A story is told in India where a young adult male of about 25 years of age consumed a glass (about 300 ml) of Bhang on the holy occasion of ShivRatri. The deceased died within 24 hours of consuming the Bhang. The deceased had suffered from rheumatic heart disease with multiple valvular involvements. He had also undergone open-heart surgery in the past. Fatality due to Bhang is extremely rare and therefore the case was presented for more analysis to find out if that was a case of fatal bhang poisoning.

Marijuana as a drug has different classification in different countries. Some countries like Britain downgraded it to class C. That means it’s not legal but it has been decriminalized.
If you are caught with a small amount (like 1/8 of an ounce of less) you are likely to just get it confiscated and get a slap on the wrist. If you are caught a number of times you could end up with a caution or community service. If you are caught with a large amount then you could be charged with intent to supply.

Back in Kenya it is completely banned or illegal to smoke or use marijuana, well, theoretically that is. But the argument goes like this fast food is highly addicting, even more so than marijuana. Take hamburgers, for example. The greasy, sloppy kinds you get at Moi Avenue. The ones so fat and juicy that they just disintegrate in your mouth (along with it, your perfectly good health). All that fatty, heart-attack inducing goodness. Have you ever tried stopping in the middle of a burger fest? Of course you can’t, it’s completely undoable.

Some say that marijuana is not legal due to the fact that marijuana can do alot of things for health that normally several prescription medicines would be used for. The companies that produce the Rx drugs things would surely suffer some loss if marijuana was legalized and therefore they will always fight to make to get it out of the way.

But according to NACADA, authority which fights for a drug free nation. The drug can be dangerous, however, especially when smoked before an activity requiring concentration like driving. ?This country has reached a stage where the government must come out strongly and publicly acknowledge that drug abuse is a national disaster ? a real war zone in which we need to deploy massive resources if we are to secure our collective future,? said Dr Frank Njenga Nacada?s board chairman.

By the way that reminds me of one Mr. Joseph Kaguthi I wonder which hole he disappeared in.

Marijuana and Reggae

During the Easter celebrations the legendary Morgan Heritage was in town and many youths jam packed the Carnivore restaurant to attend his live show. One thing came out clearly that many people in attendance were openly smoking marijuana. In Rastafarian practices, marijuana is used as a sacrament; the belief is that it pulls a person closer to God. Therefore, cannabis (referred to as “Ganja” in Jamaican slang) often features prominently in reggae lyrics. Unfortunately, many teenagers have misinterpreted this sacred ritual and use it as an excuse to partake. Not all reggae lyrics contain references to Ganja, just as not all reggae musicians are Rastafarians.

Marijuana and Sports:

Usain Bolt, who stormed to three sprint golds in world record times at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was quoted by the Bild tabloid as saying “When you’re a child in Jamaica, you learn how to roll a joint.”

The statement noted that Bolt, “although although admitting to trying’ marijuana as a child, has never used it as a competitor.

Likewise, Phelps was thrust into a media maelstrom sometime back when a picture in British tabloid The News of the World showed the winner of eight Olympic gold medals in Beijing using what looked like a glass bong typically used to smoke marijuana.

The newspaper said the photo was taken at a university party in South Carolina in November. Michael Phelps was eventually banned for three months by USA Swimming

Effects of Marijuana

According to cannabisnews.com the following are the effects of marijuana?

• Marijuana is a psychotropic substance that alters the mind by inducing an unnatural state of intoxication but when used a lot or regularly, it produces a state of lethargy and disinterest in work.

• Drugs produce harmful as well as beneficial effects. It has been recognised increasingly that they produce other kinds of unwanted effects, such as interference with fetal development (teratogenesis), or long term genetic damage that may make a person susceptible to the development of= cancer.

• Psychological effects of the use of marijuana are profound and develop within a few minutes. The subject loses his/her concentration and his/her judgment is impaired, imagination increases and a dream like world often with visual hallucination results.

• Cannabis produces a few mild physical signs to the subject, reddening of eyes, a dry mouth; as the responses in the body cannot reach the salivary glands in the mouth and an increase in appetite.

• Excessive doses may cause anxiety, restlessness, depression, visual and auditory perception and eventually sleep. Blood pressure and heart rate both increase. The pupil of the eye becomes dilated and the extremities of the body become cool.

• Some people smoke marijuana and feel no effect, others feel relaxed, sociable, tend to giggle a great deal and have a profound loss of sense of time. Still others experience a wide range of emotions including feelings of persecution, fear, megalomania, elation, love and anger.

• Occasionally the drug produces acute panic reactions or even transient psychoses.

• Scientists have also found out that marijuana is useful for lowering internal eye pressures in persons suffering from glaucoma and in alleviating nausea caused by chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat cancer.

So should marijuana be legalized?