12 Things You May Not Know About Cannabis

By admin on March 4, 2013

The majority of America has either decriminalized cannabis, or legalized it for medicinal purposes

It’s almost hard to believe when you consider how strong prohibition continues in most parts of the country, but 27 states in the U.S. have either decriminalized cannabis possession, legalized possession and state-licensed retail sales, legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes, or a combination of the three.

A breakdown of states that have decriminalized cannabis or legalized it for medical purposes.

Cannabis is an ancient substance

The cannabis plant isn’t new, and neither is its usage. For example; pounds of cannabis have been found in Chinese tombs dating back thousands of years. Going even further back, cannabis is said to have co-evolved with humans, which is likely why it contains such intense medical value for our species. This indicates that the cannabis plant has followed us through most, if not all, our existence.

A Chinese tomb where pounds of cannabis was found.

Cannabis may reduce infant mortality rates

In a drastically important, yet widely under-publicized study examining thousands of infants, those who had cannabis in their system had nearly half the rate of mortality; 8.9 deaths per 1,000, compared to 15.7. To some, especially those unfamiliar to cannabis as a medicine, this may sound a little far-fetched, but the numbers stand strong, and the study is the most comprehensive we have on the issue. We truly hope we see more in the future.

A chart on the study from examiner.com.

The federal government sends out hundreds of cannabis joints to patients every month

To many legalization advocates this is nothing new, but to those who haven’t heard it before, it’s a shock. As part of a short-lived federal medical marijuana program (yes, the hypocrisy is thick as mud), four people who were grandfathered in receive 300 pre-rolled cannabis joints from the government every month. And they have for years.

The program’s initial existence, and the government’s continuation of supplying these joints, adds an odd layer to the current war on cannabis that sees the feds putting people in prison for years for far less than the 300 joints they supply to these individuals every month.

Four people receive a monthly canister of joints from the U.S. government.