First off – the plant grows on either side of the majestic mountains called Himalayas. The Chinese have made a multi-billion dollar industry out of the plant.
And on this side of the hill there’s confusion if this is a good plant or a bad plant.
Cannabaceae is the parent family – and from a scientific study point of view the family circumvents over 170 plants.
Is Cannabis good or bad ?
Consuming cannabis is good or bad – it’s up to an individual to decide.
Now that many governments around the world think it’s safe to consume cannabis recreationally – I feel celebration with this is better than alcohol at all levels.
From a pharmaceutical point of view – this plant is the go-to plant for almost all drug manufacturers.
What is the difference between HEMP and CANNABIS ?
Hemp is a plant that carries almost no cannabinoids. It is grown for fiber and seeds are used as food.
Cannabis must have either Sativa, Ruderalis or Indica added after it to make scientific sense.
In regular day lingo – cannabis refers to a plant that will get you high if you smoke or eat it.
Does hempseed carry psychoactive material?
Evolutionarily – the plant doesn’t (need to) store any psychoactive material in its seed.
The psychoactive material is accumulated on a mucus* like substance that the females generate when they are ready.
(Actually sexually deprived is more like it. I’ll tell you more about this in person – meet me at the farmer’s market in Bandra on any sunday)
At the seed stage – this plant is just a nutrient bank.
What is CBD oil ?
CBD is one of many cannabinoids that are found in naturally growing plants. Carrots, Broccoli and almost every spice and herb has cannabinoids in them.
The stems, stalks, leaves and flowers of this plant will carry cannabinoids like CBD, THC etc.
In short – CBD oil will carry psychoactive components. None of them are harmful in small quantities – but their abuse can be.
Hemp oil, CBD oil, Hemp leaf Extract, Full spectrum, Broad Spectrum – these are all phrases to describe a product that has psychoactive material – and should ideally be consumed under a prescription so a dosage is monitored.
What benefits can I expect from the oils from this plant ?
Psychoactive components in the oil (hemp oil) have shown excellent results with various neurological disorders.
The nutrient rich seed oil carries a unique and valuable ratio of omegas which are not found anywhere else on the planet. The seed oil also has all the nutrients and a host of valuable stuff like zinc, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron. It’s called a whole meal all over the world.
Is HEMP a plant or not ?
I haven’t been able to establish yet if the original plant still exists or not – but the word hemp meant fiber.
This plant’s fiber was topping all records – vikings made ships with this. So this plant came to be called hemp. George Washington used to grow this in Vermont and frequently wrote letters to his farmers asking them to sow the seeds of ‘India hemp’ – as it was called by him.
If you’re wondering why ‘India’ – you are guessing right.
In 1957 the last hemp farm was shut down in America. And in 2018 the plant is recognized as an agricultural crop by their government.
What I have come to understand from my network with Hemp farmers in America – the current hemp version is a genetically modified crop that carries almost no cannabinoids, is harvest ready in 4 months and yields fiber that is 6 times stronger than steel.
Homes in New Zealand are being made from a composite called hempcrete. We are extracting ethanol from this. Plastics in the semiconductor industry have found a 100% biodegradable alternative.
Hemp was a word in English, then became a plant, then became an outlaw, then became a category, and is now again a plant.
The plant can suck out radioactive elements from the soil – and if we love it we may actually be able to save our planet from the plastic destruction we have unleashed upon it.
What about Sativa and Indica and Ruderalis?
These are different varieties of the mother plant and have differences in shapes, sizes, and even the amount of the mucus the females can generate.
*Mucus – these are terpenes – they are secretions that are sticky to touch. They create aroma and many plants will secrete them as part of their reproduction cycles or otherwise. Lavender is one such terpene.
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