Cannabis is the name of the plant which grows in the wild and has a huge number of uses. Of course there is the most famous use which is in its drug form but this little plant can do a lot more than that. Cannabis is often used for hemp. Hemp is an environmentally friendly and rather strong material which can be used for clothing, paper, oils; a whole range of things.
Many believe that Cannabis and Marijuana are the same thing. Usually when people refer to the plant they are indeed synonyms but in scientific terms Cannabis is the name for the plant in its pure form. Cannabis is the name of the genus which can grow as Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Ruderalis.
The cannabis plant is used worldwide as a recreational drug and to make the material hemp but also as a medicine. Medicinal cannabis will contain a higher level of CBD than THC. These are two of the main ingredients in the plant but they have very different effects on the body.
THC is the psychoactive element which gives the strong highs etc. that are usually linked with cannabis. CBD is the medicinal element which is used as a pain killer and an anti-inflammatory. Recently CBD has been found to have even more uses than scientist originally thought. It has been found to slow the passage of the AIDS virus as well as Cancer. In Osteoporosis patients CBD attaches itself to CB receptors in our body. This helps the bones to strengthen naturally and has been found to be considerably more useful than prior Osteoporosis medication without any of the undesirable side effects. The reason that medical cannabis is low in THC is because patients would usually rather have the healing effects but not lose their focus and concentration.
The plant has quite a few effects on the human body. Short term the effects are mainly positive, feeling relaxed, euphoric, talkative, drowsy, that sort of thing. Very rarely it can cause feelings such as panic or paranoia but that may largely be down to the strain or the individual response to the drug. Long term the effects are much the same as nicotine or alcohol abuse. There is a higher chance of respiratory issues or lung cancer, decreased motivation and so on, however the one very real long term issue is that of short term memory loss. This can be a rather large issue but should not rear its ugly head if the drug is used responsibly.