Hemp

General description
History
Applications
Chemical properties
Precautions
Other variants
Remaining images

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General description

Masculine flowers

Hemp (Cannabis sativa ) is an annual, dioeciously plant. Dioeciously means that the species has masculine and feminine plant members. The plant blossoms from June till and with August with greenish flowers. The stamen flowers (masculine) stand in plumes and the carpel flowers (feminine) in the leaf armpits in spikes. The leaves have a long stem with five to nine lancet form slips and have a saw tooth shape. The plant becomes 1 until 2 meters high.

Marijuana and industrial Hemp its not the same. Marijuana is the Hemp that especially becomes uses for its psychoactive properties and contains also a high percentage, 5 until 20 percent, THC (the most important psychoactive component). Industrial Hemp becomes used for its fibres and seeds, and has a THC percentage of 1% or less. Industrial Hemp has about that almost no psychoactive properties.
The plant is grown and is sometimes in flower bound to find. It comes in the wild rarely for. In subtropical areas, it is cultivated these days on large scale, but are important production country also Italy, Hungary, Poland, Japan and China.

Self Hemp cultivate.

According to the Dutch legislation it is not allowed to cultivate more than three Hemp plant.

Place.
Sunny spot

Soil.
Well drained and nitrogen rich soils.

Multiply.
The seeds can be sown by beginning March till end of May.

Long time one did not know to which family Hemp should belong to. Firstly the plant was classified to the stinging nettle family or Urticaceae, later on by the mulberry or Moraceae and now is spoken by a separate family, the Hemp family or Cannabinaceae. That counts only two families, Cannabis (Hemp) and Humulus (hops).
Originally Hemp came for in Western and Central-Asia, now grows it almost everywhere.

In India, cannabis became used somewhere between 2000 and 1400 BC and in the Arabic countries in the thirteenth century AD. Parts of the Hemp plant were also found in the mummy of pharaoh Ramses II (approximately 1200 BC). Also the Romans and Greeks knew about the properties of cannabis and used it as a medicine. In Western-European countries, cannabis became used in the middle Ages especially for making rope, clothes, although some also knew of the psychoactive properties.

As stimulant has cannabis among other gotten acquaintance by the French writer Baudelaire who under influence of cannabis wrote a few of his most famous works. In the United States had cannabis an important recovery during the ban on alcohol in the twenties. In the sixties, cannabis became a part of the "flower power" movement and began a large part of the younger persons out all lay to use from the population in the United States and Europe it.

In the previous century, extracts of cannabis had an important place in the Dutch pharmacies. They were applied among others for cramps, coincidences, asthma, sleep disturbances and migraine. Because on the most grounds however in the course of the years better medicines were developed, became cannabis slowly always less used. It remained however till 1958 an official medicine, under the name "Extractum Cannabis indicae". Since a few years stands the use of cannabis as a medicine again to discussion.

The investigation to cannabis began in the nineteenth century. In the forties, two important matters were isolated from the Hemp plant, cannabinol and cannabidiol. In the sixties, it succeeded is dust to isolate the matter delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the Hemp plant, this the most important psychoactive. Soon after this many other compounds were isolated from the Hemp plant and play cards brought their structures in. End of the eighties became discovers in the human body natural receptors (cannabinoid-receptors), on which cannabis seizes. Beginning of the nineties became discovers anandamide , one of nature in the human body occurring matter that seizes on the same receptors.

Keep house / General.
The masculine plant is in the first place an unsurpassed fibre plant, that the fibres furnishes from which rope and paper are made. From Hemp seed becomes oil pressed that is applied in paint and varnish. Also it serves as a bird seed. The plant counts in many regions as fence in the country and garden building. Fossil fuels can replace become partly through Hemp.

Primary Hemp fibres
The primary fibres its the long, strong fibres that grow in the length around the wood like core of the stem. When Hemp has been harvested become the fibres of the stem taken away.

This lifted lie to let single weeks through the stems on the field and are released by the influence of rain, bottom liquid and bacteria the fibres of the stem. This process is called "dew rotating".

The fibres are average 20 cm long. The fibres can be spun or woven dust till a good linen like. The matter is sturdy and arranged for the making of clothing, soft furnishings, pile up, sail etc. Hemp fibbers can be mixed also with wool cotton, linen or other fibres. Because of this the matter can become more strongly and can become the more comfortably to wear it.

Core fibres.
Core fibres come plant from the weak, wood like stem of the Hemp. These fibres absorb two turns so much water then wood curl and is because of this a perfect ground for animals and for in the garden. Through the large quantity at cellulose, it can uses become by the making from plastic.
A good quality paper can be made by Hemp. This paper can be recycled single times more then paper what has been made by wood. Because Hemp much less wood matter (lignin) contain can by Hemp with less chemicals pulp be made. The pulp becomes used making paper from. The pulp yields of a hectare Hemp is four times larger than that of a hectare pine forest.

Hemp seed.
Hemp seeds are realm on proteins, vitamins and minerals. The seeds have no psychoactive properties, because it contains no THC. The seeds can be pressed for oil or peeled for the nutritious content of the seeds. Hemp seeds contain gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).

Peeled Hemp seeds.
Hemp seeds are good source of proteins and are better to digest then soybeans.
The peeled seeds can be grilled or can become used in much different foods. It becomes used in bird feed and is also a good ingredient in (house) animal feed.

Hemp seed oil.
The seeds of Hemp contain 25 until 35 percent oil and contain much essential fatty acids. The cold press oil is light green and has a light grass taste. This oil can for many dishes become used as tofu and margarine and can together or instead of olive, walnut and sunflower oil become used. The oil becomes used also in paint, shampoos and soap.





Medicinal.

Hemp seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). It has no psychoactive properties, because it contain no THC. Hemp seed oil becomes put on recommended by the treatment of skin (eczema, psoriasis), high blood pressure, high cholesterol content, rheumatism, inflammations and diabetes.

In the Netherlands, cannabis in the previous century was applied put on by different, as cramps, coincidences, asthma, sleep disturbances and migraine.

As a medical herb become the in the flowering time collected tops of the feminine plant used.

Properties and character.
Soothing, cramp defence, psychoactive, relaxing, appetite increasing, sleep promoting.

Use.
At the effect of Hemp by the next put on becomes still examine done. It exist already prove that Hemp hereby a favourable effect can have.
- Pain by cancer
- Nastiness and broke because of chemotherapy
- Extreme weight loss, loss of appetite by AIDS
- Muscle spasm and multiple sclerosis
- Anorexia nervosa
- Glaucoma
- Migraine
- Asthma

These days there is going out THC ethereal oil of Hemp available and has thus no psychoactive side effects. It is a light yellow oil. The smells of the ethereal oil is flower, wood and herb like. The taste is bitter.

Properties:
Inflammations brake, decreased swellings, anti allergic, the smell fortune becomes through it improved, relaxing, strengthening.

To use by:
Cough, bronchitis, weakens smell sense, asthma, hay fever and other allergic reactions, skin irritations, eczema, inflammations, nervousness, insomnia, fears, restlessness.


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Chemical properties


In the plant present matters.
In the Hemp plant come more than four hundred different matters for.
Approximately sixty of that are unique and come in no single other plant for. These matters are named also well cannabinoids.
The matter that the mostly responsible is for the physical and psychological working of Hemp is tetra- hydrocannabinol (THC). Someone else dust is cannabinol (CBN) in Hemp and dust influenced cannabidiol, these the working of THC.
THC discharges just as other cannabinoids good on in fat, but not well in water.




Active constituents in the Ethereal oil.
The most occurring components in the ethereal oil of Hemp are the terpenoids myrceen, b- and trans-caryophylleen

Other components in the ethereal want to be:
Monoterpenoids: alpha- and concretes-pineen
Sesquiterpenoids: alpha-humuleen, allo-Aromadendreen (?)
Terpenoid oxides: caryophylleen oxide, bisabolol


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Precautions


Use no Hemp during the pregnancy.
The high feel that cannabis can cause can by medical use annoying be. Cannabis has negative effects on the driving ability as alertness, concentration, co-ordination and reaction fortune.
Lengthy and intensive use of psychoactive cannabis has work (memory) presumable consequences for the cognitively and can lead till dependence and abuse.


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Other variants


The slaughtered Cannabis counts three kinds, namely: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis.
They differ divide as for growth place, qualities of the fruits and the structure of the wood like. Moreover arose per kind, everywhere true Hemp were imported, at the climate adapted types. The Chinese Hemp becomes more than 6 meters, the Dutch only 2 meter.

Leaf of Cannabis indica


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Remaining images


Here single photographs of Hemp (Cannabis sativa ) stand.




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Literature

[1]. Rüdt, YOU.; - Therapeutic and poisonous plants - First busily; Zutphen:
B. V. W. J. Thieme & Cie (1973). ISBN 90-03 94630 , 2
[2]. Pim Cuijpers; - Cannabis - First busily; Wooden/Diegem: Bohn Stafleu Van Loghum (2000)
ISBN 90-313-3429-4
[3]. Thijs Caspers; - Plataardige drugs - First busily; Apeldoorn Tilburg: Dutch Police
Museum (1998) ISBN 99-24-197(099-24-033)