WEBVTT 00:00:06.484 --> 00:00:09.574 What if there was a plant that had over 60,000 uses? 00:00:09.583 --> 00:00:13.750 A plant that had the ability to heal some of the deadliest diseases we know? 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:19.459 Could replace many chemical medicines for problems like depression and insomnia? 00:00:19.459 --> 00:00:25.609 A plant that could reduce the growing and devastating effects of deforestation? 00:00:25.609 --> 00:00:28.985 Preventing the habitat destruction of many endangered animals? 00:00:29.613 --> 00:00:33.429 A plant that was illegal for reasons that simply don't make sense? 00:00:35.511 --> 00:00:39.376 That plant is cannabis and the name alone invokes various thoughts in our minds. 00:00:39.809 --> 00:00:43.297 Maybe your parents have their views on it, and that has rubbed off on you. 00:00:43.297 --> 00:00:47.442 Or perhaps you associated it with people sitting in their rooms and smoking it. 00:00:47.442 --> 00:00:50.912 But linking cannabis to something that just gets you high 00:00:50.912 --> 00:00:53.836 is like saying water only serves one purpose. 00:00:54.722 --> 00:00:58.131 This video is about to get interesting so sit back and relax. 00:01:00.087 --> 00:01:02.045 Let's take things back to the basics. 00:01:02.279 --> 00:01:04.056 There are three species of cannabis: 00:01:06.523 --> 00:01:09.596 all of which can be split, although usually the sativa type, 00:01:09.606 --> 00:01:11.878 into an industrial compound referred to as hemp, 00:01:11.878 --> 00:01:15.130 which is where the industrial side of cannabis comes in. 00:01:15.130 --> 00:01:19.230 Hemp has been used for thousands of years and its usability is unlike anything else. 00:01:19.230 --> 00:01:21.971 It can be used for oil for cooking and converting to fuel. 00:01:21.971 --> 00:01:25.111 The seeds, which are among the most nutritional ones on the planet, 00:01:25.111 --> 00:01:28.417 supply nearly every mineral and vitamin the body needs. 00:01:28.417 --> 00:01:33.607 It can be used for clothing, and not only needs half the amount of water than cotton 00:01:33.607 --> 00:01:36.974 but also requires no chemicals or fertilisers. 00:01:36.976 --> 00:01:42.306 It can also be used as housing insulation, fibre boards; and it's a phytoremediation, 00:01:42.306 --> 00:01:47.174 a plant that can remove toxins, radiation and contamination from water and soil. 00:01:48.067 --> 00:01:52.307 Hemp was used in the agricultural fields around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site 00:01:52.502 --> 00:01:56.586 to help remove the heavy metals and radiation from the unusable land. 00:01:57.710 --> 00:02:01.384 Scientists behind the plant used hemp as a phytoremediation, and stated 00:02:01.384 --> 00:02:04.984 that as well as being excellent for the job of removing harmful waste, 00:02:05.610 --> 00:02:08.530 the hemp could then be converted to bio-diesel afterwards. 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:12.122 Now, the conversion to bio-diesel is far from environmentally friendly, 00:02:12.122 --> 00:02:15.592 but the fact that this plant has the ability to do this is incredible. 00:02:16.124 --> 00:02:19.114 Hemp's natural process of removing harmful toxins 00:02:19.114 --> 00:02:22.163 was also considered for the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. 00:02:22.163 --> 00:02:25.961 Due to the strict cannabis laws in Japan, hemp was not used, though. 00:02:26.751 --> 00:02:29.786 But the two main resources that can be produced using hemp 00:02:30.067 --> 00:02:34.317 that could have a deep impact on planet and our lives are paper and plastic. 00:02:35.197 --> 00:02:37.687 According to a study conducted in 1916, 00:02:38.105 --> 00:02:41.325 it's believed one acre of hemp over the course of twenty years 00:02:41.483 --> 00:02:44.383 can produce four to ten times the amount of paper than trees. 00:02:44.615 --> 00:02:48.942 And, although the deforestation problem we face now is attributed to many things, 00:02:49.244 --> 00:02:51.534 reducing the need for tree paper by using hemp 00:02:51.776 --> 00:02:54.876 would still reduce the damaging effects paper production has 00:02:54.994 --> 00:02:58.994 which sees roughly four billion trees being cut down a year for that purpose. 00:02:59.234 --> 00:03:02.975 Yet, less than 0.1% of the paper we use is made with hemp. 00:03:04.015 --> 00:03:07.905 Hemp plastic, which can not only be made to be completely biodegradable, 00:03:08.149 --> 00:03:11.693 reducing extensive pollution on beaches and destruction to marine life, 00:03:12.046 --> 00:03:14.836 can also be produced with little or no chemicals, 00:03:15.070 --> 00:03:18.378 which we all know makes up the majority of plastic we use today. 00:03:18.924 --> 00:03:21.681 Those who discredit the broad use of hemp as a material say 00:03:21.681 --> 00:03:25.941 it can be costly and overlong to produce the equivalent of what we have today, 00:03:26.223 --> 00:03:27.113 and they're right. 00:03:27.152 --> 00:03:28.902 However, cheaper is not always best, 00:03:29.498 --> 00:03:33.748 as shown with the impact of chemical-laden and non-degradable products we consume. 00:03:34.809 --> 00:03:40.989 Hemp would most likely cost more to use, but the overall impact would be justified. 00:03:44.935 --> 00:03:47.505 Where do I begin with the medical side of cannabis? 00:03:47.647 --> 00:03:50.397 Let's start with what scientists and researchers believe 00:03:50.530 --> 00:03:53.410 is the reason it has profound benefits in the first place. 00:03:53.725 --> 00:03:58.405 So far they have been able to identify 483 chemical compounds within the plant, 00:03:59.331 --> 00:04:01.581 80 of which are called cannabinoids. 00:04:01.731 --> 00:04:04.141 Though the studies are becoming a lot more popular, 00:04:04.332 --> 00:04:07.242 so far we do not know a whole lot about these 80 cannabinoids 00:04:07.294 --> 00:04:11.144 or their effect on humans, as the research has been focused on just a few of them, 00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:14.539 such as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, 00:04:14.539 --> 00:04:16.359 by far the most studied chemical, 00:04:16.431 --> 00:04:19.911 binding the receptors in your nervous and immune system when heated, 00:04:20.386 --> 00:04:23.816 causing you to get high, and it's the only compound in cannabis to do so. 00:04:24.306 --> 00:04:27.144 It's the chemical that medical marijuana is most active in, 00:04:27.285 --> 00:04:29.798 as it acts as a side-effect-free muscle relaxant, 00:04:29.967 --> 00:04:31.647 anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, 00:04:31.710 --> 00:04:35.433 and current studies are showing that it could be used as a therapy for anxiety, 00:04:35.433 --> 00:04:39.173 the side effects of chemotherapy, cancer growth reduction, Crohn's disease, 00:04:39.210 --> 00:04:43.140 chronic pain, insomnia or multiple sclerosis, just to name a few. 00:04:44.472 --> 00:04:47.432 The next one is tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, 00:04:47.497 --> 00:04:51.127 which is the same chemical as the one just talked about in its unheated form, 00:04:51.127 --> 00:04:53.712 which means it's a non-psychoactive compound. 00:04:53.782 --> 00:04:57.782 This is administered by juicing cannabis like wheat grass or any other plant, 00:04:57.865 --> 00:05:01.265 as it contains medical properties that are lost when heated. 00:05:01.371 --> 00:05:04.101 Though the chemical is in its early stages of research, 00:05:04.171 --> 00:05:07.231 it's thought to be an effective treatment as an anti-inflammatory 00:05:07.231 --> 00:05:10.478 and of a variety of illnesses without any significant side effects, 00:05:10.507 --> 00:05:13.147 and will not give patients the feeling of a high either. 00:05:13.842 --> 00:05:17.842 Cannabidiol is similar and has been linked as an effective aid for anxiety, 00:05:18.281 --> 00:05:20.571 nausea, acne, schizophrenia 00:05:20.571 --> 00:05:23.171 and many neurodegenerative diseases. 00:05:23.450 --> 00:05:27.700 The studies haven't gone on long enough to know full benefits cannabis may have, 00:05:27.801 --> 00:05:29.581 and there's a reason for that. 00:05:29.690 --> 00:05:33.600 It's been illegal in nearly every country since the early 1900s. 00:05:33.784 --> 00:05:35.314 Let's talk about that. 00:05:38.636 --> 00:05:41.826 We have established that cannabis has thousands of industrial uses, 00:05:41.826 --> 00:05:45.376 and many of these can be produced with less of an impact on the environment 00:05:45.376 --> 00:05:47.002 than conventional products, 00:05:47.002 --> 00:05:49.722 and that cannabis may have more medical benefits 00:05:49.722 --> 00:05:52.782 than any other natural, untouched product in the world. 00:05:52.782 --> 00:05:56.422 So why would something with all these uses and benefits be illegal? 00:05:56.422 --> 00:05:59.982 It can't be due to the high when smoked because if that was the case 00:05:59.982 --> 00:06:03.452 and the law wanted to protect us, then why would alcohol and tobacco, 00:06:03.452 --> 00:06:06.962 substances that kill millions every year, or even refined sugar, 00:06:06.962 --> 00:06:11.092 linked to a lot of health complications human suffer from today, be legal? 00:06:11.247 --> 00:06:13.667 That just wouldn't make any sense. 00:06:13.667 --> 00:06:17.295 But if it's not illegal due to health concerns, then why is it? 00:06:17.295 --> 00:06:21.385 Well, it's confusing and there's lots of false information about the subject, 00:06:21.561 --> 00:06:24.561 although it seems there are three supposed reasons. 00:06:24.561 --> 00:06:30.451 First, in 1929 Harry Anslinger, the head of the prohibition department in the US, 00:06:30.661 --> 00:06:33.331 was dealing with the backlash of the alcohol ban, 00:06:33.331 --> 00:06:37.331 and once this was removed, his department were practically non-operational. 00:06:37.331 --> 00:06:41.441 So they came up with an idea to tell people cannabis was a devil drug 00:06:41.441 --> 00:06:43.441 that turned men into wild beasts 00:06:43.441 --> 00:06:45.611 that would attack women. 00:06:45.711 --> 00:06:49.891 Apparently, Harry contacted 30 scientists asking for proof to show to the public, 00:06:49.891 --> 00:06:55.069 but 29 of them said they could not find valid proof that the drug was dangerous. 00:06:55.069 --> 00:07:01.329 The second explanation is linked to the 1900s Mexican immigration to the US. 00:07:01.329 --> 00:07:05.329 When the Mexicans arrived, they brought marijuana as a medicine and relaxant. 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:09.329 In order for the US to have an excuse to search and deport the immigrants, 00:07:09.329 --> 00:07:13.749 marijuana became the perfect drug to criminalize and label dangerous. 00:07:13.749 --> 00:07:18.119 And lastly, one that many people reside to when asked why cannabis is illegal 00:07:18.119 --> 00:07:22.939 is that major companies, mainly DuPont, became worried at the many uses of hemp, 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:24.739 more specifically nylon, 00:07:24.739 --> 00:07:30.229 which DuPont invented around the same time the cannabis laws were being enforced. 00:07:30.230 --> 00:07:34.230 It was profitable to back and promote the government's decision to tell people 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:38.230 cannabis was a drug to make people high when in fact it was to ban the use of hemp 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:40.260 from being a nylon alternative. 00:07:41.484 --> 00:07:45.484 It's hard to prove why it's illegal, as no authentic records seem available. 00:07:45.928 --> 00:07:51.178 One or a combination of the above seems the reasoning for the US to ban cannabis, 00:07:51.178 --> 00:07:53.658 resulting in other countries to follow. 00:07:53.658 --> 00:07:57.348 But regarding the last theory, I wouldn't say big corporations are greedy 00:07:57.348 --> 00:07:58.871 and do not want to use hemp. 00:07:58.871 --> 00:08:02.001 If this theory is factual, I think it's now gotten to the stage 00:08:02.001 --> 00:08:04.821 where it's too far gone for them to make the change to hemp, 00:08:04.821 --> 00:08:09.251 since after it was made illegal, all manufacturing was grounded to a halt 00:08:09.251 --> 00:08:13.141 and no new technology was used to advance the hemp production, 00:08:13.141 --> 00:08:16.301 meaning that getting to it now would be very costly. 00:08:16.301 --> 00:08:19.751 Whatever the reason, cannabis is illegal in the majority of places, 00:08:19.751 --> 00:08:23.561 be it an outdated racial action or the greed of big corporations. 00:08:23.561 --> 00:08:27.281 Only now, nearly 100 years later, as it's becoming less frowned upon, 00:08:27.281 --> 00:08:31.461 are doctors and researchers realising how powerful it could be. 00:08:31.461 --> 00:08:34.141 For me, everything on this planet serves a purpose, 00:08:34.141 --> 00:08:37.231 whether it's the bees and wasps that pollinate plants and flowers 00:08:37.231 --> 00:08:39.761 or whether it's you who fulfils your purpose in life. 00:08:39.761 --> 00:08:42.141 It seems everything has some reason for being here, 00:08:42.141 --> 00:08:46.281 and many say cannabis has the purpose of providing humans with thousands of uses 00:08:46.281 --> 00:08:49.091 with very little impact on the planet. 00:08:49.091 --> 00:08:52.561 Yet, because just one of many things it's used for makes you high, 00:08:52.561 --> 00:08:55.651 the law has perhaps stinted the research and industrial production 00:08:55.651 --> 00:08:59.461 of one of the most incredible materials on the planet. 00:09:04.986 --> 00:09:08.986 To finish off, I want to state I am not a cannabis activist by any means. 00:09:08.986 --> 00:09:14.506 Probably like you, I never thought of hemp apart from the fact that it can be smoked 00:09:14.506 --> 00:09:18.456 till I started researching for this video, which I wanted to talk about for a while, 00:09:18.456 --> 00:09:20.699 because it's made me, and hopefully you, realise 00:09:20.699 --> 00:09:22.809 that there is so much more to it than that. 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:27.409 That doesn't mean the benefits of cannabis can justify smoking weed, though. 00:09:27.436 --> 00:09:31.546 For some people smoking it can cause social and life problems, 00:09:31.546 --> 00:09:36.606 and the effects have been shown to possibly harm a developing young brain. 00:09:36.606 --> 00:09:42.006 So if you're unhappy, don't have a job and smoke weed in your room all day, 00:09:42.012 --> 00:09:44.032 I know you need to be going after life. 00:09:44.032 --> 00:09:48.434 Though weed's linked to busting depression and anxiety, and many other problems, 00:09:48.434 --> 00:09:51.294 quitting your habits could be the best thing you do. 00:09:51.294 --> 00:09:55.174 Certainly do not think to now go out and smoke weed for its health benefits 00:09:55.174 --> 00:09:58.114 because medical and recreational cannabis can vary massively, 00:09:58.114 --> 00:10:02.244 and the potential for long-term side effects is still being researched. 00:10:02.244 --> 00:10:06.598 Those taking cannabis for medical benefits mostly don't want to get high 00:10:06.598 --> 00:10:09.558 and only require a small amount of the drug in the first place. 00:10:09.558 --> 00:10:12.418 An amount that would not have any mind altering effects, 00:10:12.418 --> 00:10:16.008 but still seem to help relieve and prevent many illnesses. 00:10:16.719 --> 00:10:18.289 I hope you've enjoyed this video. 00:10:19.329 --> 00:10:20.749 I'll see you in the next one.