Marijuana is a bit of a mystery for many people. After all, cannabis was considered an illegal drug for so long, causing many people to avoid it altogether.
Luckily, researchers are starting to see the health benefits of marijuana, and the plant has recently become legal to use in many states and countries.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the facts about marijuana that you may not have known, including its potential uses, how it affects men and women differently, and other interesting information about dmt cartridges.
1. Marijuana can be used to make clothing.
You might associate marijuana with smoking or vaping, but there are other ways to use the plant. For example, the fibers in the marijuana plant can be used to make fabric or rope.
Hemp rope has even been used to transport giant stone statues, according to research conducted on the Easter Island’s statues. In 2012, archaeologists recreated these stones, trying to figure out how these 4.35 metric ton stones were moved by ancient people without the technology that we have today.
One theory as to how these stones moved is that a team of 18 people rocked them back and forth to “walk” them forward. Researchers believe that Easter Islanders had access to shrubs similar to the marijuana plant that helped them make rope to perform this action, attaching three hemp ropes to each statue.
2. Weed may affect men and women differently.
Smoking weed might be a very different experience between men and women, and estrogen might be to blame.
According to research published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, female rats were more sensitive to the painkilling abilities of cannabis than male rats, but they were also more likely to develop a tolerance for the herb, which could lead to dependence and other negative side effects.
The researchers noted that the hormone estrogen seemed to play a role in the effects of the plant, noting that females might be more sensitive to weed during ovulation when estrogen is highest
3. Weed is getting stronger.
If you’ve noticed that your highs are getting stronger, you’re not imagining things. Research shows that pot is getting stronger, which creates a more intense high for users.
According to a 2016 study, researchers found that the levels of THC in more than 38,600 samples of street marijuana rose from about 4 percent in 1995 to 12 percent in 2014.
Additionally, the levels of non-psychoactive compounds dropped from 0.28 percent in 2001 to 0.15 percent in 2014. Results indicated that THC levels were 14 times higher than in 1994, and the ratio grew to 80.
This is great news if you like a strong high! However, THC also intensifies the effects of marijuana. So if you think you may be sensitive to high THC strains, then start with a low dose.
4. Your genes may determine your dependency to pot.
If you use pot for a long time, you’ll probably grow dependent to it. In other words, it won’t make you feel the way it once did when you first started using it, causing you to switch to other strains or increase your dose to get the same high.
You may also experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop using the herb, such as restlessness and irritability. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, only about 9 percent of users are considered dependent on marijuana.
Interestingly, your dependence to marijuana may depend on three genetic variants. One is involved in regulating calcium in the blood. Another is necessary for the growth of the central nervous system, according to the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
It should be noted that these genes were simply linked to dependence and the study did not prove that they caused dependence. However, researchers noted that these genes also tend to occur in people with depression, which could explain why depression and dependence often accompany each other.
5. You shouldn’t use marijuana if you’re taking Viagra.
Generally, you should be very careful mixing herbal concoctions with pharmaceutical drugs. This is true of marijuana and Viagra, the prescription drug that helps men get and keep an erection.
According to one study, Viagra is brown down by cytochrome P450 enzymes, and marijuana may have enzyme-inhibiting side effects. A 2002 report showed that a man who mixed marijuana and Viagra had a heart attack and died the next day. While doctors could not prove that mixing the two drugs caused the death, it’s better to be safe than sorry and take the two separately.
6. Pot might change the way you view winning or losing money.
According to one study, subjects who played a game in which they could win or lose a few cents or dollars with marijuana in their system had weaker nucleus accumben responses (the part of your brain responsible for processing rewards) to the prospect of winning money.
While the study could not prove that marijuana was responsible for these changes in the brain, researchers believe that there may be a connection between marijuana use and your reward response.