Cannabis: The Useful Plant
By Katelyn Kaim
Cannabis may be one of the most beneficial plants on earth. Marijuana ranks first place for many things from the most healing natural plant to the most controversial plant. Marijuana and hemp are two parts of the plant cannabis that can be used. The term 'marijuana' refers to the medicinal, recreational, or spiritual use involving the smoking of cannabis flowers. The term 'hemp' commonly refers to the industrial or commercial use of the cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods, papers, body care products, detergents, plastics and building materials. Both parts of the plant are beneficial but the difference is in its use.
Marijuana is one of the most misunderstood drugs of our time. The active ingredient responsible for marijuana’s mind-altering effect is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. When marijuana is smoked, about ten to fifteen percent of THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. However marijuana is ingested, THC targets specific molecules in brain cells to operate on. These receptors are normally activated by chemicals related to THC that naturally occur in the body. This plays an important part in normal brain development and function.
Scientists studying marijuana's potential medical uses have found that THC treats a wide range of various ailments. One of marijuana’s medical uses best supported by research is the treatment of nausea. It can improve mild to moderate nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and weight loss in people with AIDS. Glaucoma is the third-leading cause of blindness in the United States and scientists discovered that smoking marijuana can reduce pressure in the eyes caused by glaucoma. People widely use marijuana for pain relief and studies have found that cannabinoids have analgesic effects. Research results on the effectiveness of THC in the treatment of the pain of multiple sclerosis, tremors, and muscle spasms were found that it does in fact reduce pain.
Many studies have been conducted and show the numerous health effects that marijuana has. The whole other part of the plant, hemp has even greater benefits and uses.
Hemp is the industrial use of the cannabis stalk and seed that has a long history of use in the U.S. Industrial hemp is technically from the same species of plant cannabis, that psychoactive marijuana comes from. However, it is from a subspecies that contains many important differences. Industrial hemp only contains about 0.3 to 1.5 percent of THC. The reason for the low THC content in hemp is that most THC is formed in resin glands on the buds and flowers of the female cannabis plant. Industrial hemp is not cultivated to produce buds, therefore lacking the primary component that forms the marijuana high.
Hemp is a renewable and easy-to-grow crop that is tough enough to substitute for paper and malleable enough to be made into clothing and even a biodegradable form of plastic. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses known and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. More than 25,000 products can be made from hemp. The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were all made from hemp.
Industrial Hemp is produced in many countries around the world. Major producers include France, China, Hungary, Romania, and Switzerland. While more hemp is exported to the U.S. than to any other country, the U.S. Government does not consistently distinguish between marijuana and the non-psychoactive cannabis, hemp, used for industrial and commercial purposes.
The plant cannabis offers numerous beneficial uses, from healing sickness to creating body lotions. It all depends on which part of the plant is being used. Marijuana has numerous health benefits. Industrial hemp has many uses, including textiles, construction, health food, and fuel. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, no herbicides, controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces oxygen. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not recognize the difference between the parts of the plant cannabis and does not accept industrial hemp and permit its production.
[Photo, Cannabis, by Dave H. licensed by CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
By Katelyn Kaim
Cannabis may be one of the most beneficial plants on earth. Marijuana ranks first place for many things from the most healing natural plant to the most controversial plant. Marijuana and hemp are two parts of the plant cannabis that can be used. The term 'marijuana' refers to the medicinal, recreational, or spiritual use involving the smoking of cannabis flowers. The term 'hemp' commonly refers to the industrial or commercial use of the cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods, papers, body care products, detergents, plastics and building materials. Both parts of the plant are beneficial but the difference is in its use.
Marijuana is one of the most misunderstood drugs of our time. The active ingredient responsible for marijuana’s mind-altering effect is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. When marijuana is smoked, about ten to fifteen percent of THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. However marijuana is ingested, THC targets specific molecules in brain cells to operate on. These receptors are normally activated by chemicals related to THC that naturally occur in the body. This plays an important part in normal brain development and function.
Scientists studying marijuana's potential medical uses have found that THC treats a wide range of various ailments. One of marijuana’s medical uses best supported by research is the treatment of nausea. It can improve mild to moderate nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and weight loss in people with AIDS. Glaucoma is the third-leading cause of blindness in the United States and scientists discovered that smoking marijuana can reduce pressure in the eyes caused by glaucoma. People widely use marijuana for pain relief and studies have found that cannabinoids have analgesic effects. Research results on the effectiveness of THC in the treatment of the pain of multiple sclerosis, tremors, and muscle spasms were found that it does in fact reduce pain.
Many studies have been conducted and show the numerous health effects that marijuana has. The whole other part of the plant, hemp has even greater benefits and uses.
Hemp is the industrial use of the cannabis stalk and seed that has a long history of use in the U.S. Industrial hemp is technically from the same species of plant cannabis, that psychoactive marijuana comes from. However, it is from a subspecies that contains many important differences. Industrial hemp only contains about 0.3 to 1.5 percent of THC. The reason for the low THC content in hemp is that most THC is formed in resin glands on the buds and flowers of the female cannabis plant. Industrial hemp is not cultivated to produce buds, therefore lacking the primary component that forms the marijuana high.
Hemp is a renewable and easy-to-grow crop that is tough enough to substitute for paper and malleable enough to be made into clothing and even a biodegradable form of plastic. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses known and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. More than 25,000 products can be made from hemp. The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were all made from hemp.
Industrial Hemp is produced in many countries around the world. Major producers include France, China, Hungary, Romania, and Switzerland. While more hemp is exported to the U.S. than to any other country, the U.S. Government does not consistently distinguish between marijuana and the non-psychoactive cannabis, hemp, used for industrial and commercial purposes.
The plant cannabis offers numerous beneficial uses, from healing sickness to creating body lotions. It all depends on which part of the plant is being used. Marijuana has numerous health benefits. Industrial hemp has many uses, including textiles, construction, health food, and fuel. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, no herbicides, controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces oxygen. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not recognize the difference between the parts of the plant cannabis and does not accept industrial hemp and permit its production.
[Photo, Cannabis, by Dave H. licensed by CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]