The Cannabis plant or Cannabaceae sensu lato plant is able to grow in diverse environments, can be produced quickly and has a variety of uses. The female version of this plant is called Marijuana and has the active ingredients that are used used in medicines and also for recreational purposes. The male version of the plant is called Hemp and even though it does not contain the same active ingredients of his female counterpart it has many uses. It is one of the strongest naturally occurring fibers and was once considered for use as cabling for suspension bridges. One acre of mature Hemp can be grown in 12-16 weeks and can produce the same amount of paper that requires four acres of paper grade trees.
Hemp is also nutritionally rich and as such is used as a dairy/soy milk alternative. Hempseed oil is made from pressing hemp seeds which contain a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids, which matches the balance required by the human body. Its oil can be extracted and used as a cooking oil amongst other types of oil. Industrial hempseed oil is used in lubricants, paints, inks, fuel, and plastics. Refined hempseed oil is primarily used in body care products like soaps, shampoos and detergents. Hempseed oil has also found some limited use in the production of varnishes and wood resins.
Marijuana also has many uses but it is widely used and accepted as a medicine. It can be smoked or ingested to get its medicinal properties. There are several active ingredients that are naturally only found in Marijuana. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are the two most abundant active ingredients used primarily for their medicinal attributes. These components will interact with the patients chemistry in respectively different ways because generally the chemical make-up of everyone will differ slightly from each other. However subtle the chemical variances in humans are, the affects of Marijuana will be based on primarily on the type of Marijuana the patient is using.
Just like when we go to the store to buy an apple there are so many options... it may even get overwhelming with all of the different types of apples. Just like apples, there are many different types of Marijuana called strains. The many different strains of Marijuana can all be classified into three families and a lineage of each. The the ratio of Marijuana's ingredients or components differ in these three families. The three putative varieties are called Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica
and Cannabis ruderalis. However only two are used commonly, mainly for the abundance of their active ingredients. These are commonly called simply Indica and Sativa. The percentage of Marijuana's active ingredients vary in these two families and the different strains available will have a specific ratio of these active ingredients. The third lesser known lineage is commonly called Ruderalis and is known to have lower levels of these active ingredients. It is primarily used when cross breeding more potent and genetically diverse strains mainly because of its hardiness, flowering and size attributes.
Diversity is key. Finding the right set of strains will provide the patient with the appropriate diversity so that the patient can receive all of its medicinal benefits. This will ensure that the patient can experience all that Marijuana has to offer and that it will interact with their chemistry appropriately. The mistake most people who use Marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes make is to assume that the higher the THC content the better and this actually may cause the patient to experience undesirable side effects. Although these effects are minor they are nothing compared to the popular name brand Pharma and almost comical laundry list of life threatening side affects we see on TV or in advertisements. In contrast to this, the adverse side effects you may get with marijuana include acute paranoia, dry mouth and blurred vision. These side affects usually mean that the particular strain of marijuana the patient is using may not be the right one for their specific body chemistry, simply choosing a different strain should eliminate said effects.
-gingamann