What is a weed?
Cannabis or marijuana or weed is a psychoactive drug which comes from the Cannabis plant. Generally grown in Central and South Asia, it has been well known over the centuries for its medicinal value and its effects to calm the human mind. It has been used over the years by the people as a drug for recreational and entheogenic purposes and of course, as we know that medicine was a common experiment for our ancestors they often used weed in the medicines.
Weed can be consumed in different ways such as by drinking, vaping, smoking, or eating it. Usually, we hear of people consuming marijuana for pleasure or recreation but over time a huge amount of doctors have begun prescribing it as a medicine to treat certain medical conditions. It has some mind-altering components that can directly affect our brain and then eventually our bodies. As we often come to hear, weed is highly addictive which can lead to the person craving more of the drugs. Not necessarily weed again. It can cause addiction for the high that people tend to chase while consuming drugs or alcohol.
What is the main component of weed?
THC, the major component of weed stimulates a part of the brain which reacts openly to pleasure, sex or something that we like. Which then releases a hormone called dopamine, also known as the happy hormone, which further relaxes the body and the mind.
If weed is consumed or drunk, it may take hours for it to wear off and an estimate of thirty seconds to fully start affecting the individual. However, if it is vaped or smoked, it enters the bloodstream quicker and the person gets high faster. It wears off rather quickly once consumed through smoking or through vaping. The effects of weed may generally last for an hour to three hours.
What are the effects of weed?
However, marijuana can be highly addictive if not taken properly. It is important to note that not everyone experiences a 'good' high while consuming weed. It could often lead someone to feel anxious or scared or nervous or paranoid. It depends on the person consuming the said drug and how well they can make use of it. Using marijuana can worsen or cause several mental disorders or worsen the mental state of a person. Because of its addictive nature, we are already aware that people tend to hallucinate, lose track of time, may make reckless choices and might overall not have any sense of their surroundings.
It may foul up our senses and cause a great addiction. Often the earlier you start taking weeds the greater the threat of being addicted. Especially if one does it daily. The individual tends to grow more dependent on the drug, in a way where they start facing withdrawal from reality. Lack of sleep, anger, restlessness and not wanting to eat food can be the major after-effects of addiction.
It affects the lungs, the liver, the heart and the kidneys. Expecting mothers who have a history of smoking pot can give birth to underweight babies. Weed might not always be available and to replace it with something else, people may begin consuming alcohol which might further dampen the medical conditions of a person. Although there has been no direct relationship between cancer and weed, there could be a possibility.
What is weed used for in medicines?
Weed is often used in medicines for relieving the pain, relieving muscle spasms from sclerosis, seizures from epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, nausea caused due to chemotherapy, dravet syndrome and weight loss or weight gain. During the old times, the only form of medicine was the herbs found in the forests, which gave rise to the extensive use of herbs such as cannabis. Over the years, people began using the said herbs in modern medicines as well in the other spheres of life such as drug use.
Ways to consume cannabis
- Smoking- often rolling the weed into small papers or small portable hookahs and inhaling the vaporized weed.
- Vaporizer- it heats the cannabis without burning it and creates the smoke by evaporating the plant material.
- Cannabis tea- usually contains a lesser amount of THC which is not very soluble in water. The tea is brewed by adding a lump of saturated fat and then adding a small amount of cannabis.
- Edibles- are often referred to as food items containing weed. Brownies are some of the most famous food items which are associated with edibles. Though not all brownies are made with weed.
- Capsules- it contains cannabis oil and dietary supplements.
What is sexual and asexual reproduction?
There are different ways in which weeds can be reproduced, such as
Reproduction by seeds – reproduction by seeds is known as sexual reproduction. It requires the fertilization of an egg by a sperm, often found in the form of pollen. Therefore, pollination of the egg in the flower forms a seed which, under the right circumstances can be grown into a new plant. The seed production though varies greatly among the weed plants. Some plants are said to produce a great number of seeds while others produce only a little.
Asexual reproduction – this occurs without the fusion of the reproductive cells. In this process, each cell is cut off from the parent plant under natural or artificial circumstances and grows into an individual plant of its own.
Vegetative reproduction – in this type of reproduction a small part of the mother plant (stem or roots) is detached and it grows into a separate plant of its own, capable of conquering new areas above or under the ground. In crop weeds though, vegetative reproduction is as simple as gemmation like in phytoplankton or it may involve highly developed organs, often found in perennial vascular weeds. Vegetative reproduction involves the purity of the parentage and quick reproduction.
Main Differences Between Male Weed Seeds and Female Weed Seeds in Tabular Form
| Properties | Male Weed Seeds | Female Weed Seeds |
| Produce | pollens | reproduce |
| Artificial creation | Cannot occur | Can be created artificially |
| Pistils | None | Several |
| Buds | Buds may look like balls. | Cannot produce buds. |
| THC | Does not produce THC | Can produce THC |
| Hair | No hair. | Can produce hair. |
Main Differences Between Male Weed Seeds and Female Weed Seeds in Points
- As we know that through the process of sexual reproduction, we come across the fact that the male weed plants produce pollens which is a coarse powdery substance that helps with reproduction in the plants. It is like the sperm of a human male. But too much pollen in the air can cause sneezing, watery eyes, or allergic reactions in those who are sensitive. The pollens of a plant are carried naturally through several natural causes such as wind, bees or birds, water, or sometimes through animals or humans. As long as we know that the weed plant is growing on its own accord we must also note that the weed plant is capable of reproducing on its own without much help from the human or the artificial form of reproduction. On one hand, where the male plants produce pollen, the female plants are supposed to receive the pollens and further reproduce. We must note that in several plants the male and the female seeds are on the same plant however in some cases, especially in the cannabis plant, it is ideal to have two different plants for male and female plants. As having the same plant together can lead to several biological issues such as the quality of the plant will never,increase with the growth and reproduction of the same kind.
- The male weed seeds cannot be produced artificially but the female weed seeds can be produced through artificial methods using all the new technologies that we have developed in the twenty-first century. There are many breeds of plants and fruits and vegetables coming up because of the fact that the technology has been advanced enough to know that almost nothing is impossible when it comes to things like this. The artificial production of female weed seeds is not a big deal, if done correctly and if the person knows exactly what they are doing.
- In the male weed seeds, there are no pistils present whereas in the female weed seed there are several pistils present, which is obvious because pistils are a female reproductive part. It often consists of a swollen base, the ovary of the plant which is laden with the seeds and stalks arising from the ovaries and a tip which is sensitive to pollens and the stigma (as the name suggests, which is sticky in nature). The pistils are also the main reason for the distinguishable quality of the female weed seeds from that of the male weed seeds. Now along with this, we must also know that the male weed seeds are found in abundance. There are more male weed plants than female weed plants.
- In male weed plants, there are small pods on the internodes of the main stem which is the prime factor that distinguishes the female and male weeds or plants. When the given pods reach maturity the pods open up and release pollen during the season. The male seeds do not consist of any form of white hair, unlike the female weed seeds. Female seeds on On the other hand have tiny white hair growth and they are produced in pairs, internodes and branches at the tip of the plant.
- Male weeds grow tall and gangly and are not very appealing to the eyes. The quality of the weed greatly depends upon the quality of the pollen and the quality of the male weed plant. They grow tall and thin with a larger internodal spacing which gives them a very unappealing appearance. They grow vertically, have few leaves, tall with robust stalks, and have lesser branches than female plants.
- The male weed plants are harvested before they begin pollinating and while taking them out it is made sure that the plants are shaken little so as to avoid any unwanted reproduction from the female weed seeds. The pods begin maturing from July to September but it greatly depends on the part of the earth where it is from. While the female plants produce the pistils in the northern hemisphere towards the end of July and in the southern hemisphere towards the end of January. It shall also be noted that once the female plants bloom completely they remain the same until they interact with pollen and take the process of reproduction further.
- The pistils generally originate from the third to fourth internode of the stem. But the male pods are on the internodes of the main stem.
- The little white hair at the internodes grows in size during the maturing season, also known as the flowering season where the pistols grow from the plant. The white hair grows in thickness and quantity and over time it turns orange. The male weed seeds are born with the pods. They just grow and mature in size and once the season arrives they are ready to release the pollen.
- The male seeds are more spaced out while the female seeds are clustered together and have a very bushier form than the males.
- It is the female weed seeds that produce the main component of a cannabis plant, THC. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is exclusively produced in the female weed seeds while the only function of the male weed seeds is to produce pollen.
- Sinsemilla is the term used for the female plants that do not pollinate or that have not been able to pollinate. The sinsemilla is then left to grow and that is when the THC is derived from the plant. It must be noted that the THC is not produced by any other type of plant because once the flowers of the cannabis come into contact with the pollens, they begin the process of reproduction and their ability to produce THC is not found.
- One of the main reasons for the weed cultivators to grow the male and the female plants separately is because of the fact that once the female plant comes into contact with male pollen, it begins producing more plants instead of producing THC and the main goal of growing a cannabis plant is because of its vital component used in medicines and as other forms of drugs, is THC.