Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. sativa, C. indica and C. ruderalis.
Known for their distinctive fat leaves and short flowering cycles, Indica cannabis plants are also relatively small in stature, often growing under six feet tall.
Sativa cannabis plants have thinner leaves and longer flowering cycles than their indica counterparts. They’re also taller: Some sativas can grow upwards of 25 feet, though most stay under 12 feet tall.
Hybrid strains contain a mix of Sativa and Indica genetics and, depending on their lineage, can take on characteristics from both strain families. Hybrid varieties are developed to intensify specific characteristics of the plant, or to differentiate the strain for the purposes of marketing or to make it more effective as a drug. Variety names are typically chosen by their growers, and often reflect properties of the plant such as taste, color, smell, or the origin of the variety.
There is a really informative and easy to understand video that explains the basic strains of cannabis.
Though as a layman, people come across many varieties, those come into existence by mixing and breeding the plant with different breeds of plants to create a prototype that includes the THC of cannabis and the dominant features of other plants.
All these processes is like a normal process of plant breeding, similar to breeding done for food crops to make them better.
The most famous example is how watermelon in ancient times was not an edible fruit but over time, with the process of cross breeding, become of the most liked fruits of all time!
Bet a lot of you did not know about the watermelon fact, the same way people aren’t aware about the basic facts of cannabis and its sister plants.
As cannabis prohibition begins to relax in certain areas of the world, the herb is starting to re-enter the medical spheres it once populated before falling victim to political smear campaigns.
How do cannabis strains deal with the chemical drug problem?
First of all, we need to identify chemical drugs. Chemical drugs can be both medicinal drugs/prescripton drugs and they can be synthetic drugs which are mostly illegal to consume and harmful for your health. Though synthetic drugs like heroin, ecstasy etc are already infamous, the issue of medicinal drugs is rooted deeper and many are not aware of the current situation.
Medicinal drugs, since chemically produced are not natural and organic and might harm one’s body. Individuals can also be addicted to medicinal drugs due to over dosage or dependency.
In the market, there are even over the counter prescription drugs that have questionable chemicals in them that harm the individual’s health and many times, this goes unchecked.
On 14 September, India’s health ministry banned the sale and distribution of 328 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs, with immediate effect. The government asserts that there is no therapeutic justification for these cocktail medicines, and that their consumption could involve risk to human health. Off the bat of this, it is imperative that people are able to educate themselves regarding the substitutes of such chemically produced medicines that do harm the health of an individual.
These concerns have existed for quite some time in the medical society and have been asked by authorities who care for the well being of humans and don’t want to be ignorant about their bodies and health.
Medicinal Marijuana, derived from specific cannabis strains have been considered to be great substitutes for mainstream medicine and they are more organic and have almost no side effects if consumed in monitored doses.
Cannabis has been used for years as a treatment for a variety of medical conditions, including pain and nausea resulting from cancer treatment and other illnesses. Substitution is operationalised as a conscious choice made by users to use one drug instead of, or in conjunction with another based on: perceived safety, level of addiction potential, effectiveness in relieving symptoms, access and level of acceptance.
Harm reduction is a set of strategies that aim to minimize problems associated with drug use while recognizing that for some users, abstinence may be neither a realistic nor a desirable goal.
The drug is made from a compound in the marijuana plant called Cannabidiol, a different chemical from tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which gives marijuana its euphoric effect.
One of the primary uses of medical marijuana is for pain control. Cancer patients in treatment with chemotherapy or radiation and other people suffering from nausea may reach for marijuana due to its anti-nausea properties. Cannabis is also proclaimed to replace benzodiazepines as an anti anxiety drug, thus reducing the chances of benzodiazepines addiction.
Cannabis has been proven to be extremely safe and poses very little risk to those who consume it. Studies have shown that cannabis sustains anti anxiety effects and may work in similar ways to some prescribed drugs. On the other hand, benzodiazepines have a long list of negative side effects that make them a less beneficial option for the body.
In recent times the news surfaced about the change in quality of life of the people in Portugal, where all drugs were decriminalized in 2001. Among Portuguese adults, there are 3 drug overdose deaths for every 1,000,000 citizens. Comparable numbers in other countries range from 10.2 per million in the Netherlands to 44.6 per million in the UK, all the way up to 126.8 per million in Estonia. The EU average is 17.3 per million.
Perhaps more significantly, the report notes that the use of "legal highs" – like so-called "synthetic" marijuana, "bath salts" and the like – is lower in Portugal than in any of the other countries for which reliable data exists.
This makes a lot of intuitive sense: why bother with fake weed or dangerous designer drugs when you can get the real stuff?
This is arguably a positive development for public health in the sense that many of the designer drugs that people develop to skirt existing drug laws have terrible and often deadly side effects.
Drug use and drug deaths are complicated phenomena. They have many underlying causes. Portugal's low death rate can't be attributable solely to decriminalisation. But there is something we can learn from how they decided to deal with the chemical drug problem.
It had also changed the outlook of people towards chemical drugs and created a sense of acceptance and education for all. If a country can prosper from appropriate legalization, education and steps taken to better the quality of life of its citizens, other can too.
- HIMALAYAN HEMP
Himalayan Hemp cooperative community preserves the indigenous Himalayan hemp strain by using an eco-socio-capitalistic model with the help of farmers residing in the Himalayan Belt.