Cannabis Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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Cannabis is a genus of dioecious, annual herbs that belong to the family Cannabaceae, which was formerly placed with the nettles in the order Urticales, but is now in the order Rosales. There is phylogenetic controversy as to whether the cultivated varieties of the plant are of a single species (Cannabis sativa) or represent distinct species (such as those called Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalis, or Cannabis americana). All varieties of Cannabis contain psychoactive cannabinoids, in varying amounts.
Varieties of the plant grow in most climates. Cannabis cultivated for other than the psychoactive effects is known as hemp. Hemp is usually grown for its long, tough fiber for textile uses. Its seeds, used in bird feed, are a valuable source of protein, energy, and long-chain fatty acids. However, hemp plant flowers contain THC of the strength commonly known in the early 70's, 2-3% THC. There are many other varieties of hemp plants as well. Seeds also contain THC.
Containing mildly psychedelic and other psychoactive and physiologically active chemicals known as cannabinoids, the buds and leaves of cannabis are used recreationally and medicinally in many cultures; such a preparation is often referred to as marijuana and, today, is usually consumed orally or by inhalation in smoking or vaporization.
Concentrated preparations derived from THC-laden resin secreted from the plant are known as hashish. Historically, tinctures, teas, and ointments were also common preparations, especially medicinally.
Plant physiology
Cannabis reproduces sexually. The female plant forms racemes, (usually referred to as buds in Cannabis) which can produce hundreds of seeds. Males reach sexual maturity several weeks prior to females. Although a gene disposes a plant to become male, environmental factors, including the diurnal light cycle, can alter the sex. Natural hermaphrodites, with both male and female parts, are usually sterile but artificially induced hermaphrodites can have fully functional reproductive organs. 'Feminized' seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers are derived from artificially hermaphodytic females that lack the male gene or by treating the seeds with hormones.
Cannabis uses C4 photosynthesis, so is not dependent upon a night cycle for carbon dioxide absorption. A cannabis plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life cycle can thrive under twenty-four hour daylight conditions, although some growers advocate a small rest period to avoid overstressing the plant. Flowering usually occurs when darkness exceeds eleven hours per day and can take up to six weeks.
In soil, the optimum pH for the plant is 5.8 to 6.5. In hydroponic growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.5 to 6.1, making cannabis well-suited to hydroponics because most bacteria and fungi have difficulty growing in this pH range.
There are broadly three groups of cannabis varieties being cultivated today:
Although the potency of most cannabis varieties is uncertain, most cannabis contains below 8% THC. Selective breeding has produced varieties of up to 25% THC content. With varieties containing below 2-3% THC, such as those specifically cultivated for usage as hemp, smoking produces lightheadedness or a mild headache. The THC content is also affected by the sex of the plant, with female plants generating significantly more resin than their male counterparts. Seedless varieties derived from unpollinated female plants, with high THC content, traditionally known as sinsemilla, (Spanish: "without seed"). Various street names exist for smokable cannabis, many attempting to indicate potency or otherwise describe the product.
More scientific study is necessary to gain a complete understanding of the cannabinoid system. We do know that high relative concentrations of these chemicals significantly modifies the effects of the plant. THC is associated with an energetic, cerebral high, while CBD is associated with a relaxed, more drowsy high. CBN is not fully understood at this point, but high concentrations usually have hallucinogenic effects.
Because THC breaks down into CBN as buds mature, the time of harvest can significantly modify the effects of the plant. Because many commercial process growers often wait until the buds fully mature to ensure maximum weight, low-grade cannabis is usually high in CBD with relatively low THC content. This seems to explain the common 'head high' association with premium quality product, and 'body high' associations with lower grades.
Acute effects of marijuana consumption vary greatly by individual and by the qualities of particular varieties, but for the general population usually include some or all of the following:
THC has an effect on the modulation of the immune system which may have an effect on malignant cells, but there is insufficient scientific study to determine whether this might promote or limit cancer. Cannabinoid receptors are also present in the human reproductive system, but there is insufficient scientific study to conclusively determine the effects of cannabis on reproduction. Mild allergies to cannabis may be possible in some members of the population.
Cannabis use causes significant medium-term decreases in cognitive performance, but intelligence and cognition generally return to normal within a month (usually less) of abstinence.
There is little decisive scientific evidence about long-term psychological, neurological, and cognitive effects of cannabis use. Many old studies which purported to demonstrate that cannabis causes serious brain damage and other serious ailments, were deeply flawed, with strong bias and poor methodology. A big part of this is the necessity to find research subjects who only used marijuana, not anything else, even nicotine or caffeine.
A WHO-review of a large number of studies found that cannabis doesn't produce the serious long-term cognitive impairment that the older (and flawed) studies founds. However, it does note, that long-term, heavy-use may have measurable effects on cognition that appear to be persist even after longer periods of abstinence. While subtle, the WHO notes that these effects may be significant to people with occupations requring high levels of cognitive capacity. It remains to be seen if extended periods of abstinence can reverse the observed impairment.
There is a correlation between cannabis use and mental illnesses like psychosis and schizophrenia. This in itself does not mean that there is a causal relationship; the physiological effects of cannabis indicate the likelihood of persons with such diseases using cannabis to alleviate such diseases and their symptoms. Also, rather than causing these illnesses, cannabis may trigger latent conditions or be part of a complex coordination of causes. Recent research indicates that there may in fact be a causal relationship, however, more studies are needed to determine this with certainty.
Some studies have found that cannabis may cause an amotivational syndrome in young people who consume cannabis with high frequency and for a long period of time. This syndrome can persist for up to a year. Not all scientists agree that this syndrome exists.
More scientific study is necessary to determine the physiological effects of smoking cannabis. Because of higher levels of toxic chemicals, including carcinogens, cannabis smoke may be more unhealthy than tobacco smoke. In addition, many cannabis smokers inhale the smoke deeper into their lungs than do tobacco smokers, hold the inhalation for a greater length of time, and typically do so without a filter. However, the average cannabis user generally smokes far less than the average tobacco user. Also, most cannabis is free of certain impurities and radioactivity that are present in most tobacco products.
Main article: medical marijuana
Medically, cannabis is most often used as an appetite stimulant and pain reliever for certain terminal illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. Also, it is used to relieve certain neurological illnesses such as epilepsy and bipolar disorder. The medical use of cannabis is controversial; it is rarely prescribed by physicians due to its legal status. Additionally, synthetic THC sold under the brand name of Marinol is often prescribed as a cannabis substitute. See the section on History for information on historic and other medical use.
Cannabis is prepared for human consumption to several forms:
Other methods of smoking include the use of water pipes, or "bongs", and buckets, also known as "bucket rips" (an ungainly device which functions similarly to a bong), which cool the smoke and, in the case of bongs used with water, remove some unwanted impurities but also possibly the active ingredients. The word bong is a variant of bhang, a an African Pygmy word for cannabis. "Gravity bongs" are bongs in which a large container, such as a plastic milk carton, is partly filled with water, the cap having a hole cut out of it in which rests a bowl. One holds the container low in the water and raises it while lighting the bowl, then removes the bowl or entire cap and inhales while pushing the container back down in the water, using "gravity" to force smoke in the lungs. "Knife hits" are when metal knives are heated often by being stuck in the burner of a stove top and then pressed together with bud or hash between them. The smoke being cooled through a device, commonly a plastic soda bottle with the bottom cut off, poked with holes, and pushed stuck back into the soda bottle, filled with ice, upside down, one inhaling through the pre-existing opening.
Using any of the above devices smoke is generally inhaled in a "hit" or "toke", and, possibly with pipes and bongs, by opening an aerating hole called a "carb" or "shotgun". Bongs may have removable bowls, with the hole in which the bowl rests then acting as an open carb when the bowl is removed.
Cannabis may also be orally ingested by blending it with alcohol or fats, which must be done as it is not water soluble and requires the application of heat. The immediate effects are significantly reduced if it is so blended, but the intoxication may last for a longer duration and be heightened. The effects of ingested cannabis are usually not recognized for at least thirty minutes (frequently longer), making it harder for users to regulate their dosage. The "high" is also different from smoking, being more of a physical or "body high". Butter preparations are included in foods, commonly cookies and brownies (see space cake and Leary biscuit). A drink popular in India, called bhang, includes milk and flavoring herbs (e.g: cloves or cinnamon). Times given for cooking cannabis in butter or margarine (possibly with water) range from simmering for 15 minutes (butter/margarine) to 12 hours (butter/margarine with water, ibid, p.17). See also hashish and hashish oil.
The seeds of the hemp plant are also eaten and roasted, as well as being used to make hemp seed oil. A few restaurants that specialize in food with hemp seeds have opened, and appeal mostly to a countercultural clientele. Hemp seeds contain little THC.
Another method of consumption is vaporization. Vaporization allows the cannabis resins (THC and other cannabinoids) to be extracted into a vapor by heating without burning the plant material. This is advantageous because most of the toxic chemicals found in cannabis and tobacco smoke are byproducts of the combustion process. When cannabis is heated to about 190°C, its resins are released into an unburnt vapor which can be inhaled.
Laurence McKinney and Harvey Levine (of Toast-r-Oven, the Shick hair dryer, and later the first vaporizer, called the Tilt, fame) developed a device call the Maximizer, an automatic self-timed decarboxylator which uses boiling water as a timer. (ibid., p.15)
Cigarette: beedie, bifta, binge, blunt (cigar papers), bomb, bomber, doobie, fatty, grifo, hooter, J, jacob, joint, L (cigar papers), Left handed cigarette, muggle, reefer, rope, skiffer, spliff, zoot, roach, porro, kenki, bob marley, king side.
Reefer was common in the early twentieth century, but it is now oftenly used only humorously, often in reference to the 1930s propaganda film Reefer Madness, which significantly overstated -- to the point of campiness -- the effects of cannabis.
Intoxication: baked, blasted, blazed, blitzed, blizzonged, blown out, buzzed, chinky eyed (may be offensive), faded, fucked up, gone, goofed, high, keyed, lit, lifted, mashed, monged (UK), mullered (UK), ripped, smashed, spaced, spaced out, stoned, throwed, toasted, wasted, wrecked (UK), zonked, zooted, kaned.
To smoke: bake, blaze, bong out, (from bong, derived from bhang, a pygmy word for cannabis) burn, chief, chong (from Cheech and Chong), light up, sesh (from session), toke (up), smoke up ("to smoke someone up"), safety meeting, prendalo loko!!
Smoking locations: hotbox.
Cannabis Users: pot head, hesher, stoner, waistoid, weed head, toker, caner, goofball, troncho, turro, parcero, marihuanero, turco, ojo rojo, seco, normal people.
Early twentieth century: mez, muggles, gage, viper jive.
Potent strains: White widow (light green-white in appearance), Buddha, C99, AK-47 (C. sativa/C. indica cross), Bubblegum (very sticky), JuicyFruit, Orange Bud and Blueberry (plant smells or tastes somewhat like its name); G-13 (developed at the University of Washington); BC Bud (from British Columbia, Canada); Thunderfuck, White Kookamunga, Northern-lights (these two natives of northern provinces), purple haze, kush, Thai or Thai stick (the legitimate product is C. sativa from Thailand or US Grown of Thai seed, the buds being long and treelike in appearance, often with string wrapped in a spiral pattern for the purpose of holding the bud together); Maui Wowie (from Hawai'i); Acapulco Gold. The term Thai stick is also used for imitation marijuana.
Vending establishment: tinnie house (from the "tinnie", a retail package in tinfoil), bodega, head shop (paraphernalia)
The meaning of each of these terms may vary by region and context.
It should be noted that, in part due to Cannabis prohibition, false information about origin and potency is perpetuated by dishonest sellers to boost sales or justify high prices.
Cannabis was well known to the Scythians. Germans grew hemp for its fibers to make nautical ropes and material for clothes since ancient times. Large fields of hemp along the banks of the Rhine are featured in 19th century copper etchings.
American pioneers depended on hemp for clothes, rope, oil, food, and many other things. The plant was so important that Thomas Jefferson, as governor of Virginia, required every farmer in the state to plant hemp for the good of the economy and citizens' survival. In 1791, the cotton gin was invented and cotton began to replace hemp for clothing in the U.S. Cannabis was used medicinally in the western world (usually as a tincture) around the middle of the 19th century. It was famously used to treat Queen Victoria's menstrual pains, and was available from shops in the US. By the end of the 19th century its medicinal use began to fall as other drugs such as aspirin took over.
Until 1937, consumption and sale of marijuana was legal in most American states. In some areas it could be openly purchased in bulk from grocers or in cigarette form at newstands, though an increasing number of states had begun to outlaw it. In that year, federal law made possession or transfer of marijuana illegal without the purchase of a by-then incriminating tax stamp throughout the United States (contrary to the advice of the American Medical Association at the time); legal opinions of time held that the federal government could not outlaw it entirely. The tax was $100 per pound of hemp, even for clothes or rope. The expense, extremely high for that time, was such that people stopped buying and making it.
The decision of the U.S. Congress was based in part on testimony derived from articles in the newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, who was heavily interested in DuPont Inc. Some analysts theorize DuPont wanted to boost declining post-war textile sales, and wished to eliminate hemp fiber as competition. Many argue that this seems unlikely given DuPont's lack of concern with the legal status of cotton, wool, and linen; although it should be noted that hemp's textile potential had not yet been largely exploited, while textile factories already had made large investments in equipment to handle cotton, wool, and linen. Others argue that Dupont wanted to eliminate cannabis because its high natural cellulose content made it a viable alternative to the company's developing innovation: modern plastic. Even more inflammatory and biased were the accusations by that period's US 'drug czar' Henry (Harry) Anslinger. Anslinger charged that the drug provoked murderous rampages in previously solid citizens. Anslinger testified that cannabis "makes darkies feel equal to white men," a complaint typical of much of the anti-drug rhetoric of the time, which for example emphasised opium's role in promoting Anglo-Chinese miscegenation. He told the married men in the audience: "Gentlemen, it will make your wives want to have sex with a Black man!" Anslinger also popularized the word marihuana for the plant, using a Mexican derived word (believed to be derived from a Brazilian Portuguese term for inebriation) in order to associate the plant with increasing numbers of Mexican immigrants, creating a negative stereotype which persists to this day.
The 1937 federal marijuana tax act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1969. In a case brought by Timothy Leary, the Court held that the law's requirement that a possessor of marijuana present the substance before receiving the stamp, thereby placing the possessor in violation of the law against unlicensed possession, violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act made possession of marijuana illegal again, without the constitutional issues that scuttled the 1937 act.
G13 is the alleged codename for strain of marijuana, supposedly developed by several U.S government agencies during the 1960's. According to myth, the CIA, FBI, and other agencies procured the best strains of marijuana from breeders all over the world. At a secret installation in Mississippi, they bred many new hybrids. Putting these together, they created a strain that was more powerfully intoxicating than any of the original hybrids. This strain, G13, was a primarily indica strain and provided a very potent smoke and a completely mellow high. Allegedly a single cutting of this potent strain was stolen by an employee at this government facility and released into the public domain. Alleged modern strains featuring g13 in their pedigree fetch premium prices. To date, no government agency or independent verification of this strain has been released. This is of course a myth used by dealers to sell product. A strain called G13 was developed by the University of Washington in the 1970's for medical testing. Some modern breeders claim to have strains which are descendents of the original G13 strain. While this is most likely not true, chances are the strain they are selling is much more potent than anything produced 30 years ago.
Cannabis has a prominent role in the Rastafarian and THC Ministry religion.
Although cannabis has been used recreationally throughout its history, it first became well known in the United States during the jazz scene of the late 1920s and 30s. Louis Armstrong became one of its most prominent and life-long devotees. Cannabis use was also a prominent part of 1960s counterculture.
Cannabis is currently the most widely used illegal drug in the world.
This is an Article on Cannabis. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Cannabis Varieties
THC content
Although the main psychoactive substance in cannabis is THC, the plant contains about 60 cannabinoids in total, including two others of particularly high concentration, cannabinol (CBN) and cannabidiol (CBD). Differences in the chemical composition of cannabis varieties can produce very different human reactions, and the complexity of the composition of the plant is one reason why its effects can differ from that of the synthetic version of THC, dronabinol.Effects of human consumption
Largely mental
Largely physical
The effects of the cannabis plant vary according to the individual, the environment, the variety of plant, and the method of use. Smoking, especially, may pose the greatest risk to physical health. Ingesting cannabis or vaporizing the cannabinoids from the plant are other methods of consumption.Lethal dose
No fatal overdose due to cannabis use has ever been recorded in humans. According to the Merck Index, 12th edition, the LD50, the lethal dose for 50% of tested rats, was 42 milligrams per kilogram of body weight when inhaled. As for oral consumption, the LD50 for rats was 1270 mg/kg and 730 mg/kg for males and females, respectively. It would be impossible for THC in blood plasma to reach such a level in human cannabis smokers. Only with intravenous administration, a method rarely or never used by humans, may such a level be possible. Moreover, some evidence suggests that toxic levels may be higher for humans than for rats.Tolerance and withdrawal
Although it may become habitual, the use of cannabis does not result in physical dependence. Ceasing the use of marijuana causes withdrawal relative to the amount consumed. The cessation of marijuana use may result in craving, flashbacks, anxiety, irritability, or diminished appetite. It is difficult to establish just what amount of consumption triggers withdrawal type effects. They vary with the physical nature of the person. The first few nights a person spends asleep without being affected by cannabis are likely to include intense, vivid dreams that are likely to be remembered. There is some evidence that correlates long-term use with depression and aggravation of pre-existing mental conditions. However, the relationship between depression and marijuana is not determined though there is some preliminary research on this. Since marijuana is primarily a hallucinagenic drug its withdrawal should never be confused with depressant drugs (eg.alcohol,heroin) or stimulant drugs (eg. cocaine, methamphetamine).Effects on cognition
Long-term effects of smoking
Medical use
Preparations for human consumption
Heat must be applied to cannabis or cannabis products at some point as it was discovered in 1970 that cannabis makes THC acid, a precursor turned into THC through heat, the "perfect" temperature being 100 degrees centigrade for 90 minutes (Cannabis Health Journal, p.15). It is most commonly smoked, and usually in a pipe or the form of a rolled cigarette, called a joint or spliff. Hashish is also boiled or steamed during preparation.Common slang
Cannabis: blow, bud, buddha, cheeba, chronic, dagga (from Afrikaans via South Africa), dak, dank, devils lettuce, dope, doobage, doob, draw, dro (derived from hydroponics), electric puha (from puha, a plant in New Zealand), frodis (from The Monkees), ganja, grass, green, hash, hay, herb, indo, instaga, IZM, kind/kind bud (KB/killer bud, 'the kind' -- possibly from 'finest kind', KGB from killer green bud, good quality), shwag (poor quality, opposed to kind), leaf, Mary Jane, mids (middle quality), nugget, nug, pot, reefer, regs (regular/low quality), schwag/stress (low quality), wildwood weed, sensemilla, sensi, soap bar (low quality resin), skunk, sticky-icky-icky, tea, tree, wacky tobacky, weed, in spanish = bareta, mariajuana, hierba, chiruza, zol.History
The use of cannabis, for food, fibers, and medicine, is thought to go back at least five millennia. Neolithic archaeological sites in China include cannabis seeds and plants. The first known mention of cannabis is in a Chinese medical text of 2737 BC. It was used as medicine throughout Asia and the Middle East to treat a variety of conditions. In India particularly, cannabis was associated with Shiva.Related articles
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Advocacy
Note that these sites may contain misleading statements.Growing the plant
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