Top 5 Mind-Blowing Facts About Marijuana

There’s evidence from Asia that humans have been using cannabis in one form or another for at least 8000 years. It seems it was first used for its fibres in the creation of ropes and clothing, and thousands of years later, in the very first paper. Legendary Chinese emperor Shennong is said to have recorded its medicinal use in the twenty eighth century BC, though no copies of his text have survived. Its use was prescribed in ancient Egyptian and ancient Persian texts. . Most ancient marijuana use seems to have been functional or medicinal, but Ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote of recreational use of the plant.

While outright legalization seems to be gaining momentum in North America, one alternative could be something like the decriminalization of all narcotics that Portugal implemented in 2001. While distributing and using drugs is still not legal, possessing a small amount of pot will not send you jail. Instead, you’d have to go to a dissuasion commission where they would educate you on the effects of drug use, and if needed, offer you addiction treatment. That’s right, weed addiction; despite many users who claim the opposite, scientific consensus seems to be that regular marijuana use can create a dependence syndrome, especially in teenagers.

As more and more peer-reviewed research on medicinal marijuana gets published, the opinions of doctors are steadily changing. According to a recent poll, 68% of US physicians support legalizing cannabis. Some high profile doctors, including CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and TV’s Dr. Oz have reversed their opposition to the plant. Even US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy seems open to use medical use. However, some groups, like the Canadian Medical Association specifically oppose smoking any plant material, including marijuana. Meanwhile, some British medical associations have been calling for legalization for at least 16 years, and it’s already being given to patients in Israeli hospitals.

THC is the main psychoactive component of marijuana– it’s the molecule that gets you high. It has been proven to have other more medically useful effects though, like reducing tumour growth in cancer patients. Recently, British researchers announced they are close to figuring out how to get the good effects while blocking its memory loss, paranoia, and dependence. Granted plenty of people enjoy some of the “medically unwanted side-effects.”

In the US, where a few states have legalized marijuana production and even more permit its growth for medical use, researchers and officials are ringing alarms about this new industry’s environmental impacts. Turns out it’s a very energy intensive crop, due largely to the fact that most of it is grown indoors. That takes electricity for not just the plants’ light, but machines to circulate air, control humidity, preheat irrigation water, dry the final product, and more. All that energy creation produces a carbon dioxide output equal to 3 million average U.S. cars every year. Ironically, one of the most effective things at sequestering carbon is marijuana and its non-psychoactive cousin hemp, especially in building products like Hempcrete.

So, what do you think? Do the dangers of weed outweigh its benefits? For more mind-altering Top 10s and skunky Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.