A History Lesson on Cannabis

2009.04.03

Cannabis has become such a common term in regards to drugs that most that are fairly well versed on the subject figure they pretty well know all there is to know about. For those that are limited in their knowledge here are a few common facts.

It is said that one of the stigmas attached to cannabis is its historical use. Many years ago, it was affiliated to rituals that stemmed around consecration. In some countries such as India, for example the cannabis seeds hold religious values. It has even been said that in many of the religious writings cannabis held a place.

In Thebes, they were creative in their use of marijuana. They would put the leaves and seeds on hot stones. This would create a steam bath beyond what we know. The steam was euphoric and said to purify the young priests.

It is reported that during the Egyptian times hemp seed was regarded as part of the various religions. Asia was said that amongst their criminals it was used by way of payment to fellow cohorts using the different forms of cannabis such as marijuana, seed, and hashish. Marijuana back in history was used to make a drink. The properties were close to those of opium. Cannabis is considered a hallucinogenic drug. Although this is not considered factual by many pot users.

Novices often think because cannabis is a plant that most of the potent properties are contained in the roots. This is not true and in fact this part of the plant contains very little of the drug and the same applies for the stems and seeds. This goes for all variations of the weed.

Opium  and its derivatives are well know for creating an independence on the drug whereas with marijuana there is nothing in the plant that has been discovered as being responsible for any type of addiction. It still is a true narcotic however referring to the active ingredients


Unknown to some there was actually a time that marijuana was legal for a very short period of time. This was known as the Harrison Narcotics Act. It was a US law that regulated it as well as the importation of opium and coca leaves. This was in the early part of the 20th century and was a short-lived act. It was dissolved in 1937 when a ruled was made that the Federal Government had no jurisdiction to regular medical practices. This was over the prosecution of a physician who was issuing narcotics to addicts.

Users of pot are often said to get the munchies.  Meaning they are hungry soon after smoking a joint. This is from the effects that the hemp seed has on the hypothalamus gland. As the use of pot has continued and not likely to go away. The same is said to be of the paraphernalia that goes with the weed. Items such as the hash pipe, rolling papers, and bubble bags are go hand in hand with the use of the weed.