The use of cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes has been around for centuries.
However, the war on drugs created an atmosphere of fear and misinformation regarding cannabis. Making it difficult to continue researching its many benefits.
Today, we are slowly realizing that cannabis is not an evil drug but a plant with an abundance of benefits both medically and for other reasons.
Two-thirds of adults now support cannabis for legalization.
No matter the legal status, cannabis has proven valuable in all walks of life and has led to some interesting findings.
The following information will provide you with some surprising facts about cannabis that are not widely known.
Interesting Cannabis Facts
Fact #1 Shakespeare smoked cannabis.
It’s unclear if cannabis is the cause for Shakespeare’s creativity but it has been proven that he smoked it. Research was performed on pipes he used that were preserved after his death.
“Analyzing the chemical residue of Shakespere’s pipes, discovered cannabis residue. A sophisticated technique called gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) was used. The pipe bowls and stems had been obtained by Thackeray on loan from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon. Several of the pipes had been excavated from the garden of William Shakespeare. Results of this study (including 24 pipe fragments) indicated Cannabis in eight samples.”
Fact #2 Cannabis was once used to treat asthma.
In the 1900s cannabis was used to treat asthma and bronchitis in South Asia. As most people know, smoking in general is not recommended for someone who is suffering a respiratory problem. However, our ancestors might have been on to something. A study in the 1970s showed that cannabis smoke caused bronchodilation (opening of the airways) instead of contraction.
Fact #3 The US government acknowledged cannabis’s potential as a neuroprotectant and had a patent on CBD.
The US Division of Health and Human Services recognized the potential for cannabis to be used as a neuroprotectant and decided to obtain a patent on April 21, 1998:
“Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This newfound property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of a wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”
Fact #4 The government tried to use THC as a truth serum.
In 1940, during World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) tried to use THC acetate along with a variety of other substances to test their effects on unsuspecting victims, including war prisoners. The study found that cannabis was a good relaxing agent, but it was not effective as a truth serum.
Fact #5 Weed Tolerance is different depending on your gender.
A study showed that females build a tolerance to cannabis much more easily than males. When starting at a lower dose than a male, females can develop a higher tolerance faster than males making it possible that females can outpace males in tolerance and consumption.
Fact #6 Cannabis has the potential to kill cancer cells.
A 2016 study discussed the evidence showing that cannabinoids can reduce cancerous tumor growth.
Fact #7 People have been sentenced to life in prison for marijuana possession.
Around 40,000 Americans are currently incarcerated for marijuana offenses. Of that 40,000 are people that will never see life on the outside because they have been sentenced to life in prison for possession of marijuana.
John McDonald is one of those people who is currently serving 60 years in prison for marijuana possession. Click here to read more of his story.
Fact #8 Cannabis seeds will survive the apocalypse
Our world has a global seed vault called Svalbard Global Seed Vault which is located deep inside a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It’s a long-term seed storage facility that carries seeds of important plants from around the world in case of a future doomsday event.
In this vault of important plants there are more than 21,500 cannabis seeds from at least 17 different countries.
Fact #9 Mary Jane was a real person.
Mary Jane Rathburn, also known as Brownie Mary, was an American medical cannabis rights activist and took it upon herself to help patients suffering from AIDS in the 1980s by providing them with brownies infused with marijuana.
Fact #10 Cannabis can absorb radiation.
After the nuclear fallout from Chernobyl in 1986 scientists were tasked with finding ways to deal with the radioactive waste all over Eastern Europe. Scientists planted cannabis plants around the area and found that the cannabis removed the hazardous chemicals from the soil through phytoremediation at a better rate then other plants.
Legal or illegal, medicinal, or recreational no one can deny that the cannabis plant has had a very interesting history and will continue to do so for eons to come.
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