Hemp

Introduction to Hemp

Hemp and cannabis plants have been stigmatised due to the wide spread illegalisation of the plant, classing it as an illegal drug. The THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in the female (cannabis) plant has a psychoactive effect on the brain when smoked or eaten, and there are ongoing debates about whether this is detrimental to one's physical and mental health. 

 

However, what most people don't know about hemp and cannabis is that THC is only one of about 9 main cannaninoids, each with different properties. Even the psychoactice THC is medicinally benificial. It's time that we change our perspective on this plant of multiple uses, and start using it for the betterment of Mother Earth and mankind.

 

Did you know that you have an entire system in your brain called the endocannabinoid system? This is a system that is made up of cannabinoid receptors. This suggests that not only is it safe to use this plant as a food and medicine source, but that it is essential for our bodies. By illegalising cannabis, we have created a taboo around one of the key ingredients to a healthy life and thriving society. The only difference between a hemp plant and a cannabis is the differing levels of each cannabinoid, which vary throughout all strains of hemp and cannabis.

 

The only explainable reason for the illegalisation of hemp is that its vast multitude of uses and properties that it offers poses a threat to the industries that regulate and dominate our economy, such as the pharmaceutical and oil companies. The psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant have since been held responsible for this illegalisation, regardless of the fact that there has been no single death recorded caused by the use of this plant. Legal drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and many prescription drugs have caused uncountable cases of illness and death, yet are deemed safe enough to be used and encouraged as vital parts of our society.

 

One of the most supressed facts about hemp/cannabis, is the ability it has to cure diseases and illnesses that are regarded as 'incurable' by western medicine. This is something that needs to change. There have been hundreds of accounts of self-medication of dideases such as cancer against the advice of medical professionals- more often than not, these patients are able to rid themselves of their disease by taking their health into their own hands. See examples of such cases on the Medicinal Hemp page.