Timeline of Cannabis

1976
Cannabis is decriminalised in the Netherlands

1975
America establishes the Compassionate Use programme for medical use of marijuana

1970s
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, cannabis is classified as a class B drug. It becomes illegal to grow, produce, possess, or supply the drug

1970s
Cannabis cultivated on a broad scale in Afghanistan

1966
The Moroccan government attempts to purge cannabis growers from Rif Mountains.

1937
Cannabis made federally illegal in the U.S.

1936
The American Government released "Reefer Madness," a sensationalist docudrama about the dangers of marijuana. The movie remains a cult classic

1935
Chinese government moves to end all cannabis cultivation

1928
Recreational use of cannabis is banned in Britain

1915-1927
Moves are made to outlaw recreational use in USA

1890
Greek government prohibits importation, cultivation, and use of hashish

1856
British government tax cannabis trade in India

1840
In America, medicinal preparations based on cannabis become available


2004-1800 | 1700 AD-6000 BC

1700s
Hashish becomes a major trade item between Central Asia and South Asia

1271-1295
Marco Polo reports tales of hashish use

1200s
Hashish smoking is popular throughout the Middle East

900-1000
Scholars debate the pros and cons of eating hashish

500-600
The Jewish Talmud mentions the use of cannabis

70
The use of cannabis is mentioned as a Roman medical remedy

500 BC
Hemp is introduced into Northern Europe

700-300 BC
Ancient Kazakhstan tribes leave cannabis seeds as offerings in royal tombs

1200 BC
Cannabis is mentioned in the Hindu sacred text

2727 BC
First written record of cannabis use as medicine

4000 BC
Textiles made of hemp are used in China

6000 BC
Cannabis seeds used for food in China

What kind of thinker are you

	For many years, people used IQ tests to try and determine someone’s intelligence. However, some researchers believe that IQ tests do not take into account the fact that different people might think in different ways, and have different strengths and weaknesses. Most people would agree that Mozart was a genius - but Mozart would probably have struggled with Einstein’s theories just like the rest of us. This doesn’t mean that one man was more clever than the other – they just thought in very different ways. Many psychologists now believe that what we call intelligence can be subdivided into different categories, all of which can all be measured independently. Different kinds of thinking are needed to solve different problems.

The mating game

Read between the lines

If you've never considered searching for a date in the lonely hearts columns, count yourself lucky. It's a jungle out there and that's scientific fact.

Are lonely hearts columns a window into our evolutionary past?

Enter the world of lonely hearts and you take a trip back through your evolutionary past, where the veneer of civilisation is stripped away and men and women are slaves to their most basic instincts.

The frank vocabulary of the ads illuminates the rules of human mating in the most unambiguous way. If you're a blonde, attractive, curvaceous female, that's exactly how you should describe yourself in your ad. The same applies if you're a handsome, athletic, millionaire male.

For this very reason, lonely hearts may give us a unique insight into the reasons for our sexual preferences - preferences that have been moulded by millions of years of natural selection.

Column inches

Professor Robin Dunbar of Liverpool University spent much of the latter half of the 1990s studying the hidden evolutionary signals contained in Lonely Hearts advertisements.

"We were studying 19th century folk [love] songs, but it wasn't working out as well as we had thought. Many folk songs are political when you scratch beneath the surface," explains Dunbar.

"When we changed our focus to Lonely Hearts, we found a close link with evolutionary preferences," he adds.

The language of love

Dunbar found that the vast majority of words used by people to describe themselves in ads could be lumped into five different categories.

He asked 200 university students to rate the appeal of ads containing different categories of words. When Dunbar analysed the results, he found that men and women attached very different levels of importance to the five categories:

Men's preferences	Women's preferences
1. Attractiveness	1. Commitment
1. Commitment	2. Social Skills
3. Social Skills	3. Resources
4. Resources	4. Attractiveness
4. Sexiness	5. Sexiness

Far from being conditioned to regard these things as important, Dunbar argued that men and women had evolved these preferences over millions of years of evolution. These were crucial qualities that enhanced the fitness of children, and, lest we forget, children are the key to the survival of our species.

What hidden messages do we send the opposite sex?

Pregnancy and breast-feeding place great stress on a mother, so females make the biggest investment in reproduction. This is why women are choosier about their partners than men, with 20-something women being the choosiest of all.

This big parental investment also explains why women seek males who are willing to stick around and provide for children.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

But evolutionary theory tells us that resources should be just as important to women, if not more so. Good fathers need to have the means to feed offspring as well as the willingness to stick around.

In our evolutionary past, before resources meant a Rolex watch and a sports car, a well-heeled man was one with high status in a hunting tribe. High status males were often good hunters and likely to provide a steady supply of food.

When the desire for reproduction is taken out of the equation, preferences change drastically. Dunbar has shown that lesbians were three times less likely to seek resources than heterosexual women.

But why should such an intangible quality like social skills score highly with heterosexual women? Dunbar puts this down to the Scheherazade effect, a phrase coined by cognitive psychologist Geoffrey Miller.

The Scheherazade effect refers to the possible tactics used by ancestral women to appeal to a man's conversational skills in order to keep them around.

Research conducted by Professor Doug Kenrick at the University of Arizona seems to support this sexual dynamic. Kenrick has found that both sexes regard social skills as important, particularly a sense of humour. But that a good sense of humour has a different meaning for women than it does for men.

"When women look for a sense of humour in a man, they're saying: 'show me what you've got'. But when a man looks for a sense of humour in a woman, they're saying 'she laughs at my jokes, she must think I'm a great guy'."

Playing the field

The very fact that men need an incentive to stick around leads us to the question of male priorities in the mating game. Men, like women, want to maximise their contribution to the gene pool by having as many offspring as possible.

But for males, time spent providing for a pregnant partner could be better spent fathering other children with other women. This may explain why men place such a high premium on attractiveness.

Attractiveness is a rough indicator of age, and in women, age is a good indicator of fertility. After her late 20s, a woman's fertility steadily declines, and so does her value on the dating market.

We all want to make babies. But when it comes to the politics of mating, men and women dance to a different tune.

Ageing beauties

Men, so the biological assumption goes, always prefer younger women, because they are likely to bear them more children.

But a recent study seems to contradict this theory. Dr George Fieldman, of the Buckinhamshire Chilterns University College showed images of women to about 200 men with an average age of 30.

A picture of a 36-year old woman, who a separate group of men had found attractive, was shown to the men along with eight other photos of women aged 20 to 45 who had been rated as less attractive.

Asked to choose one woman as a long-term partner, all three groups chose the beautiful woman regardless of what age they thought she was.

"They are saying: 'I'd rather risk a relationship with an older woman who is not going to give me as many children but is very beautiful, than a woman who is more fecund but whose children will be plainer," says Fieldman.

The theory is based on the notion that a beautiful woman is more likely to bear beautiful offspring and that those offspring will be more successful than plainer offspring.

"Female beauty has evolved through sexual selection. If you're beautiful then it's likely that you're also symmetrical," he adds.

Symmetry is a difficult characteristic for genes to code for, leading many scientists to conclude that it is an indicator of good genes.

Fieldman's research suggests that beauty is important to men on a deeper level than just a simple indicator of youth.

Led astray

However, Kenrick thinks that in this instance, men are being confused by the benefits of modern healthcare and beauty products.

"My suspicion is that we respond to visual cues of attractiveness, not what you see on someone's birth certifcate. Liz Hurley, for example, looks attractive because she's got all those cues [despite her age]," he explains.

"In evolutionary history, by the time a woman got to be 45, she'd have had five children and various parasites. She wouldn't have looked like one of those Hollywood actresses," Kenrick adds.

Studies have shown that men seem to prefer women with smooth skin and glossy hair, features which seem to be associated with higher levels of the female sex hormone oestrogen. In our evolutionary past, these would also have been strong indicators of youth.

Dirty old men

As male lonely hearts age, they seek women who are increasingly younger than they are. This reflects their increasing value on the dating market due to their increasing resources, or wealth.

But why males should value commitment so highly is less clear. Dunbar thinks he has the answer: "In males I think commitment is to linked to paternity certainty," he explains. If a male is to spread his genes, he needs to know that the children being born are his and not those of a rival.

The patterns of preferences amongst homosexual male advertisers are startlingly different. In one study, gay men offered resources and attractiveness half as often as heterosexual men did.

On average, female lonely hearts prefer a man five years older than them.

Like everyone else, lonely hearts raise or lower their standards according to their own circumstances. Young men have low expectations because they don't have much wealth to offer. Older women are similarly undemanding, because of their reduced attractiveness.

Liar, liar

But the lonely hearts columns seem to amplify one important tactic of the mating game: lying. One of the most common complaints made by people responding to advertisements is that the advertiser was nothing like their description in the ad.

So if you're thinking of flicking through the lonely hearts, take all those evolutionary traits on display with a pinch of salt, even if it means ignoring your most basic instincts.

Shark bite victim 'happy to be alive'

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- All the way back to shore after an 8-foot tiger shark chomped into his left leg, Harvey Miller thought he might die.

Harvey Miller, left, and Dr. Patrick Murray speak at a news conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday.

"I just remember saying, 'Oh God, not like this, no way,"' Miller said Friday, a day after the fish attacked him off Oahu's Bellows Beach.

The animal went after the 36-year-old attorney from Toledo, Ohio, in clear blue waters in an area not known for shark attacks. The last such incident in that area happened almost 50 years ago, the state's Shark Task Force said.

The father of four was snorkeling and looking for turtles about 150 yards from shore when he noticed that some fish near him looked spooked.

Then he saw a large shark's flat snout and felt the animal spin him around.

Speaking to reporters at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, where he was taken after the attack, Miller said he punched the shark twice right below its dorsal fin, scaring it away.

Then Miller started screaming and yelling for help and headed for shore. Watch Miller describe how he escaped from shark »

A day later, he was sitting in a hospital wheelchair, tired and nauseous from the pain medicine but grateful for his doctor's estimate that he should be walking in a few months and, if all goes well, playing basketball with his teenage son in six months to a year.

"I'm happy -- one, to be alive and two, that I don't anticipate ... losing the leg," he said.

Miller said a stranger helped save him by wading into the ocean to answer his cries for help.

"He's my hero. I would not have made it out of the water without his assistance. I owe my life to that man," Miller said.

Dr. Patrick Murray said the shark came down on Miller's leg and knee with "tremendous" force.

"It went right to the bone, into the bone, broke some of the bone, and into the knee joint and then removed a fairly large portion of his leg up by the knee," Murray said.

Miller has two wounds on the side and back of his left knee, one 3 to 4 inches long and the other about a foot long.

Murray spent two hours operating on Miller's leg on Thursday. He said the Ohio man would need additional surgery to repair nerve damage.

Randy Honebrink, Shark Task Force spokesman, said the shark was likely looking for food when it came upon Miller. Two partially eaten dead turtles later washed ashore in the same area, showing signs of shark bites, he said.

"The only way a shark can tell if something is a potential food source is by biting it," Honebrink said.

He said the attack was the first known shark incident in a coastal stretch from Makapuu to Kaneohe Bay since 1958.

"A Petai a day keeps the doctor away"

---

A tall species of the lowland forest in Malaysia, also known as Parkia Speciosa. The seeds encapsulated in the long pendulous pods of this species are a local delicacy, despite its strong and slightly bitter aftertaste. The seeds are eaten raw, grilled or blanched.

Petai makes the bodily secretion and breath smell bad. But Petai contains three natural sugars -sucrose, fructose and glucose - combined with fiber, petai gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Little did you (and I) know ..... after reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at petai in the same way again!

Research has proved that just two servings of petai provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder petai is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way petai can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND among people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating petai. This is because petai contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS(premenstrual syndrome):
Forget the pills - eat petai. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia:
High in iron, petai can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the petai industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating petai at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:
High in fiber, including petai in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a petai milkshake, sweetened with honey. The petai calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn:
Petai has a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating petai for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:
Snacking on petai between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of the petai skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:
Petai is high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight:
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers:
Petai is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control:
Many other cultures see petai as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In holland, for example, pregnant women eat petai to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Petai can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Smoking:
Petai can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium petai snack.

Strokes:
According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine', eating petai as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.

Warts:
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of petai and place it on the wart. Carefully hold the petai in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, you see, petai really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say,