The cannabis or Indian hemp (Canabis sativa indica) is a variety of the common hemp, a grassy plant with sticky leaves and female and male flowers located in different individuals.
The plant originated in Central Asia but now is cultivated from Himalaya to Columbia, Jamaica, Eastern Europe and Holland.
The breed was cultivated 3,000 years ago in China as a medicine employed against rheumatism and malaria and was used even by Neolithic Dacian shamen (in nowadays Romania) to enter in trance.
The name hashish comes from "hassassins", members of an Arab medieval Islamic sect, famous for their assassinations, and who were heavy cannabis consumers. (the name "cannabis" is the Latin word for common hemp, taken from the Semitic languages). In fact, in the Islamic world, its consume was common, and the stories of "The thousand and one nights" abound with hashish consuming characters.
The hashish consume
propagated in Europe during the XVIII century from the Middle East.
The plant contains about 60 chemical compounds with psychoactive effects (able to impair neuronal functions) named cannabinoids. The main compound is THC (delta- 9- tetrahidrocannabinol) which induces the greatest part of the effects. Common hemp also contains cannabinoids, but in doses with no practical effect.
Marijuana is the mixture made of flowers, leaves and small stems of Cannabis sativa.
The hashish is a paste made of the resinous secretions which store in the female flowers (so only the female individuals can deliver hashish), of an intense coffee color.
The resin contains much higher levels of THC, thus the hashish is more powerful than marijuana, containing 40 % THC compared to 10 % in marijuana. The THC is soluble in fat, so it tends to accumulate in fatty tissues (especially in the brain). It resists for about 7 days, that's why one week after the cannabis consume, your body has eliminated just 50 % of the compound.
Now, marijuana is considered a depressing drug for the Central Nervous System with the effects, till a certain level, similar to alcohol. But its effects of inducing perception modifications include it amongst minor hallucinogens. In fact, marijuana makes you perceive the colors more intense, the sounds in different forms, or a slower perception of the time.
On the physical level, these drugs accelerate the heart beat, swell of the blood vessels and decrease psychomotor coordination.
Some women accuse abnormal menstruations and men can experience low testosterone and sperm levels. For the lungs, cannabis smoking is similar to tobacco smoking. Other negative effects are memory loss, anxiety, control loss, dry mouth and tooth loss.
Marijuana and hashish can be ingested orally (with honey or butter) or smoked, but they can also be employed as ingredients for making cakes, cookies and other foods.
The effects on the brain install about 30 minutes after smoking them or till one and a half hour when the drugs were ingested, but this can prolong up to 5-6 hours. An average dose is about 3 - 4 g. Doses over 30 g can be lethal.
Marijuana and cannabis do not provoke physical dependence, but they can generate a great psychological dependence. Their lack does not induce cravings but it can induce anxiety, tension, insomnia, lack of appetite and temporary irritability, that pass after a week.
There are about 300 million hashish consumers estimated around the world. Unlike "hard drugs", which are usually consumed in isolation, these drugs have a socializing effect ...
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