Marijuana, a cannabis strain, has two important components that determine the effect it has on the body. The two components are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – there are other cannabinoids as well, but these are especially important.
Without getting too technical, it is the THC that is responsible for the “high/stoned” feeling accompanied by the use of marijuana. The CBD in essence counteracts the psychoactive effects caused by THC. In addition to counteracting the effects of the THC, the CBD also alleviates inflammatory problems and has “pain-killing” properties. The CBD in marijuana is the main peanut in the pack responsible for the “medical” properties of marijuana. Basically the ratio of CBD to THC determines the potency of marijuana. Hemp is an excellent example of a cannabis cultivar with a low THC, high CBD content.
Hemp is the cannabis cultivar that the “pro-marijuana” News24 readers typically refer to when saying “marijuana” is a valuable commodity both medically and agriculturally. People refer to the superior biological attributes of hemp (“marijuana”) that make it more suitable for various industrial applications in comparison to the commonly used cotton plants or spruce trees. I am certainly not denying the hardened biological traits of hemp – this is where the non-alcoholic beer comparison enters the picture.
I presume all will concur with the fact that non-alcoholic beer is safer to use than alcoholic beer. Non-alcoholic beer is simply normal alcoholic beer that has been distilled to a point where it contains almost no ethanol (alcohol). If the reason for using beer is say to keep people hydrated during a hot day beside a cricket field (note, probably not the Proteas playing, because then I would justify the use of pure heroin) then non-alcoholic beer would suffice. For those that do not know, ethanol has a dehydrating effect because it causes excessive urination (again something probably not that bad when Proteas stuff up). Alcohol has the added effect of causing one to become intoxicated upon excessive consumption; that is not a good thing in public places. The best option is to stick with non-alcoholic beer.
What this analogy means is that although alcohol may be deemed a more potent drug than marijuana with a high THC content, the contrary cannot be stated for non-alcoholic beer and high CBD content marijuana. The playing field becomes equal.
There seems to be no justification for using high content THC marijuana, except for getting plain stupidly “stoned” (same goes for alcohol except when Proteas choke). The conclusion that one can draw is that the pro-marijuana people have an ulterior motive for supporting the legalisation of “marijuana” – or maybe they haven’t realized that they should rather use the word “hemp” or say “marijuana with a low THC content” when referring to agricultural or medical related topics.
“Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.”
C. Montgomery Burns
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