Cannabis Without Controversy

Mention cannabis to anyone and it conjures up controversy and opinion in many circles. Cannabis is a herb and therefore classified as a useable and useful natural plant. I am not going to get involved with the politics of cannabis, but just try and cover some of the benefits of the herbs that some many people don’t really know about.

Cannabis is basically a flowering plant and originates from central Asia and surrounding regions. Cannabis is an annual plant with lance-like leaves and up to around 12 serrate leaflets. The top of the flowering plant produces fibre called hemp that is used for medicinal purposes. Cannabis is cultivated in many part so the world for recreational use. But with some countries ignoring their medical benefits outlaw this.

In many areas cannabis grows wild and more of a problem weed and invasive. I know here in Bulgaria it grows wild and other temperate climates countries may also have them. In this environment growing wild they have been know to grow to a height of up to 6 metres, but normally only extending to 30 centimetres in the cooler climates.

Hemp is used for a wide variety of purposes, including clothing and nutritional products and even in bird feed in the seed mixes. Blended with other fibres such as flax, cotton or silk this is then used for furnishings. The tougher fibres of hemp are use for mulch, animal bedding and litter. There is oil produced from the fruits or seeds similar to linseed oil. This is sometimes used in the manufacture of oil-based paints and creams used as a moisturising agent. Also it is used for cooking and in plastic products.

Cannabis used to pain relief is well know, it used to be an ingredient that equated for half the medicine sold in the USA in the 19th Century and even Queen Victoria used it for the relief of period pains. In more recent times, there have been many of scientific tests that have been made on humans with on cannabis, most giving positive results. For example, cannabis can significantly ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Taking the herb, as a mouth spray makes moving and resting less painful, improves sleep quality and eases inflammation. It can also reduce pain and improve the lives of people with multiple sclerosis.

At the end of the day nature has provided a herb that can do lots of positive things for the ill and suffering.