Experimentation of the divergence of Marijuana from its (unproven) origin as a natural pesticide. - General

If you even clicked this thread, youre probably the kind of person who wont get bored with the kind of shit I am going to say so sit back for this ramble man. It all began yesterday night in my garage, I strolled out there with the intention of getting high after a shitty day of college and work, I put the streamroller/ to my mouth and was beginning to light my bud up when my eyes came across the old dish drying rack I used to use. In it sat a small black spider sitting on it's web idly passing it's time between crawling down peoples' eyes and poisoning the local water supply. I, alone in my garage and already very high from previous smoking said to myself in inner monolouge, "I do quite believe that I am very fascinated with the possibility of giving this spider a strong feeling of ascension through the inhalation of burnt marijuana, but would it even be effected by the chemical? Is it true that the reason thc is present and exists in marijuana is a natural defense mechanism produced to stop insects from eating it? Will smoke even affect it in the same way that consuming it would?" Thus it came to be that I found myself squatting over this dish rack sitting on a few old boxes of shit in the middle of my garage. I put my lighter to the pipe and took a hit, holding it in for a few seconds and then blowing it slowly into the dick rack on the spider. The records follow: Day 1: - spider does not move if undisturbed (assuming it would move if web if touched, or it is touched.) - spider reacts to normal smoke blown on it. (unsure if it is from the shifting of air from blowing ,the smoke billowing around it, or a mixture of both.) - spider exhibits no new behavior. - spider reacts to marijuana smoke blown on it. (still unsure if it from the shifting of air from blowing, the smoke billowing around it, or a mixture of both.) - spider acts oddly when disturbed, coordination is much worse in that it no longer moves nimbly on it's web but rather moves slowly with legs twitching at a very high rate as if having trouble holding onto the web, or it is getting stuck to its own web. - Go play chivalry and stab niggas with muh spear. Day 2: - spider when disturbed moves nimbly on web. - apply funes of burnt marijuana to the spider. - spider when disturbed moves nimbly on the web, as if the smoke no longer affects it. So far my results are inconclusive, though I plan on smoking more weed tonight and pursuing this even more tomorrow. --------- So, what are your thoughts on this? Do you believe that marijuana really started producing thc because of a lack of defense against insects or do you propose another theory to this? Personally even before trying this I kind of felt that if thc had been created for this purpose then marijuana wouldn't be so invasive of other plant species as it would have no need to grow so rapidly with such a valid defense. Currently the spider does not react to the marijuana smoke consistently, and has not died from it either, but I need to check on it after a period of time has elapsed as the second day experiment just occurred. Also it is possible the spider couldve gained an endurance. It is also possible that smoke does not effect spiders in the same way that consumption does as they do not have lungs. It is also possible marijuana in general does not affect bugs as smoke does calm down bees in general, not just marijuana smoke. For these experiments to have any solid ground, I need to get some herbivore bugs and somehow force them to eat the cannabis plant.

If you held it in didnt the thc techincally get absorbed in your lungs? try it without inhaling,

You need to factor in the 'actual' smoke, probably affecting the spider as well. Yes, I believe THC (and other cannabinoids) are a great defense mechanism to protect its seeds, it also has a sticky icky coating which can slow insects down (and protects the seeds), it is also a great sunscreen for the plant (absorbs UVB light well). The layer (appearance) of the trichomes also makes the plant less appeasing. Trichomes also insulate the the pistils of the flower from winds and humidity. Little tip, that's why I think high humidity at certain types can help boost trichome production. There are also 3 types of trichomes in the plant, capitate-sessile, bulbous, and capitate-stalked. So, in theory you could say, that they evolved from bulbous trichs, formed into capitate sessile, than stalked (or whichever way the chain works) and which way they started, trichome flower protection production > leaf protection production, in order to adapt to his surroundings it had to protect itself. Besides THC, there are numerous other cannabinoids, such as the main one cannabidiol, this one holds the sedative effects and anti-inflammatory, another defense mechanism. The reason for the anti-inflammatory (sounds good huh?), too much of one thing can be a bad thing, no = immune response = dead pest. I'll grab the sources later if you want them, this is all from the top of my head right now, but this should get you thinking.

This is a wonderful opportunity to study a spider's behavior under the influence of cannabis and compare it to what it usually does when sober in order to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of weed. I would do it myself but I am far too afraid of spiders to even go near them, let alone sit around and toke with them :c However you should know it most likely won't answer your question about whether or not cannabinoids evolved in the cannabis plant for use as pesticide. At most it will give you insight into the cognitive and behavioral differences induced from cannabinoid consumption, and I advise you to have this as a primary goal for your experiment in order to get as much as possible out of it. The main advantage of performing these kinds of studies on spiders is their unique ability to instinctively create webs with a very standardized structure, making it an extremely measurable behavioral tool in comparison to just watching how it walks around/reacts to stimuli/etc when high. As far as I know there has only been two proper studies done on spider web production under the influence of different drugs but they all produced some very interesting results. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any detailed analysis on these studies but [url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/51967/what-does-marijuana-do-spiders]this article[/url] gives some insight as well as pictures of the webs: [QUOTE]This is your web. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/d4XiL5H.jpg[/IMG] This is your web on drugs. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/YLTVuHK.jpg[/IMG] Specifically, this a web on marijuana. It was made by one of the NASA spiders, which appears to have given up on it halfway through. NASA says the spiders that were given marijuana were easily sidetracked while building and left their webs unfinished. The spiders on benzedrine, a stimulant also known as “bennies,” weaved their webs energetically, even frantically, but without planning or attention to detail. Their webs were characterized by large gaps. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/J24JD0K.jpg[/IMG] Caffeinated spiders made smaller, but wider webs, characterized by threads meeting at wide angles, disorganized cells and a lack of the normal “hub and spoke” pattern. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/gPQL8YU.jpg[/IMG] Spiders given the sedative chloral hydrate gave up on their webs even faster than the ones who’d had a little pot. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/cZr374z.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] However the (in my opinion) by far most interesting result was when the spiders were given LSD: [QUOTE]Finally, spiders given low doses of LSD actually maintained more geometric regularity than they did when they were stone sober. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/vdg7wOX.jpg[/IMG] All images courtesy of NASA.[/QUOTE] It is truly a shame more studies like these haven't been made. It's a fascinating subject, and spiders are great tools for giving you an idea of what drugs do to you.

i feed my gecko crickets (shout out to my nigga snoop leopard the lil gecko boy) and i'm pretty interested in trying this. they jump around a lot so i don't know how i'd do it, i could put a straw or tube or something that leads into the box in which they live and watch their reactions or i could put crickets in individual containers (with personal food/water supplies of course). i'd try it with snoop but i don't want to test things on something i actually like, snoop's [url=http://cumbria-reptile-keepers.webs.com/leopard.jpeg]cool as fuck[/url] and i don't want to kill him with science experiments. crickets are shit and dispensable.

[QUOTE=TCB;42132086]i feed my gecko crickets (shout out to my nigga snoop leopard the lil gecko boy) and i'm pretty interested in trying this. they jump around a lot so i don't know how i'd do it, i could put a straw or tube or something that leads into the box in which they live and watch their reactions or i could put crickets in individual containers (with personal food/water supplies of course). i'd try it with snoop but i don't want to test things on something i actually like, snoop's [URL="http://cumbria-reptile-keepers.webs.com/leopard.jpeg"]cool as fuck[/URL] and i don't want to kill him with science experiments. crickets are shit and dispensable.[/QUOTE] On the comment of me holding in my hit, you must hold in smoke for at least 10 seconds to absorb all the thc you can into your lungs, so if you hold it in for 3-4 seconds as I did, there is still a pretty good portion of thc left in the smoke. Also you have to take into consideration that if weed can get you high, imagine how little is needed for something so small such as a spider. Of course as said this is assuming they can even get high through contact with marijuana smoke. On the subject of geckos, if bugs can survive exposure to marijuana, something exponentially larger should have no problems with it. But we do come back to the dilemma of if smoke contact will achieve the desired result.

Doesn't THC only become active when it's exposed to heat? If so, how would it affect an insect that was just trying to munch on the plant? Surely the THC would still be inactive? Or do insects usually roll up a fat joint and smoke up a sample of a plant before they decide to have it for dinner?

biology of insects are differed, so it is possible for insects to get high by just eating it

[QUOTE=1chains1;42134701]On the comment of me holding in my hit, you must hold in smoke for at least 10 seconds to absorb all the thc you can into your lungs, so if you hold it in for 3-4 seconds as I did, there is still a pretty good portion of thc left in the smoke. Also you have to take into consideration that if weed can get you high, imagine how little is needed for something so small such as a spider. Of course as said this is assuming they can even get high through contact with marijuana smoke. On the subject of geckos, if bugs can survive exposure to marijuana, something exponentially larger should have no problems with it. But we do come back to the dilemma of if smoke contact will achieve the desired result.[/QUOTE] Actually around 90% of the THC is absorbed within the first 1-2 seconds if I remember correctly. But as you say spiders are small and even a 99% absorbed hit should be enough to get them high if you cover them with smoke.

Any animal that had delta9-thc receptors, that is. However, insects do not have delta9-thc receptors. (And are therefore not "affected" by pot smoke. I surmise all "effects observed.. " are result of asphyxiation, and carbon dioxide, etc. poisoning.)

Spiders don't like smoke period. Case closed.

But according to the above study marijuana did affect that spider, and how else are they going to get marijuana inside a spiders body? They dont have a mouth, just mandibles to suck blood with, can't suck the thc out of weed you know. Though that would be pretty kickin rad.

We've gotta do more research man. Smoke mor-[B]NO[/B], smoke it all. We have to do it for the spiders man.

My father had Cannabis plants around his potatoes in the old country to keep away pests. One day a buddy of his came over for a visit during the end of potato season. He asked my father what he was doing with all those plants, my dad was like; "Oh you want em? Take em, I don't need them anymore."

[video=youtube;sHzdsFiBbFc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc[/video]

Insects 'breathe' trough gas dissipation trough their skin, this is what thankfully limits the size of insects. so put them in a air-tight container, add ganja gas and wait for them to absorb it. then do your science.

[QUOTE=soupman345-2;42128473]If you held it in didnt the thc techincally get absorbed in your lungs? try it without inhaling,[/QUOTE] Probably only a small percentage gets absorbed. Even only a quarter of oxygen gets absorbed when you breath normally, and that's what the lungs are supposed to absorb.

90 percent of the THC gets absorbed in like 4 seconds

[QUOTE=Stormcharger;42211653]90 percent of the THC gets absorbed in like 4 seconds[/QUOTE] I've seen this myth all around the internet, but I'm really skeptical about it. Got any legit sources, actual science? Lungs work by diffusion and even though they have a huge surface area, I highly doubt almost all of the THC would suddenly jump into the bloodstream when the smoke passes by.

[QUOTE=Maucer;42224676]I've seen this myth all around the internet, but I'm really skeptical about it. Got any legit sources, actual science? Lungs work by diffusion and even though they have a huge surface area, I highly doubt almost all of the THC would suddenly jump into the bloodstream when the smoke passes by.[/QUOTE] While I can not find the study itself, it is referenced on marijuana.com: [QUOTE]Deep inhalation and breath-holding used in attempt to absorb more THC in the lungs only increases the absorption of tar and other carcinogens. A study done by a group of doctors in Canada (Dalhousie University) concluded that more than 90% of the THC is absorbed into the lungs within the first seconds of inhalation. Another study confirms this, but they put their figure at 95% absorption. The study also concluded that within the first hour of smoking marijuana, most of the THC is absorbed completely into the lungs (meaning your lungs don't immediately take in all of the THC at once, but over the course of an hour they take it all in). The complete elimination of any trace THC has been put at 53-55 hours, which could explain while some people experience a lingering high a couple days after smoking. An almost deja-vu high if you will. Conclusion: your lungs literally absorb 85-95% (average 90%) of the THC within the first second of inhalation; holding in a hit does nothing to increase the high, and any high experienced is either (a) placebo or (b) due to oxygen intoxication (meaning, breath really fast for 30 seconds and you'll get lightheaded and dizzy, that's oxygen intoxication). I forgot to add that the 5-15% of the THC that isn't absorbed is probably due to the THC loss in trace smoke and not your lungs inability to absorb a chemical. You don't see cigarette smokers taking a hit and holding it in for 10 seconds, they get that "buzz" literally in the first second of taking a hit.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't be so quick to doubt it. From an evolutionary standpoint it makes sense that the absorption rate would be so high as it means higher chance of survival in situations where you need to be able to absorb as much oxygen as possible from smoke-filled air while leaving most of the smoke intact, situations I imagine we've gotten ourselves into plenty of times seeing as we've controlled fire for a million years or so, and even before that with forest fires and whatnot. That quote also mentions a lung buffer releasing the cannabinoids into your bloodstream over time, so it's not technically absorbed into the blood all at once.