Facts about Marijuana that you don't know

Marijuana remains one of the most misunderstood plants in the world today. It has been labeled as the devil’s plant despite its growing in natural conditions around the world. It is one of the most resilient plants in the world today as it can grow in virtually all arable parts of the world.

Consumption of the hemp plant also known as ganja, weed, pot, callieweed, boom, ku shung peng, bhang, Mary Jane among a host of other street names dates’ way back in time. Its first use is dated 10,000 years ago when man started farming.

In his book, The Dragons of Eden, Speculations on the Origin of Human Intelligence, authored in 1977 by Carl Sagan, research shows that marijuana or the hemp plant was the first plant to be cultivated by man.

The earliest evidence of medical marijuana use can be traced to the Far East where, Emperor Shen Neng of China used it as a medicine in the year, 2337 BC.

Marijuana subsequently morphed into a stronger version called hashish which became very popular in the Middle East. Hashish was manufactured by separating flowering tops and resin, a compound found in marijuana tops which attract pollen. Its consumption spread from the Arabian Peninsula to Europe and subsequently to Africa through Egypt in the 12th Century.

Medical research that has been conducted on this wrongly vilified plant reveals immense health benefits that emanates from its controlled use. Of the 483 compounds found in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most dominant.

Research conducted by renowned institutions like America’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) indicated a variety of therapeutic and euphoria effects and recommended controlled medical use of marijuana.

Among the many benefits listed include, treatment of glaucoma, management of obesity, bulimia nervosa, anorexia, hypertension, depression, cancer, autism, arthritis, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), diabetes, migraine inter alia among others.

Various states like Ohio, Colorado and Washington have re-legalized marijuana. Uruguay scored a first when it allowed recreational use of the drug.

Marijuana users in the world are increasing.  US estimates users grew from 43% in 2015 to 51% in 2016. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis (2.7% to 4.9% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65).

In Kenya, the situation is not different. Pot has become a drug of choice among the X generation. The stigma associated with the drug is slowly wearing off. It is absurd to continue congesting our jails with minor offenders at the expense of economic looters and big time poachers, gun runners and drug traffickers. It is time we relaxed laws relating to small time marijuana consumption.

The hour’s spend by police investigating and prosecuting these cases can be expended on grievous offences like murders, terrorism, robberies and economic crimes. Eventually our jails will be decongested.

The government needs to explore the possibility of controlled commercial growth of medical marijuana. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) need to team up and explore how we can exploit this gold mine. It may form the basis of our future medical independence.

The issue that needs to be addresses is abuse. No drug is immune from abuse from Panadol, maramoja to a host of other over the counter prescriptions. If Morocco, a conservative Muslim country can grow hashish for export what about a secular country like Kenya? This can be an additional cash crop. After all not all those who grow tobacco, coffee or tea consumes them. And to the uninitiated, there are other methods of ingesting it apart from smoking.