Gloria Indica

Hi! Welcome to the 10^th edition of Gloria Indica, our newsletter written specifically for Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you’re reading this for the first time, then welcome. Wherever you’re from, whenever you’ll read this, this is our newsletter when we train our eyes a bit more specifically to the cannabis, business and technology narratives going on around the world of ours today. Narratives that’ll have an impact on all of us, if not immediately, then definitely in a few years.

OMG! Cannabis is Dangerous and Addictive!

This is almost always the first reason that skeptics and non-believers of cannabis talk about when pro-cannabis individuals and institutions advocate the fact that cannabis is actually the least harmful substance as compared to alcohol, tobacco, heroin, cocaine and other drugs. What skeptics conveniently fail to mention and forget is two things – the molecular structure of the substance in question and its dosage. We’ll explain.

Not all substances are the same, because all substances have different molecular structures which therefore cause different effects on different human beings (because every human being themselves are different from other human beings from a biological and circumstances point of view – from a traumatic childhood to adult experiences to parental outlook etc.).

What is the molecular structure of cannabis? Without getting into organic chemistry, five science facts put cannabis above all other substances known to humanity. The five facts are below –

600 million years ago when life evolved from unicellular (single-celled organisms) to multicellular, it evolved a communication system called the endo-cannabinoid system. Human beings have the endo-cannabinoid system (still has not entered medical textbooks, that’s how new the science of cannabis is)
The endo-cannabinoid system secretes compounds called cannabinoids. These cannabinoids regulate our body’s temperature, hormone secretion, blood pressure, sleep patterns, appetite and heartbeat rate.
Which other substance on earth has biochemically similar compounds like cannabinoids which human beings produce naturally?
Cannabis has biochemically similar compounds as human beings. No other substance on earth produces as much cannabinoids as human beings. Cannabis does.

Now, we come to the dosage part.

Every substance on earth can be used, abused or misused and there’s a very thick or a thin line between each of them, which depends on an individual user.

For example – why aren’t we talking about how many individuals die because of an excess of sugar? Sugar is the sweetest killer known to humanity and yet we accept it as normal. Similarly, alcohol and tobacco kill millions every year. And Pharmaceutical opioids? Multinational companies have been accused of orchestrating a drug dependency crisis and are fighting lawsuits all over the world.

And cannabis? By reading the literature so far that we’ve presented, is it really surprising that cannabis cannot be overdosed? Every other substance apart from cannabis (like sugar) can be overdosed and cause death. Not cannabis. Of course, we aren’t saying cannabis can be used everyday and every hour of the day. The point we’re making is that – on a relative level, cannabis is the least harmful substance known to humanity because its compounds are recognized by the human body as its own.

OMG! Whole of India Will Get Addicted to Cannabis! We’re a Young Country!

Firstly, skeptics and non-cannabis advocates need to be reminded of three things:

Alcohol is legal. Approximately 16 crore Indians consume alcohol every year (as per the ministry of Social Welfare and All India Institute of Medical Science’s 2019 report called ‘Magnitude of Substance Use in India). Lakhs die due to alcohol overdoses.
Tobacco is legal. Approximately 267 million tobacco users exist in India. Millions die every year due to tobacco related cancers and health complications.
Pharmaceutical Opioids are legal and sold over the counter: Approximately 2.3 crore Indians use pharmaceutical opioids made from opium (used to make heroin, another killer drug). Lakhs die every year due to Opioid abuse and overdose.

And cannabis? You know what we’re going to say. Medical cannabis can help Indians get rid of their dependence on other substances provided we open our brains and minds. And secondly, young Indians can do their own research and arrive at a rational conclusion about what is safe and not safe (they already drink alcohol and use tobacco with full information about what is safe and what not. Cannabis isn’t going to turn them into zombies). Even on this parameter, cannabis scores higher than any other substance. Let’s move on.

OMG! Cannabis can be abused!

Please remind yourself that every substance on earth can be used, abused and misused. From your addictively built apps to caffeine dependence to sugar intake to alcohol to cannabis. Yes cannabis can also be abused. But on a relative scale, it won’t cause any deaths due to overdose. There is a reason why it’s said – everything in the right amount.

Have alcohol in the right amount. It’s fine. Don’t overdo it.

Use tobacco in the right amount. It’s fine. Don’t overdo it.

Have sugar in the right amount. It’s fine. Don’t overdo it.

Believe in God. It’s fine. Don’t overdo it and force others to do it.

But guess what? Millions of human beings go through a lot of problems and depend on substances to deal with their problems (not all individuals are strong enough to deal with them being sober. Many people go through many traumatic incidents and emotional and mental issues). From this vantage view, all these individuals need to rely on cannabis and not the other substances because cannabis is the safest as explained above.