All about Cannabis

2009.05.05

Cannabis is one of the most exciting drug taken worldwide is a natural substance from the cannabis plant. The common street names given to it are- marijuana, draw, dope, hash, pot, mary jane, spliff, wacky backy or weed.

Cannabis comes in different forms like small, brown lumps, leaves, seed and stalks which is also known as grass. Cannabis is available in the form of oil as well. It can be consumed along with tobacco or can be smoked in a pipe, it can also be brewed into a a drink or cooked with food, which increases its effects making it intense and irresistible.

Person consuming cannabis tends to feel more sociable as it increases relaxation and euphoria and gives a feeling of well being. Cannabis is also known for increasing appetite, but at the same time it can also leave affect the consumer badly affected as it increases heart rate, impairs memory, causes dreaminess etc. The very harmful components found in cannabis are THC and CBD, which are also known as “cannabinoids” which are the main causes for generating psychoactive effects, being powerful enough to affect the brain directly.

Legality of cannabis:

Most of the countries worldwide treat cannabis as illegal. The first laws to affect cannabis on this continent came long before the tax act of 1937. The Jamestown Colony in 1619 passed the first mandatory cultivation law was passed. Even as late as the mid 1700's colonies continued to pass laws requiring the cultivation of hemp. The US census in 1850 counted over 8,000 hemp plantations, as in growing 2,000 acres or more of hemp, ignoring any smaller farms or plots. There was a time in America when growing cannabis was one of the main focus of farmers, it growth was even encouraged by the government for its multipurpose usage. But later in early 1900s, problems started cropping up because of the influx of Mexican Americans. The Mexican Revolution in 1910 crossed its border, and gradually with time a rift was created between the small farmers and the large farms who used cheap Mexican labor, and the condition worsened as recession followed. Hence because of the fact that the Mexicans smoked marijuana who had bought cannabis plants with them, drove the State of California to pass a marijuana law which ultimately outlawed preparations of cannabis, after which other states starting following the same trend. This is just one of the reasons which perpetuated the anti-cannabis law, among various others.In US it is presently illegal to grow, sell, buy r possess cannabis, for it is considered to have a high potential for abuse, have no accepted medical use in any kind of treatment in US, and is considered unsafe to consume even under medical supervision. Though there is a separate category “Medical Marijuana” (recognized by FDA) , which has multiple medical uses, which have been used for diseases like AIDS, cancer and glaucoma, hence many states in US has separate provisions for the use of cannabis in their region.

Thus we can see that cannabis has its own positive and negative effects, and it must be used cautiously, as we all know excess of anything is bad!