Cannabis truly is the gateway of which we were warned. We now see of the potential of plant medicines as the grassroots paradigm it rightfully is. Cannabis, in particular, seems to have molecularly aligned with the precise nature of humankind. By some miracle of nature, Cannabis has had every organelle of our genetic predisposition and even our very way of thinking transcribed into its molecular verisimility. One could call it a (hopefully eventually finally) fortuitous next step in our evolution as a terrestrial species on this planet.
Cannabis and mankind are symbiotes.
If only by what it has shown us in this tragically brief time we have been able to get over ourselves long enough to discover, we are inextricably linked. Indeed, with what little rope we have granted ourselves, we can certainly imagine the potential of Cannabis technology from here on out. Cannabis is showing great promise in environmental science as a soil mending crop, providing oxygen, and sequestering carbon, and in chemistry making medicine, polymers, building materials, and several high tech applications like graphene and other nanomaterials science.
Let us just hope we are not too late in our forgiveness/appreciation of the pronounced psychological effects it has on us, though one could argue that even Δ9-THCa was specifically designed for this primate. It has its own built-in safety mechanism for browsing hominids who might happen to notice this aromatic plant is particularly nice to munch on as it ages… but even that takes a while to make its effects known. Later, only after we realize it is the source of this relaxed feeling, we hit upon all the magic of burning it and breathing the smoke, probably while eating food its fire helped prepare. This little snare keeps them with us, well before our understanding has time to get in the way.
What’s magnificent is that in the time she has been forced to stay in the shadows because of this silly “Hey look at me!” compound, she’s been bred to exhibit such a swollen and sumptuous stinger! The plant kindom has certain rights and irrefutable ways to show us silly monkeys her dominion. In the case of cannabis, this is not without ample rewards. The plant provided humans with nourishment, oils, medicine, and some of our very first textiles, all the while shining in its glorious way. It is truly no wonder why its virtues have been extolled by humans in Africa, Indoeurasia, Australia, South America, North America, and likely even Antarctica, for what few have been there.
We are only beginning to understand what it means to have an endocannabinoid system. Cannabis appears to have co-evolved with us to heal us and enrich our lives in ways well beyond the buzz. It is uncanny how easily mutable the natural cannabinoids can be, and always in non-toxic, often medicinally beneficial ways. Despite their action on such a fundamental human cellular signalling pathway, the cannabinoids do not easily develop physical dependency in people. Several cannabinoids are showing promise in treating some of our toughest diseases, and mitigating the symptoms of many others. Unlike almost any other medicinal compounds, cannabinoids are mediated through fat and oils in the body. Compounds like CBD and CBG are more benign than most oil based vitamins, and could easily be classified as such, while the various Δ-bond isomers of THC all have different cerebral and somatic effects. The wildly variable terpene profiles of Cannabis induce subtle changes in our reactions to the cannabinoids, and act as a human attractant and identifying feature of the plant.
Cannabis is a phenomenal natural resource for humans with still untold utility. Do you have more evidence of Cannabis/human symbiosis? Let’s talk about it!