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CANNABIS
CULTURE
Welcome to CannabisCulture.com! This site contains everything you need to
know about cannabis, and much more!
Cannabis, also known (in one
drug form) as marijuana, is any of several different
species of mildly hallucinogenic dioecious plants whose
main active ingredient is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC. Cannabis is a member of the family Cannabinaceae, in
the order Rosales. It grows in most climates. The tough
fibre of the cannabis plant is known as hemp and has
various uses, including the manufacture of cloth, rope,
and paper.
Pharmacology
Although the main
psychoactive substance in cannabis is THC, the plant
contains about 60 cannabinoid's in total. The complexity of
this mixture has led to speculation as to why the effects
of the plant can differ from the synthetically
manufactured dronabinol.
"Normal" herbal
cannabis usually contains between 0.5-5% THC, although
selective breeding and cultivation techniques (such as
hydroponics) have produced varieties with up to 25% THC
content. The THC content is also affected by the sex of
the plant, with female plants generating more THC-laden
resin than their male counterparts. Sinsemilla (from the
Spanish for "without seed") is derived from
un-pollinated female plants and has an even higher THC
content.
Effects
Cannabis is psychoactive,
meaning it affects the mind and/or behavior. Its main
effects include a "mellow" good feeling as well
as giggling, and the frequent short-term side-effect of
increased appetite (the "munchies"). Larger
doses can cause an increased perception of sight and
sound, eventually leading to mild hallucination, usually
auditory.
Other effects include
paranoia, short-term memory loss, and nausea, especially
if used in combination with alcohol.
No overdose due to cannabis
has ever been recorded in two millennia of medical
history. The estimated lethal dose of cannabis is 20,000
to 40,000 times the level of a normal dose. In comparison,
most prescribed drugs have a lethal dose around 10 times
the normal dose.
Although a mild tolerance of
the drug can be built up, it is generally not thought to
be addictive. However some people can build up a
psychological dependence. There is some evidence linking
long-term use to depression as well as aggravation of
pre-existing mental conditions.
The long-term effects of
cannabis still need more study. One of the most important
and widely shared concerns regarding cannabis is that its
high tar content (especially when it is combined with
tobacco, as is common in Great Britain) could lead to an
increased risk of lung cancer.
Medical Cannabis
Medical uses of
marijuana for a variety of conditions are currently being
investigated. Anecdotal evidence reports that it has
beneficial effects relieving the nausea of chemotherapy
and AIDS treatment, its appetite-stimulating effect
helping combat wasting. It may also help reduce fluid
pressure in the eyes associated with glaucoma. Numerous
studies have shown that it can help reduce the pain and
tremors of multiple sclerosis.
Medical marijuana is also
being tested in Britain as a form of natural pain-killer
for use by patients with severe intractable pain from
spinal or other major injuries. The studies have used a
self-administered spray form of cannabis extract, and one
of their aims has been to find the optimal dosage to gain
medicinal benefits without the 'high' normally associated
with marijuana use. Some patients in the British study
have reported remarkable success with the treatment, while
it has been ineffective for others.
History
The use of cannabis is
thought to go back at least 5000 years. Neolithic
archaeology grounds in China include cannabis seeds and
plants. The first known mention of cannabis was in a
Chinese medical text of 2737BC. 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.
Cannabis was well known to
the Scythians. Germans have grown hemp for its
fibres--used to make nautical ropes and material for
clothes--since ancient times. In the Elbing Prussian
vocabulary from around 1350, hemp is recorded as knapis
(derived from cannabis). Large fields of hemp along the
banks of the Rhine are featured in 19th-century copper
etchings. The hemp plant has to be soaked to harvest the
fibre. This liquid was used as a drink. In today's Germany
there are bars that serve hemp beer and hemp wine (edit:
while this may be true those drinks will not contain any
THC because as a drug cannabis is still outlawed in
germany and only so-called "industrial hemp"
that doesn't contain any THC may be grown for production
of fibers and said drinks).
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.
It was outlawed in the USA
in the 1930s.
It has a prominent religious
role in the Rastafarian religion.
Although it has probably
been used as a recreational drug throughout its history, it
came to prominence in the jazz scene during the fifties,
its use taking off in the 1960s.
It is now one of the most
widely used illicit drugs in the world.
Recreational Use N.B.
Recreational use is illegal in most countries, see the
next section.
Recreational use of cannabis
has an associated subculture which starts with the number
of names for the drug. Examples include: "pot",
"dope", "weed", "reefer",
"bhang", "green", "herb",
"ganja", "sinsemilla",
"grass", "mary jane",
"chronic", "bud" and many more.
Cannabis comes in several
forms.
Dried buds (usually the
flowering tops of female plants), known as marijuana.
Cannabis resin (hashish) which is the secretion of the
plant, usually dried and processed onto blocks. Cannabis
oil ("honey oil", "Hash Oil") which is
a concentrate usually involving a solvent based
extraction. It is most commonly smoked, usually in a
"joint" or "spliff": the dried buds
(possibly mixed with tobacco) are rolled in paper and
smoked much like a cigarette.
Other methods include using
pipes or "bongs" (water pipes) to smoke the
cannabis whilst cooling the smoke down and, in the case of
bongs, removing some of the unwanted impurities/tar. In
addition, a drink called bhang can be prepared. See also
hashish and hashish oil.
Cannabis is also cooked to
make things such as Alice B. Toklas brownies, "space
cake", "pot pie", and "hash
brownies". However, the effects of ingested cannabis
usually do not take effect for over 30 minutes, making it
harder for users to regulate their consumption.
Another method of ingestion
is vaporization. Vaporization allows the Cannabis resins (THC
and other Cannabinoids) to be extracted into a vapor by
heating without actually 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. By heating the Cannabis to about 190
degrees Celsius, the Cannabis resins are released into a
vapor but the plant material is not actually burned. This
vapor can then be inhaled and the effects of the drug will
be felt as quickly as if it were smoked. Vaporization is
the perfect option for people who do not like the dangers
associated with smoking.
Cannabis can also be taken
by dissolving it in cups of coffee, creating a
"bhang".
The Law
Marijuana was
criminalized
across most of the world in the early parts of the 20th
century. There is some confusion as to the reasons as
there seems to be different driving forces on either side
of the Atlantic.
In the UK, cannabis was
outlawed in 1928 after Britain became a signatory to the
"International Opium Convention" which was held
in Geneva in 1925.
In the US the key law seems
to be the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act which was the federal
culmination of many separate state laws that had been
enacted in the previous years. This may have been in
response to lobbying by makers of synthetic fibers that
competed with hemp.
Laws usually govern
distribution, cultivation, and possession for personal
use. Enforcement of the law varies from country to
country. Some notable examples include the Netherlands,
where cannabis is effectively decriminalised and can be
purchased in licensed "coffee shops".
In many countries, police
exercise their discretionary powers to caution users or
confiscate cannabis for possession in small quantities
that could be deemed for personal use, especially for
medical reasons.
A recent example was the
declaration by police in Brixton, England, that they would
not arrest people for possession of cannabis and instead
only issue on-the-spot warnings and confiscate the
cannabis. Following this trial the reclassification of
cannabis from Class B to Class C was recommended by the
Home Secretary in October 2001.
The state of South Australia
and the Australian Capital Territory have decriminalized
possession of small quantities of cannabis, and growing
limited numbers of plants for personal use; the government
merely charges an on-the-spot fine of A$50. Police
interest in personal usage and non-commercial growers in
the rest of Australia appears to be limited.
As of early 2000s, Canada
and some other countries have stared to recognize
medicinal use of cannabis separately from
"normal" possession.
GREAT Links:
Cannabis Community:
PureTHC.com
Cannabis
Culture: Overgrowing the Government
Cannabis Culture
Magazine: Marijuana and Hemp from Around the World.
www.cannabisculture.com
Friendly
Stranger - Cannabis Culture Shop
Toronto's finest
Cannabis
Culture Boutique
www.friendlystranger.com
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