Marijuana

For the last few years, there has been much media hype about Cannabis. There have been

talks about medical Marijuana, allowing farmers to use low THC types of marijuana for

hemp, and completely legalizing Marijuana. The fiery debates have been brought to my

attention by the media just recently. Being a teenager myself, I have become quite

interested in Marijuana. Although most of my friends have tried Marijuana, and Marijuana

is quite easily available where I lived in California, I have never tried it myself. I

remember the time when my friend, Jeremy, was selling Marijuana right out of his locker.

It was last year during PE, and I distinctly remember it. When I realized what he was

doing, I asked if I could look at the Marijuana because I had never seen any before. When

he showed it to me, it was not what I had expected. It was in a little plastic bag,

called a dime (10 dollars worth), and was a sticky darkish brown with little red hairs.

The street name for this sub-specie of Cannabis was Skunk.

, I know

quite a lot about marijuana. I know that there are male and female marijuana plants and

that the female marijuana plants are more prized for their higher THC content. I also

know that there is a different species of Cannabis other then Cannabis Sativa. One

popular one is Cannabis Indica. I also know of the street name of the many sub species of

Marijuana: Northern Lights, Super Skunk, Orange Bud, Durban, and literally 20 more. I

know the physical dangers of using Marijuana (unfortunately from a biased point of view -

a teenager's), and I know that Marijuana is prohibited.

Ever since then, I have wanted to learn more about Cannabis. I have many questions about

it. What is the classification for Cannabis? What are they different types of Cannabis?

Where does Cannabis grow and what is the history of Cannabis? What type of plant is

Cannabis? What are the uses of Cannabis? Although I have many questions, I will attempt

to accurately answers all of them as well as I can in this I-search

Physical Aspects

Before I can research about the uses, benefits, harms, or any other aspects of Cannabis,

I have to research the physical aspects of the plant. In order to find out specific

information knowing only the name Cannabis sativa, I looked in Chinese herb books,

botanical books and in encyclopedias. I found out quite a lot of good information, but

unfortunately, not as through as I was hoping for.

Cannabis is botanically classified as a member of the family Cannabaceae and the genus

Cannabis. There are 3 known species of Cannabis: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and

Cannabis ruderalis. I had never heard of Cannabis ruderalis before, and it was sort of a

shock when I discovered it. I went ahead and found specific information about each

species.

Cannabis sativa is a tall plant, generally between 8 and 12 feet. The leaves have long

thin fingers and are light green. The more equatorial varieties have more yellow pigments

to protect the plant from intense light. Sativa seed pods are long and thin and turn red

as they mature in a warm environment. In cooler environments the buds may be slightly

purple. Sativa plants smell sweet and fruity and the smoke is generally quite mild. It is

a source of fiber for rope and other products and it contains THC, which gives smokers

the psychic effects they seek. The leaves of this plant are smoked but the most highly

prized part of the plant is the top.

Cannabis indica is plentiful in the Mid east, India, and Central Asia especially

Afghanistan, Kashmire, and Pakistan. It is a short plant, generally between 3 and 6 feet,

and its leaves have short broad fingers. The leaves are generally dark green sometimes

tinged with purple. As they near maturity, the leaves may become significantly more

purple. It is a strong smelling plant with a stinky or skunky smell. The smoke of indicas

is generally thick and more prone to cause coughing when inhaled. Indicas are the

traditional source of hashish.

Cannabis ruderalis is a debated third variety of cannabis found in Russia, Poland, and

other eastern European countries. Schultes classified cannabis as having three species:

sativa, indica, and ruderalis based on the formation of the seedpods. There is some

debate as to whether there is justification for this third category. Some features of

ruderalis are large seeds, short weedy plants (4-6 feet tall) and a lower level of THC

than sativas or indicas.

This information I found regarding the different species of Cannabis does not surprise me

in any way, for I already had the basic idea of what a Cannabis plant looked like.

After learning about the physical aspects, I went on to reaserch about the history of the

plant. I went and looked through internet