The Cannabis plant is the source of both "hemp" {indicating
its industrial uses) and "marijuana" (indicating its medicinal
and intoxicating properties). While it grows like a weed (and is often
referred to as "weed"), it is actually an herb. Cannabis may
be the fastest growing plant on the planet. It grows virtually anywhere,
whatever the climate and soil condition; it is easily grown from seeds,
requires very little care or attention, and does not need any chemical
pesticides whatsoever. Its deep root system breaks up and aerates the
soil and even adds nutrients. It is almost the perfect plant.
There are basically two species of Cannabis: saliva and indica, both of
which are grown for their fiber and intoxicating properties. Cannabis
sativa is the most common around the world, while indica is most prevalent
in and around India. It may be known as "India hemp" or "Indian
hemp," but those names have also been applied to jute and dogbane
(Apocymtm cannabimtm), which are unrelated to Cannabis but add to the
confusion. The name "Indian Hemp" was also used by colonial
Americans, both to acknowledge the difference between sativa and indica
and to refer to Cannabis seeds imported to America from India by the British.
The quality of the fiber (hemp) or its medicinal potency (marijuana) depends
entirely on seed heritage and how the plants are grown. When cultivated
for its industrial uses (fuel, paper, fabric, plastics), the seeds are
planted four inches apart and allowed to grow has high as thirty feet,
because the fiber and cellulose is derived from the stalk of the plant.
The cellulose is used to produce a variety of products, most commonly
paper and animal feed. The long fibers have traditionally been used to
produce rope, canvas and even fine quality "linen." (A common
misconception is that "linen" means cloth made specifically
from the flax plant; in fact, linen cloth has always been made from a
group of fibers, known as "bast fibers," from a range of plants
including flax, cannabis, and nettles, among others. The most common,
easiest to grow, most abundant, and usually least expensive was hemp,
which probably means most of the linen was made from hemp.) Even the seeds
and seed oil of the Cannabis plant have many commercial and industrial
uses — paint, varnishes, fuel, even as food — flour for bread
and cake, porridge (hot cereal), and vegetable oil. From colonial times
to the Civil War, Americans commonly smoked hemp leaves, like tobacco.
In recent decades, we have come to identify the medicinal and intoxicating
properties of Cannabis as 'marijuana.' Chemically, the active ingredient
in marijuana has been identified as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): but. in
fact, over 400 different cannabinoids have been found in marijuana. These
cannabinoids contain both the medicinal and the intoxicating properties
of marijuana. Cannabis (marijuana) has a long distinguished history of
medicinal u.se. dating back some five thousand years. Its use as an intoxicant
has also been traced back to the beginning of civilization.
Unlike hemp, marijuana is taken from female plants grown more like bushes.
They develop resinous buds on their branches, and inconspicuous flowers
that produce few seeds. They are cultivated specifically for their THC
content; in contrast, hemp plants contain only a minute amount of THC.
Unfortunately, despite its long beneficial history the hysteric fear of
the intoxicating properties of marijuana that developed in the 1920s and
?0s became the excuse on which all forms of Cannabis were made illegal
in the United States.
The version of American history taught in our schools is not meant to
educate; it's designed to inspire patriotism. Unfortunately, it produces
somewhat of an inaccurate understanding of our world and leaves us with
more questions than rational answers. For example: Why was there no interest
in colonizing America until 100 years after Columbus proclaimed its discovery,
and what was the impetus that suddenly caused millions of Europeans to
risk their lives crossing the Atlantic and to endure the hardships of
a strange, unsettled, uncivilized new land? What was it about colonial
America's agrarian-based society that allowed it to grow and prosper so
quickly when, in the history of the world, no other agrarian based economy
ever prospered nearly as well or as fast? What really caused the break-up
between colonial America and mother England? 'No taxation without representation'
may have been the rallying cry. but it's not likely that taxation was
a sufficient reason for going to war against Great Britain - then the
world's premiere military might.
Cannabis is part of the answer. This is a plant that mankind found extraordinarily
useful for thousands of years, a plant that played an important role in
colonial America's prosperous economy and remained a valuable commercial
commodity' up until the Second World War. Today, the importance of Cannabis,
particularly as hemp, because of its illegal status, is almost forgotten.
Why was this under-appreciated plant outlawed, what were the effects of
that ban, and are we really better off without it?
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