Description and Natural History of Hemp
Political Hemp Notes
Cannabis sativa has
many common names: hemp, marijuana, bhang,
ganja, hashish, etc. It is an annual herb in the hemp family
(Cannabaceae) which grows 3-10 feet tall and has hairy leaves
divided into 5 to 7 serrated leaflets; the leaves are often sticky with
resin.
The plants are distinctly male or female (male and female flowers are
produced by separate plants) and they flower from June to October.
Hemp is one of the oldest and one of the most all-round useful
economic plants. Its fibers have been used to
make high-quality paper, rope, twine, and cloth (the original Levi's jeans
were made from hemp); its seeds have been eaten as a high-protein grain,
turned into a tofu-like nondairy cheese substitute, and pressed to make
oil for paints and varnishes; its leaves and flowers have been eaten or
smoked as a medicine or intoxicant.
It was originally native to the Caucasus region of far eastern Europe,
northern India, and Persia (Iran) but it is now cultivated in
warm-to-temperate regions all over the world. Archaeologists have found
10,000-year-old pot shards imprinted with hemp fibers. The Chinese
documented its
medicinal values over 4,000 years ago; they used the seeds to treat pain,
fever, ulcers, nausea, and many other ills. The Arabs started using the
plant
at least by the mid-1200s, and they in turn introduced it into Africa in
the 1500s and 1600s. Europe discovered hemp incrementally, starting with
Marco Polo's return from his journey to the East in 1297; later,
Crusaders brought back stories and seeds from the Middle East. It was
introduced to South America in 1545 by the Spaniards, and the British
started growing hemp in Jamaica and the New England colonies in the early
1800s.
It was legal in the U.S. until the 1920s and 1930s, when several
factors led to its criminalization: legitimate concern over addiction, an
anti-marijuana crusade begun to justify the existence of the new federal
Narcotics Bureau, and possibly racism (hemp smoking was a popular theme in
African-American and Latino jazz music of the era). Varieties of hemp that
mostly lack tetrahydrocannabinols (its medicinal/intoxicating compounds)
are still cultivated for fiber in the U.S., and in many places the plant
has escaped the fields and grows as a common weed.
Aside from its well-known intoxicating properties, the
tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs) in hemp have
documented medicinal value. Its
leaves and sap have been universally used as a painkiller and sedative,
and its roots were used by ancient herbalists to make salves for burns
and other wounds. In 1965, scientists isolated THC and later
discovered that the compound can lower pressure in the eyes of glaucoma
patients and has thus far been an excellent drug for glaucoma
treatment. They also discovered THC dilates bronchial tubes and can
therefore benefit asthma sufferers. Later, they discovered that THC has
antispasmodic properties that could possibly benefit people with epilepsy.
And finally, THC has proven to give relief to patients undergoing
chemotherapy by helping to alleviate the nausea they often suffer, and
many AIDS and cancer patients have found it stimulates their appetite,
thus combatting the wasting associated with their illnesses.
Because of this, the federal government decided to allow doctors to
prescribe THC in the form of pills or cigarettes (some reports indicate
that the federally-approved cigarettes contain much less THC than
street-grade joints). A federal study in 1972 and a study by the
National Academy of Sciences in 1981 both recommended that marijuana use
be decriminalized. The latter study found that although immediate use
causes mental impairment and heavy, long-term use causes physical
problems, they could determine no long-term ill effects for
occasional, light users and concluded that on the whole marijuana was no
more dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. Side effects of THC intoxication
include impaired
short-term
memory, impaired ability to complete complicated tasks, a sense of time
slowing down, hunger, and changes in sensory perceptions.
A very high acute dose may cause anxiety or panic attacks; it may also
cause seizures in persons with epilepsy.
Negative
effects
of long-term heavy (daily) use for smokers
include emphysema
and lung cancer. There is also the possibility for psychological
(potentially
physical) addiction for both smokers and those who ingest the drug.
Though hemp is far less toxic than any of the other plants used
in cancer treatment, it still has potentially serious side effects and is
illegal to use or possess except with a doctor's prescription, so
self-medication is not advised.