There are some very commonly known facts about marijuana, but we delved into the depths to bring you these 8 interesting marijuana facts.
With the growth of legalization and more research being done on Colorado's favorite plant, more facts and tidbits of information are coming out about marijuana. From second-hand pot floating in the air to the history behind where it was first made illegal, here are some interesting facts about marijuana.People have been using marijuana for centuries.
Marijuana use goes back MUCH farther than hippies in the '60s. While this is a fairly well-known fact, most don't know exactly HOW far back the plant goes. Ancient Taiwanese were using hemp fibers to decorate pottery about 10,000 years ago, according to the "Archaeology of Ancient China" (Yale University Press, 1968).
Effects: men v. women
According to a 2014 study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, male and female rats were compared to discover the differing effects between genders. Washington State University psychologist Rebecca Craft found that females were more sensitive to cannabis's painkilling qualities. The females were also more likely to develop a tolerance for marijuana.Pot is in the air.
If you've ever gone to a show at Red Rocks, I'm sure you've looked around at the haze and considered the effects of marijuana floating around the air. But have you ever considered marijuana floating around where you don't expect? According to a 2012 study done in Italy, trace amounts of marijuana were floating through the air around the Colosseum and the Pantheon, as well as in seven Italian cities. Researchers studied the air quality levels in Rome, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Turin, and Verona for psychotropic substances. Scientists found traces of cocaine, nicotine caffeine, and yes, marijuana. Florence and Bologna had the highest concentrations of marijuana.
Booming business
In 2015, the marijuana industry in the U.S. was larger than craft beer, wine, and organic food. Take that, Whole Foods!!California was first ...
...but not in the way you might think. While a lot of people may think of California and immediately envision Snoop Dogg and Humboldt County, pot was first banned in California over a century ago. Weed historian (yeah, that exists) and California coordinator of NORML, Dale Gieringer, pinpoints the actual date as Aug. 10, 1913, when a new regulation took hold from the state Board of Pharmacy that added "locoweed" to the state Poison Act. After this, they began launching raids and, according to Gieringer, "Law enforcement would pose as addicts who needed a 'fix' but didn't have a doctor's note, then arrest the druggist." Up until that point, marijuana was very much used as a medicine and hemp was grown by the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Owls in danger
Not all grows are positive. A trend in illegal outdoor grows have been resulting in the demise of the endangered spotted owl. In California's Mendocino County, rat poison put out by people who have these illegal grows on isolated stretches have been poisoning owls. In 2012, two spotted owls were found dead in the county and tested positive for the rat poison. Owls weren't the only victims; about 85 percent of dead mammals also tested positive.Feeling batty
The U.S. Government's "official expert" on marijuana from 1938 to 1962 once testified in court (aka under oath) and stated that he had smoked marijuana once, and it turned him into a bat ... let that sink in ...
It's the ultimate sponge
Guess what? Cannabis cleans up nuclear radiation and toxic soil. Shocking, I know, but it's true! Industrial hemp has been utilized to clean up pollutants many times. The most famous account is near the deadly sight of Chernobyl. In the mid 1990s, a company called Phytotech worked with researchers and a seed bank based out of the Ukraine to plant thousands of hemp plants around the deadly site. The process is called Phytoremediation, in which plants are used to remove heavy metals, radioactive material, and other deadly toxins from the earth. According to researchers at CSU, hemp is extremely efficient in removing toxic elements from soil, and since it grows so quickly, has deep roots, and doesn't seem to be affected by pollution, hemp is the best plant to use in this process.Do you have any interesting marijuana facts in your back pocket? We'd love to hear them! Share your marijuana facts with us in the comments below!
