Cannabis/Marihuana/Hashish

Abstract

Until the end of the 19th century, 90% of all ships' sails... 80% of all mankind's textiles and fabrics... 75-90% of all paper in the world... 70-90% of all rope, twine, and cordage... art canvas, paints, varnishes, and lighting oil... the most commonly used medicines in the world... the most complete and available-to-the-body proteins... a lot of building materials and housing... and a number of relaxational substances... were made from hemp. Jack Herer (2) The plantCannabis belongs to the genus Cannabaa. It comprises only one species, Cannabis sativa, of which there are over a hundred natural varieties. In the past, the many varieties of the plant, which Linnaeus classified as Cannabis sativa in 1753, have caused botanists to argue fiercely about its precise classification. Today it is accepted that there is one original species, Cannabis sativa, from which have come many varieties (Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalis, etc.), which are distinguished mainly by the active substances they contain.Cannabis belongs to one of the most highly developed plant families. It uses sunlight more efficiently than any other plant and is a splendid wealth-producing resource that renews itself, thus helping to maintain an ecological balance. It is a self-sown plant, cultivable, fibrous, annual, dioecious (having the male and female flowers on separate plants), capable of being spun, and it produces oil. It looks like a rather erect bush, grows in moist ground under any climatic conditions, and reaches a height of between 1 and 7 metres, depending on the variety grown and on the environmental conditions.(3) The trunk is straight and strong and thickly branched. The leaves are hairy, firm, long-stalked, and palmatisect, with between five and eleven lanceolate, dentate lobes. The male flowers are yellowish green in colour; the female flowers are arranged in characteristic spicate bunches. The seeds are oval, some 4-5 mm long, and contain a thick oil. The uses of cannabisThroughout history, into the early decades of the twentieth century, cannabis was widely and systematically cultivated because of its extremely useful nutritional, therapeutic, and euphoriant properties.(4) A quick look at its many uses will help us to appreciate the real reasons why cannabis was outlawed and to realise which economically powerful groups had a vital interest in seeing the ban imposed and enforced.( 5) NUTRITIONAL VALUE Until the twentieth century, hemp seeds, either ground or whole, were, and in some cases still are, a staple part of many people's diet, for they are a source of high-quality vegetable protein. (6) No other single plant source can compare with the nutritional value of hemp seeds. Both the complete protein and the essential oils contained in hemp seeds are in ideal ratios for human nutrition. Only soybeans contain a higher percentage of protein; however, the composition of the protein in hemp seed is unique in the vegetable kingdom. Sixty-five percent of the proteit content in hemp seed is in the form of globulin edestin.(7) The excep...