![]() What is CANNABIS? Identification name: Cannabis sativa L. Family: Cannabinaceae Habitat: native to Asia and India Medicinal parts: leaf, flower Key chemical constituents: cannabis plant contains more than 400 different chemical compounds including cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes, phenols, steroids. The resin contains cannabinol, paraffin, cannabidiol, malic, oxalic, pectic, trigonellin, choline, traces of coumarin, cannabinone. The essence consists of cannaben, cannaben iodide, sesquiterpenes, cannabinin, tetanocannabine. More than 70 are cannabinoids. Specifically, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is psychoactive, non-narcotic analgesic, a hallucinogen; cannabidiol (CBD) is analgesic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant. Properties and uses: antispasmodic, hypnotic, sedative, stimulating, mood-enhancing, anxiogenic, depressive. It is used for anorexia associated with AIDS; nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy; pain and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis; appetite stimulation; pain; epilepsy; glaucoma; migraine; anxiety and depression; Parkinson’s disease; Huntington’s disease; Tourette’s syndrome. Curiosity: the resin collected from the flowering tops of the plant is called hashish. The apexes, leaves and dried flowers of female plants contain only little resin is known as marijuana. The seeds don't contain cannabinoids and are used to make a fatty and drying oil for cooking, skin care products, and homeopathic preparations for inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract. Cannabis indica, a variety of cannabis sativa, exerts a much more energetic physiological action and constitutes the true medicinal species. The narcotic drugs are obtained from flowering tops, aerial part and leaves. White fibres are formed in the pericycle, and the best quality fibre are from male plants. In Thai traditional medicine it is used as analgesic and sedative to control pain. Caution: incompatibile with acids and alkalis. Marijuana is highly carcinogenic when smoked. It should be avoided in individuals with hormone imbalances and while getting pregnant. It is contraindicated in breastfeeding mothers because it decreases lactation. It is fat soluble, so it enters the milk and passed on to the infant. | A forensic geneticist was asked to analyze the DNA of marijuana that the police confiscated from criminals. This can help investigators to find out where that marijuana came from. |
References Medical, but hold the marijuana: New CBD source found in Brazil (thesundaily.my). Koda-Kimble, Mary Anne. Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs. 9th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 644019, Cannabidiol" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Cannabidiol. Accessed 16 July, 2023. National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 16078, Dronabinol" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Dronabinol. Accessed 16 July, 2023. Schönfelder, Peter, and Ingrid Schönfelder. Guida alle Piante Medicinali. Ricca Editore, 2012. Weiss, Rudolf Fritz. Weiss's Herbal Medicine. George Thieme Verlag, 2001. Palma, Luigi. Le Piante Medicinali d'Italia: Botanica, Chimica, Farmacodinamica, Terapia. SEI, 1964. Bendre, Ashok M., and Kumar Ashok. A Textbook of Practical Botany II. Rastogi Publications, 2011. Salguero, C. Pierce. A Thai Herbal Medicine: Traditional Recipes For Health And Harmony. Findhorn Press, 2003. Jacobsen, Nephyr, and C. Pierce Salguero. Thai Herbal Medicine: Traditional Recipes for Health and Harmony. Simon and Schuster, 2014. Plant illustrations from plantillustrations.org |
What is cannabis DNA?
Updated: Aug 11, 2024
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