What if there was a plant that had over sixty thousand uses, a plant that would be able to cure some of the deadliest diseases known to mankind, a plant that could replace many of the chemical medicines for problems such as depression, insomnia, a plant that is banned for reasons that do not make sense? That plant is Cannabis. That name itself invokes several thoughts in one's mind. So lets see what are its uses.
There are three species of Cannabis. Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis. All of them can be split. But mostly sativa is used to make hemp. This is where the industrial side of cannabis comes in. Hemp has been used for thousands of years and its usability is unlike anything else. It can be used as oil for cooking and can be converted into fuel. The seeds of these are one of the most nutritious seeds on the planet and supply nearly every mineral and vitamin the body needs. It can also be used for clothing as it needs only half the amount of water required to convert it into fiber when compared to cotton. It can also remove radiation and contamination from water and soil.
Scientists say that Hemp can be converted into bio-diesel after it has been used to remove the radiation and contamination from the soil and water. Although the bio-diesel generated by this is not Eco friendly, the ability for a plant to do this is just amazing. But the two main resources that can be produced by hemp that can have a great impact on our planet and our lives is paper and plastic. Hemp can be used to manufacture paper and is far more efficient and can reduce deforestation to a great extent. But not more than 1% of hemp is being used for paper manufacturing. Hemp can also be made into biodegradable plastic which can be produced with little or no chemicals.
Hemp can be costly and time consuming to produce. But cheaper is not always the best and this can be seen with the non-biodegradable products such as plastics which we use today. Although hemp would be costly, the overall impact it would have on our planet would be justifiable.
The studies related to these have not gone long enough for us to understand its full benefits. Why is it not used? There has been a lot of misconception about this. However there are three separate reasons.
The first would be that in 1929 Harry Anslinger, the head of the department of prohibition in the US was dealing with the backslash of alcohol ban and once this was removed, Harry's department was practically non-functional. So they came up with an idea that cannabis is a devil drug and would turn people into deadly beasts that would attack women. He contacted 30 scientists to show proof of this, but 29 of them showed that there were no such effects and the drug was not dangerous.
The second explanation seems to be linked with the Mexican immigration in the US in early 1900s. When the Mexicans arrived they brought with them this plant to use as a medicine. For the US to have an excuse to search the immigrants, this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. So they labelled it as a dangerous drug. The third reason would be that Hemp can also be used as a nylon alternative. This posed a serious threat to all the big companies that manufacture nylon. So they deemed it as a dangerous drug.
It is only now that doctors and scientists are realizing how powerful it can be. Many say that cannabis has the purpose of providing humans with thousands of uses with very little impact on the planet. But just because it makes you high, they powers that be, has made it into an unusable material with is deemed it not fit for use, not seeing that it is perhaps one of the most incredible materials on our planet.
To finish off, i want to say that i am not a cannabis activist by any means. Even i started realizing its used only after researching more into it for this article.
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