Based on observations and data on the group, I suggest here that marijuana use is explained much more an analysis of cultural differences than through an previous criminological and sociological theories.This chapter is where I reiterated the main findings of the study. I reflected on what I learned, interesting and/or unexpected findings, and suggest what this study means for the discipline more broadly. Furthermore, given the recent changes in marijuana laws such as those enacted in Washington state and Colorado, this study has implications far beyond academia. Colorado amendment 64 and Washington State initiative 502 recently legalized the recreational use of small amounts of marijuana by adults 21 years and older. It could help to illustrate the motivations and reasons why people use drugs, and it can help to expand upon the meanings of drug use to individuals and people associated with drug cultures. My personal policy recommendations are legalization and taxation as the majority of problems associated with cannabis stem from societal reaction, and not the substance itself.Cannabis is the generic name for an adaptive and highly successful annual found growing throughout the temperate and tropical zones of the worlds. Cannabis is considered a part of its own botanical group Cannabacea, in which only it and the hop belong . Historically there has been debate about whether or not the plant is polytypic or monotypic . For the purpose of this study, we will treat Indica and Sativa as two distinct species as these are the generic names found in cannabis lingo today. However, doubts remain about the polytypic side of the argument, indoor vertical garden systems as the plant has been found capable of adjusting itself to the environment. It has been found that seeds taken from the European Cannabis Sativa plant and cultivated in India come to display some of the characteristics of the Cannabis Indica plant in just a few generations, and vice versa .
Likewise, there are no known physiological barriers to reproduction . However, physical and geographical barriers may have lead to divergent gene pools prior to human intervention . Scientific debate aside, the reason the study will treat the plant as polytypic is because growers and smokers frequently differentiate the two when discussing their potential effect. Indicas tend to be milder sedative effect, frequently referred to as a body high. Sativa on the other hand, for many, produces a more upbeat stimulating effect for the user. Many strains are hybrids that combine the two. Growers frequently combine the two to counter act the sedative negative effects of Indica and the overly paranoid and stimulating effects of Sativa. The main psychoactive component in cannabis is Tetrahydrocannabinol , although, there exist approximately 85 cannabinoids . In 1992, it was found that much the same way the brain creates opiate like substances called endorphins, the human body produces a cannabinoid like substance called an anandamide. Research shows that THC locks on to the same cell receptors as an anandamide . The endocannabinoid system is the site of much research into the medical uses of cannabis, and, like much of the rest of the human body, is not fully understood. Many researchers go so far as to claim that the fact that the human brain and body has specific cannabis receptors to claim that nature intended for humans to use the substance. Others, however, contend the substance hijacks the endocannabinoid system and disorients its users. This system is being found to be involved in an increasing numbers of pathological conditions such as neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, reproductive disorders and disorders of cancer .
Consequently, increasing research is being focused on how to influence this system. Cannabis is unique in its hallucinogenic properties. Plants that contain psychoactive compounds are archetypally separated into two categories. The first category, psychotropic drugs operate by affecting the central nervous system. The second, psychotomimetic, affect the mind, altering perception and reality. The cannabis plant and its cannabinoids fit neither classification properly , although some scholars contend it is of the latter . Most psychotomimetic drugs are alkaloids. However, cannabis is a non-nitrogenous substance that is unique to the plant itself. The fact that the cannabis plant operates upon the endocannabinoid system makes it non-lethal at any dose . Unlike, opiate derivatives, coca derivatives and alcohol, the cannabis plant acts upon receptors that do not control life support functions of the body or the brain such as breathing or the beating of the heart. Thus, no dosage of cannabis can cause death. It is estimated that an average individual would have to smoke approximately 800 joints to die from cannabis use, and the corresponding death would likely be the result of carbon monoxide poison rather than the THC or cannabinoids themselves. Alternative routes of administration would not produce death. The majority of the THC is synthesized in and found in the resin of the plant . The plant is frequently smoked with the bud resin and seeds intact, yet the resin can be separated from the plant and made into a highly concentrated version mixture termed hashish or hash oil. Both male and female plants produce the resin that contains the majority of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. This resin is produced in much vaster amounts in the female plant than the male. Production of this resin in the female plants continues to increase until the female reaches maturity and it ceases brusquely. Modern marijuana growers frequently isolate male Cannabis plants from females to produce a more powerful, abundant and psychoactive resin.
The function of the resin in the cannabis plant is the speculation of heavy debate. Some scholars suggest the intoxicating resin operates to disorient would be prey. This theory seems unlikely as insects, humans, and other animals are frequently drawn to the plant. Likewise, the fact that THC is not present until the plant flowers makes this theory all the more unlikely. Others however, suggest the hallucinogenic effect of the plant was an evolutionary adaptation to induce human beings to spread the plant throughout the world, much the same way nectar producing plants induces the bumblebee to crosspollinate plants on its behalf . Origins of the Plant Since the plant predates written human history, the exact origin of the cannabis plant is unknown. The plant flourished widely in both Asia and Africa with most scholars contending the plant originated in the temperate zone of Central Asia . Such an area provided the perfect climate for the evolution of Cannabis as the winds provided a vehicle for pollination. Furthermore, the winds may have aided its distributions to surrounding areas. The fact that Cannabis plant was one of the first plants to be cultivated by humankind further complicates its origins as present-day areas of wild growth may have resulted from prehistoric cultivation and trade. What is certain is that the discovery of cannabis occurred early on in human history. For millennia, cannabis has been used for everything from clothing to paper to rope to food. Furthermore, it is logical to assume the hallucinogenic properties of the plant were discovered early on in its history. Humans were nomadic living off the land and would eat and experiment with all types of substances. It would not have taken long for humans to discover its mind bending and medicinal properties and turn it into, as many cultures did, a religious and spiritual sacrament. Although we conceptualize hallucinogenic plants and substances in a general negative light in today’s society, primitive man may have had a very different relationship with such an experience. It is plausible to assume the superstitious nature early humans may have lead them to believe it was a magical plant that had the ability to alter the very nature of reality itself . Although it is arguable whether or not the plant has the ability to alter reality, it certainly appears to alter people’s perception of reality, thereby altering an individual’s understanding reality itself. As various post-modern social constructivist scholars have pointed out, the reality we experience is as much a product of ourselves as it is anything external to us. The view of cannabis as a magical plant would likely have become a staple of religious practice and its medicinal value would have been learned not long after. Indeed, many cannabis users I have had the pleasure of speaking to argued that the plant itself, altering reality spurred human creativity and imagination, and was the reason human thought and human consciousness took such leaps and bounds approximately 12,000 years ago, plant drying rack although no scientific evidence suggest such an assertion. Stoner culture is actually abound with these types of theories. The first written records and archeological evidence suggest that the cannabis plant was being cultivated at the dawn of Chinese civilization.
The first semi-scientific investigation of the cannabis plant is attributed to the Chinese Emperor, and father of Chinese medicine, Shen Nung of the third millennium B.C.E. Shen Nung is credited with the testing of plants for the medicinal quality. It is rumored he turned green and died of self-administered accidental poisoning unrelated to cannabis. Shen Nung Pen Ts’ao Ching text was the first Chinese pharmacopeia . The Pen Ts’ao Ching recommended the use of cannabis to treat a wide range of ailments from gout to malaria. It has traditionally been documented in China’s pharmacopeia.The use of Cannabis spread west out of China to the Indian sub-content carried by traders. The ritual use of cannabis in religious practice in India spans back thousands of years and is a recurring theme in India’s history . Legend has it that the plant was created when the gods stirred the heavenly oceans with the peak of Mount Mandara. From the stirring, a drop of nectar fell to the earth and the cannabis plant sprouted. Other legends suggest that the God Shiva brought cannabis down from the Himalayas for the pleasure of mankind . In many traditions of Hinduism, Shiva is one of the five primary forms of God. Shiva takes on many forms, as he is frequently depicted as an omniscient Yogi that lives an ascetic life as well as a slayer of demon. However, above all, if frequently thought of as the destroyer of worlds. Shiva destroys the world to create a better one . Shiva is According to folklore, the god Shiva went into the fields and laid under a cannabis plant for shade. Then, being hungry, he ate some of it and it became his favorite food . Indian cannabis was originally reserved for Brahmin priests and Hindu holy men. Such men of creed and conviction believed cannabis took them closer to enlightenment and the gods. Likewise, cannabis was recommended as an aid in ritualistic Tantric sexual yoga. Cannabis was not considered an aphrodisiac, yet it was believed that cannabis had the ability to lift one into a higher state of consciousness that could enhance sexuality and sexual union. Gross described the Indians practice of smoking cannabis as, a symbolic ritual in which the sadhu4 absorb the substance and essence in order to become one with Him. For centuries it is believed that Cannabis was the plant used in the creation of Soma, a plant mentioned several hundred times in hymns and chants in the Rig Veda . Many claimed soma helped to spur the development of the Hindu religion. Modern scholars however, contend the actual substance was ephedra sinica or the fly agaric mushroom . Considering cannabis’ prevalence in Hindu religious practice, and the religious practice of so many cultures throughout the world, I suggest such a hypothesis needs reexamination. Furthermore, ritualistic cannabis use is still practiced in India in a form of a drink called Bhang. Moreover, some Shiva followers in South India still claim that the Vedic soma was the same as their current soma Bhang drink. Bhang is a tea made of cannabis leaves, milk, sugar and other assorted herbs and spices. The steps used in the preparation of Bhang are the essentially the same steps used in the preparation of the ancient soma. Cannabis in current context is commonly referred to as “sattvik nasha” translated as “peaceful intoxication” . Although highly contentious and open to debate, many scholars have suggested that Judaism, and as a consequence, the practice of the major three monotheistic religions , all have connections with cannabis. According to several scholars, Sula Benet being the most prominent, cannabis was an ingredient in the Holy anointing oil mentioned in the bible and other sacred Hebrew texts.