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Cannabis, also known as marijuana, and weed, has been used for medical and psychoactive effects for thousands of years but became much more popular during the twentieth century. The use of cannabis as a mind-altering substance became illegal in most parts of the world during the early twentieth century, and remains that way today.
History
The use of cannabis, for food, fibers, and medicine, is thought to go back at least five millennia. Neolithic archaeological sites in China include cannabis seeds and plants. The first known mention of cannabis is in the Shen nung pen Ts'ao king, a Chinese medical text supposedly of 2737 BC, but probably considerably younger in reality. It was used as medicine throughout Asia and the Middle East to treat a variety of conditions. In India particularly, some sects of Hinduism associated cannabis with Shiva.
Cannabis was well known to the Scythians, as well as by the Thracians/Dacians, whose shamans (the kapnobatai - "those who walk on smoke/clouds") used to burn cannabis flowers in order to induce trances. The cult of Dionysus, which is believed to have been originated in Thrace, has also been linked to the effects of cannabis smoke.
The name cannabis is thought to be of Scythian origin. Possibly it has an earlier origin in Semitic languages like Hebrew, in Exodus 30:23 God commands Moses to make a holy anointing oil of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosm, and kassia. Kaneh bosm (Hebrew kannabos or kannabus) "kan" in means "reed" or "hemp", while "bosm" means "aromatic". In the Greek translations of the old testament "kan" was rendered as "reed", leading to English translations as "sweet calamus" (Exodus 30:23), sweet cane (Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20) and "calamus" (Ezekiel 27:19; Song of Songs 4:14).
Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying: "The astonishing resemblance between the Semitic 'kanbos' and the Scythian 'cannabis' leads to the assumption that the Scythian word was of Semitic origin. These etymological discussions run parallel to arguments drawn from history.
Germans grew hemp for its fibers to make nautical ropes and material for clothes since ancient times. Large fields of hemp along the banks of the Rhine are featured in 19th century copper etchings.
American pioneers depended on hemp for clothes, canvas, rope, oil, food, and many other things. The plant was so important that Thomas Jefferson, as governor of Virginia, required every farmer in the state to plant hemp for the good of the economy and citizens' survival. In 1791, the cotton gin was invented and cotton began to replace hemp for clothing in the U.S.
Under the name cannabis 19th century medical practitioners helped to introduce the herb's drug potential (usually as a tincture) to modern English-speaking consciousness. 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.
The name marijuana is Mexican or Latin American in origin and associated almost exclusively with the herb’s drug potential. That marijuana is now well known in English as a name for drug material is due largely to the efforts of US drug prohibitionists during the 1920s and 30s.
Until 1937, consumption and sale of marijuana was legal in most American states. In some areas it could be openly purchased in bulk from grocers or in cigarette form at newsstands, though an increasing number of states had begun to outlaw it. In that year, federal law made possession or transfer of marijuana (without the purchase of a by-then incriminating tax stamp) illegal throughout the United States. This was contrary to the advice of the American Medical Association at the time. Legal opinions of time held that the federal government could not outlaw it entirely. The tax was $100 per pound of hemp, even for clothes or rope. The expense, extremely high for that time, was such that people stopped buying and making it.
The decision of the U.S. Congress was based in part on testimony derived from articles in the newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, who was heavily interested in DuPont Inc. Some analysts theorize DuPont wanted to boost declining post-war textile sales, and wished to eliminate hemp fiber as competition. Many argue that this seems unlikely given DuPont's lack of concern with the legal status of cotton, wool, and linen; although it should be noted that hemp's textile potential had not yet been largely exploited, while textile factories already had made large investments in equipment to handle cotton, wool, and linen. Others argue that Dupont wanted to eliminate cannabis because its high natural cellulose content made it a viable alternative to the company's developing innovation: modern plastic. Still, others could argue that hemp could never truly compete with the high strength and elasticity of synthetics, such as nylon. Furthermore, hemp would have been an easy target due to its intoxicating effect, while no rational justification could have been made for outlawing cotton, wool, or linen.
During this period, Henry (Harry) Anslinger alleged that the drug could provoke criminal behavior in previously solid citizens. Anslinger also popularized the word marihuana for the plant, using a Mexican derived word (believed to be derived from a Brazilian Portuguese term for inebriation) in order to associate the plant with increasing numbers of Mexican immigrants, creating a negative stereotype which persists to this day.
The 1937 federal marijuana tax act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1969. In a case brought by Timothy Leary, the Court held that the law's requirement that a would-be possessor of marijuana register with the local bureau of the IRS, thereby placing his name and address on a file available to local law enforcment, violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, given the fact that at the time all 50 states had state laws on the books outlawing marijuana outright. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act made possession of marijuana illegal again on a federal level, without the constitutional issues that scuttled the 1937 act. Several petitions for cannabis rescheduling in the United States have been filed, since the Act permits legalization of marijuana through the executive branch.
Although cannabis has been used recreationally throughout its history, it first became well known in the United States during the jazz music scene of the late 1920s and 30s. Louis Armstrong became one of its most prominent and life-long devotees. Cannabis use was also a prominent part of 1960s counterculture.
Acute effects of human consumption
Acute effects of cannabis consumption vary according to the dose, the variety of the plant, the method of use, the individual, and the environment, but for the general population usually include some of the following:
Largely mental
General change in consciousness
Mild euphoria, feelings of general well-being
Relaxation or stress reduction
Increased appreciation of humor, music and other art
Holistic attention, introspection
Enhanced recollection of episodic memory
Physical pleasure
Loss or increase of inhibition
Increased awareness of sensation
Initial wakefulness followed by drowsiness and lassitude
Increased consciousness of body and mind connection
Disruption of linear memory
Difficulty with working memory in some cases
Reduced motor skills
Paranoia, agitation, and anxiety
Auditory and visual hallucinations
Subjective potentiation of other drugs
Increased awareness of patterns and color
Irritability
Largely physical
Pain relief (especially headaches and cramps). Can increase headache if sinus trouble present.
Increased appetite.
Talkativeness or vise versa
Reduced nausea, (especially from chemotherapy), though may cause or exacerbate nausea, due to feelings of anxiety that may arise in some users.
Dilation of alveoli (air sacs) in lungs, resulting in:
Deeper breathing
No apparent emphysema
Dilation of blood vessels (vasodilation), resulting in:
Increased blood flow and heart rate
Reddening of the conjunctivae (red eye)
Dry mouth (xerostomia)
Headache (usually associated with poor quality, overly fresh material, or too much consumption)
Aphrodisiacal qualities
Dizziness, confusion
Lower intra-ocular pressure (within the eyeball)
Lower blood pressure while standing. Higher blood pressure while sitting
Increased metabolism of glucose, reducing blood sugar levels
Effects
Of the approximately 400 different chemicals found in Cannabis, the main active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC). THC can degrade to CBL & CBN (other cannaboids), which can make one feel sleepy and disoriented. Different marijuana products have different ratios of these and other cannaboids. Depending on the ratio, the quality of the "high" will vary.
THC has an effect on the modulation of the immune system which may have an effect on malignant cells, but there is insufficient scientific study to determine whether this might promote or limit cancer. Cannabinoid receptors are also present in the human reproductive system, but there is insufficient scientific study to conclusively determine the effects of cannabis on reproduction. Mild allergies to cannabis may be possible in some members of the population.
Lethal dose
No fatal overdose due to cannabis use has ever been recorded in humans. According to the Merck Index, 12th edition, the LD50, the lethal dose for 50% of tested rats, was 42 milligrams per kilogram of body weight with forced inhalation, equivalent for a 165 lb. male to all of the THC in 21 one-gram cigarettes of maximum-potency (15% THC) cannabis buds, assuming no THC was lost through burning or inhalation. For oral consumption, the LD50 for rats was 1270 mg/kg and 730 mg/kg for males and females, respectively, equivalent to the THC in about a pound of 15% THC cannabis. It would be impossible for THC in blood plasma to reach such a level in human cannabis smokers. Only with intravenous administration, a method rarely used by humans, may such a level be possible. Also, some evidence suggests that toxic levels may be higher for humans than for rats.