Maximum Yield Cannabis USA August / September 2017 | Page 64

heal Shedding New Light... On the Dark: Marijuana and Night Vision Adding to the long list of medical uses for cannabis, a new Canadian study has confirmed the beneficial effects of cannabinoids on the night vision of tadpoles. Are humans affected in the same way? Anecdotal evidence in scientific literature from fishermen in Jamaica and Morocco suggest it’s possible. Writer Alan Ray investigates. by Alan Ray Happy Old Hippies It would appear that what began as a pipedream for hopeful hippies in the ’60s (marijuana use being beneficial to your health) is fast becoming a medical reality in the 21st century. Science continues to uncover new and excit- ing health benefits derived from that ol’ devil weed, marijuana. With today’s advancements in scientific research, reefer madness is taking on a whole new meaning. One particularly curi- ous study that caught my eye, so to speak, looks at cannabis consumption and its ability to enhance night vision. The field tests produced some head-cocking results. This phenomenon was first observed and recorded by M. E. West in the early ’90s. At the time, West was a pharmacolo- gist working at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. He noted that Jamaican fishermen, after smoking cannabis or ingesting it via a crude elixir of pot and white rum, showed a dramatic increase in their ability to see at night. Catch a Buzz… Catch a Fish? West remarked that the men, after consuming their home-brew, were eas- ily able to navigate the treacherous 62 grow. heal. learn. enjoy. waterways and coral reefs in their small fishing boats in total darkness. “It was impossible to believe that anyone could navigate a boat without compass and without light in such treacherous surroundings,” West con- cluded, after accompanying some of the local fishermen on one of their nighttime excursions. “[But] I was then convinced that the man who had taken the rum extract of cannabis had far better night vision than I had, and that a subjective effect was not responsible.” Different Cultures, Same Result As the story goes, West was told by some of the Jamaicans that Moroccan fishermen also reported having im- proved night vision after smoking hash- ish. In 2002, a research team travelled to northern Morocco’s Rif mountains. Here, they conducted a field experi- ment, which would be published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology two years later, involving four locals. These mountain people also claimed that smoking kif (aka, kief, which is a form of cannabis resin) before embarking on their nocturnal expeditions improved their ability to see in the dark. myhydrolife.com