in all corners of the world. “The history of cannabis products and their use has been long, colorful and varied. “To the agriculturist, cannabis is a fiber crop; to the physician, it is an enigma; to the user, a euphoria; to the police, a menace; to the trafficker, a source of profitable danger; to the convict or parolee and his family, a source of sorrow” (http://www.skunked.co.uk/index.htm.) In ancient times cannabis was not viewed as an evil or illegal substance, but as something coming from the earth, with its own special gifts, like all plant life on earth. Humans of the past experimented with many plants and their uses, when a benefit was discovered, that plant became prized for that benefit. Most ancient peoples did not view a plant as having only one use, usually they found more than one. Cannabis was no different.
Cannabis is mentioned in many ancient and present cultures throughout the world, in religious texts, literature, poetry, and agricultural writings, and can be found in many anthropological studies, past and present. Ancient remnants of the plant and its products have been found in archaeological excavations, showing physical proof of its uses. Almost all the plant was used one way or another, by these cultures. The ancient Chinese first used the seeds of the cannabis plant for food around 6000 B.C.E., later using the plant for Chinese medicines and the fibers for textiles. Their culture at the time viewed cannabis as an earthly product, like any other plant, its hallucinogenic properties seemed to be ignored. The ancient Egyptians used it for an eye treatment, helping eye strain and soreness; this may have been the first time it was used in glaucoma. In India around 1200 B.C.E. cannabis is mentioned in the Hindu holy text called Atharva Veda, as one of five “scared grasses”, a holy plant used in spiritual rituals and medicines. The Indians called the dried plant bhang, viewing it as another gift from Shiva. Persians speak of the herb bhang in many of their religious texts from around 700 to 800 B.C.E., calling it a spiritual narcotic, most likely used for dream quests, like the Native Americans use peyote. In the Talmud, a Hebrew book of biblical, Jewish commentary, and laws, from around 500 C.E., the cannabis plant is called a mind altering substance. It can also be found in Arab and other Middle Eastern cultures’ writings.
The introduction of hemp into Northern Europe began in 500 B.C.E. by the Scythian tribes, who used its fiber for weaving clothing and its seeds as offerings to their dead. The Romans seemed to have liked the plant’s psychoactive properties. Its use, both as a drug and plant crop, found its way throughout Europe and Russia, finally making its way to the New World, where the British and French grew hemp in there colonies. George Washington, our first president, wore clothing made out of hemp fiber, so did others of the day and beyond. By 1907 cannabis, like cocaine and alcohol, was regulated by the “Pure Food and Drug Act”, by 1915 cannabis is beginning to be restricted to medical use only. Around this time new laws are also being passed around Europe and around the world on other addictive substances, including cannabis. In the United States propaganda was being used on the dangers of cannabis, calling it a danger to all American youth, tying it to crime, (which was never proven), and using negative racial imagery, which all helped make it federally illegal in the United States, by 1937, with the Marijuana Tax Act, which was over turned in 1969, when the United States Supreme Court found it unconstitutional. Today it is still seen by the federal government and most states as an illicit and dangerous drug, without value, even for those that are suffering from long-term or terminal illnesses, even though states are legalizing its medical use and in a few states today, its recreational use.
The Drug
Cannabis is a very complex plant, contains over four hundred different chemical components, having only sixty-six chemicals unique to the plant. It contains many psychoactive cannabiniods like delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC), the primary chemical agent in the cannabis plant, which gives it hallucinogenic properties.
The drug we call marijuana, comes from the dried leaves, flowers and stems of the plant, which can be smoked or consumed. The resin of the plant is also used, having high amounts of delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC), the purer the resin amount, the stronger the effect on the user. Hashish the most potent form is used around the world for its powerful hallucinogenic quality, though rarely seen in the United States. Smoking marijuana gives a more rapid high, than consuming it, because delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC) is absorbed faster into the blood stream, going to the brain first, then the rest of the body. When consumed delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC) goes through the digestive tract and the liver, which breaks it down and changes it in to another chemical called 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC. This makes for a slower and less potent effect because a smaller amount of delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC) is reaching the brain. The chemical stores in the fatty tissue of the body and is alimented from the body just like food, through the bowels. High doses of delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC) can cause brain effects like paranoia, delusions, and confusion. It can also cause tachycardia in some, especially those who already have some type of heart problems. The chemical does pose a risk to the fetus in pregnancy just like many other drugs, causing developmental problems to the child in the future. It also can affect the child or teenage user’s normal maturation and brain development. Smoking marijuana long-term can put the smoker at risk of developing lung cancer, much like tobacco. Other long-term studies of the effects of marijuana use in adults are unclear, some say it is addictive, but most say alcohol and nicotine are more addictive. Some studies show it might affect the brain and cardiovascular systems if used over a long period of time, but there are just as many studies that say it causes no long-term effects. This writer found the studies of cannabis fascinating, at best, confusing, at worst. Cannabis is truly an enigma rapped in a riddle, even the doctors and scientists can not completely understand its make up or what truly causes its effects on the human system, both physically and psychology.
Medical Marijuana Today
The cannabis plant can be used for much more than just a recreational drug, it can also have benefits today in medicine, like history has shown. Under federal law in the United States today marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, that carries a high rate of abuse, with no medical value. The use of marijuana is illegal, even for medical use, caring heavy fines and jail sentences, for very small amounts, to prison sentences for larger amounts. From 1996 to the present, various states have legalized some form of the use of medical and recreational marijuana, including Alaska (medical and recreational), Arkansas (medical), California (medical and recreational), Colorado (medical and recreational), Connecticut (medical), Delaware (medical), Florida (medical), Illinois (medical), Hawaii (medical), Louisiana (medical) Maine (medical and recreational), Maryland (medical), Massachusetts (medical and recreational), Michigan (medical), Minnesota (medical), Montana (medical), Nevada (medical and recreational), New Hampshire (medical), New Jersey (medical), New Mexico (medical), New York (medical), Ohio (medical), Oregon (medical and recreational), Pennsylvania (medical) Rhode Island (medical), Vermont (medical and recreational), and Washington (medical and recreational), plus Washington DC (medical and recreational). These states are still under federal control, so state laws may be ignored, and those that are protected under state law can be indicted under federal law. The states that back the use of medical marijuana find this very unfair, believing the states should be able to decide, with little or no interference from the federal government. The federal government strongly disagrees with this, viewing a little leeway in any illicit drug use, opens up legalizing all illegal substance down the road. Backers of medical marijuana say that it has proven its self as an effective drug in many conditions, and that any legal prescribed drug could also be misused and abuse, putting a patient endanger. Whether your belief is, for or against, the use of medical marijuana, it has been proven to help many health disorders, whether by psychological or physical effects.
Nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss are three of the major conditions that medical marijuana is used for, whether from gastrointestinal disorders like gastroenteritis and ulcers, to the effects of medical treatments like chemotherapy and medications, and the side effects and wasting of diseases like cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and full blown acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). As an anti-nausea and vomiting treatment, smoking marijuana, which is easier for the patient to regulate the dosage, seems to work better for some patients, than Marinol, a legal prescribed medication. Marinol, a pill form of concentrated delta-9-tetrahydroocannabinal (THC), has its own benefits and drawbacks. Marinol is legal and some patients do get a positive outcome in its use, but the drawbacks can make it almost useless to some patients, swallowing a pill with extreme nausea can almost be in possible. Marinol also takes longer in relieving nausea and vomiting, because of going through the digestive system and the liver, then to the brain. Patients may self-medicate, thinking they need more of the drug for it to work, and accidentally overdose. Some patients also complained that Marinol gave them other unwanted side effects like, dysphora (a strong unwanted high) and intense anxiety. Another factor was the cost and the ability to get the medication from their physician, which may refuse them a proscription. Marijuana smoked also comes with a few potential side effects; there is a risk to the lungs (like using tobacco), the immune system (lowering some patients’ resistance to contagions), and the development of pneumonia. But effects of not receiving treatment or malnutrition can also be harmful to the patient, causing the risk of an early needless death. “Many chemotherapy patients vomit walking into clinics in anticipation of treatment. The symptoms can deter some patients from continuing with recommended treatment. Known anti-emetic drugs aren’t effective in treating learned nausea. People report that if they smoke marijuana before they go for chemotherapy treatment, they don’t experience the anticipatory nausea or vomiting” (Can marijuana help reduce nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy?) (August 24, 2006, The Windsor Star) Linda Parker, Ph.D., Canada Research Chair, in Behavioral Neuroscience, at Wilfrid Laurier University).
This effect could be physical, because marijuana is relaxing them chemically, or it could also be a placebo effect, where the smoker truly believes that it is causing a positive change. But the patient is getting relief somehow, allowing them to go on with treatment. Marijuana (smoked or consumed) can be used as an appetite stimulant, causing a patient to regain the ability to eat and to enjoy food, also called back in the sixties “the munches.” This can help those who are suffering from the condition called “wasting”, which affects many with terminal diseases like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cancer. Wasting is the body’s way of trying to shut down because of the mental and physical trauma of having a long and ongoing debilitating condition, usually a disease that is terminal. Marijuana may also hold the key to saving the lives of those that are suffering from severe anorexia nervosa, giving them the ability to enjoy and consume food again.
Marijuana is also believed to help relieve pain, or at least ease it, in some patients, with fewer side effects than opiates and other pain killers. Studies of migraine headaches and arthritis (both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid types), have seen successful relief through the use of marijuana. Migraines can cause symptoms that marijuana eases in other conditions, especially nausea, vomiting and pain. Smoking a joint may work better for some because they get faster results and if vomiting, the patient may not be able to keep medicines down long enough to get any benefits. Others may not be able to tolerate the medicines themselves. With arthritis the many chemicals in the cannabis plant, may work together, not only for pain relieve but as an anti-inflammatory drug, without causing the risk of bleeding that other anti-inflammatory medications can cause. There are many other psychological and physiological conditions that may in the future be treated with one form or another of the cannabis plant and its chemical mix.
Hemp
Cannabis sativa, also called hemp, has many other uses today than just what we know as the drug marijuana. Its fiber, being extremely strong and able to hold its shape no matter what it is expose to, is used to make rope, clothing and building material. High in nutrition, containing needed vitamins, minerals, protein and essential fatty acids, it is used worldwide as a food source. Its seeds can be made into flour, butter and oil form, and the seeds can be eaten like sunflower seeds. The oil can also be used in other products like soaps, cosmetics and manufacturing products. Cannabis sativa is also used around the world as a soil conditioner because of the rich nutrients its root system releases, making the soil richer in these nutrients.
Conclusion
Cannabis has played an ancient role in human history; it has been used for materials, food, medicine, and as a psychoactive drug. It has been hailed as a cure and a curse, a legal herb and an illegal drug. But it has proven that it does work for some that are sick and dying, giving them some kind of relief, whether it is a placebo effect or a true physical effect. Yes, all drugs can be misused and abused, even prescription medications, nothing is truly totally safe. Humans have a history of misusing almost anything they come in contact with but we also can do amazing things if given a chance. No, drug use should never be taken lightly, whether you are dealing with legal drugs like prescription medicine and alcohol, or illegal drugs like marijuana and cocaine. But if a drug can benefit a patient, I believe the patient should always come first.
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