However, scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, has led to two FDA-approved medications that contain cannabinoid chemicals in pill form. Continued research may lead to more medications.

Source: www.drugabuse.gov

Here are some interesting finds about merry marijuana!

1. Study after study has found that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco.

2. Marijuana has been legal for personal use in Alaska since 1975, and it’s still legal today.

3. The first thing ever bought and sold across the Internet was a bag of marijuana around 1971.

4. A Marijuana-derived compound forces cancer cells to freeze and prevents them from spreading.

1. Doctors also may prescribe medical marijuana to treat:
   • Muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis
   • Nausea from cancer chemotherapy
   • Poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain
   • Seizure disorders
   • Crohn’s disease

5. Medicinal Marijuana is Considered Kosher in Some Cases by Judaism.

6. Bob Marley was buried with his red Gibson guitar, a Bible open to Psalms 23 and a bud of marijuana.

7. Marijuana is legal and is not even classified as a drug in North Korea.

8. In 1949, the U.S. Military created a synthetic version of Marijuana called “Dimethylheptylpyran.” Just 1 mg can have effects lasting for 3 days.

9. In Colorado, medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks locations 3 to 1.

10. The first recorded use of Marijuana was in China, over 4700 years ago.

11. In the Netherlands, there are dozens of public facilities where you can bring recreational drugs including marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy to test if they are safe.

12. Only around 1% to 5% of marijuana users end up developing psychosis.

13.A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about 15 minutes to die of an overdose.

The human mind is a funny thing. It can be molded into almost anything you can think of. Here are some weird af mental disorders that would blow your mind- pun intended!

Capgras Syndrome
Capgras syndrome, named after a French psychiatrist who described the illusion of doubles, is a delusion of misidentification. It is characterized by a person’s delusional belief that an acquaintance, usually a spouse or other close family member, has been replaced by an identical looking impostor or several doubles.

Capgras syndrome occurs most often in patients with schizophrenia, although it has also been reported in patients with dementia or epilepsy and after traumatic brain injury. The management does not differ from the treatment of the underlying disorders, and usually involves antipsychotic medications, although in dementia patients, cognitive enhancing treatments and nonpharmacologic strategies that diminish disorganization should be used.

Fregoli Syndrome

The Fregoli delusion, or the delusion of doubles, is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise.

Cotard Delusion
Cotard syndrome is a specific nihilistic delusion named after Jules Cotard, a French neurologist, who first described the condition, which he called le délire de négation(negation delirium), in 1880. The affected person holds the delusional belief that he or she is already dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his or her blood or internal organs.

It is most frequently observed in patients with psychotic depression or schizophrenias and is managed by focusing on the treatment of the underlying disorder.

Reduplicative Paramnesia
Reduplication is observed mainly among acutely confused or severely amnesic people; for example, a patient may say that he has been in one or more hospitals that are very similar to his present location and that all bear the same name. The effect also can be induced by showing the person an object such as a picture and by testing him for recognition of the same picture a few minutes later. He is apt to say that he has seen a similar picture but definitely not the one now being shown. This effect appears to depend on loss of a sense of familiarity and on failure to treat a single object seen on a number of occasions as one and the same. It has been reported that reduplication of this kind is typically associated with confabulation, speech disorder (paraphasia), disorientation, and denial of illness.

Alien Hand Syndrome
Alien hand syndrome is a phenomenon in which one hand is not under control of the mind. The person loses control of the hand, and it acts as if it has a mind of its own. The etiology includes neurosurgery, tumor, aneurysms, and rarely stroke. This case is presented to create awareness of this interesting clinical scenario, which can be terrifying to the patients and confusing to the physicians who are not aware of it.

A 77-year-old woman presented with the complaint of observing her left hand moving without her knowledge while watching television. Her left hand stroked her face and hair as if somebody was controlling it. These movements lasted only half an hour but on recovery, she had left hemiparesis. Alien hand syndrome as the presentation of cardioembolic stroke is extremely rare but can be terrifying to patients.

This large goat-type animal is found in the mountainous regions of Himalayas especially in the Western woodlands of Afghanistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Kashmir.

Here we have compiled some amazing facts and photographs of this wondrous animal.

Credits: Unknown (please connect if this is your photograph)

Credits: Unknown

Credits: Unknown

Markhor- The Name

The colloquial name is thought by some to be derived from the Persian word Mar(مار) meaning snake and khor(خور) meaning “eater”, which is sometimes interpreted to either represent the species’ ability to kill snakes, or as a reference to its corkscrewing horns, which are somewhat reminiscent of coiling snakes. ref

Characteristics

Markhor is 65 to 115 centimeters tall at the shoulder. They usually weigh from 40 to 110 kilograms. Females are a tan color with a white underbelly and a pattern of black and white on the legs. Males are a lighter tan color with the same white underbelly and pattern on the legs. Males also have a black face and lots of long white fur on their neck and chest which can grow down to their knees. Both males and females have corkscrew-shaped horns which can grow up to 160 cm / 64 inches long in males, and up to 25 cm / 10 inches in females.

Credits: Jacqueline Wallace

Endangered

The species is classed by the IUCN as Endangered, as there are fewer than 2,500 mature individuals and the numbers have continued to decline by an estimated 20% over two generations. The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared it as an endangered animal in 1998. However, it was downlisted to the category of ‘near-threatened’ in 2015 as there are official claims that the number of animals has increased due to trophy hunting.

Hunting

The hunting of National Animal is prohibited in Pakistan, therefore foreign visitors can get the hunting license for Capra-Falconeri (مار خور) against 56 thousand Dollars/head from PTDC, Pakistan. Hunters pay large sums of money for the game in the region, while the locals use this money to fund developments in the area, in turn securing the population of Markhors as well.

Credits: Unknown

Numbers

According to the data collected by K-P Wildlife department in 1993, the population of Markhor was merely 275 animals throughout the province. However, that number is currently over 3,500. Ref: Express Tribune

Credits: Unknown

Diet

The Markhor is a herbivorous animal that primarily grazes on a variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, herbs, fruits, and flowers. Like other wild goats, the markhor plays a valuable role within their eco-system as they munch the leaves from the low-lying trees and scrub, spreading the seeds in their dung. ref

Responsibility

As Markhor is the National Animal of Pakistan, it is our collective responsibility to help in their preservation. Markhors mainly feed on vegetation therefore whenever we visit areas which host Markhors like Kashmir and Gilgit=Baltistan, we must make sure to not litter on the ground. Plastic bottles, shopping bags and other forms of throw-away items harm the environment which indirectly harms Markhors.

Furthermore, we must support Government of Pakistan’s efforts to preserve future generations of Markhors.

You may be interested in our viral compilation of Ten Amazing Wild Animals Found in Pakistan