On On CannabisCannabis

By By Claire WeberClaire Weber

What is Cannabis?And I will raise up for them a plant of renown… Ezekiel 34:29 • One of the first plants to be cultivated by mankind.• Thought to have originated in temperate zones of central Asia.• Incredibly versatile, this plant can grow literally anywhere in the

world, except in extremely cold climates. – Altitudes up to 8000 feet– Life cycle of thee to five months, germinates within six days– Can grow at up to 15cm/day– Requires very little water except in germination and early

growth.– Can easily grow in poor soil, sandy soil, however prefers loamy

soil.– Prefers direct sunlight (heliotropic)

What is Cannabis?

• Great source of natural fibre, one of the strongest and sturdiest. Most commonly used in rope-making, cloth, burlap, twine, paper.

• Contains six essential oils, hempseed is the most complete singular food source for a human.

• Hempseed oil contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids out of any plant known to man, and is responsible for clearing the arteries of cholesterol and plaque, and sharpening immune system response.

• Contains a therapeutic drug with the ability to affect the human consciousness.

Classification of cannabis

• It was first considered a relative to nettles (Urticaceae), and then thought to be part of the flowering plant species (Moraceae.) Today it is in its own botanical group Cannabaceae, and was named Cannabis sativa in 1753. There has been quite a debate about whether cannabis is a single species with different varieties (monotypic), or if there are several different species (polytypic).

• Now its accepted as three types of species: Cannabis sativa, cannabis indica, and cannabis ruderalis.

History, China

• The Book of Songs and The Annals (475-221 bc) mentions cannabis as one of the top six crops planted.

• Legendary Emperor Shen Nung who is considered to be the father of Chinese medicine advised the use of ‘hemp elixir,’ a tea made of cannabis flowers, to treat a wide range of ailments, like gout and malaria.

History, Roman Empire

• The Greeks and the Romans both traded hemp for its fiber, but at first, the Romans had no domestic hemp crop; rather, they imported it from the far corners of their empire. The rapid expansion of the Roman navy created such a demand for hemp fiber that roman settlements started producing hemp.

History, United Kingdom• In the eighteenth century, cannabis started

appearing in dispensatories. It was most often recommended as an antibiotic and analgesic. Peter Squire, who owned a chemist shop in Oxford Street in London, recorded the first extract of hashish in alcohol, and patented it as Squire’s Extract as an analgesic.

• In 1850 cannabis was listed in a large number of European pharmacopoeias, and was included in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Its applications included an incredible amount of illnesses, and, in 1890, Queen Victoria’s doctor, Sir John Russell Reynolds, declared cannabis ‘one of the most valuable medicines we possess’ in the British medical journal The Lancet.

History, America

• Hemp was grown in colonial times for rope and other industrial applications.

• Thomas Jefferson risked his life to smuggle hemp seeds out of France into the colonies.

• Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were hemp farmers. “Make the most of the hemp seed. Sow it everywhere.” –George Washington

• Both drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp.

• Hemp was so valuable that in Virginia, it was illegal not to grow it if one was a farmer.

Hemp paper• Paper: Asia, 207bc-ad220, hemp was pounded with

the bark of mulberry trees to make cheap but extremely durable paper. This paper was strong, flexible, and waterproof. Used for official documents, imperial books, and scholarly works. Hemp paper is acid-free.

• Up until 1883, 75-90% of all the paper in the world was created from hemp fiber.

• Compare this: 1 acre of hemp = 4.1 acres of trees.Hemp matures in 2-4 months, trees mature in 14-16

years.• 1916, the US government estimated that by 1960 we

would not have to cut down anymore trees for paper.

History, America• Mexicans were regarded as thieves and ne’er-do-wells

due to their willingness to accept poor wages, and their use of marijuana. Marijuana was labeled an alien drug, people conveniently overlooking the fact it had been grown in America and had been in medicines for decades.

• Marijuana was often linked to crime and violence by the law-enforcement agencies, often without any proof whatsoever. It had started in El Paso, a town on the Texas-Mexico border. Following a serious fight involving a marijuana user, aka a Mexican, a city by-law was passed in 1914 banning the sale and possession of marijuana on the basis that marijuana caused violence. The town was also marked as a hotbed of ‘marijuana fiends’, which meant blacks, white criminals, Native American Indians, and all other ‘riff-raff’. The law was subtle; it banned marijuana, but the reason for the law was to suppress the Mexicans.

History, America

• Once the potential of marijuana legislation for suppressing migrants was realized, many other cities and districts were quite to follow suit. Southern states were flooding Washington for federal action against what was now called ‘killer’ or ‘loco weed

• By 1930, marijuana and the knowledge of its drug effects had spread throughout most of the major industrial cities of the USA, namely Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Tulsa, San Francisco, etc. All of these cities had substantial Mexican and/or black working class populations.

Harry J. Anslinger…Harry J. Anslinger…

Appointed first Appointed first commissioner of Federal commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics in Bureau of Narcotics in August, 1930. He received August, 1930. He received $9,000 salary for $9,000 salary for regulating legal and illegal regulating legal and illegal habit-forming drugs in the habit-forming drugs in the USA until 1962.USA until 1962.

There are 100,000 total marijuana There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. –Testimony entertainers and any others. –Testimony to US Congress supporting Marihuana to US Congress supporting Marihuana Tax Act, 1937Tax Act, 1937

Harry J. Anslinger…

• The Depression caused a massive fall in tax revenue, and government spending plummeted. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was in danger of failing… Anslinger needed to find a new target upon which to increase his budget. Although he had thought about deferring marijuana under federal legislation, he now made it his mission to demonize it.

• He circulated pamphlets and, with the assistance of influential bigot William Randolph Hearst, planted stories in the press about murders committed by users under the influence of marijuana. By adding marijuana to the State Narcotic Acts, two benefits would come of that: states could now have the power to make arrests for possession and use of marijuana, and would free up responsibility in the Bureau, freeing up some of the budget as well.

• He succeeded, with help of Hearst’s yellow journalism stirring up public opinion against marijuana.

News Article Example1936, Universal News ServiceMurders due to ‘Killer Drug’ Marihuana

sweeping United States…Shocking crimes of violence are increasing. Murders, slaughterings, cruel mutilations, maimings, done in cold blood, as if some hideous monster was amok in the land… much of this violence is what experts call marihuana. It is another name for hashish… a roadside weed in almost every State in the Union…Those addicted…loose all restraints, all inhibitions. They become bestial demoniacs, filled with a mad lust to kill…

History, America• Anslinger was instrumental in the passage of the Marihuana

Tax Act of 1937, which so severely taxed the plant and all of its uses, that it basically rendered it illegal. This decimated the hemp industry, which had shown “the promise being a billion-dollar crop” –Popular Mechanics, 1938.

• Irony! Four years after the Marijuana Tax Act destroyed the hemp industry, the plant was in demand! After the declaration of war on Japan, the US government promoted a Grow Hemp for Victory campaign. Farmers produced 42,000 tons of fibre and 180 tons of seed annually, and school children were encouraged to grow cannabis for the war effort. A 14 minute long patriotic propaganda film was created by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), singing of the benefits of cannabis… – ‘on duty again—hemp for mooring ships, hemp for

tow lines, hemp for tackle and gear, hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore!’

Why it’s Illegal• According to Jack Herer, leading American marijuana activist

and author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, hemp products posed a threat to petrochemical and pulp paper industries. These industries stood to lose billions of dollars had the potential of hemp been realized in time. Experiments, much like those being carried out by Ford Motor Company were already underway to develop synthetic products from hemp rather than fossil fuels, including hydrocarbons.

• William Randolph Hearst’s yellow journalism, and his ownership of vast forestry interests, which would be hurt severely with the realization of the benefits of hemp paper.

Lammont Du Pont, owner of the multinational pharmaceutical and petrochemical conglomerate, also had interests in seeing hemp destroyed. He was a major shareholder in Gulf Oil, and had a hand in coal mining in Pennsylvania.

Why Should it be Legal?

Industrial Uses • Hemp twine: Asia, plates of body armor have been sewn

together with this product, and this replaced bamboo fiber as ideal material for bow strings.

• Rope: a very common use for hemp, extremely durable.• Coarse and fine cloth: hemp has been used for centuries as

clothing. Hemp cloth is softer, warmer, more absorbent, has three times the tensile strength of cotton, and is more durable. Hemp fiber is very mold-resistant. ‘Fifty percent of all chemicals used in American agriculture today

are used in cotton growing. Hemp needs no chemicals and has few weed or insect enemies’

Lacquer ware: Asia, the lacquer was sap-saturated hemp cloth that was thickened, shaped over a mould and left to harden. This lacquer ware is extremely durable, and is still found in excavations.

Paint and varnish: hempseed oil was used for these to make eco-friendly, durable products, but after the ban, the change went to synthetic petrochemical oils commonly made by Du Pont.

Industrial Uses

• Oil: Hemp oil is the brightest lamp oil, and is non-pollutant. If it were to spill, it would just become fertilizer.

• After the ban, oil use changed to synthetics, like petroleum and kerosene.

• “The seed [of cannabis] is prized in other countries for its oil, and its neglect here illustrates the same wasteful use of our agricultural resources.” - Botanist Luther Burbank

• Bio-degradable plastics: far safer than current chemical-based plastics, very eco friendly, used today for applications like PVC tubing.

Industrial Uses• Building materials: One acre of hemp produces

the same amount of cellulose fiber pulp as 4.1 acres of trees. Building materials made of hemp also have additional benefits over wood: – thermal insulation and sound dampening qualities– superior in strength– flexible, and are quite inexpensive compared to wood.

• Drywall• Pressed board, Particle board, plywood, beams.• Concrete.• Fiberglass replacement: Hemp fiber is being

used instead of glass fibers in surfboards and snowboards already, and hemp can provide the resin itself.

Industrial Uses• Biomass Energy: Cannabis can be

converted into methane, methanol, or gasoline at a minimal cost of what the current cost of oil, coal, and nuclear energy costs.

• Ends acid-rain effect.• Ends sulfur-based smog.• Starts a reverse on Greenhouse Effect

immediately. • Once the process has been sophisticated, use

of hemp-based oils is likely to negate the need for oil drilling. An oil spill would not be an economic disaster, it would become fertilizer.

Henry Ford, Ford Motor Henry Ford, Ford Motor Co.Co.

Ford tried many agricultural crops, Ford tried many agricultural crops, including wheat, in the manufacture including wheat, in the manufacture of automobiles. He found hemp to be of automobiles. He found hemp to be the most beneficial and useful of the most beneficial and useful of these crops.these crops.

Rudolf Diesel designed his engine to Rudolf Diesel designed his engine to run on vegetable and seed oils, run on vegetable and seed oils, including hemp oil. It ran on peanut including hemp oil. It ran on peanut oil for 1900 World’s Fair. oil for 1900 World’s Fair.

Henry Ford crafted his first Model T Henry Ford crafted his first Model T out of out of hemp, hemp, to run on hemp!to run on hemp!

……Had hemp plastic panels whose impact Had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than strength was 10 times stronger than steelsteel

- Popular Mechanics, 1941- Popular Mechanics, 1941

"the axe bounced, and "the axe bounced, and there was no dent..."there was no dent..."

Economic Costs and Benefits• in 1938, on the cover of Popular Mechanics, the title stated “Hemp Called Billion Dollar

Crop”, the first time a cash crop ever had the potential to generate one billion dollars.• According to a recent analysis of fiscal impact of a pending marijuana regulation in

California regarding regulation, taxation, and legalization bill, California stands to take in roughly 1.4 Billion dollars a year.

• Estimates:– Implementing this bill could cost substantial administrative costs. Also noted that

there is a possibility of a decline in alcohol and tobacco revenue due to a substitution effect.

– Annual California marijuana consumption is roughly one million pounds.– $50 an ounce fee would generate $990 million a year, $392 million in sales tax

revenues. – Would cause roughly 50% price drop– Increase consumption by 40%, however, 50$ an ounce fee would cause that to

drop by 11%.• California currently has a $26 billion budget deficit, state employees are being laid off,

and some people are being paid by IOUs. • Nationally, marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers billions annually in enforcement

costs, but also costs billions more in missed opportunities: taxes, profits, wages, and new industries.

• Federal taxpayers spend $23,000 a year to house one inmate.• Federal taxpayers spend about $8,000 a year to educate one child.

Medical Uses, Historical• Historically used for:• Dysentery• Insomnia• Fever• Migraine• Glaucoma• Syphilis• Rheumatism• Tetanus• Cholera• Epilepsy• Uterine hemorrhaging• Alcoholism and opiate

addiction• Cramps• Coughs• Venereal disease• post-natal depression• earache

• Rabies – ‘the awful malady was stripped of its horrors; if not less fatal than before, it was reduced to less than the scale of suffering which precedes death’

even removed hydrophobia, the intense fear of water.

• Neuralgia• Typhus• Anthrax• Leprosy• Incontinence• Snake bite• Gout• Any disease that induces

convulsions• Tonsillitis• Insanity• Menorrhagia

Known Medical Benefits

• Marijuana contains many different chemicals, amongst them the most popularly known THC, and has many different properties that can and have been used by humans, including use as:

• An Analgesic (meaning a pain reliever)• Muscle-relaxer• Anti-depressant• Anti-emetic agent (meaning that it reduces nausea

and vomiting)• Subduing epileptic fits• Stimulating appetite• bronchial tissue dilator

Medical Uses, Modern Day• Used today for:• AIDS – anti-emetic, appetite stimulator• Asthma – Bronchodilator, and reverses bronchial constriction. Slower,

but considerably longer lasting and with much less risk than conventional medications such as Advair. 80% Effectiveness

• Arthritis/Autoimmune Diseases – Controlling pain, autoimmune modulator.

• Cancer – anti-emetic, appetite stimulator. Oftentimes more effective than mainstream anti-emetics for patients undergoing chemotherapy. >90% Effectiveness.

• Tumor – reduces benign and malignant tumor size. DEA funded studies to find immunicological problems, but discovered a breakthrough. Orders were immediately made to terminate funding all further cannabis/tumor research and reporting, and requests to research by Medical College of Virginia continued to be denied, in 1996 and 2006.

• Chronic pain – relieves pain caused by large amounts of disorders and injuries.

Medical Uses, Modern Day• Epilepsy – used as an adjunctive medicine to prevent epileptic

seizures. 60% Effective.• Depression/Mood Disorders – shown to help dysphoria gently and

safely, compared to stabilizing drugs, lithium, tricyclics, MAO inhibitors, all of which can have serious health risks and side effects.

• Glaucoma – reduces intraocular pressure, analgesic, slowing, and occasionally halting progress of the condition, and is 2-3x more effective than conventional medications. 90% Effectiveness

• Multiple Sclerosis – analgesic, reduces muscle spasticity, relieves tremor and unsteady gait.

• Muscle spasm and spasticity – same as multiple sclerosis. Besides addictive morphine, cannabis is currently the best muscle relaxant/ antispasmodic medication known to this date! Can be smoked, used as a poultice, or used as a herb pack(?)

• Migraine headaches – relieves pain and inhibits the release of serotonin during attacks.

Medical Uses, Modern Day• Paraplegia/Quadriplegia – relieves pain more safely than opiates,

suppresses muscle twitches and tremors.• Pruritis (Itching) – oral and topical use, more effective than

corticosteroids and antihistamines.• Insomnia – can help people sleep, much safer than hypnotics.

Hypnotics can have side effects and/or tolerance problems. • Menstrual Cramps and Labor Pain – far more effective pain relief

than conventional drugs, babies tend to be more alert at birth.– Interesting little bit: a study of marijuana babies shows that

children of moderate marijuana smokers show superior psychomotor skills. Now this could be true of marijuana, it could be coincidence that these children just happen to be naturally skilled, or the study could be skewed.

• A study done by Dr. Gerald Lancz of University of South Florida in 1990 showed that in direct contact, THC killed the herpes virus. As recently as 2004, studies show that smoking does not cure herpes, but do indicate faster drying and healing when used topically.

On the Drug, Dependency

• Marijuana is non-habit forming, and unlike drugs such as heroin, users suddenly stopping continued use will not suffer through withdrawal effects.

• However, it has been found that 8% of heavy users can form physiological or psychological dependence to marijuana.

• Psychological dependence to marijuana is interesting. It is simply the user’s perceived need to feel high. If they were to stop taking it, they could display irritability, nervousness, and restlessness. Dependency is about equivalent to a coffee drinker’s addiction.

Toxicity• Marijuana is non-toxic, and no deaths have been recorded from

overdose. It has been suggested that it would take 800 joints in one sitting to kill someone; however, death would result from carbon monoxide rather than cannabinoids. The reason for this is most likely because there are a very small amount of cannabinoid receptors in the areas of the brain responsible for life supporting functions.

Compare Lethality: • 300 ml of vodka is lethal. • 60 mg of nicotine is lethal. • 800 joints is possibly lethal…due to CO poisoning or asphyxiation.Studies on mice show that the required ratio of cannabinoids to

overdose versus amount necessary for intoxication is 40,000:1. that means one would have to consume 40,000 times the required amount to get high to overdose.

• The alcohol ratio is 4-10:1.

Causes of Death Annually

Questions and Answers• Q: Can’t THC be synthesized into a pill? • A: It can, and has been, it’s called Marinol. However, unlike marijuana,

Marinol is 100% THC, where marijuana is a combination of well over 60 different kinds of cannibinoids working together to create the effect that only marijuana can. Marinol often leaves the user in a vegetable-like state for the remainder of the day, or until the effects wear off, whereas marijuana allows the patient to continue about their business as normal. By the way, Marinol is $10 a pill, $80 a day when used as recommended. Du Pont continues to stress that Marinol is a safe alternative to the ‘dangerous drug marijuana’. Looks like a scam to me.

• Q: How is marijuana Good for emphysema and asthma? • A: Marijuana smoke has been proven to open and dilate bronchial

passages, providing relief and easier breathing in patients with these symptoms. By the way, this isn’t unique to marijuana: smoking certain plants have been used in past rituals for helping ease breathing, like Yerba Santa, Colt's foot, and Horehound. Tobacco itself is dangerous to lungs, and that causes people to become prejudiced into thinking that all smoke is harmful to lungs.

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in Tax Revenue a Year." Stop the Drug War. 17 July 2009. Web. 11 May 2010. <Stopthedrugwar.org>.

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• Booth, Martin. Cannabis: a History. New York: Picador, 2005. Print. • Rosenthal, Ed, Steve Kubby, and S. Newhart. Why Marijuana Should Be Legal.

Philadelphia: Running, 2003. Print.

“Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1840.