Why do we need to talk about cannabis in a radically transparent and open way?

Because the world has changed and an accelerated change to more sustainable consumption is needed. Don’t imagine that we’ll whisper this out.

Why should cannabis gaggers be allowed to gag freely?

The cannabis inflorescence is the most valuable part of the plant. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the world. It’s exactly the same as what you think some people want to use it for.

Should money on cannabis continue to be given to criminals?

Although, on the other hand, legal cannabis could generate significant tax revenues, which can be directed e.g. construction of schools. In addition, we could help drug users with CBD products, as well as meaningful crafts by activating them. At the same time, we would get more organic products from hemp and whatever good money and economic growth can bring.

Promote the change you want to see.

Cannabis inflorescences should be legalized because they are the most valuable part of the plant and are an intoxicant and medicine safer , than the corresponding alcohol and opiates

Cannabis is the most popular illicit substance in the world. Today’s cannabis is highly processed. Today, the cannabis plant can produce significantly more of its intoxicating compound, the psychoactive THC resin.

Your mother did not smoke the same cannabis. It was more of hemp, that is, what those interested in their health today lie about their food, skin, and partner.

Today, cannabis is stronger. The THC content of seized cannabis is three times higher than in the mid-1990s, when THC levels began to be monitored (1). The same trend has been observed in cannabis cafes in the Netherlands and in Italy, the United Kingdom, and France (2, 3).

The plants are also smaller and faster growing. Hundreds of different varieties of cannabis offer different flavors and effects.

Cannabis production is unregulated and genetics are unpredictable, so illegal cannabis users do not always know what they are getting. The full health effects of cannabis are not yet known.

However, much is known about safety, as millions of dollars have been spent since 1971 on research into the dangers of cannabis, and this extensive research has not completely left the scientific basis for a ban on cannabis. (4)

The U.S. government’s commitment to exaggerating the harmfulness of cannabis has made it imperative for them to deny the medical utility of cannabis in the face of compelling evidence. (4)

For example, as early as September 6, 1988. At the end of the long hearing, Francis L. Young, Chief Justice of the Administrative Court of the Drug Control Agency, said:

“Marijuana (cannabis) in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances. The evidence in this record clearly shows that cannabis is approved to relieve anxiety in a large number of very sick people and to do so safely. under medical supervision. It would be unreasonably arbitrary for the DEA, in the light of this evidence, to continue to refrain between these suffering sick people and the substance ”. (5)

However, the cannabis ban law and the war on drugs, especially against cannabis, only intensified in the 1990s.

There is also indisputable evidence of the safety of cannabis in recent decades. At the request of the U.S. Congress, the Medical Institute, in its 1999 report, favored the medical use of cannabis. It confirmed that cannabis is safe and beneficial in many conditions. (6)

Often, when talking about the dangers of cannabis, the effects of the plant on cognitive functioning are highlighted. However, no scientific evidence has been found that short- or long-term use of cannabis causes cognitive impairment. (7, 8)

Another common claim is that cannabis use causes schizophrenia, or can break it in a person prone to schizophrenia. However, the evidence is contradictory as to why the incidence of schizophrenia has not increased while cannabis use has increased among young adults. As would be expected if it were a cause-and-effect relationship. (8, 9)

In addition, claims about the psychotic effects of cannabis have remained strong, although as early as 1942, researchers stated that “marijuana does not produce psychosis in stable, well-integrated people”. (8, 10)

It is also noteworthy that John P. Morgan of New York University School of Medicine testified to Congress: “We have been in this cannabis epidemic for about 30 to 40 years and we have still not seen evidence of lung cancer in cannabis smokers.” He also said there is no link between cannabis use and emphysema or birth defects. (11)

There are also numerous studies on the harmfulness of cannabis. It would therefore be irresponsible to claim that cannabis is completely harmless. However, cannabis is undeniably much less harmful than, for example, age-restricted tobacco and alcohol (12).

In light of scientific research, cannabis has been shown to be a safe substance for other intoxicants. It is also obvious that excessive and regular use of cannabis should be avoided, especially at a young age, when the brain is developing strongly. In most countries, however, recreational use of cannabis begins in mid-adolescence and is the most common intoxicant among those just over twenty (13).

The best way to protect children and young people is through a regulated and age-restricted market. Because in practice this would mean tightly regulated cannabis products and markets. At the moment, we have a completely free market. Currently, anyone and anyone of any age can order illegal cannabis right at their doorstep, as long as they know how to use online discussion platforms.

Completely safe light cannabis should be legalized in Finland

In Cansa’s opinion, the best thing would be for Finland to acknowledge the facts and wake up to the rapidly growing global cannabis industry. Instead of THC-containing cannabis, we in the Nordic region should legalize completely safe CBD-containing light cannabis, where the THC content limit does not exceed 1%.

Instead of intoxication, light cannabis offers e.g. relaxing, calming and concentrating effects. Light cannabis products such as CBD inflorescences, CBD oils and other CBD products would bring about cultural change in a regulated manner. Legalizing light cannabis and CBD could bring not only public health benefits, given the many health effects of CBD, but also, especially among young people, a greater shift in interest in the health effects of CBD than in the narcotic effects of intoxicating cannabis. Not to mention how many jobs and taxable income the light cannabis trade alone would create in Finland. On top of all that, the utilization of the most valuable part of the plant enables companies in the sector to grow and invest in the overall utilization of the plant.

Cannabis has been mystical, sacred for millennia, and finally, after the 1930s, strongly demonized by false propaganda. The exaggerated disadvantages set in motion from the United States are deep, at least in the hours of the great generation. The shift to holistic and rational utilization of cannabis will accelerate due to the Earth’s ecological carrying capacity.

Harnessing the exploitation of cannabis requires courageous politicians and public figures to loosen prejudiced attitudes and interact with the true potential of cannabis for the benefit of humanity, society and the planet. Instead of not exploiting the most versatile useful plant on earth, only because of its intoxicating property.

At present, in some countries, the hemp crop has to be destroyed in some cases if the THC content of the plants rises above the limit. Even at a time when almost everyone is waking up to wasting too many resources in an unsustainable way. Therefore, the approved THC limit for hemp cultivation should be 1%, as has been realized in Switzerland, for example. What is the point of destroying a multi-purpose crop just because the THC levels produced by the plant vary? The 1% THC content does not make hemp an intoxicating substance yet, nor is it dangerous to health. Especially when the CBD concentration is multiple relative to the THC concentration.

Cannabis has been learned to be processed so that it produces the desired properties. If necessary, enough little or no intoxicating THC. Why does a balanced relationship between CBD and THC matter? Where has this come from and what is known about cannabis and its history? You will learn about it in the next chapter.

History of cannabis – man’s oldest slave

In Central Asia, a 2700-year-old piece of evidence of cannabis use as a substance has been found in a cave in a Chinese village called Turpan. Cannabis is man’s oldest domesticated crop and one of the oldest medicinal plants alongside which humans have evolved thousands of years before the beginning of our era. (14)

While man has refined cannabis, the plant has refined man. (15)

Cannabis spread with people around the globe. In cold climates, it developed hemp varieties that are not intoxicating, but are equally useful as a plant for many different uses.

Hemp has long been in the service of mankind. Hemp was used to make clothes, rope, sails, food, fuel and building materials. Hemp even gave its name to early cities around the world. In this form, cannabis was known in Western countries.

In warm countries, psychoactive cannabis thrived. In the Middle East, a paste made of cannabis resin, hashish, was eaten. In India, it was made a holy drink. In Africa, it was used as a medicine and slave traders brought cannabis to America.

Cannabis is one and the same. One variety of the plant was used as a fibrous plant and the others as a psychoactive substance.

In 1753, Carl von Linné, a Swedish botanist and creator of the classification system, gave the plant the name “Cannabis sativa”.

Cannabis sativa is a high-stemmed and thin-leafed variety. Later, a variety with thick and dark leaves was found in the cool mountains of India. It was named “cannabis indica”. In addition, there is a smaller-sized cannabis ruderalis that grows in Russia.

Von Linné noticed something special in the plant. Most plants have both stamens and stems in the flowers. But cannabis plants produce either seeds or pollen.

In other words, cannabis has sex.

Von Linné isolated the female plants on his windowsill and was excited about the results of his experiment.

“The sight was beautiful and evoked respect.”

“The infertile female plant flourished.”

“It had tried in vain to get access to the male pollen.”

Mr. Von Linné was clearly in love with his cannabis.

Inflorescences of female plants have a stronger psychoactive effect. Because most of the resin is in the cannabis flower. There is little psychoactive substance in the leaves and stems.

The most important psychoactive compound in cannabis is THC, i.e. tetrahydrocannabinol (more specifically delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Another important compound is CBD, i.e. cannabidiol.

THC and CBD are currently of great medical interest. The CBD is not intoxicating at all. It has protective effects on the nervous system. CBD also has epileptic seizures, convulsions, anxiety, nausea, psychosis, pain and inflammation, as well as antitumor properties (16).

In addition, one of the important properties of CBD is its ability to reduce the psychoactivity and adverse effects of THC (17). Today’s highly processed cannabis contains very high levels of THC and the CBD content is very low relative to THC.

The ability of CBD alone to reduce the psychoactivity and adverse effects of THC should be a sufficient reason for authorities and decision-makers to do their utmost to promote the development, cultivation and production of CBD-containing cannabis varieties and their availability in Finland.

In addition to CBD and THC, 111 other cannabinoids have already been named for cannabis. Cannabis is more than just cannabinoids. There are over 400 active compounds and every cannabis plant is different. In the next section, you will learn what the war on cannabis caused for THC and CBD levels. What are cannabinoids and how do they and other compounds found in cannabis affect humans and what is their effect based on?

War on cannabis increased cannabis THC levels and promoted the development of cannabis varieties – from cannabis sativa, cannabis indica and cannabis ruderal to hybrids

For thousands of years, entire families around the world gathered for cannabis plantations to harvest at the peak of the flowering period. They never dreamed that one day the U.S. government would lead an international movement to wipe cannabis off the face of the earth.

While the U.S. war on drugs was unprecedented, it was not the first of its kind. In reality, cannabis has been controversial for almost as long as people have cultivated it. Throughout history, many societies have banned the cultivation and use of cannabis.

Many of these prohibitions share a social and economic distrust of the unknown. When members of a minority or lower class approve of cannabis use, the ruling class moves to ban cannabis in the form of restrictions and controls. Cannabis is perceived as a threat to the order of society, and the elimination of the threat naturally begins with a ban on cultivation.

Before the modern war on drugs, cannabis had been grown openly for millennia and commercially successfully on all continents on earth.

In the United States, cannabis used to grow only in warmer southern states such as California. The only cannabis species available was Cannabis sativa, i.e. industrial hemp, utility hemp, oil hemp or fiber hemp. How you want to express it.

The situation changed in the late 1970s with the importation of seeds of cold-tolerant Cannabis indica from the Hinduşi mountains.

Cold-tolerant Cannabis indica was crossed with Cannabis sativa. The hybrids gave rise to hybrids. Hybrid plants could be grown all over the United States. During the Regan administration, the search for plantations began with the help of airplanes. However, Indica’s smaller size allowed for indoor cultivation.

Cannabis ruderal was utilized at crosses, resulting in a shorter flowering time for hybrids. This accelerated cannabis crop production. These new hybrids could be grown indoors. It did not take 12 weeks to get the crop and the plants did not become three meters. The biggest change, however, was that the old breeding method was reinvented.

Carl von Linné had observed the same phenomenon on his windowsill. The process caused the plants to seep into the psychoactive hat trick. Cannabis came to be called sensimilla, “sinsem”. Sinsemilla is Spanish and means seedless.

THC production in pollinated females slows to produce seeds. Without male plants, pollination does not occur and no seeds are formed. This way, THC production never slows down.

The purpose of the process is to produce sexually frustrated plants. When cuttings are taken from plants, the end result is a genetically identical plant. Dusting is completely omitted.

Unfortunately, these plants don’t get to have sex, so they just have to produce resin to attract pollen. Actually a cultivated cannabis plant with only flowers is a botanical freak. The flowers are huge and not in proportion to the plant itself.

The THC content of sinsemilla was much higher than normal. The THC content of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica has hardly changed in a couple of decades. Cannabis is now stronger on average because consumers wanted stronger varieties. It has led to another change.

Psychoactive THC and sedative CBD are related. As THC increases, the amount of CBD decreases. As early as the 1990s, the ratio of THC to CBD was about eleven to one. Now, almost 30 years later, the ratio of THC to CBD is 250: 1.

As THC increases and CBD decreases, paranoid experiences of cannabis use increase.

Anxiety and paranoia can increase. Someone may think they are going crazy. This should be of most concern when THC levels rise and the user has no tolerance.

Concentrations of THC and CBD around the world are marked at legal points of sale. Cannabis feeds, e-tobacco products and tinctures are legally sold. Some extracts have a THC content of almost one hundred.

There are also products with CBD only. CBD reduces anxiety, without intoxication. It is important to understand how different products affect the human body. Because cannabis is not completely harmless.

There is news every day about the health effects of cannabis. People with chronic pain are able to reduce opioid use. Evidence for the treatment of glaucoma and the alleviation of the harms of chemotherapy is undeniable. Many feel they received help when other treatments failed.

In the future, plant breeding will make it possible to tailor treatments. It creates a whole new field of medicine.

The plants have been modified before. Corn, peach, and watermelon were sometimes inedible, small fruits. Over thousands of years, they have been modified as desired.

With cannabis, illegal breeders did the same in a few decades. Modern cultivation technology brings a new change. The history of cannabis has continued for thousands of years. There have been important moments in it, but now is a new time.

It has arrived cannabis drugs and cannabinoid-based medicine era.

Sources:

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