A Race

Plant between
truth and
: power ?
Yatin
Shashan
k
Shekhar
Deepch
ad
Ravi
Cannabi
s produced from the
Drug
Cannabis sativa (commonly
known as hemp) or Cannabis
indica.Common names - bhang,
hasish, hash, marijuana,
charas, ganja. Also referred to
as pot, grass, weed, hash. Has
nearly 200 other names, believed
to have originated in India
(Central & south Asia) Key
ingredient in cannabis is
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Hemp is a commonly used term
for varieties of the Cannabis
plant and its products, which
include fiber, oil, and seed. Hemp
is used for industrial purposes
Cannabis is often consumed for
its psychoactive and
physiological effects, which can
include heightened mood or
euphoria, relaxation, and
increase in appetite. Unwanted
side-effects can sometimes
include a decrease in short-term
memory, dry mouth, impaired
motor skills, reddening of the
eyes, and feelings of paranoia or
anxiety.

Cannabis can be consumed in

many ways like smoking ,
vaporizer , cannabis tea or
edibles
 HISTORY

Cannabis has been used as an agent

for achieving euphoria since ancient
times; it was described in a Chinese
medical reference traditionally
considered to date from 2737 B.C. Its
use spread from China to India and
then to N Africa and reached Europe
at least as early as A.D. 500.
Cannabis is also known to have been
used by the ancient Hindus of India
and Nepal thousands of years ago.
The herb was called ganjika in
Sanskrit.
In 2003, a leather basket filled with
cannabis leaf fragments and seeds
was found next to a 2,500- to 2,800-
year-old mummified shaman in the
northwestern Region of China.
 Cannabis history
in India

Cannabis has been an essential

part of Indian spirituality for
centuries. The long and varied
history of marijuana use dates
back to 1500 BC.
The ancient document,
Artharvaveda describes how
the god Shiva brought
cannabis down from the
Himalayas for his peoples' use
and enjoyment. Shiva is known
as the "Lord of Bhang" and to
this day, his devotees engage in
pot to attain the spiritual
As mentioned in Atharvveda :
Shiva wandered into the fields
after a family tiff. Drained, he fell
asleep under a leafy plant. After
waking up, he sampled the plant's
leaves. Rejuvenated, he made it
his favorite food.

In the middle ages : Soldiers

often drank bhang before
entering battle, just as
Westerners took a swig of whisky.

In the mid-1950s : Government

concluded , workers use bhang
to feel refreshed at the end of the
day.
 How it became illegal

In beginning of 19th century U.S. government was working on the

problem of increase in use of hard drugs like cocaine , smack etc in
the country.
Near 1910 various federal laws started to be framed against the
possession, growing , consumption of these drugs

To the surprise of everybody cannabis was also

included in the banned drugs list.

As cannabis was a way of life for the people in

U.S.A. it was not easy for the government to
completely ban cannabis.
In 1920-30s government opted for yellow journalism techniques
through media.

Yellow journalism is a way of journalism where stories

with catchy headlines are put into the mainstream media
to get attention, yet these stories are not well
researched or backed up.
They created various advertisements where they
referred cannabis as a deadly drug. They called
it a devils drug and related it with murders ,
rapist etc.

Next came several films like Reefer

Madness (1936), Marihuana:
Assassin of Youth (1935) and
Marihuana: The Devils Weed (1936)
which were all propaganda films
designed to create an enemy out of
cannabis.
These movies has Acts of shocking
violence Incurable insanity Soul-
destroying effects Committing crimes
Under the influence of the drug.

With all of these films, the goal was to

gain public support so that anti-
marijuana laws could be passed
without objection.
 Illegal in India

The 1961 "single convention on narcotic drugs"

was the first ever international treaty to have
clubbed cannabis (or marijuana) with hard drugs
and imposed a ban on their production.

The dominant view on cannabis in the UN

deliberations leading to the 1961 treaty led
Rajiv Gandhi government came up with a law in
1985 conforming to the 1961 treaty : the
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances Act
(NDPS).
According to this law cultivating,
possession , consuming , transporting
drugs were illegal which included
cannabis.
 Why illegal?

It is unhealthy

Addictive

It has "no accepted

medical use."
"gateway
drug"
 Facts and benefits
In 10,000 years of known use of
cannabis, there's never been a single
death attributed to marijuana.

It cannot lead to a fatal overdose as you need to

consume 1500 pounds in 15 minutes for it to be
fatal.

Those addicted to alcohol face a

greater risk than marijuana users."

Cannabis has least or no withdrawal symptoms

About 200 different medical

conditions respond favorably to
cannabis as supported by various
research projects
10 of the most notable diseases that
marijuana has been proven to help are
Alzheimer's disease Migraines Epilepsy
Arthritis Depression Anxiety Hepatitis
C Cancer, HIV/AIDS and
chemotherapy
Cannabis are ranked least addictive among the
other 6 addictive substances (cannabis, caffeine,
cocaine, alcohol, heroin and nicotine) with caffeine
the second least addictive and nicotine the most.

Various studies from 1999 to 2010

showed no links between cannabis
and use of other hard drugs

Cannabinoids can prevent cancer,

reduce heart attacks by 30% and
insulin dependent diabetes by 58%.
 Why Illegal?

A different view
Pharmaceuticals is a business, and
legalizing marijuana would mean
losing hundreds of billions of dollars
to a single, naturally occurring plant
that anyone could grow in their
backyard.

The same goes for the hundreds of

businesses in the paper and fabric
industries that would lose profits to
hemp substitutes
 Problems faced due to cannabis being illegal

Gave rise to black marketing

Helped in introducing hard drugs like

coak,smak heroine.

patients suffering from host of diseases such as AIDS, cancer,

depression, Alzheimer's can't get benefit of marijuana because it's illegal
dr sanjay gupta
an Indian American neurosurgeon an assistant professor of
neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine chief
reporter of cnn 2 time emmy award winning correspondent His
books Chasing Life and Cheating Death were New York Times
and national bestsellers served in white house in 1997-98 as
advisor to Hillary Clinton n January2011, he was named "one of
the 10most influential celebrities" by Forbes magazine

dr sanjay guptas weed

in 2009 dr sanjay gupta wrote an

article in times magazine titled "
Why I would Vote No on Pot."

Documentary weed released on 16-8-13

 Conclusion

Possession of cannabis is still illegal in

most countries

Few countries have decriminalized

the possession of small quantities of
cannabis, particularly in
North America, South America and
Europe.

The medicinal use of cannabis is legal

in a number of countries, including
Canada, the Czech Republic and
Israel

possession is legal or effectively legal

in the Netherlands, North Korea
 to be legalized soon in uruguay as bill
have passed

decriminalized in india. Hardly any

research work carried out in field of
cannabis
lized in 19 states for medical uses and legalized in 4 states for recreational uses