Marijuana Blog

People ike to argue that cannabis is addictive and should be kept illegal because it's so bad for people. Sometimes, these same people are going out on weekends and get black out drunk, leaving a trail of destruction and vomit in their wake. It's definitely not fair that cannabis users are looked down upon so much more then alcohol users, considering that there are a lot of stoners that don't drink at all. As said above, people like to say that cannabis is addictive but let's look at the differences between the withdrawal from alcohol and the withdrawal from cannabis.

 

Cannabis;

According to a study that was done by Duke University where 496 adult cannabis users were asked to quit smoking, 95.5% experienced at least one symptom of withdrawal when cannabis was taken away from their normal routine. 43.1% of the smokers reported more then one symptom. It seemed, however, that symptoms were linked to usage and those who smoke more experience more symptoms when they no longer have access to cannabis. The following symptoms may be experienced when a person stops smoking;

        - A craving for marijuana was mostly reported in the early days of no cannabis use. People just really wanted to smoke. In one study, 75.7% of smokers said that they had extreme cravings for the plant. Apparently, addiction is most commonly thought of as having an extreme craving, even though the physical withdrawal symptoms of cannabis are minimal.

        - Irritability also follows a stoner who stops smoking. This is the second most commonly reported withdrawal symptom of cannabis. Feelings of anger and depression get even worse if the stoner is being forced to quit smoking, like for a job or probation. For most stoners, these symptoms seem to vanish within the first three days of removing marijuana from their routine but the study reported that these symptoms can last up to three months.

        - Even though marijuana is supposed to be an upper, not a downer, there are a lot of people who use the plant to get a good night's rest. And when people stop smoking, sleep is greatly effected. Those who try to quit have an extremely hard time falling asleep and staying that way. The sleeping issue can persist for months after quitting and seems to be the most negative effect of absence of cannabis. It was also reported that smokers quitting tend to have extremely vivid dreams that sometimes become nightmares, seeing as marijuana has an effect on the REM cycle of sleep.

        - Headaches are probably one of the only physical symptoms that effect those stoners trying to quit. And not everyone experiences this; it varies from stoner to stoner. For those that do get headaches, the symptoms usually vanish within a few weeks, although most stoners report that the headache goes away after about three days, similar to the quitting of cigarettes.

        - There are other symptoms that were reported as well. These included night sweats, loss of the sense of humor, decreased sex drive, weight gain, digestion problems, or shaking/dizziness. But more often then not, the mental part of stopping marijuana is more difficult then the physical.

 

Alcohol;

While cannabis withdrawal results in slight discomfort and maybe a headache, alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening. The effects of this process can last months or years after the person decides to quit drinking. According to Web MD's take on the topic, these symptoms can begin as little as two hours after the person ingests their last drink. If you believe that someone is in the arms of alochol withdrawal, it's extremely important that you take them to the hospital right away, as this situation escalates quickly and there is no at home remedy. The following at the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal;

        - Seizures and delirium tremens (DTs) are an effect of the absence of alcohol. These fits of rage are extremely dangerous not just to the person suffering but to those around the person as well. A DT can kill a person and the rate of death from these attacks is small but present, somewhere between 1% and 5%. DTs are characterized by a rapid heartbeat, fever, and confusion.

        - Regular alcohol consumption suppresses the activity of a bodily substance called glutamate, with is a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of excitement. In order for the body to maintain some sort of balance in it's chemical structure, the production of glutamate is increased immensely, throwing off the balance when alcohol is no longer in the system.

        - The neurotransmitter that produces the feelings of calmness and relaxation (known as GABA) is also greatly effected by alcohol. The drink enhances these positive feelings at first but with chronic use can lead to suppressed GABA activity so that more alcohol is needed to get the desired effect (also known as tolerance).

        - Other symptoms include sweating, shaky hands, nausea, headaches, anxiety, and insomnia. There is also the possibility of visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations, lasting up to 48 hours after the last drink is had.

 

So after seeing the difference between these two substances and the withdrawal symptoms associated with it, it's easy to see that marijuana is far less life stopping when it's taken away from a user. A person can smoke all day, every day, and still be able to quit with a minor annoyance. Those who are drinking constantly can suffer greatly when alcohol is removed from their daily motions. The next time that someone even hints at the idea of cannabis being addictive, you can kindly remind them of the terrible effects of the legal liquid courage known as alochol.

One of the most important aspects of plant growth is photosynthesis. It’s something that all plants do and it effectively involves taking the available light and transforming it into energy. That’s really the basic definition of photosynthesis, but it goes a lot further than that. The plants receive light through various pigments on their exterior. Chlorophyll is the most abundant pigment in cannabis and most other green plants and so it is largely responsible for bringing in light energy.

 

In that way, cannabis leaves almost work like solar panels by extending the area that the plant can take in light. More leaves essentially represent more power producers because you have more energy entering into the plant. When the energy is taken into the plant, it is stored in chemical compounds like adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide-phosphate (NADPH2). These are compounds that are built to transfer energy throughout the plant. ATP is integral in the creation of carbohydrates and NADPH2 is integral in the synthesis of carbohydrates.

 

Of course, the plants need to work with something in order to create these carbohydrates. The name alone lets you know that carbohydrates have some mixture of carbon and hydrogen. In marijuana plants, they get those both of those elements from carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). Obviously, CO2 is found in the atmosphere and water is generally provided by the grower (or other means in a natural environment). Download my marijuana grow bible and learn more about CO2 levels.

 

Plants can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere or from the soil. Water is, of course, absorbed through the roots and transferred into the plant itself. So, the light energy (in the form of ATP and NADPH2) comes together with CO2 and H2O to create carbohydrates (CH2O). As a result of this transaction, there is a spare O2 molecule that gets released into the air. Marijuana absorbs and utilizes all of the items required for photosynthesis and then releases oxygen into the atmosphere.

 

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For a mix of something that will medicate you and at the same time, be healthy, this recipe is for you! Butternut squash has awesome health benefits and especially with this cold weather, you can definitely enjoy a bowl of this on a cold night. Although the squash is definitely the best when bought from the local farmers market, you can find it during all seasons at the grocery store. The soup is very simple and doesn't take that long to make, plus you can freeze anything you don't eat for a easy snack later on!

 

What You'll Need;

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

5 cups of vegetable stock

1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves

1 large onion, diced

3 tablespoons of cannabis-infused oil or butter

1 cup chopped carrots

1 ½ tablespoons of cannabutter to finish

1 cup chopped celery

3 lbs butternut squash

1.5 teaspoons of sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

 

Start by peeling the squash and cutting it in to two halves, making sure to remove the seeds. Cut the squash in to chunks and place them in a steamer basket for about 40 minutes. While that cooks, heat the oil in a large pot and add in the carrots, diced onion, and celery, along with the herbs that you have set aside. Sauté these veggies on medium for 20 minutes until they begin to brown.

 

Add the squash, vegetable stock (or water), and the salt to the pot. Simmer everything together for another 20 minutes, making sure to cover the pot. After the soup is done cooking, puree it in the blender in batches to make sure that everything gets blended together well. Put the soup back in the pot and add in the salt and pepper to taste, if you'd like. The salt and pepper are both optional.

 

Looking for a soup with a little more of a kick? Take the cannabutter than you have set aside and set it atop the soup. The butter will melt in to the meal and will give you an extra boost of stoned! You can also serve the butter on a slice of bread if you don't want to add the butter in to the soup itself! This recipe serves four but as said above, you can either share with friends or freeze and save the rest of the soup for a snack later! Enjoy!