Is the grass greener on the other side? Depending on which zol/ganja/dope/splif/motokwane/marijuana/cannabis you are smoking, it is! If you are smoking either the (Toronto) BC bud, chronic, or hydro as opposed to Durban poison, Swazi, Malawian Gold or majaja, the grass is greener on the other side for sure. Ever since modern man came into contact with the "Holy Herb" it has raised quite a big smoke, some using this smoke screen as a vehicle to promote whatever agendas or ulterior motives they hold dear. We are not proposing the legalisation of marijuana/weed/pot/trees/dagga/joint/reefer. However, we are going to look at how the ideologies of the day, cooked-up studies, negative media, twisted logic and blanket laws of a few gentlemen spelled the end of the "Green Smoke" for the wider world.
Marijuana has been used throughout history in many different cultures to change mood, perception, and consciousness - in the colloquial, to get high. First described in print in a Chinese book of medicine called "Herbal" in the 2nd Century BC, it was also used in China as an anaesthetic 5, 000 years ago. A bit before that, primitive tribes of South America, Africa and India used the 'herb' as medicine and for religious purposes as well. The ancient Assyrians (used 'ganja' as an incense in the 9th century), Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and East Indians used 'weed' to control muscle spasms, reduce pain, and to treat indigestion. In colonial America, marijuana was cultivated for its fiber in Jamestown, Virginia as early as 1611; 19th century American medical doctors used it to treat spastic conditions, headaches, labour pains, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. In some parts of the Middle East and Asia, it is still used as a medicine.
