DEFINITIONS HALLUCINOGENIC DRUGS, SYNTHETIC DRUGS DRUGS AND THE WAR AGAINST THEM DRUG CLASSIFICATION DRUGGING DRUG TAKING ROUTES A LITTLE HISTORY CANNABIS SATIVA (HEMP) OPIATES COCAIN AMPHETAMINES AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES HALLUCINOGENS BENZODIAZEPINAT – BZD NEW PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

CANNABIS SATIVA (HEMP)

HISTORY

Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) is one of the first plants to be used by humans, dating back to the Neolithic period, probably in Asia.

The oldest known written text about the use of cannabis comes from the period of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, in the year 2727 BC. The ancient text Pen Tsao in China mentions that various narcotic plants, including cannabis, were known to a certain circle of people who used them, mainly for a specific and short time, to relieve some distress and to transition from the real world to the world of imagination. The most common reasons for this were various difficulties, diseases, fears, etc.

The use of this plant as a drug with psychoactive properties is documented by archaeological findings in prehistoric societies in Euro-Asia and Africa.

The Yanghai Tombs (a large ancient cemetery, 54,000 m2) located in the Turfan neighborhood of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, have revealed the 2700-year-old grave of a shaman. He is thought to have belonged to the Jushi culture, recorded in the period of centuries later in Hanshu.

Near the shaman's head and foot a large leather basket and a wooden bowl filled with 789 grams of cannabis, excellently preserved by the climatic and burial conditions, were found. An international team showed that this material contained tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis. Apparently, this culture utilized cannabis as a medicinal or psychoactive agent, or as an aid for predicting the future.

This is the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent.

The settlements, dating back to the period 2200 - 1700 BC, in Bactria and Margiana, contain structures built for rituals, with rooms containing everything needed to process drinks with extracts from poppy (opium), from cannabis, and from ephedra (which contains ephedrine).

Meanwhile, although there is no evidence of the use of ephedra among the steppe tribes, there are traces indicating that these tribes used cannabis for cultic (worship) reasons. At least since the third millennium BC and later, this practice is found from Romania, in the east, to the Yenisei River, in the west. Its use has been encountered in the cannabis smoking apparatus found in Pazyryk.

Cannabis is mentioned in the Hindu Vedas texts, in the years 2000 and 1400 BC, in Atharvaveda. By the 10th century, it was suggested, as referred by some in India, as "food of the gods". Eventually, cannabis became a ritual part of the Hindu festival of Holi.

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In Buddhism, cannabis is generally considered an intoxicant, which could be a hindrance to the development of thought and clear consciousness.

In ancient Germanic culture, cannabis is associated with the Scandinavian goddess of love, Freya.

The classical Greeks and Romans used cannabis very early on.

In the Middle East, the use of cannabis spread through the Islamic empire from North Africa.

Some translators say that an anointing oil mentioned in “Exodus” contained cannabis. “Exodus” is the second book of the Hebrew Bible, recounting the departure of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, their journey through the Red Sea and through the wilderness, led by Moses, as well as the Ten Commandments. The events are dated between 1580 and 1200 BC, variously by scholars.

Herodotus, an important Greek historian of the 5th century BC, describes how the Scythians of the Middle East used hemp (cannabis) in steam baths.

The Sufis have used cannabis in a spiritual context since the 13th century.

In modern times, the Rastafari movement has embraced cannabis as a sacrament (holy thing). The wise men of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, a religious movement founded in the United States in 1975, consider cannabis as the Eucharist, claiming it as an oral tradition from Ethiopia, dating back to the time of Christ. (Note: This church has no connection with other churches of Ethiopia or other Coptic churches.)

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Just like the Rastafari movement, some modern Christian gnostic sects have claimed that cannabis is the “Tree of Life”.

Other religious currents founded in the 20th century that treat cannabis as a sacrament include the THC Ministry, The Way of Infinite Harmony, Cantheism, Cannabis Assembly, and the Church of Cognizance (responsibility). Rastafarians tend to be among the largest consumers of modern use of cannabis.

Hemp fibers served to make clothing in China 600 years before the New Era, and in Europe, during the Middle Ages. Western royal garments were often made from a mix of hemp and linen.

In 1545, cannabis spread to the Western Hemisphere when the Spaniards imported it to Chile for the plant's use for fiber.

In North America, cannabis, in the form of hemp, was cultivated for use in ropes, clothing, and paper.

The first Bible printed by Gutenberg was on hemp paper. Hemp paper was used until the 19th century.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Europe, hemp fibers were replaced by bamboo, originating from the USA.

Gradually, hemp cultivation was either banned or subjected to strict regulations during the 20th century due to its psychotropic properties.

In 1937, the USA outlawed the cultivation of hemp (cannabis) due to possible reasons related to racism and/or industrial economic interests.

In the 2000s, a large number of states have outlawed the cultivation, consumption, and trade of hemp, with penalties ranging from the lightest to imprisonment.

Hemp is known for its multiple uses, such as: for fabrics, for construction, for cosmetics, for sound and thermal insulation, for the production of oils, for ropes, for coatings, for use in the form of fuel, for the paper industry, for human food, for animal feed, as biofuel, for medicinal use, for recreational use or as a component material in combination with plastics.

Hemp is experiencing a resurgence of interest with the rise in oil prices and increased environmental awareness. European countries and local communities in these countries thus tend to favor a new culture of hemp.

THE PLANT

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), also known under its Latin name cannabis, is a type of annual plant of the Cannabaceae family.

The Cannabis sativa L. plant is divided into a large number of subspecies. This division is discussed by botanists; some of them do not consider the differences between subspecies as sufficient indicators to justify the division.

Cannabis enthusiasts recognize three distinguishable types, based on factors such as: morphology, natural range, aroma, and subjective psychoactive characteristics.

Male Plant

Female Plant

We can, more or less, distinguish four well-defined phenotypes:

Subspecies Sativa

SUBSPECIES SATIVA

INDICA SUBSPECIES

SPONTANEA SUBSPECIES

KAFIRISTANICA SUBSPECIES

CANNABINOIDS IN PLANTS

More than sixty cannabinoids are known in various hemp cultivars. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive substance, cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN) are the most widespread.

The biosynthesis of cannabinoids occurs in specialized glands, present in all aerial parts of the plant. The development of these glands begins with the formation of branches.

The factors that regulate the production of cannabinoids are only partially known. Although it has been proven that the environmental aspect significantly increases the amount of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Haney and Kutscheid, 1973; Coffman and Gentner, 1975), there exists a more general theory that accepts that quantitative aspects are influenced by environmental factors (Fairbairn and Liebmann, 1974; Latta and Eaton, 1975).

Cannabinoids play the role of a protective agent, against drying, parasites, UV-B rays, and microbes.

A marijuana bud showing its THC-rich glands (trichomes)

GENERAL CONCEPTS

Cannabis can come in many forms:

marijuana

Moroccan "Skuff", taken from the Pollinator

WAYS OF CONSUMPTION

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Marijuana, also called tamias, daube, pot, weed, marie-jeanne, herbe or zamal (in Reunion Island), rolled into a joint, which is called splif, zdar, canne, blaz, wize, stick, bat, batos, buzz, pillon, pétard, bédo, gringo, roach, boulon, chon, robert, cone, sdax or even chichon, poteau, tra, jazz, tige or even teuteu. Marijuana consists of dried flowers of cannabis or leaves, but the leaves are not of good quality, they are called “trash” (in French feuillasse or paille). These are dried, finely ground, then smoked as is, or mixed with tobacco. Marijuana is sometimes mixed in sweets or in drinks. The THC content varies from 0.1% to 30%, according to the origin and the way of preparation.

Hashish or hash, also called shit (in France), is made with the resin of the hemp that fills the flowers and leaves at the top of the plant. The resin is shaken, pressed into blocks, and is generally smoked. Hashish is mixed with tobacco in the form of a cigarette or with a pipe.

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Sometimes some users mix hashish with food or drinks.

The effects of hashish are much more powerful than those of marijuana: the THC content in hashish varies from 10% to 30%.

Cannabis Oil is a product that is produced with the help of solvents, extracting whatever possible from the plant and obtaining a THC concentrate (sometimes 80%). This oil, which is smoked mixed in tobacco, is dangerous due to its high concentration level. This oil is not widely spread.

TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), or Δ1-THC (used in the old chemical nomenclature), or dronabinol, abbreviated as THC, is the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has psychotropic properties.

THC was isolated in 1964 by Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni of the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel.

In its pure form, it is a crystalline solid when cooled and becomes viscous and sticky when heated.

From a medical perspective, THC appears to have analgesic effects. THC allows the reduction in size of cancerous tumors (autophagy).

2-dimensional chemical structure of THC

3-dimensional chemical structure of THC

A delicate molecule discovered by Dr. C. Piller, thermally unstable and oxidizable, that easily isomerizes into Δ8-THC (slightly less active), or transforms into cannabinol (CBN, with very low activity) or cannabidiol (CBD, inactive).

As an aromatic terpenoid, THC has a very low water solubility, but good solubility in most organic solvents such as ethanol, acetone, or hexane.

THC is a highly liposoluble (fat-soluble) molecule, which explains its rapid crossing of the blood-brain barrier and, consequently, its almost immediate effect when consumed by smoking. This liposoluble aspect causes the molecule to accumulate in fats, explaining two phenomena: the fact that it stays present for a very long time in the body and the fact that during dieting some people describe cannabic effects.

Light THC serves to moderate analgesic effects and cannabis can be used to treat pain. The mechanism for the analgesic effects caused directly by THC or other cannabinoid stimuli is not fully understood. Other effects include relaxation (calmness), euphoria, altered space-time perception, alteration of visual, auditory, and olfactory (smelling) sensations, anxiety, disorientation, fatigue, and stimulation of appetite (popularly called "the munchies").

There is a synthetic form of THC such as Marinol, Savitex or analogs (similar molecules) like Nabilon. These pharmaceutical products are generally not psychoactive or are slightly so.

Scientific researchers aiming to isolate the psychoactive properties have led to the discovery of analogs sometimes 100 to 1000 times more active than natural THC (the famous THC-V, for example).

Since THC oxidizes quickly, storing cannabis in the form of herb requires the need for thorough and careful drying. Resin is more stable in mass where THC is better protected from oxygen and moisture due to its denser structure.

Morocco and Afghanistan/Pakistan are the main suppliers of hashish in Europe.

European production of marijuana remains high, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Cannabis sativa has the highest consumption level in the world.

PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF CANNABIS SATIVA ON THE BODY

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF USE

Studies conducted in both humans and animals show that long-term abuse of marijuana can cause physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms themselves may include nervousness, insomnia, a decrease in appetite, anxiety, and craving for the drug.

Someone who regularly smokes marijuana may have most of the same respiratory problems as those who smoke tobacco, such as: daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, an increased risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency for airway obstruction.

Marijuana smoke can also prompt respiratory tract and lung cancer. Marijuana has the potential to induce lung cancer and other parts of the respiratory tract because marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke.

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