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<\/a><\/p>\nMany people have been smoking since they were teenagers. \u00a0Some began as adults, while others have waited until their golden years to fire up. \u00a0Yet, regardless of when you took your first toke, a responsible person should always know what they are putting into their body. \u00a0Moving beyond peer pressure or getting with the latest craze, anyone who utilizes cannabis whether therapeutically or as a party favor should be educated on its components and their effects on the human body. \u00a0In this multi-part series on cannabis and health, we will journey inside the plant to the molecular level and take a look inside the human body to better understand cannabis.<\/p>\n
Value, value is the most important factor to any plant when attempting to determine its relation with human beings. \u00a0We humans have been on this planet in our current form for at least the last 150,000 years. \u00a0Over that time span, we have discovered the medicinal benefits of some plants and the lethality of others. \u00a0Each plant according to its perceived value has impacted our relation to it and our relations with each other. \u00a0Human beings are in a constant struggle of life and death on this planet. \u00a0Plants that have any effect on either of these conditions tend to be highly valued. \u00a0Plant derived poisons have been used for thousands of years for assassinations and murders. \u00a0And, plant derived medicines have been used for just as long to achieve the opposite effect, to extend a healthy life. \u00a0The usefulness of plants have shaped human society.<\/p>\n Dr. Carl Sagan, famed American astronomer and cosmologist, theorized that the Agricultural Revolution is what spurred modern human evolution. \u00a0This event occurred around 10,000 years ago. \u00a0Interesting enough, Dr. Sagan points to the discovery of cannabis fibers used in ancient Chinese pottery dating back that far as the basis for his hypothesis that cannabis was the first crop developed by humans. \u00a0This of course, through the Agricultural Revolution, lead to modern civilization. \u00a0Whether humans have cannabis to thank for their culture and society, one thing remains clear, humans significantly value the cannabis plant.<\/p>\n Not Carl Sagan<\/p><\/div>\n Let us delve into why humans see such value in this plant. \u00a0Cannabis has many uses. \u00a0Its seeds are high in nutritional value and contain 20 different varieties of amino acids and all nine of the essential amino acids. \u00a0Some essential amino acids can’t be naturally produced by the body and these seeds have the capacity to supplement them in the body. \u00a0They contain high amounts of protein, which helps in strengthening the immune system, thereby, reducing the instances of diseases, besides helping in excreting toxins from the body. \u00a0Studies in the recent past have shown that consuming cannabis seeds whether raw or in oil form, has the capacity to aid in the healing process of diseases related to immune deficiency. \u00a0There is no other food substance which contains such high quantities of essential fatty acids found in cannabis seeds, higher than even flaxseed and other nut or seed oil as well as containing high amounts of vitamin E and trace minerals. \u00a0It has a balanced ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats at around a three to one ratio. \u00a0This won’t help correct your omega balance if it’s off, but it gives you the right balance to start with. \u00a0Furthermore, the protein content of the cannabis seed is more digestible than most health food alternatives. \u00a0Cannabis seed protein does not cause bloating or gas, like whey and other protein shakes. \u00a0And, unlike soy which has super high amounts of phytic acid, an anti-nutrient that prevents us from absorbing minerals, cannabis seed doesn’t contain phytic acid. \u00a0In addition to nutrition, cannabis has found its usefulness in mankind\u2019s greatest achievement, war.<\/p>\n Fibers derived from the stalk of the cannabis plant have been used for clothing, armor, and bow string for thousands of years. \u00a0Chinese warlords who utilized cannabis fiber strings found that their armies\u2019 arrows flew much further and with deadlier force than their enemies who did not. \u00a0British warships ruled an empire that spanned the globe using cannabis fibers for their sails and riggings and utilizing its sticky resin for building materials. \u00a0During World War II, the American Government even commissioned a film encouraging farmers to grow cannabis in order to produce the necessary materials for the rope and riggings on our naval ships. \u00a0So humans have found the value of cannabis in furthering life and death, yet it\u2019s most precious value will always be in personal use.<\/p>\n Humans are willing to risk loss of freedom and go to great lengths to hide this plant from authorities who seek to destroy it. \u00a0We wage political campaigns and spend millions of dollars to legitimize its use. \u00a0One must ask, why?<\/p>\n The easiest answer is, it makes you feel good when you use it. \u00a0This simplistic answer goes back to man\u2019s simplistic nature. \u00a0For all our advancements, we still find the time to kill one another over petty and trivial things. \u00a0So if humans\u2019 basic impulse for protecting and using cannabis is self-driven pleasure, then let us delve into why this plant has such an effect on the mind and body.<\/p>\n To first understand the effects of cannabis, one must first look at the anatomy and molecular make-up of the plant itself. \u00a0The cannabis plant is an annual flowering herb. \u00a0This means that it completes its life cycle from germination to seed production within one year. \u00a0The plant is dioecious in nature, meaning that individual plants have either a male or female sex. \u00a0It is an angiosperm, better known as a fruiting or flowering plant. \u00a0This means that the cannabis seeds are produce within an enclosure such as a flower. \u00a0Lastly, the cannabis plant is an herb. \u00a0Herbs are plants used for food, medicine, or spiritual practices.<\/p>\n The cannabis plant is indigenous to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, however, today due to humans, it can be found on all six populated continents in almost any climate. \u00a0The cannabis plant\u2019s natural evolution on steppe and mountainous regions of Central Asia means that it evolved in a region where there is thinner air and much sunlight. \u00a0This increase in sunlight means more ultraviolet radiation. \u00a0As a natural defense to ultraviolet radiation, the plant evolved trichomes. \u00a0Trichomes are \u201chairy\u201d outgrowths from the plants skin. \u00a0Contained within the trichomes of the cannabis plant are cannabinoids. \u00a0These cannabinoids are a specific class of plant-based chemicals that activate cannabinoid receptors in the human body.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n