As a Naturopath and Herbalist my love for the plant kingdom extends far beyond its beauty and its role in keeping the planet alive and healthy. Plants are extremely sophisticated organic living beings. Their history goes back well before humans and even the animal kingdom existed. They carry within them the wisdom and energy of all evolution, and without them life on Earth would be impossible. We as humans evolved under the watch and nurture of the plant kingdom as we completely depended on them (and still do) for food, shelter, oxygen, energy, etc. Plants have also been used by humans at all stages of evolution for medicine. Even today the vast majority of people on the planet use herbal medicine as their primary health care resource. However the plant kingdom still remains as the largest untapped medicinal and nutritional reserve we have on the planet. There are millions of plants above and under water that humanity has yet to study and learn from. Their secrets and potential uses are still a mystery.
Among all the plants I have studied and used for herbalism, very few (if any) can match the potential, medicinal power and sheer usefulness of Hemp.
Even though humans have used Hemp for thousands of years there are still a lot of misconceptions and misleading information about hemp. Humans have used Hemp for its medicinal properties but also to make cheap high quality clothes, ropes, furniture, sails, paper, canvases, oils, lubricants, wax, varnishes and in most recent years plastics, hempcrete (concrete made our of hemp to build houses!), insulation materials, plywood, car parts, ethanol, fuel, biodegradable plastic bottles and bags…the list goes on! Hemp also clears CO2 from the atmosphere at 4 times the rate of average trees. It grows incredibly fast and has a much smaller need for pesticides and water compared to cotton.
Hemp (Cannabis) is also a superfood and an extremely powerful medicine. Cannabis has been used historically to successfully treat hundreds of conditions, most prominently, high blood pressure, migraines, anxiety, depression, anorexia, diabetes, inflammatory conditions, PTSD, menstrual cramps, and the most controversial one today, Cancer. The compounds in Cannabis plant have been demonstrated repeatedly to induce cancer cell suicide (apoptosis) thus preventing tumour growth and metastasis.
Unfortunately its association with Marijuana has stigmatized this plant since the 1930’s. When comparing Marijuana and Hemp we are sort of comparing limes and lemons. They are very similar, they come from the same family but their chemical composition is different. Cannabis is the scientific name for this plant and it exists in several strains, with Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica being the most common ones. The Cannabis plant contains 2 main constituents, CBD Cannabidiol (this one is related to most of the medicinal properties), and THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) the one with psychoactive effect (aka. causes a high).
Hemp is bred to contain less than 0.3% THC and therefore no amount of hemp you consume will ever give you a high, however its CBD contents make it a very powerful and medicinal ally.
It’s important to note that heating and smoking Cannabis can be used for recreational and spiritual reasons, however it is the least effective method to deliver the medicinal properties of the plant into the body. Furthermore the legality of this activity varies widely still in different countries. Hemp on the other hand due to it’s low concentration of THC (below 0.3%), is legal in many places, and today Hemp products can be found in your local health food shops. These range from protein powders, hemp oil, hemp seeds, hemp chewing gums, hemp shampoos and soaps etc.
Hemp has an incredibly promising strength to help humanity as a whole, to achieve wellbeing and to aid in the healing of the planet!
Click here to watch my video and learn more about this amazing plant.
Carlos Salazar ([email protected]).
