January 1999

Is Cannabis that Evil?

By Janice Wong

    A public announcement against drug abuse says, "The first taste of marijuana will make you feel sorry for the rest of your life. Never try it.”

    In many peoples' minds, marijuana is much the same: toxic, harmful and evil.

     "Marijuana is harmful to health, but not really toxic,"said Dr. Susan Ho Suk San of the Department of Pharmacy in The Chinese University of Hong Kong .

    "Generally,"said Dr. Ho, "We call the drug cannabis.

    "Marijuana comes from the flowers and leaves of Cannabis sativa. It contains a higher percentage of THC than cannabis."”

    THC, the shorthand for tetrahydrocannabinol, is a type of psychotropic substance which is believed to be harmful to human bodies, especially to nerves.

    According to Dr. Ho, it is rare that people die of taking marijuana.

    "However," said Dr. Ho, "Taking heavy doses of the drug for a long time will definitely harm our health."”

    Like smoking cigarettes, smoking marijuana will lead to lung cancer and bronchitis.

    It also speeds people's heartbeats and is proved to cause harm to human brains.

    In addition, people will be under illusions after smoking marijuana. They cannot make proper judgements of time and space.

     "This will easily lead to accidents," said Dr. Ho. "People may jump off tall buildings after smoking marijuana."”

    Despite its harmful effects, marijuana is used as a medicine in countries such as the United States, Britain and Canada.

    For instance, citizens in two states in the United States, California and Arizona, voted for smoking marijuana under doctors' recommendations.

    Cannabis, the plant from which marijuana is obtained, is also used to make medicines. The medicines are not purely made from cannabis, but contain some of its components.

     "For example," said Dr. Ho, "A medicine named Nabilone is used by cancer patients to avoid vomiting.

     "In the United States, AIDS patients take a medicine called Dronabinal to enhance their appetites so that they may stop losing weight."”

    However, it is not the case in Hong Kong.

    Mr. Chung Fok Lei, a Chinese herb doctor in Kowloon City, said he does not prescribe Cannabis stavia.

    "Cannabis can be used to reduce pains, but I don't prescribe it,"said Mr. Chung.

    "It is toxic and may be harmful to people's health."”

    Although some studies prove that cannabis has medical values such as relieving tensions of muscles, curing asthma and killing bacteria, medicines made from cannabis have side effects.

    Drug-users may feel sleepy easily and their emotions may also be affected.

    Nevertheless, the side effects do not necessarily mean that cannabis should not be used for medical purposes.

    Dr. Ho said, "If all the studies on cannabis' utilities are proved to be correct and there is sufficient supervision over the use of cannabis, it is all right to use medicines made of it."”

    Besides the use of cannabis as a medicine, people are also concerned about industrial uses of hemp.

    Industrial hemp belongs to the same plant family of cannabis, but the THC content is extremely low, that is, less than one percent.

     Some people say industrial hemp has no psychoactive properties.

    In countries such as the United States, Britain and Canada, the uses of industrial hemp are quite common.

    Hemp fibre can be used for producing textiles and making cordage and paper. Its toughness makes most of its products durable.

    At the same time, hemp seed oil can be used to produce paints, varnishes and all-purpose lubricants.

    In some places, hemp seeds can be sold as nutritious snacks, like sunflower seeds.

    A restaurant in Manhattan offers waffles flecked with hemp seeds. It is said that they taste like walnuts.

    In Chinese society, hemp seeds are used to make hemp seed juice, which is sold in herbal tea stores.

    The usefulness of tough hemp fibre and nutritious hemp seed oil does not change people's perceptions. Many people still think that the products are like marijuana and are harmful to people's health. Some people also question if the use of hemp may make teenagers misinterpret marijuana.

When The Body Shop, a cosmetics chain store, launched cosmetic products containing hemp seeds last October, members of the Action Committee Against Narcotics said the products would thwart the government's efforts to fight against the abuse of marijuana. The committee members said the publicity of these products would mislead youths into thinking that marijuana is not harmful and also arouse youth's curiosity about drugs.

    Dr. Ho said, "The way the shop launches the products is important.

    "It will waste the efforts made by the government fighting against drug abuse for so many years."”