What is Marijuana

Marijuana is the slang term for portions of the Cannabis plant. It is one of the oldest
psychoactive substances used by man. Marijuana, also called pot, weed, ganja, mary jane, and a
host of other nicknames, is made from the Cannabis plant, which has three species: Cannabis
sativa; Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis. The flowering plant, which can grow to 16 feet
(5 meters) high, likely originated in the Central Asian steppe, near the Altai or Tian Shian
Mountains, and was first cultivated in China and India, according to "Cannabis and
Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Potential," (Routledge, 2002).

The leaves, stems, flower buds and extracts from the marijuana plant can be eaten, brewed in a
tea or put into a colour. It can also be vaporized using an e-cigarette pen. Yale University
researchers surveyed 3,847 Connecticut high school students about this practice in a 2015 study
that was published in the journal Pediatrics. The study found nearly one in five e-cigarette users
also have vaporize cannabis or byproducts like hash oil using the device. "This is a relatively
novel way of using marijuana, and kids are using it at a fairly high rate," said lead author of the
study Meghan E. Morean in a Yale press release.

There are hundreds of compounds in marijuana, but scientists believe the one responsible for the
drugs' psychoactive effects is tetrahydrocannbinol, or THC. THC binds to cannabinoid receptors
during the body, and marijuana's "high" comes from THC's binding to brain regions responsible
for happiness, time observation and pain, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA).

This binding in turn triggers a chemical cascade that eventually stimulates the production of
dopamine, a brain chemical often called the "feel good chemical," which is part of the body's
reward system," said Mitch Earleywine, a psychology professor at the University at Albany in
New York, who studies marijuana's health effects. "Subjective effects really vary," Earleywine
said. "Folks who like it emphasize the euphoria and the relaxation, and then depending on the
strain, it's mildly stimulating, or mildly sedating."

Medical marijuana can soothe nausea and increase appetite, quiet pain, soothe anxiety and even
reduce epileptic seizures. Other research on the healing effects of cannabis is being examined.
For example, research suggests that THC may be able to improve memory according to a 2016
study on mice. More than half of the United States has legalized marijuana for medical use.
The amount of THC in marijuana has grown over the past few decades. In the early 1990s, the
average THC content in marijuana was about 3.74 percent in the early 1990s and in 2013 it was
almost 10 percent, according to NIDA.

Short-term use of the drug impairs thinking and coordination. In long-term studies, teens who
smoke marijuana have lower IQs later on, as well as structural differences in their brains, though
scientists debate whether this is an effect of the drug or a result of habitual pot smokers seeking
out less intellectually stimulating pursuits. A 2016 study on almost 300 students by the
University of Montreal published in the journal Development and Psychopathology found that
teens who start smoking around age 14 do worse on some cognitive tests by age 20 than non-
smokers. They also have a higher school dropout rate. If they wait until age 17 to start, though,
the smokers do not seem to have the same impairments, according to the study.

Marijuana use has been linked to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, according to NIDA.
Marijuana smokers are also likelier to suffer from bronchitis, according to a 2014 New England
Journal of Medicine review of marijuana's health effects. Stroke and heart failure have also been
linked to marijuana.
Where did pot come from?

It is important to distinguish between the two familiar subspecies of the cannabis plant, Warf
said. Cannabis sativa, known as marijuana, has psychoactive properties. The other plant is
Cannabis sativa L. (The L was included in the name in honor of the botanist Carl Linnaeus.) This
subspecies is known as hemp; it is a nonpsychoactive form of cannabis, and is used in
manufacturing products such as oil, cloth and fuel. [11 Odd Facts About Marijuana]

A second psychoactive species of the plant, Cannabis indica, was identified by the French
naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and a third, uncommon one, Cannabis ruderalis, was named in
1924 by Russian botanist D.E. Janischevisky.

Cannabis plants are believed to have evolved on the steppes of Central Asia, specifically in the
regions that are now Mongolia and southern Siberia, according to Warf. The history of cannabis
use goes back as far as 12,000 years, which places the plant among humanity's oldest cultivated
crops, according to information in the book "Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years"
(Springer, 1980). "It likely flourished in the nutrient-rich dump sites of prehistoric hunters and
gatherers," Warf wrote in his study.

Burned cannabis seeds have also been found in kurgan burial mounds in Siberia dating back to
3,000 B.C., and some of the tombs of noble people buried in Xinjiang region of China and
Siberia around 2500 B.C. have included large quantities of mummified psychoactive marijuana.
Both hemp and psychoactive marijuana were used widely in ancient China, Warf wrote. The first
record of the drug's medicinal use dates to 4000 B.C. The herb was used, for instance, as an
anesthetic during surgery, and stories say it was even used by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung
in 2737 B.C. (However, whether Shen Nung was a real or a mythical figure has been debated, as
the first emperor of a unified China was born much later than the supposed Shen Nung.)

From China, coastal farmers brought pot to Korea about 2000 B.C. or earlier, according to the
book "The Archeology of Korea" (Cambridge University Press, 1993). Cannabis came to the
South Asian subcontinent between 2000 B.C. and 1000 B.C., when the region was invaded by
the Aryans — a group that spoke an archaic Indo-European language. The drug became widely
used in India, where it was celebrated as one of "five kingdoms of herbs ... which release us from
anxiety" in one of the ancient Sanskrit Vedic poems whose name translate into "Science of
Charms."

From Asia to Europe

Cannabis came to the Middle East between 2000 B.C. and 1400 B.C., and it was probably used
there by the Scythians, a nomadic Indo-European group. The Scythians also likely carried the
drug into southeast Russia and Ukraine, as they occupied both territories for years, according to
Warf's report. Germanic tribes brought the drug into Germany, and marijuana went from there to
Britain during the 5th century with the Anglo-Saxon invasions. "Cannabis seeds have also been
found in the remains of Viking ships dating to the mid-ninth century," Warf wrote in the study.

Over the next centuries, cannabis migrated to various regions of the world, traveling through
Africa, reaching South America in the 19th century and being carried north afterwards,
eventually reaching North America.

How did marijuana get to the United States?

After this really long "trip" throughout the pre-modern and modern worlds, cannabis finally
came to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. It arrived in the southwest United
States from Mexico, with immigrants fleeing that country during the Mexican Revolution of
1910-1911. "Many early prejudices against marijuana were thinly veiled racist fears of its
smokers, often promulgated by reactionary newspapers," Warf wrote in his report. "Mexicans
were frequently blamed for smoking marijuana, property crimes, seducing children and engaging
in murderous sprees." Americans laws never recognized the difference between Cannabis sativa
L. and Cannabis sativa. The plant was first outlawed in Utah in 1915, and by 1931 it was illegal
in 29 states, according to the report.

In 1930, Harry Aslinger became the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
(FBN) and undertook multiple efforts to make marijuana illegal in all states. In 1937, the
Marijuana Tax Act put cannabis under the regulation of the Drug Enforcement Agency,
criminalizing possession of the plant throughout the country. "Today, the federal government
still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, along with heroin and LSD,
indicating it has high potential for abuse and addiction, no accepted medical uses and no safe
level of use," Warf wrote.
Marijuana in Malaysia

Mention marijuana to the average Malaysian and chances are high that he or she will not
immediately associate it with chronic pain management even though medical marijuana is not
new overseas. Some pain experts here though have expressed cautious support for Malaysia to
allow the use of cannabis-based medicine to expand treatment options for chronic pain
management. Dr Maya Nagaratnam, pain management and anaesthetic consultant with Pantai
Hospital, said opioids are effective to treat pain only for 70 per cent of the population and that
such painkillers have more side effects (e.g. nausea, vomiting and constipation) than medical
marijuana as well as far higher tolerance and addiction levels. Chronic pain is pain that lasts for
more than three months.

“Oral cannabinoids are not new; however they have become available and they’re FDA
approved, and so, I think we should consider it in a repertoire of treatments for certain chronic
conditions,” Dr Maya told Malay Mail Online in an interview here. Dr Maya was referring to the
medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that contain chemicals in
marijuana, called “cannabinoids”, in the form of pills, adding that the human body has
cannabinoid receptors and produces its own cannabinoid chemicals. “However, I’m not sure that
that calls for any need for any kind of marijuana to be legalised, only to get federal approval for
the use of these drugs on maybe a named patient basis under clear supervision,” she said.

A 2014 US-based survey by health site WebMD showed that the majority of doctors said
medical marijuana should be legalised nationally, with the highest support coming from
oncologists and haematologists, as it is typically used to treat chronic pain from illnesses like
cancer, chemotherapy-related nausea and multiple sclerosis, besides seizure disorders. Newswire
Reuters reported that Ohio approved legislation last month that legalises medical cannabis use
under certain circumstances, with some 24 states in the US and Washington DC allowing some
form of medical marijuana use. Using marijuana, however, remains illegal in the US under
federal law.

Malaysia has very strict drug laws. Section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 prohibits the
possession of cannabis, an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine
not exceeding RM20,000. Under Section 39A, being found with over 50 grammes is punishable
with a jail term of at least five years and at least 10 strokes of the rotan.
It’s unknown how many Malaysians use marijuana for medical purposes, since the FDA-
approved cannabis-based pills and the cannabis-based mouth spray licenced in the UK, Canada,
and several European countries are not registered here. However, Facebook page
MalaysiaMedicalMarijuana currently has almost 19,000 likes since it was set up in 2011.

Dr Maya cited the 2004 UK Cannabinoids in Multiple Sclerosis (CAMS) study on the medical
use of marijuana that showed a small treatment effect on reducing muscle spasticity in multiple
sclerosis, a neurological condition where patients have stiff muscles and spasms. She also
pointed to the ‘2015 US Cannabinoids for Medical Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Study’ that showed “moderate-quality” evidence to support the use of medical marijuana to treat
chronic pain and spasticity, as well as “low-quality” evidence that linked medical cannabis use to
improvements in nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, weight gain in HIV infection, sleep
disorders and Tourette’s syndrome.

Dr Maya cautioned that research has yet to be done on the long-term effects of medical
marijuana use, noting that the side effects of taking too much cannabis are depression and
paranoia. “When you smoke it, you lose all the benefits and you gain all the adverse side effects
of smoking,” said Dr Maya, as she warned people against smoking marijuana, like how it’s done
recreationally, for medical use. “You have to extract it in its purest form, which is the delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),” she said, referring to marijuana’s main mind-altering chemical.
“And then take it in a pill form or as a spray”.

Dr Mary Cardosa, consultant anaesthesiologist and pain specialist with Selayang Hospital,
however, said she did not think it was essential to register cannabis-based medicine in Malaysia
as she advocated non-drug alternatives for pain management. “It’s looking for a quick fix.
There’s no magic bullet,” Dr Cardosa told Malay Mail Online in an interview.“You need to look
at other methods of managing pain, along with appropriate medications. So I won’t push any
company to bring the drug in because I don’t think it’s an essential drug; it may be a ‘nice to
have’ drug but not a ‘must have’ drug,” she added.

Dr Cardosa, who is also president of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Pain, also said
not enough research has been done on the effectiveness of using marijuana for medical purposes,
noting that while it can play a role in reducing chronic pain, such as HIV-related pain, the long-
term effects are unknown. She said the problem is that people tend to treat pain only with drugs
and to underestimate the role of other methods, especially for chronic non-cancer pain.
“We should use all kinds of modalities, not just drugs, but exercise, relaxation, changing our
lifestyle, for example sitting and standing frequently if you have chronic back pain instead of just
taking drugs. “Analgesic medications (painkillers) — pills and injections — are the easiest way
to relieve pain and therefore, many patients and doctors just focus on medications. While pain
medications may be appropriate for treating acute pain, it certainly is not true for chronic pain,”
said Dr Cardosa. “A multimodal approach — using non-drug techniques including physical and
psychological modalities (for example, exercise, relaxation) together with medications — has
been shown to be the most effective in the management of chronic pain, but it takes a longer time
to take effect and requires effort,” she added.

Then there are chronic pain sufferers like Siti (not her real name) who found that opioids simply
did not work for her. She suffers from hypokalaemia, a condition where potassium levels in the
bloodstream are too low and patients can suffer muscle cramps, and found marijuana has been
effective in managing her pain.

Without access to cannabis-based pills or sprays, the 38-year-old Malaysian woman has been
using marijuana for the past five years by smoking it; one joint before she goes to work, two
more joints in the afternoon, and it’s “free flow” at night. This costs her about RM50 a week.
She does this without medical supervision but insists that before she started using marijuana, she
would suffer total paralysis twice a year. She was diagnosed with hypokalaemia when she was
24 or 25, describing it as a condition in which her “whole body” was aching most of the time.
“My back, kidneys, until the tip of my toes, aching all the time. It’s a constant pain that won’t go
away even in your sleep,” she said.

Siti told Malay Mail Online her doctors kept increasing the dosage of opioids but it still failed to
treat the pain. “When you take dihydrocodeine, everything you eat feels like paper. The pain
doesn’t go away,” she said. “It increased to five pills at a time. One day, I needed to take it four
to five times”. “Now, everything’s back to normal,” she said.

While there is no conclusive proof that it is marijuana that helped Siti get her life back, there
exists in Malaysia a segment of chronic pain sufferers like her who think Malaysia should
legalise not just cannabis-based medicine but marijuana itself.
Read more at http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/will-we-ever-see-the-
introduction-of-medical-marijuana-here#wmQWYuCCTOtaM4rI.99