While the world struggles with the issue pertaining to the legalization of marijuana, most people ignore several facts about this plant that make it more than just “a drug to get high.”
Marijuana was first used as a medical treatment in China in 1737, to ease the pain of rheumatism and gout. In America, the first law issued regarding marijuana required farmers to grow it for hemp, to be used for clothing, sails and rope.
Former US presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both owned hemp farms.
During the American history, while the production of hemp was encouraged between 1600s and 1800s, it was by the year 1939 that 29 US states outlawed marijuana, after the government began to view it as a grave issue, because of the Great Depression, the rising unemployment and the association of marijuana with Mexican immigrants.
In the 1940s, studies had shown that marijuana is less dangerous than suspected and has no link to violence, sex crimes and addiction. In the 1970s, 11 states decriminalized the plant and nearly all the states reduced penalties associated with its use.
In the 1990s the State of California legalized the use of “medical marijuana” for patients suffering from various diseases such as AIDS.
During WWII, the US government used weed as a “truth serum,” where it was spiked in cigarettes and given to detainees to have them give out information.
Also in America, marijuana is the number 4 value crop and generates a USD 36 billion market, while the largest producer of marijuana in the world is Paraguay.
On another note, reports have revealed that “it is nearly impossible to overdose on pot,” adding that it takes at least 800 weed joints to kill a person, and they would die from carbon monoxide poisoning rather than THC (the active ingredient in marijuana).
Other studies proved that smoking marijuana does not increase the risk of lung cancer, and it is less addictive than coffee and cigarettes, which have a 90% addiction rate.
As for the munchies, the reason people get them when high is due to the THC active ingredient which inhibits a cannabinoid receptor known as CB1 involved in signaling the appetite-suppressing hormone Leptin. Consequently, when CB1 is blocked, Leptin does not get stimulated.
The name “Marijuana” is of unknown Mexican Spanish etymology, and it started to be used in 1930's to replace “cannabis” and “hemp.”
Disclaimer: LBCI does not support the use of marijuana. This article is merely educational giving English-language readers insight into the interesting fact about marijuana.