You heard so many times about cannabis, marijuana, weed, pot, ganja, hashish, grass, Mary Jane, and many other names under which this plant is known. We can safely say that there is no adult who has not inhaled at least once marijuana smoke, leastwise by accident, during a party or some other event. Cannabis has been used since time immemorial for a variety of purposes. Different forms of this plant are also used for making clothes, consumption, but marijuana is still best known for being smoked.
The time when cannabis has been demonized is slowly passing and in more and more places around the globe, it is becoming legal with a tendency to become legal everywhere.
Also, major world organizations, such as the World Health Organization, no longer consider cannabis harmful, but even approve the use of it for therapeutic purposes. Medical marijuana doctors, like GreenHealthDocs in NY, encourage patients to use medical cannabis as an alternative to harmful and addictive painkillers. So you probably think you know all about cannabis, both the different names and the uses, how to grow it, and so on. Still, we bet you have never heard of the following interesting facts about recreational cannabis that we’re going to tell you.
1.Cannabis is getting stronger
We bet you didn’t know cannabis is getting stronger and stronger. It is cultivated in such a way nowadays that it has an increasing percentage of THC, so it is possible that you will feel that you are more “high” than you were over 15 or 20 years ago.
Samples from 2015 and 1995 seized by the DEA were analyzed. The concentration of THC in the samples from 2015 is almost 10% higher than from 1995. This certainly leads to the price rising, because growers offer much more potent cannabis.
2. Even Shakespeare loved cannabis
If you have watched the movie “Nomadland” which won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture, the Golden Globe, the BAFTA for Best Film, and many other awards this year, you could remember how beautiful Shakespeare’s sonnets are. During the film, the main character recites “Sonnet 18” which is one of the best-known sonnets written by the legendary William Shakespeare.
But did you know that maybe the abovementioned “Sonnet 18” was written while Shakespeare was under the influence of marijuana? Anthropologists used a microscope to analyze tobacco pipe fragments belonging to Shakespeare which were found in the Stratford-upon-Avon property. What shocked them was that many fragments were positive for the presence of marijuana, and on some even fragments coca leaves originated from Peru were found. Then people remembered that Shakespeare in “Sonnet 76” mentions “strange compounds.”
This practically confirms to us that Shakespeare uses marijuana and other substances. You may hear the joke “To Puff or not to puff, the question is now” among marijuana lovers as a reference to Shakespeare’s affinity for marijuana.
3. Cannabis has been consumed for thousands of years
Some allegations say cannabis has been consumed for more than 10,000 years because cannabis is one of mankind’s oldest crops. However, it can certainly be said that people have been consuming it for about 3000 thousand years, because traces of cannabis have been found in tombs in China and in those parts of Asia in general. There are even allegations that people intentionally cultivating specific cannabis strains which had higher concentrations of THC. At the time, they certainly could not analyze how much THC marijuana had, but they could determine it by how “high” they were after consumption.
It is easy to acquire cannabis products nowadays and all you have to do is visit some of the retail locations or websites such as skymint.com, which are approved to sell cannabis-derived products for medical and recreational use.
4. Marijuana is all around us
You remember that at the beginning of the article we say that almost every person at least once inhaled weed smoke, even if that person did not do it with the intention of consuming cannabis. Several studies have confirmed this, most recently in Italy when an institute analyzing air pollution tested the air in the largest Italian cities such as Rome, Milan, Naples and many others.
In all the cities where they analyzed the air, they found traces of marijuana smoke floating through the air. Of course, the concentration was low, not enough to get your “high” but that means that everyone who walks the streets inhales a certain dose of cannabis.
Caffeine and nicotine were found to be most prevalent in the air, as expected, with cannabis in third place.
5. Women have a greater tolerance than men for cannabis
Research from renowned universities, such as Washington State University, has shown that females have a much higher tolerance to cannabis than men. And that also with regular consumption they build even greater tolerance faster. Only during ovulation are women more sensitive to marijuana, primarily to the THC compound, but on all other days, women will outperform men. That is a very interesting discovery, which you may have once noticed if you smoked weed together with women and you were more “high” than girls.
6. Beer and cannabis were relatives
You have probably noticed more and more beers containing cannabis on the market. But you certainly didn’t know that a few million years ago beer and cannabis were related, though we don’t know exactly how close. A study published explains how the plant’s cannabis and Humulus were once related. And Humulus is the main ingredient in beer. So the next time you drink beer and consume cannabis, know that they are much more genetically similar than you could have imagined.
7. Chilean miners smoked cannabis
Do you remember the 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the “Chilean mining accident” when a copper-gold mine collapsed and trapped over 30 miners 700 meters underground? They were rescued after 69 days, and after 17 days only the first information confirmed that they were alive, when a paper was found stating that all thirty-three were alive at that moment and incredibly all were rescued.
You can imagine how terrifying it is to spend more than two months trapped in a mine, and to make those days easier for them, people smuggled cannabis to the miners to relax and preserve their sanity.
Conclusion:
Many health benefits of recreational cannabis consumption are also known and that is why it is almost certain that it will be legal everywhere within 20 years. Of course, consumption should be moderate, to avoid side effects.
