What is marijuana? What is cannabis? Are they the same?
Are marijuana and hemp the same thing?
Where was marijuana first used?
Who were the first people to use marijuana?
Is marijuana use during pregnancy harmful?
Where does marijuana grow?
What is the wild marijuana that grows in North America? Is it good to smoke?
What is hash?
Can you tell if marijuana is good just by looking at it?
Is marijuana more harmful than tobacco?
Is marijuana dangerous? How many people have died from using it?
Is marijuana a 'gateway drug'?

What is marijuana? What is cannabis? Are they the same?

Marijuana and cannabis are the same thing. Cannabis is the scientific name for the genus of plants that includes sativa; Marijuana is only the Mexican name for cannabis. Cannabis for recreational use was introduced to the US by the influx of Mexican immigrants in the early 20th century as marihuana, and the name stuck. The law that prohibits cannabis is called the Marihuana Tax Act.

No, marijuana and hemp are different. They both belong to the Cannabis genus, but they are different species. You can think of hemp and marijuana as being cousins. Hemp is used for industrial uses and has a low level of THC.

The first documentation of the cultivation of marijuana was in China around 1300 A.D., although the beginning of cultivation was much earlier than that. Man most likely cultivating marijuana the same time he began cultivating other plants, although that time is unknown.

That too is a question that is hard to answer, although many cultures that date back into prehistoric times are known to have used marijuana, such as the natives of North and South American, Middle Eastern peoples and the Chinese.

There have been few actual studies done on the effects of marijuana use during pregnancy on the fetus. Most of the information that we have on the subject is based on research done on the effects of tobacco usage of the unborn fetus. According to Dr. Richard S. Abram's book Will It Hurt The Baby, smoking either tobacco or marijuana during pregnancy is harmful. Smoking any substance replaces oxygen in the blood with gases, which cause oxygen deprivation. Adults have a tolerance to oxygen deprivation and their bodies are not seriously damaged. It is unknown how much oxygen deprivation tolerance a fetus has, but it is logical to assume that it is much less than that of an adult. Premature birth, low birth weight and greater general susceptability to infections and colds have been associated with infants whose mother smoked during pregnancy than those that did not.

Regular marijuana use has been shown through research to cause birth defects, inadequate fetal growth, and depression of the nervous system. Occasional use of marijuana though, even during the first trimester, has shown unlikely to cause these serious effects. There has been very little research done on pregnant mothers who smoke marijuana occasionally but do not use tobacco, but since the frequency of smoking would be far less, it would be reasonable to assume the general risks of smoking any substance to the fetus would also be reduced.

Marijuana is fairly easy to grow and can be grown roughly anywhere that corn can grow. Marijuana grows best in humid tropical climates, which is why most of the world's marijuana comes from Latin America and South America. There are hundreds of strains of marijuana that grow all over the world in different climates.

Wild marijuana grows all over North America, mostly in rural areas. Many people call it 'ditch weed' because it is often found near water, near creeks and ponds and in the ditches of highways. Marijuana and hemp was cultivated as a cash crop in North America for several hundred years before being made illegal in 1937. By that time, the cannabis plant had already escaped to the wild and being a weed, spread nearly everywhere. Efforts since that time to totally exterminate the plant in the wild have failed and it continues to grow and authorities continue to burn it down.

Unfortunately, ditch weed is not good to smoke. Wild cannabis cares more about producing seeds than THC and over hundreds of years of natural breeding, it has a pretty low THC level. That doesn't stop some people who find it (or even grow it) from cutting it up and selling it though. Even though ditch weed grows naturally, fines and penalties for possessing and/or growing it are still the same for that of regular marijuana.

Hash is a product made by man from marijuana. The marijuana is boiling until all the resin (which contains most of the THC in the plant) rises to the top. The resin is processed and usually packed into small squares and becomes hash, which is smoked.

There are certain general qualities to look for when you're seeking good weed, but of course, they aren't always accurate. The best part of the plant is the bud, and whole buds are the best. Most good weed will also have a pungent odor. Also, the fewer seeds the better, because seeds and THC are both produced in the pods of the plant, and the less seeds, the more THC.

I have read studies that claim that the health risks of smoking one joint is equal to that of smoking four cigarettes, but I think the whole health risk issue is up for speculation.

No one has ever died from exclusively from using marijuana. Marijuana is also generally not a dangerous drug. There have been no studies that support the theory that marijuana usage causes long term memory problems, brain damage, depleted testosterone levels or male breast enlargement, not even in long term users. Studies have shown the effects of short term memory loss only while the smoker is intoxicated. There have also been studies on depression, see the next question.

There have been studies that claim to have proven that marijuana is a gateway drug. Their evidence concluded that persons who use marijuana are more likely to use drugs than non-drug users. However, if you look at this careful, you will realize that study means little to nothing. Of course a person who chooses to use any drug is more likely to do other drugs than a person who chooses to not use drugs at all; you can't blame that on marijuana.
The issue of depression mentioned in the previous question falls along the same lines. Studies show that some chronic marijuana users are depressed, and states the theory that it is marijuana that makes these people feel depressed. But couldn't these people be using marijuana because they're depressed?