MARIJUANA

Marijuana comes from the leaves and flowers of cannabis sativa, the hemp plant.  This plant grows wild, but is also cultivated over large areas of the globe.  Hemp has a number of useful properties that have been known for as long as 8,000 years.  The stems contain a strong fiber from which rope, paper and cloth are made.  The fibers are of such good quality that they were once used to make bowstrings.

The hemp plant has been used in medicine for at least 3,000 years.  Derivatives of the plant have been used to treat ills such as fever, rheumatism, and earache.  The properties of the hemp plant that affect thought processes have also been recognized for a long time.  Hemp has been used to treat hysteria, depression, and anxiety.  However, the effects have proved unpredictable and vary greatly from patient to patient.

These photographs show cannabis under cultivation and the plant leaves which are dried to make marijuana.

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