Cannabis 101 - Everything You Need To Know About Weed

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So I've been apart of this forum for quite a while I've noticed alot of false facts, rumors, and misconceptions about Cannabis. So in this thread I'm going to cover EVERYTHING you need to know about weed from different types, concentrates, cultivating, history, edibles, nutritional values, culture and medical properties. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments feel free to ask me and I'd be happy to answer your questions.

If you have anything more to add please post below and I'd be happy to edit it into the thread. Make sure to site your sources if you're going to add anything.

Contents:
1. History
2. Culture
3. Varieties of Marijuana
4. Cultivating and Growing
5. Edibles
6. Concentrates (My Favorite)
7. Nutritional Values
8. Medical Properties
9. Conclusion/Personal Experience

So let's get into it!!!

1. History of Cannabis

The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates from 2737 BC, in the writings of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The focus was on its powers as a medication for rheumatism, gout, malaria, and oddly enough, absent-mindedness. Mention was made of the intoxicating properties, but the medicinal value was considered more important. In India though it was clearly used recreationally. The Muslims too used it recreationally for alcohol consumption was banned by the Koran. It was the Muslims who introduced hashish (Section 6. Concentrates regarding Hashish) whose popularity spread quickly throughout 12th century Persia (Iran) and North Africa.

In 1545 the Spanish brought marijunana to the New World. The English introduced it in Jamestown in 1611 where it became a major commercial crop alongside tobacco and was grown as a source of fiber. By 1890, hemp had been replaced by cotton as a major cash crop in southern states. Some patent medicines during this era contained marijuana, but it was a small percentage compared to the number containing opium or cocaine. It was in the 1920's that marijuana began to catch on. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. "Reefer songs" became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, sprang up in every major city. These marijuana establishments were tolerated by the authorities because marijuana was not illegal and patrons showed no evidence of making a nuisance of themselves or disturbing the community. Marijuana was not considered a social threat.

Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed for various conditions including labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. Its use as an intoxicant was also commonplace from the 1850s to the 1930s. A campaign conducted in the 1930s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) sought to portray marijuana as a powerful, addicting substance that would lead users into narcotics addiction. It is still considered a "gateway" drug by some authorities. In the 1950s it was an accessory of the beat generation; in the 1960s it was used by college students and "hippies" and became a symbol of rebellion against authority.

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse potential and no accepted medical use. Most marijuana at that time came from Mexico, but in 1975 the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop by spraying it with the herbicide paraquat, raising fears of toxic side effects. Colombia then became the main supplier. The "zero tolerance" climate of the Reagan and Bush administrations resulted in passage of strict laws and mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana and in heightened vigilance against smuggling at the southern borders. The "war on drugs" thus brought with it a shift from reliance on imported supplies to domestic cultivation (particularly in Hawaii and California). Beginning in 1982 the Drug Enforcement Administration turned increased attention to marijuana farms in the United States, and there was a shift to the indoor growing of plants specially developed for small size and high yield. After over a decade of decreasing use, marijuana smoking began an upward trend once more in the early 1990s, especially among teenagers.

More information visit: Historical Timeline - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org

2. Culture

There are plenty of supporters on both sides of the marijuana decriminalization issue in the US. On one side, some people want to decriminalize the drug. Proponents of medical use of marijuana would benefit from this move, as the drug would be more broadly available and merchandisable to the public (ex. California, Washington, and Colorado).

Marijuana today, its legalization and distribution, is still highly debated and has been for more than a decade. The fact is that we're not getting rid of this drug any time soon so it would be smart to be knowledgeable in this subject. More and more everyday states and it's people push towards the legalization of marijuana.

Recently Washington and Colorado have made it 100% legal for anyone over 21 for recreational consumption within limits. Over 20 states also offer Medical Marijuana but requires the need for a Doctor's referral which you will have to jump through a few hoops to attaining a medical marijuana license. Each state differs from the quantity you can posses and how many plants you can grow.

I don't have too much experience with other state's and their cannabis laws but you can find more information here: Medical cannabis in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I want to talk alittle about Colorado, since we are the capital of Marijuana (more people smoke per capita than any location in the world). As of this year marijuana has recently pass a bill saying that marijuana is legal for recreational consumption for anyone over the age of 21. You can also grow 3 plants if you're above 21. The medical laws for any person(s) who acquired their medical license (18+) can poses up to 3 ounces and 6 plants.

Colorado over the years of legalization has socially accepted marijuana rather than consider it as a drug, considering it's death rate is 0 which is lower than any drug, including alcohol and cigarettes. Every year on 4/20 they celebrate a "National weed day" where many tourists/locals/and weed companies come together and throw a giant weed party in Denver's Capital. Here's a few pictures:




The more and more this culture grows within the state, it'll be a matter of no time before other states catch on and decide to legalize it as well.
@Aborted can vouch for the culture in Colorado

3. Varieties of Marijuana

So yes, there are 1000's of different strains of Marijuana. You definitely can make a dictionary sized list of every possible strain considering alot of them consist of cross breeding, genetic alteration, and the way you grow from hydroponics/soil/outdoor (will get more into it on section 4)

There are 2 different types of Marijuana which are Sativa and Indica (and everything inbetween from hybrids of the both, sativa dominant hybrid, and indica dominant hybrid)

Indica plants typically grow short and wide, compared to Sativa plants which grow tall and thin. Indica plants are better suited for indoor growing because of their short growth and sativa plants are better suited for outdoor growing because some strains can reach over 25 ft. in height.

The high produced from smoking Indica bud is a strong physical body high that will make you sleepy or ‘couch-locked’ and provides a deep relaxation feeling compared to a Sativa high, which is known to be more energetic and uplifting. Because Sativa and Indica buds have very different medicinal benefits and effects, certain strains can be targeted to better treat specific illnesses.



Indica dominant marijuana strains tend to have a strong sweet or sour odor to the buds (ex. Kush, OG Kush) providing a very relaxing and strong body high that is helpful in treating general anxiety, body pain, and sleeping disorders.

Indicas are very effective for overall pain relief and is often used to treat insomnia for many people. Indica buds are most commonly smoked by medical marijuana patients in the late evening or even right before bed due to how sleepy and tired you become when high from an indica strain of marijuana, like Kush.

Benefits of Indica:
1. Relieves body pain
2. Relaxes muscles
3. Relieves spasms, reduces seizures
4. Relieves headaches and migraines
5. Relieves anxiety or stress

Sativa dominant marijuana strains tend to have a more grassy type odor to the buds providing an uplifting, energetic and “cerebral” high that is best suited for daytime smoking. A sativa high is one filled with creativity and energy as being high on sativa can spark new ideas and creations. Many artists take advantage of the creative powers of cannabis sativa (marijuana) to create paintings.

Benefits of Sativa:
1. Feelings of well-being and at-ease
2. Up-lifting and cerebral thoughts
3. Stimulates and energizes
4. Increases focus and creativity
5. Fights depression



4. Cultivating and Growing

There are many different ways to grow marijuana. Which method is right for you depends upon your circumstances and what you can manage to do.

Any of these methods will yield good results for a dedicated gardener. However, what you get out of it will depend upon what you put into it. A crop is subject to all kinds of threats, ranging from lack of water, to improper fertilizer, to bugs and animals that will eat it. If you really want good, high-grade marijuana you will have to put a little work into it, no matter which method you use.

The first step, of course, is to get some seeds or clones to get you started.

The growing methods are:

1. Plain dirt

This is the traditional method of growing anything. Just grow the marijuana as you would any other plant. Use good soil, and make sure that you keep it watered and properly fertilized.

Advantages:

It is usually easier and cheaper than any other method.

You can use standard nursery store fertilizers.

Disadvantages:

Unless you get commercial growing soil, the soil can be of uncertain quality. You could lose a crop or have poor results because the minerals and nutrients in the soil are out of balance.

Yields will probably not be as great as you will get with other methods.


2. Coco Fiber/Rock Wool

Instead of using soil as a medium to hold the roots, you can use an inert medium -- something that does not have the quality problems found with ordinary soil.

Advantages:

Almost as easy as growing marijuana in plain soil.

Better yields than soil.

Almost as cheap and simple as plain soil.

The process is generally cleaner with fewer bugs and mess..

Disadvantages:

Requires special fertilizers which are more expensive.

Requires the purchase of coco fiber. This is not very expensive, but you may have to find a local store that stocks it.


3. Hydroponics

Hydroponics consists of growing the plants in something such as gravel, with no soil or vegetable matter in the mix. The gravel will be contained in pots or troughs. Water with a light mix of special fertilizers will be either poured through the gravel, or the troughs will be flooded with the fertilizer several times throughout the day.

If you view roots grown in hydroponics versus those grown in plain soil, you will see an immediate difference. While roots grown in soil have a big tap root, the roots grown in hydroponics will have no major tap root, but will consist of a huge bunch of small, clean white hairs.

Advantages

Much bigger yields than the previous methods.

Cleaner because no soil is used.

Disadvantages

Costs a lot more because it requires troughs, pumps, and reservoirs to hold the water/fertilizer mixture.

Requires a lot more labor. You will need to monitor Ph and nutrient levels to make sure they stay within proper limits.

It takes more equipment. Therefore it may take more room.


4. Aeroponics

Aeroponics consists of growing roots in plain air. The plants are held in a mesh basket, hanging out in the air, and the water and fertilizer is continuously sprayed over the roots. This method produces roots that are even more amazing than hydroponics.

Advantages

Fastest growth and biggest yields of all. Results can be spectacular.

Disadvantages

Costs more than growing in soil because it requires equipment similar to that used in hydroponics.

Requires more labor. In order to get good results, it must be monitored on a daily basis.

Very sensitive to mistakes. You must keep the nutrients and Ph in a specific range for optimum results. If the measures of nutrients and Ph in your water gets out of limits, you can have really bad results in a big hurry.
[img]http://hydroponicsequipmen******wp-content/uploads/2011/02/aeroponics.jpg[/img]

My System: I have a hydroponics setup with tilapia fish that swim around the roots. The droppings of the plants help feed the fish while the fish's excrement is healthy as hell for the plants. Once the fish get too big, we fry them up and eat them.


5. Edibles

Cannabis foods (including hash brownies and space cakes), more informally known as edibles, are food products made with cannabis in herbal or resin form as an ingredient. They are consumed as an alternate delivery means to experience the effects of cannabinoids without smoking marijuana or hashish. Instead, the cannabinoids are put into cake, cookie, brownie, or other foods, and are consumed for recreational or medicinal purposes. Most people extract the THC from the weed into butter and use the Weed Butter for cooking.

Weed Butter:
Weed Butter is a butter-based solution which has been infused with cannabinoids. This is achieved by heating the herbal cannabis or resin along with butter and allowing the cannabinoids to be extracted by the fat. A more complicated process is using a double-boiler, or slow cooker, cheesecloth or tea strainer and funnel. Cooking time varies from 10–15 minutes to 24 hours at 93 °C (199 °F), depending on the amount of cannabis used - .8 grams takes from 15–25 minutes, even though it is better to extend that time a bit more by not exceeding the 100 °C (212 °F) border, or even lowering to 90 °C (194 °F), to 24 hours for 30 grams.

Liqueurs:
Because cannabis resins are soluble in alcohol, an effective way of adding them into dishes is through cooking brandy or rum infused with cannabinoids. Generally, stems and leaves of the marijuana plant are used due to their lower THC content when smoked. When infused in high-proof grain-based alcohol (such as Everclear) it becomes what is commonly known as Green Dragon. Creme de Gras (a play on the English "grass", as creme de gras translates literally as "cream of fat") is a flavored liqueur made from cannabis. It can be added to coffee and other beverages.

Also there's candies, lolipops, soda, cookies, mint sprays, mouth drops, and brownies




6. Concentrates

Concentrates are the extracts of weed whether it's through Butane or CO2.

BHO (Butane Hash Oil) is through the process of pumping weed with butane where it scrapes off the crystals of the weed leaving you with a pure THC Crystal Oil roughly around 80-98% THC yield.

CO2 Extracted Oil is through the process of pumping weed with CO2 where it freezes the crystals on the weed where they fall off into a THC crystal oil like BHO. Sometimes the yield can be less than the BHO process so I prefer BHO. Only good thing about CO2 is it's alot of cleaner than butane

The process of extracting:

Things you will need
-cylinder glass or metal (I use metal turkey baster without the rubber end)
-coffee filters
-butane or CO2
-two glass dishes that fit into each other
-vacuum pump (some sort of suction to extract the butane out of the oil hand pump works but is a hassel)
-(vacuum pump isn't need for CO2 Extraction)

First you will start off with the glass or metal cylinder, like me I use the metal cylinder from a turkey baster. I stuff the cylinder with weed till it's pretty packed and cover the larger end with coffee filters (use a couple) and tie them down with rubber bands. On the other end of the cylinder you're going to pump butane (or CO2). After alittle time you'll notice a yellow liquid drip from the coffee filter end and ultimately what you have is Oil. You're going to have to have it drip into a glass dish with the dish sitting in warm water roughly 80 degrees Fahrenheit so the oil doesn't solidify and is more malleable.

If you're doing the BHO method it's not smart or safe to smoke the oil since there is still butane in the oil. What you're going to need next is some sort of jar where you can put the weed in. You'll want to attach a vacuum pump or hand pump to the lid of the jar. For example I use a mason jar, cut a small circular hole in the top and attach a hose. The other end of the hose connects to my vacuum pump (or hand pump) and I just suck the remaining air out of the jar makes a cleaner oil. During this process you should see the oil bubble which means the butane is coming out of the oil and you're on the right track. Once you're done with the pumping you can remove the oil, (I like to let it sit for alittle) you got yourself some BHO or CO2 extract. Here's a few varieties of Hash Oil

Moon Rock:


Budder:


EarWax:


Here's a few ways you can smoke these oils

Dabbing:




On a cigarette/joint/blunt:




or use a vape pen (100's of different models)

Here's my personal favorite the Cloud Pen





7. Nutritional Values

30–35% of the weight of hempseed is oil containing 80% of the unsaturated essential fatty acids (EFAs), linoleic acid (LA, 55%) and linolenic acid (ALA, 21–25%). These are not manufactured by the body and must be supplied by food. The proportions of linoleic acid and linolenic acid in hempseed oil are perfectly balanced to meet human requirements for EFAs, including gamma-linoleic acid (GLA). Unlike flax oil and others, hempseed oil can be used continuously without developing a deficiency or other imbalance of EFAs. Hemp also contains 31% complete and highly-digestible protein, 1/3 as edestin protein and 2/3 as albumin protein. This protein profile is second only to raw uncooked soybeans (35% vs. 31%), and the amino acid profile is superior to soybean, human milk, and cow's milk, and similar to egg whites.
The ALA contained in plant seed oils by itself is sufficient for nutrition, as your body is capable of converting it into other fatty acids. However, this conversion process is inefficient, and the broader spectrum of omega-3 fatty acids obtained from oily fish is easier for the body to immediately utilize (see Fish and plants as a source of Omega-3).
Typical nutritional analysis of shelled hempseed:
Calories/100 g 567
Protein (Nx5.46) 30.6%
Fat 47.2%
Saturated fat 5.2%
Monounsaturated fat 5.8%
Polyunsaturated fat 36.2%
Carbohydrate 10.9%
Oleic 18:1 (Omega-9) 5.8%
Linoleic 18:2 (Omega-6) 27.56%
Linolenic 18:3 (Omega-3) 8.68%
Cholesterol 0.0%
Total dietary fiber 6.0%
Vitamin A (B-Carotene) 4 IU/100 g
Thiamine (Vit B1) 1.38 mg/100 g
Riboflavin (Vit B2) 0.33 mg/100 g
Vitamin B6 0.12 mg/100 g
Vitamin C 1.0 mg/100 g
Vitamin D 2277.5 IU/100 g [citation needed]
Vitamin E (dl-A-Tocopherol) 8.96 IU/100 g
Sodium 9.0 mg/100 g
Calcium 74.0 mg/100 g
Iron 4.7 mg/100 g

8. Medical Properties

ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Lou Gehrigs Disease
Marijuana In The Management Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Alzheimers Disease
Marijuana's Active Ingredient Shown to Inhibit Primary Marker of Alzheimer's
Study: Marijuana Slows Alzheimer's Decline

Anti-Bacterial Qualities
Antibacterial Cannabinoids from Cannabis Sativa

Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis - Cannabis Eases Pain And Suppresses Disease
Anti-inflammatory Compound From Cannabis Found In Herbs

Asthma
Smoked Cannabis And Asthmatics
Acute Effects Of Smoked Marijuana And Oral Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol In Asthmatics

The Brain
Marijuana May Spur New Brain Cells
Marijuana And The IQ

Cancer
Lung Cancer: Antineoplastic Activity Of Cannabinoids
Turned-Off Cannabinoid Receptor Turns On Colorectal Tumor Growth
Pot Compound Enhances Efficacy Of Anti-Cancer Agents, Study Says
Marijuana & Skin Cancer

Diabetes
Cannabis And Diabetic Retinopathy
Medical Breakthrough! Medicinal Marijuana for Diabetics!

Epilepsy
Hypnotic and Antiepileptic Effects of Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol And Epileptic Patients

Glaucoma
National Eye Institute Policy on Marijuana
Cannabis and Neuroprotection

Mental Health
American Psychiatric Association Assembly Unanimously Backs Medical Marijuana
Cannabis As A Psychotropic Medication
Cannabis Does Not Induce Schizophrenia, Dutch Scientists Say

Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle Cell Disease and Cannabis

Tourette-Syndrome
THC effective in Tourette-Syndrome

9. Conclusion and Personal Experience

I first want to start off by saying thank you for everyone who took the time and read this thread. Over all my research, all my studies, all my years of smoking I've realized that this isn't a drug, it's a medicine, a stress relief, a cure, an anti depressant, a culture, a miracle, and most of all a way to bring humanity together. I hope that this definitely changed the way you think about weed for the ones who had a negative outlook on it. I hope you all at some point in your life try this miracle plants, and if you decide not to, I understand that's a personal choice but doesn't mean you have to hate it.

Thank you so much, smoke weed everyday!

----------EDIT----------

Here's a few photos of my plants now and my oil rigs/pipes:

I never thought cannabis was a bad thing. I'm not the kind of person to use drugs, but I couldn't care less if people use it. This was actually very informative. Good job on this one man.