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Welcome to an overview of what Economic Botany has to offer.

It will be a distance learning course this spring 2000, so below are highlights of what I plan

to be doing in the TopClass format

 

LECTURE 13 HIGHLIGHTS FOR BIOLOGY 03074, ECONOMIC BOTANY:

CANNABIS SATIVA

Text: 2nd ed.: Ch. 18 (pp. 296-297), Ch. 20 (pp. 336-339); 1st ed.: Ch. 18 (p. 272), Ch. 20 (pp. 306-309)

possible web site: http://www.calyx.com/~olsen/HEMP/IHA/iha.html

(home page of the International Hemp Association, with journal articles and links)

Marijuana/hemp (Cannabis sativa, Cannabaceae) is an erect annual herb with palmately compound leaves that reaches an adult height of 1 m or more. Cannabis is dioecious (separate male and female plants). To prevent pollination and hence seed set, growers will destroy male plants when they are detected. Throughout history, cannabis has been grown for its resin and its fibers.

The resin produced by glandular hairs mostly in the upper leaves and the bracts around the inflorescences, particularly in the female plants. The plant makes the resin to minimize water loss, and so when grown in hot climates, a lot of resin can be produced.

Bast (phloem) fibers are in the stem of the plants, and of higher quality in unfertilized female plants. Hemp is best grown for fibers under temperate conditions, with lots of rain. The fibers are produced by retting (rotting away non-fiber material). These long fibers, over 8 mm in length, can be readily made into cloth.

So, in summary, grown cannabis for THC vs. hemp requires different growing conditions and different varieties

If the plants are fertilized, then the cannabis seeds (achenes) are rich in protein (25%) with all essential amino acids.

Marijuana is the world's fourth most popular recreational drug behind: 1) caffeine, 2) alcohol, 3) nicotine. Smallest amounts of THC in a joint needed for a high: 5mg (0.5% in a 1 gram joint), lethal dose 100mg/kg if smoked (no fatalities from THC overdose recorded).

THC effects start in 5-15 minutes, maximal effect in 1 hr. THC causes mild euphoria, relaxation, sharpening of senses, increase in pulse rate, decrease in blood pressure, and increase in appetite. Short-term memory and some aspects of motor coordination are also affected under THC influence. 50% of THC is metabolized in 24 hrs, but with fat solubility, inactive metabolites may show up in the urine 2-4 weeks later.

therapeutic uses of marijuana may include:

glaucoma (increased intraocular pressure), possibly through THC effects on the autonomic nervous system.

nausea from cancer chemotherapy, useful for patients who don't respond to other antiemetics.

appetite stimulation in patients with such wasting diseases as AIDS and cancer.

Given the recent initiatives in CA and AZ, there remains debate about the effectiveness of smoked marijuana vs. prescription THC tablets (Marinol).

 

CANNABIS IN WORLDWIDE HISTORY

America: Presidents Washington and Jefferson both lost money raising hemp, as the labor-intensive crop did not recoup costs. During the American Revolution, hemp was important for self-sufficiency as barter material and in making uniforms. The resin aspects of cannabis became more of interest as a possible medicinal product, but Harrison Act of 1914, a major antinarcotics bill, allowed for high taxation of cannabis and other drugs. Early 20th century America very xenophobic/racist, and so Mexican use of marijuana and jazz (African-American) association with cannabis were both viewed negatively. 1930s, Narcotics Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger led a hard-line approach to marijuana to create massive anti-cannabis laws. Middle 1960s-explosion of marijuana use on campus, so that by early 1970s majority of college students at the time had tried it.

  


|main page| |background| |03028: Physiology| |03048: Anatomy|

|03050: Invertebrate Zoology| |03051: Vertebrate Zoology| |03074: Economic Botany|

 


Please send comments and questions to: cronewil@hvcc.edu

 

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Copyright 1999 by Wilson Crone

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This page updated on October 4, 1999