Do We Really Know What Is Fact Or Fiction When It Comes To Canna

2009.04.03

Most often, when there is a controversial issue it can become misconstrued in relation to what is factual and what is fiction or based on opinion only.

It would seem that it’s only been in recent times that cannabis has been considered as a medicine. In general, society is acting as if it is some new revelation. The fact is pot has been a medicine for in excess of 4000 years. We are not the generation to have discovered this very important and pertinent use of marijuana.

China is a country that has long recognized the beneficial purposes of hash. There is no argument that there are major differenences between Eastern and Western medicine. The interesting point is that more and more people are starting to turn to eastern medicine for treatments. Among the Chinese treatments, particularily has been the use of pot to treat conditions such as malaria right down to many less serious ailments.

The West did at one time catch on to medicinal properties in somewhat of a crude fashion. During the 19th century if one wanted to be loose tongued, they could call Queen Victoria a pothead. Not to be rude or crude, but just for the fact that she used it to reduce menstrual pain. The Queen was not doing anything illegal either, at that same time it could be purchased over the counter at various shops throughout the USA.

So the question could be raised then why did it become illegal, or put out of use as a medicinal aid? Was it discovered that it had adverse side effects, as many of our drugs do today? No actually, it was replaced by conveniences. When the syringe for injecting drugs was discovered, it replace the value of pot. It cannot be injected so it was of no use during this discovery era of injecting medicine.

How about “skeletons in the closet”? Our governments are quick to jump on the misuse and illegalities of cannabis yet they fail to realize their predecessors had good use for cannabis, at least in one form. Thomas Jefferson as well as George Washington actually cultivated their own cannabis and openly admitted to it. Mind you there was no consideration of it being illegal at that point in time. Washington was trying to teach his gardeners how to separate the cannabis seeds as to which were the male, and the female for propagation. Jefferson on the other hand was not as creative and just had  hemp seeds brought in from China.

No doubt modern day government will be quick to attempt to refute this, but they may not be aware or have lost site of the fact that the famed document of the declaration of Independence, was penned on hemp paper.


Another great adage of the government is “do as I say, not do as I do”. During world war two when hemp importing was restricted it produced a shortage of military gear such as parachutes for example. The government was quick to respond by giving interested men the chance to legally dodge the draft if they would stay home and grow hemp. In fact, the government even supplied the hemp. If you want to talk about a successful crop of cannabis how does 375,000 acres sound because that’s what these hemp farmers cultivated by 1943.