Marijuana Grower's Handbook Page 4
Marijuana provides therapeutic benefits across a startlingly broad range of conditions and has an unparalleled record of safety.
There are presently two well-studied and readily detectable eCBs: anandamide (a name derived from ananda, the Sanskrit word for bliss) and 2-AG (short for 2-arachidonylglycerol), each is generated in cells by specific enzymes in response to activation signals. In other words, cells generate and release anandamide or 2-AG when they receive particular signals to do so.
In the brain, for example, if one neuron (electrical cell of the brain) barrages another neuron with excitatory electrical activity, the target neuron may respond by generating and releasing eCBs from its cellular membrane.
The eCBs travel “backwards” across the synaptic cleft separating the two neurons, where they find CB1 receptors waiting. Through the molecular signaling of these strategically located CB1 receptors, the release of other, more principal neurotransmitters is momentarily paused. The eCBs act as a negative feedback, to say, “Whoa! That’s enough input, now slow down!” Because eCBs travel opposite the conventional neurotransmitter pathway across synapses, they have been dubbed “retrograde messengers.”
This fascinating, groundbreaking scientific discovery has revealed how a large number of brain cells appear to work: a given neuron releases eCBs in order to continuously regulate and tune its own synaptic inputs. This process, where synaptic connections between neurons are weakened or strengthened, is referred to as synaptic plasticity, a mechanism by which learning and memory occurs at the cellular level. The feedback mechanism of eCB-mediated synaptic plasticity is important not just for computational processes (how we think and feel and learn), but as a matter of cellular survival; too much excitation is deadly to cells. Thus, an apparently major function of eCBs, and a major effect of cannabinoids from marijuana, is neuroprotection—that is, protecting brain cells from too much excitation (known as excitotoxicity), which is a serious contributor to the brain damaging effects of stroke, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders.
NEURONAL FREQUENCY & SYNCHRONY: SETTING TEMPO WITH ECBS
What we have just described is that eCBs are used by the brain to dampen patterns of neuronal electrical activity, and one of the therapeutic effects of cannabis is to mimic this property. Yet this is only half the story. The eCBs also work the opposite way, releasing the neuron to fire more freely, a process called disinhibition.
This is another way that eCB-mediated synaptic plasticity appears to be adaptive for healthy brain function, though its effects vary based on the area of the brain. In a brain area called the amygdala, eCBs purge the memory of fearful experiences, helping an individual move past emotional trauma. This action helps explain the apparent utility of cannabinoids (including herbal cannabis) as a treatment for some cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Large-scale population studies have failed to find any link between cannabis smoking and lung cancer or other respiratory ailments.
By contrast, in the area called the hip-pocampus, tightly controlled eCB signaling allows cells to fire in coordinated synchrony, setting up the brain rhythms that are important for orienting oneself in physical space. Marijuana is thought to interrupt spatial memory by simultaneously flooding all the cells in this rhythmic engine with THC…um, where did I put that pen that was just in my hand? Similarly, the so-called somatic symptoms of a marijuana high—feelings such as floating, sinking into your seat, or altered balance, are likely due to the THC-sensitive circuitry of yet another brain region, the cerebellum.
To summarize, eCBs can either inhibit neuronal activity by slowing down excitatory synapses onto that neuron, or they can disinhibit (excite) neuronal activity by slowing down inhibitory synapses. Both of these are physiological actions that contribute to normal brain function. The fact that CB1 receptors can orchestrate the tempo of brain cells in either direction—faster or slower—surely helps to explain how cannabis can have such wide ranging, even opposite, perceived effects in different individuals and circumstances.
The story of eCBs is not just about the brain, though. Important therapeutic properties of cannabinoids are mediated by the CB2 receptors on immune cells. Immune cells promote inflammation during the course of fighting an infection, an important adaptive property; however this action also can be a source of pain, tissue damage, and an obstacle to healing and well-being. Activation of CB2 receptors throughout the body (including the brain, where immune cells are called microglia), either by eCBs or the cannabinoids in marijuana, tells the immune cells to slow down releasing the chemicals that trigger inflammation.
This effect is directly analogous to what we described for the brain, where eCBs serve as a brake to the release of neurotransmitters. Clinically, the need to control swelling, itching, and pain is the reason why corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are such widely used medicines.
Cannabinoids offer a different molecular approach to these same problems. Recent research findings suggest that cannabinoids may be especially promising in reducing dangers of chronic inflammation in the brain, which is believed key to many serious neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s dementia to Parkinson’s Disease and related motor disorders. The immune modulating effects of cannabinoids also appear to hold promise for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
The cannabinoid system appears to be primordial, since it exists in nearly all species of animals so far investigated, even very simple ones like microscopic hydra.
To date, the results of 79 controlled clinical trials on humans have been published, along with more than 15,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles on the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabis and cannabinoids, as well as more than 2,000 articles on the body’s natural endocannabinoids.
These studies clearly show that the effects can be variable and difficult to predict with precision, but marijuana provides therapeutic benefits across a startlingly broad range of conditions and has an unparalleled record of safety.
HOW CANNABIS GETS YOU HIGH
How THC operates in our bodies is better understood with each new study. But marijuana is composed of over 400 compounds, including at least 88 cannabinoids other than THC.
Cannabis is used by inhalation (smoking or vaporization), ingestion (eating, drinking, or absorption through the mucus membranes of the mouth) or, more rarely, topical application (rubbing into the skin).
Inhalation is a considerably more rapid and efficient delivery method than ingestion, since the cannabinoids, terpenes and other chemicals pass readily across the lining of the lungs straight into the bloodstream. The effects and quality of the high are also somewhat different.
Vaporization (or ingestion) is safer for the respiratory tract than smoking and creates a far less telltale odor. Burning cannabis (or just about anything else for that matter) creates harmful chemicals, known as reactive oxygen species, that may damage the mouth, throat, and lungs. However, heating cannabis in a controlled manner to a temperature just below ignition of the plant material releases the lighter chemicals (including the cannabinoids) without actually burning anything or creating the reactive chemicals found in smoke.
Vaporization may also provide a different quality of high, since it may produce a different mixture of volatilized compounds. Interestingly, though prolonged smoking has been shown to damage the lungs and bronchial tubes, large-scale population studies have failed to find any link between cannabis smoking and lung cancer or other respiratory ailments.
Volcano Vaporizor
Since the cannabinoids THC and cannabidiol (CBD) have both been shown to have cancer-fighting properties, scientists speculate that cannabinoids may have a prophylactic effect against damage that the tars and other potentially harmful chemicals present in cannabis smoke would otherwise cause.
As rapid as the onset of effects is when cannabis is inhaled, it is slow when eaten. When cannabis products are ingested, the cannabinoids pass firs
t through the stomach then are absorbed across the lining of the intestines into the blood, which passes through the liver and changes most of the THC into 11-hydroxy-THC. While 11-hydroxy-THC is also psychoactive, it may create a different kind of high. Because absorption from the intestines is relatively inefficient and slow, larger doses must be taken if ingested rather than inhaled, and the effects last longer but are delayed for 30-90 minutes after ingestion. This delay can lead to inadvertent excess dosages, since you can’t tell how much you have on board, unlike inhalation, which allows for easy and immediate dosage adjustment.
Serious scientific studies have attempted to determine what factors affect how much THC is absorbed from a joint. Some found that longer “breath holding time” (scientifically known as BHT) was more important than the number of puffs taken or the “puff volume” (PV), while others found that BHT did not appear to affect blood levels of THC or how high the subjects got.
Another study found that the second half of the joint delivers more THC than the first half. Clearly, more research is needed on the question of how long to hold each hit (so get to work!). However, there is now a solid scientific basis for the practice of letting your buddies start a joint and getting your first hit after it comes back around to you.
The physiological workings of cannabis include some effects that we recognize as getting high, others that are medically beneficial, and some that are both. The effects include a temporary increase in heart rate and blood pressure, impaired memory and time dilation, slowed reaction time and impaired balance, inhibition of sensory gating (altered/enhanced perceptions), alteration in mood including decreased or increased anxiety/panic attacks (though increased anxiety is usually only seen in inexperienced users or in “overdose”), increased appetite, decreased activity of the intestines and decreased nausea, red eyes, dry mouth, analgesia (pain relief), and decreased muscle spasms.
Nearly all drugs (including over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol and aspirin) are deadly if taken in overdose, so it is extraordinary that it is impossible to consume a lethal dose of THC. The effects of too much cannabis are generally restricted to severe memory impairment, possible paranoia or panic, near-certain overconsumption of snack foods, then sleep.
However, cannabinoids and the receptors that absorb them are not there just for humans to be able to get high. The cannabinoid system appears to be primordial, since it exists in nearly all species of animals so far investigated, even very simple ones like microscopic hydra.
The most likely reason that marijuana evolved to make cannabinoids like THC was to deter animals that would eat the plant (perhaps by preventing them from remembering where they found it). Many plants make substances that have biological effects in animals; humans have taken advantage of this to develop drugs derived from these substances, including morphine from poppies, aspirin from willow bark, and cancer drugs from periwinkle, to name a few.
Cannabis was used as medicine as early as 4,000 years ago in China and India, and preparations of cannabis were officially sanctioned medicines in the U.S. and other parts of the Western world from the 1800’s until the late 1930’s.
Today, the list of conditions for which cannabis has shown potential as treatment is a long one. As Michael Pollan describes in his book The Botany of Desire, the human-cannabinoid interaction has given marijuana an evolutionary survival advantage by persuading humans to plant it all over the world, something it could not have accomplished on its own.
“I’m in love with Mary Jane. She makes me feel alright. She makes my heart sing. Turns me on with her love. Takes me to paradise.”
Lyrics: Rick James “Mary Jane”
Photo: Rachael Szmajda
Photo: Doobieduck
MARIJUANA: THE PLANT
CANNABIS evolved from plants native to the Himalayan foothills, but its origins are clouded by the plant’s early symbiotic relationship with humans, a relationship at least 6,000 years old. The use of cannabis and its products spread quickly throughout the world and is now cultivated in climatic zones from the Arctic to the equator. Cannabis evolved on its own for hundreds of thousands of generations, but since its properties were discovered by humans, it has been bred intensively to optimize particular characteristics.
Cannabis is cultivated for one or more of three useful products—
•the nutritious seeds
•the fibrous stalks
•the resinous flowers
Cannabis seeds are rich in oil and protein and are used as a food and animal feed, as well as a source of oil for fuel and skincare products.
Cannabis fiber, produced from the stalks of the plant, is used to make tough cloth, paper, and rope. Though all cannabis plants are of the same species, the varieties typically cultivated for their seeds or fiber are known as hemp.
The third product, the flower and the resin that coats them, is used therapeutically and recreationally. Cannabis resin contains the group of substances collectively known as cannabinoids, of which Tetra-hydro-cannabinol, usually referred to as THC, is the chief psychoactive component.
THC and the other 87 identified cannabinoids are unique to cannabis. No other plant produces them, although frankincense and cocoa may contain small amounts of compounds that bind to some of the same receptors. Plants grown for their THC content are commonly called marijuana.
The many uses of this multi-faceted plant have historically made it a valuable crop, and today there are collectively more breeding programs for marijuana than any other crop. Marijuana’s breeding program is, at least in part, one of the unintended consequences of prohibition, as Michael Pollan points out in his book, The Botany of Desire. As the U.S. government escalated its War on Drugs and imposed tighter border controls to restrict the flow of marijuana from Mexico, resourceful American consumers became cultivators. Because of seed scarcity on the commercial market and the fact that cannabis is one of the few plants that casual farmers and breeders can easily grow from self-produced seed, many gardeners have become self-reliant and created their own seed stock.
Gardeners who take this path join an international breeding program as soon as they transfer some of their genetics (i.e. seeds) to someone else. In the 40 years of this modern cannabis breeding program, growers have developed diverse varieties and cultivation methods that are quite efficient at producing the desired product: large, dense buds of sinsemilla—that is, a profusion of unpollinated female flowers.
The desired product: large, dense buds of sinsemilla—that is, a profusion of unpollinated female flowers.
Marijuana varieties differ in many ways, including growth characteristics such as:
•height
•width
•branching traits
•leaf size and shape
•flowering time to yield
•potency
•taste
•type of high
•aroma
In choosing a variety, you should select for the quality of the high and the conditions in which you are growing.
Each variety flourishes best under particular environmental conditions. For the most part, potency is a factor of genetics.
Some plants have the genetic potential of producing high-grade marijuana and others do not. The goal of the cultivator is to nurture the high-THC plants so they can reach their full potential.
In nature, marijuana is a fast-growing annual plant, although some varieties in warm areas over-winter, going dormant as the days shorten and then returning to flowering the next summer. Marijuana does best in a well-drained, high-nutrient planting medium and requires long periods of bright, unobstructed light daily.
This book is about how to produce the best marijuana under controlled conditions, whether indoors, in the greenhouse, or even outdoors.
Marijuana is usually dioecious; i.e., plants are either male or female.
Occasionally monoecious plants, or hermaphrodites, appear and produce both male and female flowers. Such hermaphroditic plants are most co
mmon among some varieties native to south Asia, but can also result from environmental stress such as inadequate light or nutrition. Because they fertilize females just as a true male plant does, they are considered undesirable and are removed from the garden as soon as they appear.
Marijuana grown in the wild or with traditional methods outdoors has an annual cycle that begins with germination in the early spring. The plant grows vigorously for several months as the days lengthen and begins to flower when it reaches a critical time period in late summer or early fall.
Flowering depends on the variety’s native latitude but occurs in late summer as the night length increases. Varieties from high latitudes, such as most indicas, need less darkness to flower than those from lower latitude areas, such as most sativas. All varieties set seed in the fall as a result of changes in the weather—the seeds drop as the plant dies.
When growing indoors and in greenhouses, the cultivator has complete control of the environment. The grower determines when the plants are started and when they flower.
This book is about how to produce the best marijuana under controlled conditions, whether indoors, in the greenhouse, or even outdoors.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION: CANNABIS SATIVA L.