LITTLE BIG HISTORY PROJECT
THE EVOLUTION OF CANNABIS
From plant to controversy
Authors: Dawen Boekestijn, Robin van Wegen and Lisa van Dam
Date: 20/4/2018
Table of Contents
Introduction: Cannabis from plant to controversy 2
Chemicals: the elements in cannabis 3
Cultivation: from outdoors in the ground to indoors in the water 5
Controversy: from smoking to prohibition to legalization 7
Conclusion: Cannabis as a symbol of change 10
Bibliography 12
Introduction: Cannabis from plant to controversy
In modern day society, the term ‘’cannabis’’ often refers directly to the psychoactive drug that is commonly known as ‘’marijuana’’. The drug has acquired many other nicknames over the years amongst which are: ‘’pot’’ and ‘’weed’’ (CBC, 2017).This makes sense, as the cannabis plant produces this immensely popular drug, which is not only used for recreational purposes, but also growingly more common as a medicine (Kengetallen, 2016).
The drug has been making and continues to make frequent global appearances in politics. Take the Dutch elections from 2017 in which the legalization of the cultivation of weed was one of the topics of debate (Webmaster, 2017). In contrast to the Netherlands, certain American states alongside of a number of nations around the world, amongst which is the United Kingdom, are still contemplating whether or not the use of marijuana should at all be legalized. In these countries people protest often for the legalization of marijuana, to get the attention of their governments.
However, the existing prohibition of cannabis in certain countries such as the United States, has not always existed (Siff, 2014). And neither has the drug or the psychoactive effects the drug can cause. The fact that we now know about this drug and are able to use it, sometimes legally sometimes illegally, is the result of a big history story of how the right combination of the right chemical elements in the right place, followed by the human discovery of the cannabis plant, next the cultivation and selection of the plant and finally the (il)legal distribution of the drug, created the phenomenon that cannabis is today.
And so the leading question of this paper is: How has the cannabis plant evolved to become the hot debate on cannabis that it is today?
The following three research question will guide this research paper:
What are the chemical elements in cannabis and how do they cause psychoactive results? When did people start using and eventually cultivating cannabis?
How did cannabis become a controversy in modern human culture?
The first question will be answered by focussing on the Big History Threshold 3: New chemical elements. The second question will focus on Threshold 7: Agriculture, followed by the last question which revolves around Threshold 8: the Modern Revolution.
The research methods used to find answers to the questions as previously stated are the historical research method as well as the analytical method. Twenty-five existing and recent sources, all extracted from the internet, have been analysed for its usability and reliability and then been used to tell a chronological story of how cannabis evolved from plant to controversy.
Chemicals: the elements in cannabis
(threshold 3)
Threshold 3 is a very important threshold in the history of our universe. Under immense pressure and heat, hydrogen and helium clashed into each other to form heavier atoms and thus new elements. With all these new elements, loads of new molecules could be formed.
Cannabis is, like everything else, made up of chemical elements. So in this chapter, the following research question will be answered: What are the chemical elements in cannabis and how do they cause psychoactive results?
Cannabis itself however is a bit too broad to look at, therefore the focus of this chapter will be put on the two main cannabinoids in the plant, which are the particles that cause psychoactive effects, since this research paper is about cannabis as a psychoactive drug. The two cannabinoids that cause the user to experience psychoactive effects, are THC and CBD, or tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. (Wikipedia, 2018)
THC usually makes up most of cannabis, however, due to the enormous variety in strains, its concentration can range from less than 1% to over 30%. CBD is found in smaller quantities and usually makes up no more than 5% of the plant material. The rest of the cannabis consists of terpenes, which have a small influence on the psychoactive effect but mostly dictates the aroma of the plant.
THC and CBD coincidentally have the same chemical formula of C21H30O2. However, their molecular structures are not similar and the way in which they work also slightly differ. Both cannabinoids make use of the cannabis receptors in our brain, the CB1 and CB2 receptors. THC directly fits onto the CB1 receptors; CB2 receptors can bind CBN (C21H26O2), however this effect is not nearly as noticeable as that of THC and CBD. CBD is much more complicated when it comes to how it actually works.
CBD doesn’t have much effects on the CB1 and CB2 receptors. It suppresses the FAAH-enzyme which causes more anandamide (a neurotransmitter) to stay in the body. This causes a feeling described as a “runners high”. CBD has more influence on other receptors in our body, including the vanilloide, adenosine, serotonine and GPR55 receptors. Therefore CBD tends to work anxiolytic, reduces depressive feelings and can even slows down growth of cancer cells by inhibiting the GPR55 receptors. It also causes the user to experience less pain. (CBD medicatie, 2018)
Next to all the positive effects, consuming marijuana isn’t without risks. There is less information known about the possible negative side effects. However, there are several indications that show the consumption might increase the risk of a heart attack or prediabetes. (triage, 2017) (triage, 2017)
There are many more cannabinoids in cannabis, over 100 have been discovered, however, they are in such small quantities that they don’t have a noticeable or measurable effect on consumers. Other substances in cannabis besides cannabinoids, as mentioned before, are terpenes. Most of the terpenes are located in the resin of the plant. The resin in cannabis comes from the trichomes, which are miniature mushroom-like extensions which look like white crystals on weed, as seen in the picture below. The terpenes give the cannabis taste and smell, as seen in the infograph below.
Terpenes come in many varieties, each with their own aroma and effect. Terpenes bind to receptors in our brain just like cannabinoids. The terpene concentration in cannabis is roughly no more than 5%. Because it binds to receptors, it suppresses or enhances various processes. The terpenes come in handy with the medicinal use of cannabis, since patients can feel relief of various complaints such as pain and spasms.
For the recreational consumer, terpenes make all the difference. Without terpenes, all weed would generally taste the same. Because of terpenes, there are over 2000 strains possible, all with their own unique effects, healing power, and taste. A combination of terpenes, of which six (Leafly, 2015) are well known and can be in relative high quantities, can give cannabis all kinds of aromas ranging from earthy and woody to sweet and fruity.
Because cannabis has benefits for patients and because of growing numbers of recreative consumers, people started looking into ways of growing the plant. Outdoors, indoors, cross-breeding for higher levels of THC. What started out as three forms of cannabis quickly increased to thousands of different strains, all of which is done by humans cultivating the plant.
(Leafly, 2015) This picture shows terpenes and their effects.
(Herb, 2017) This picture shows trichomes.
Cultivation: from outdoors in the ground to indoors in the water
(threshold 7)
When discussing cannabis and the psychoactive effects it causes, the question arises of how the drug became available for humans in the first place. As the previous chapter stated, humans did extensive research to cause a higher level of THC to be in the plant, but before that was possible the cultivation and growing of the plant should be mentioned, and how these methods have changed over the years. This chapter will focus on the second research question: When did people start using and eventually cultivating cannabis?
Cannabis has been used and cultivated by humans as early as the time of the Greeks and the Romans, and has an extensive history in the middle East (DEA Museum). Research (Abel, 1980) even suggested that its use goes back as far as 12,000 years, and that it is among humanity’s oldest cultivated crops. The plant most likely originates from Asia after which it spread to these areas and others around the world (Warf, 2014), where the plant was cultivated and used as both a leisure drug, a spiritual drug, a medicinal drug, and as an industrial hemp in jewellery, wood, rope and other goods. The story of the cannabis plant for industrial purposes will however not be discussed in this research. More information on this spread of the plant and the effect this had on the popularity of the drug, will be in the next chapter.
The cannabis plant was traditionally grown outside and in the ground.
Because of the suitable conditions for growing cannabis, which are: enough sunlight and a temperature around 30 degrees Celsius (Leafly, 2016), the plant flourished in the middle east around 2000 BCE, and later spread around the world, where it was grown in large plantations in the form of hemp for example in North America (DEA Museum).
Growing the plant would take around four months and then the plant could be harvested.
Since 1545 the process of cultivating cannabis has been improved by doing research into the perfect growing conditions of the plants. Many experiments were executed in order to create a higher THC percentage in the Sativa and Indica strains.
These two strains look very different which is logical since they originate from different regions.
The Sativa strain has thin leaves and is a tall plant which matches with its origin, Central America and South-East Asia, in this environment the plant can catch a lot of sunlight using its length. In contrast, the Indica strain is a more bushy plant and it is a lot shorter compared to the Sativa strain which corresponds with the mountainous origin of the Indica strain. (Herb, 2018)
Due to all the research done into these strains, cannabis farmers managed to create new strains, such as the Hybrid strain which is just simply a mix of the Sativa and Indica strains. Later in time, a lot more strains were created such as the Purple Kush.
This process of selection can be called artificial selection, in this process we, humans select the better parts of in this case two plants and create a new plant which will have these beneficial traits.
Then lastly there is the hemp variety of the plant.
This variety of the plant does not cause any psychoactive effects but can be used to create rope and clothing.
While doing research into the cannabis plant, knowledge of agriculture improved and people found out that it was possible to grow plants without soil and using a lot more water.
This information came into the world of agriculture around 1938 when Dennis R. Hoagland and Daniel I. Arnon a book called The Water Culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil. (Wikipedia, 2018)
This picture shows a hydroponic system in which a cannabis plant can be grown.
Credit: How to grow marijuana.com
The picture above shows the way that modern day cannabis is grown, the plants are indoors instead of outdoors and live in an artificial human controlled environment.
This innovation in agriculture allowed much higher yields of product and has allowed growers increase the THC percentage in the plants (how to grow marijuana.com)
Controversy: from smoking to prohibition to legalization
(threshold 8)
To understand why the consummation of cannabis became illegal in certain areas of the world, it is necessary to first zoom in on how the plant and its drug spread over the world as this explains part of the controversy and is linked to the technological developments that made this spread possible and is therefore linked to the use of the drug and is so linked to its regulations. By the end of this chapter the last research question will have been answered: How did cannabis become a controversy in modern human culture?
After the psychoactive type of cannabis was discovered, which medicinal use has been traced back by historians as early as the year 2737 BCE in China (Team, 2017), the drug gradually spread over Asia, to the Middle East and into Europe where it was cultivated (see previous chapter).
This spread of the drug was a result of tribes travelling towards other places, causing the exchange of habits and goods with each other. Researcher Barney Warf from the University of Kansas found that cannabis seeds were present in the remains of Viking ships dating back to the mid-ninth century, which proves this overseas spread of the good (Warf, 2014).The image below shows the map Warf created based on his research. It brings into picture how Cannabis spread over the continents over the years.
This map shows how marijuana spread throughout the world, from its origins on the steppes of Central Asia.
Credit: Barney Warf, University of Kansas
As you can seem cannabis migrated to various regions of the world over various centuries, traveling through Africa, reaching South America in the 19th century and being carried north afterwards, eventually reaching North America. This spread over continents can be explained by a the Big History concept of the breakdown of the four world zones, which could take place due to an increase in transportation methods.
Colonialism also played a big role in the widespread of Cannabis: both the French and the British had their colonists grow cannabis in the new world.
In the 1700’s doctors worldwide, recommended cannabis as medicine, this helped popularise the drug. The Irish doctor William O’Shaughnessy especially helped popularise cannabis as a pain treatment. The fact that this happened around the 1700s and not the 1300s for example, is not a coincidence. The Scientific Revolution of the 1600s lead to more knowledge and research into all areas of science including chemistry and biology which allowed research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis.
In the early 1800s Cannabis started to become a global economic success: people traded cannabis all around the world. At this time Cannabis was easy to buy, unlike later on when the drug was regulated, and thus its use dramatically increased.
By the end of the 1800s, attitudes around the use of cannabis shifted significantly as alcoholism and opium addiction were dramatically on the rise (Beat, 2016). Onto the19th and 20th century, cannabis got banned in several places amongst which are: Egypt in 1879, Greece in 1890, the US in 1906 in the District of Colombia, and Canada in 1923 (History of cannabis, 2018).
This negative attitude towards the use of cannabis, partly came into being because of negative associations certain groups had with other groups they disliked who happened to smoke cannabis. The illegal immigrated Mexicans that came into the US during the Mexican revolution (1910-1920) often were associated with smoking cannabis, as well as with crime. Because of this, many Americans became suspicious of the drug. The same fear towards cannabis by association existed with the association people had with people of colour, especially those in jazz music- who were known for smoking cannabis. This all contributed to the eventual ban on cannabis in the US which is so important because the US had a leading role in world politics. Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the federal bureau of narcotics, said in his campaign against cannabis:
‘’There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, results from marijuana use, This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.’’
This shows how politicians enhanced the idea that Cannabis was evil, by associating the drug with minorities that the American public disliked in the first place. It is also worth noting that the term ‘’marihuana’’ was used deliberately over ‘’cannabis’’ by politicians. The term marijuana has Mexican origins and sounds more negative than the scientific term ‘’cannabis’’. After American politicians introduced this term to influence the public, it became the most popular term to refer to the drug.
Because of the more negative attitudes about drugs, regulations started being made: in the International Opium Convention in 1912 in The Hague, rules about the trade in opium were drawn up. This was necessary because of the fact that certain countries had banned the import and export of the drug. A second international opium treaty took place in Genève in 1925 (Geschiedenis wetgeving cannabis, na 2012).
Then, during the 1960s, especially in the US, there came a dramatic increase in cannabis usage, particularly amongst young people and college students. This became an international trend also known as the counterculture of the 1960s (Counterculture of the 1960s, 2018). I
As a result, in the 1970s and 1980s again in the United States, president Nixon declared a war on drugs, meaning laws were passed to criminalize all sorts of narcotics as well as cannabis. Cannabis was placed under the category of a Schedule One drug in 1970 under the Controlled Substance Act; this was not based on any scientific evidence of the danger of cannabis but rather on the convenience of tackling another problem Nixon faced. John Ehrlichman, counsel and Assistant to President Nixon for Domestic Affairs, later admitted:
“You want to know what this was really all about. The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying. We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
These extreme measures to criminalize cannabis, were however only prominent in the United States of America. The rules and regulations surrounding cannabis varied worldwide but were in the first half of the 1900s mainly against the use of cannabis.
In 1976, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, renewed their opium law, dividing drugs into more and less dangerous categories and putting cannabis in the lesser one (Opium Law, 2017). At this time, the Netherlands was the only country in which it was legal to use cannabis recreationally. However this was starting to change as in the 1970s and 1980s a renewed interest in the medicinal use of cannabis appeared worldwide, in particular due to its use for cancer patients and AIDS patients who reported relief from the effects of chemotherapy and wasting syndrome. In 1996 California was the first state to legalize medical cannabis is defiance of federal law. In 2001 Canada regulated the medical use of cannabis as the first country. And many countries followed over the years in regulating the use of cannabis either medicinal or recreational or both.
This process is still ongoing today as the data and medical knowledge we have on cannabis is growing and people worldwide are protesting towards their governments asking them to legalize cannabis.
Conclusion: Cannabis as a symbol of change
In this research on the evolution of cannabis, the question of how the cannabis plant evolved to become the hot debate on cannabis that it is today, has been researched and thereafter been reported on. In order to answer the main research question, the following three research questions were used:
What are the chemical elements in cannabis and how do they cause psychoactive results? When did people start using and eventually cultivating cannabis?
How did cannabis become a controversy in modern human culture?
Each of these questions has been approached from one threshold of increasing complexity. They were respectively: Threshold 3: New chemical elements, Threshold 7: agriculture, and Threshold 8: the modern revolution.
The following answers came forth out of the research:
The chemical elements in cannabis discussed are THC and CBD. They are made up of elements which found their origin in threshold 3. The center of stars was hot enough and contained enough pressure for the protons to clash into each other and form atoms of heavier weight. These atoms combine themselves to form complex molecules like cannabinoids. When consumed, they alter receptors in our brain to make us feel high, cure us, or negatively impacts our health.
People started using cannabis as a drug after they discovered the psychoactive effects; the use dates back as early as the time of the Greeks and romans and has a long history in the middle east, but most probably spread from Asia 2000BC. Cannabis was first cultivated outdoors because the conditions were very suitable, but as human technology progressed, the drug started being grown indoors using water.
Cannabis was not always a controversial drug in human history, at first the drug was perceived as a practically useful and a nice leisure activity, especially after scientists did research on cannabis as a pain modulator. Because of a more interconnected world this scientific knowledge was able to reach other continents and thus in the 1800s there was a positive attitude towards cannabis. The first regulations started being made up in the 1900s after negative attitudes arose about the drug because of opium abuse. In some areas of the world the drug was even criminalized, this was related with racial associations in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Then finally in the 20th and still now in the 21st century, a movement of liberalizing cannabis started and is still going on. This is especially possible in this modern day age, because of the vast and fast information resources available, not only in academic papers, but also on the internet.
So what does the story of cannabis teach us about big history? Well cannabis is an excellent example of how thresholds of rising complexity are needed to provoke change. Without the chemical elements it would not be possible to create anything, let alone psychoactive results. Without agriculture, the cannabis plant would not have changed into what it is today and it would not have been used so widespread by humans. Without the transportation revolution cannabis would not have been able to spread over the world. And without the medical progression, knowledge of the usefulness of cannabis as a treatment would not be available which caused a shift in attitudes, and without the technological developments, information on cannabis would not be available to most of the human population. Which is exactly what is now causing the possibility for us to question why cannabis is illegal in certain areas of the world, and partake in the hot debate whether or not cannabis should be legalized and or regulated.
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