Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Historical Roots Behind Refrigeration History Essay

Historical Roots Behind Refrigeration History Essay The refrigeration technology is an important technology in that it slows down the growth of bacteria. In doing this, it lowers the risks of diseases. This is because bacteria exist all around us including in the foods that we eat. When the bacteria are supplied with enough nutrients and favorable climatic conditions, they grow rapidly and hence can cause illnesses. Refrigeration technology comes in hardy to stop the rapid multiplication of the bacteria and this is a benefit to the society in that its chances of falling ill from Bacteria illnesses are reduced (Bauer, 1998) Historical roots behind refrigeration. The very first artificial refrigeration known was the demonstration presented at the University of Glasgow by William Cullen in 1748. This discovery however was not use for any practical purpose. The first refrigerator was designed by Oliver Evans, an American inventor in 1748. But the first practical refrigerator was built in 1834 by Jacob Perkins. This refrigerator used vapor in a vapor compression cycle. John Gorrie an American physician built a refrigerator in 1844 based on Evans design. This refrigerator was built with the aim of making ice to cool the air for the yellow fever patients that he was treating. Carl Von Linden, a German engineer patented, in 1976 the process of liquefying gas but not the refrigerator (Burstall, 65). Gas liquefaction is the basic part of refrigeration technology. The first refrigerators were made of wood cabinet and a compressor that was cooled with water. Steel and porcelain cabinets emerged in 1920s to replace the wooden refrigerators which were le ss effective. The evolutions of the refrigerators continue to improve in the 50s and 60s and they became better to suit the needs of the customers. Automatic ice makers and automatic defrost were added in the refrigerator with the aim of making them user friendly and reduce the maintenance. The modern day refrigeration technology is aimed at making the refrigerators more environments friendly (About.Com) The refrigeration process has not stopped evolving. The early refrigerators of 1800 used toxic gas like ammonia, methyl chloride and sulfur dioxide as the refrigerant. These were used up to 1929. In the 1920s, there are many fatal accidents which occurred. This was caused by the leaking of methyl chloride from the refrigerators. It was after this that 3 American corporations embarked on intensive research to come up with a less dangerous method of refrigeration. Their efforts led to the use of Freon which became a standard for all refrigerators. Freon was changed in 1996 and it was replaced with HFC 134a. This was done so as to comply with The Regulatory Clean Air Act. The replacement was done because HFC 134a was less injurious to the environment and the Ozone as compared to Freon. The effectiveness of HFC 134a was just the same as Freon and the users of refrigerators did not notice any difference. The table below shows the milestones achieved in the refrigeration technology. Milestones: BC 1000 The Chinese cut and stored ice 500  Ã‚   Egyptians and Indians made ice on cold nights by setting water out in earthenware pots AD 1700 In England, servants collected ice in the winter and put it into icehouses for use in the summer 1720 Dr. William Cullen, a Scotsman, studied the evaporation of liquids in a vacuum 1805 Oliver Evans of Pennsylvania, compressed ether machine, the machine is never built 1820 Michael Faraday, a Londoner, liquefied ammonia to cause cooling 1834 Jacob Perkins, ether vapor compression cycle, Ice Making Machine 1844 James Harrison of Australia invents compressed ether machine 1850 Edmond Carre of France, invents an absorption process machine 1852 William Thomson James Prescott cooling increases in proportion to the pressure difference 1855 Dr. John Gorrie builds compression refrigeration system based on Faradays experiments. 1856 James Harrison commissioned by a brewery to build a machine that cooled beer. 1859 Ferdinand Carre of France, developed the first ammonia/water refrigeration machine 1871 Carl von Linde of Germany published an essay on improved refrigeration techniques 1873 Carl von Linde first practical and portable compressor refrigeration machine was built in Munich 1874 Raoul Pictet of Switzerland, a compressor system using sulfur dioxide instead of ammonia 1876 Carl von Linde, early models he used methyl ether, but changed to an ammonia cycle 1878 von Linde starts Lindes Eismaschinen AG, (Society for Lindes Ice Machines), now Linde AG 1881 Edmund J. Copeland and Arnold H. Gross start Leonard Refrigerator Company 1894 Linde developed a new method (Linde technique) for the liquefaction of large quantities of air. 1894 Linde AG installs refrigerator at the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland 1895 Carl von Linde produced large amounts of liquid air using the Thomson-Joule effect 1901 Patent # 665,814 issued January 10, for a Refridgeator (Ice Box) invented by Henry Trost. 1911 General Electric company unveiled a refrigerator invented by a French monk. Abbe Audiffren 1913 Fred W. Wolf Jr.of the Domelre Company (DOMestic Electric Refrigerator) 1914 Leonard Refrigerator Company renamed Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company 1915 Alfred Mellowes starts Guardian Frigerato to build first self-container refrigerator for home use 1916 Servel models compressors were generally driven by motors located in the basement 1916 Henry Joy of Packard Motor Car Co. purchased the Fred W. Wolf refrigerator rights 1918 Guardian Frigerato purchased by General Motors and renamed Frigidaire 1918 Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company renamed Kelvinator 1920 there were some 200 different refrigerator models on the market. 1922 Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters introduce absorption process refrigerator 1923 Kelvinator held 80 percent of the market for electric refrigerators 1923 AB Arctic.begins production of refrigerators based on Platen-Munters invention 1925 Electrolux purchases AB Arctic and launches the D-fridge on the world market 1925 Steel and porcelain cabinets began appearing in the mid-20s 1927 first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric Monitor-Top refrigerator. 1930 first built-in refrigerator is launched by Electrolux 1931 Dupont produced commercial quantities of R-12, trademarked as Freon 1931 the first air-cooled refrigerator introduced by Electrolux 1932 Gibson, then owned by Frank Gibson, manufactured its own line of refrigerators. 1934 an innovation, the Shelvador refrigerator, was introduced by the Crosley Radio Corporation 1936 Albert Henne synthesizes refrigerant R-134a 1937 more than 2 million Americans owned refrigerators. 1939 refrigerator with one section for frozen food and a second for chilled food, introduced by G. E. 1946 Mass production of modern refrigerators didnt get started until after World War II. 1947 GE two-door refrigerator-freezer combination 1955 80% of American homes now have refrigerators 2005 A domestic refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes   Table 1. Source: The Great Idea Finder Is refrigeration an old or a new technology. Refrigeration is an old technology that started a long time ago. Refrigeration concept can be said to originate from the prehistoric times. During this period, man found that the meat he had hunted lasted longer when stored in the cool areas of the cave or when packed in snow. The early man found that when he stored his game in cold temperatures, it lasted for long. He therefore hunted excess game which he kept in cold temperatures and he would eat this meat when the food was in short supply. As the early man progressed, he started using ice which he harvested in winter to use in summer. Ice was also harvested from lakes and rivers to be used for the purpose of refrigeration. Adding chemicals like sodium and potassium nitrate to water so as to lower its temperatures was the next stage in the history of refrigeration. It is recorded that this method was used to cool wine in 1550. The use of mechanical refrigeration started in the last quarter of the 19th century. This evolution was a long slow process (Trevor, 1978) Has refrigeration led to any type of social change? The refrigeration technology can be said to have a great impact to women in particular. This is because women are viewed as the domestic worker (Cowan, 137-138). Though this mentality has changed in the modern world, there is still the thought that the domestic world belongs to women. The refrigerators can be seen to symbolize the freedom of house wives. They have saved women from preserving foods in the old fashioned ways of salting, smoking or dehydrating. The air conditioning has contributed immensely to the development of the hot and humid areas both socially and economically. This has been achieved through creation of habitable environments with desired temperatures and humidity levels in office buildings and private homes (Barbara, 2003) Benefits of refrigeration to the society Refrigeration has changed the lifestyles of the society in various ways. One can buy food for a whole week without fear of it getting spoiled after refrigeration. Cooked food can also be stored for long without getting spoilt. Salting of food as a method of preservation is long forgotten. The food preserved using this method did not even last for a long time. One can also get a cold drink during the hottest summer and this seemed like a dream before refrigeration wad invented. Fruits, vegetables and even flowers can be kept fresh for a long period of time with refrigeration. The modern life is in the fast lane. This has called for most people to be working for long hours or working two jobs. In homes both partners may be busy for up to a whole week and hence no time for everyday cooking. With refrigeration, they can cook as much food as possible when they are free and storing it in refrigerators and they can eat it throughout the week. This saves them much time which could have been wasted ion cooking after work. With refrigeration, the temperature of the food is lowered and thus the food can be kept for long to be used later without getting spoiled (Shephard, 29) Refrigeration is also widely used for the purposes of air conditioning in homes, public buildings and restaurants. It is also used for refrigeration of foodstuffs in restaurants and also in large storage warehouses. Refrigerators have become very common in the United States. Most American homes started using refrigerators a long time ago. More than 80 % of the rural American and more than 90% of urban American homes used owned a refrigerator by the year 1950 (Historychannel.com) Refrigeration is also used commercially and in manufacturing industries. It is used to liquefy gases including oxygen, nitrogen, propane, and methane. It is used to compress and condense water vapor in compressed air purification. This process is aimed at reducing the moisture content of compressed air. In industries like petrochemical, refineries and chemical plants, refrigeration is important as it is used for the maintenance of certain chemical processes and reactions at low temperatures. An example is in the production of high octane gasoline component where the alkylations of butanes and butane is done at low temperatures (Noor, 2009) Refrigeration is therefore a vital technology in many sectors of the economy like the dairy industry, the meat industry, fish and pork industry and also in the fruits and vegetables sector. In the non food sectors, refrigeration is used in school laboratories to store chemicals, samples and cultures. It is also the technology that is used to preserver corpses in morgues. Detrimental effects of refrigeration to the society. The refrigerant used in refrigerators has a negative effect on the environment. Though the use of CFC has been banned, some manufactures may sell the old stocks of refrigerators which use CFC. These are detrimental to the ozone layer. The HFCs being used on modern refrigerators are strong green house gas emitters. Though they do not harm the ozone, they destroy the environment that we live-in. Refrigeration contributes to the global warming. Though HFCs were seen as the solution to refrigeration, it has a very high potential of global warming. This contribution is due to direct emissions of the refrigerant gases. Most of these emissions are due to leakage of the refrigerant into the environment either due to poor maintenance and containment. Freon was seen as been safer to the consumer though it had negative impacts on the environment. Clean Air Act was passed in 1990 and it restricted use of CFCs. Many industries had no other choice than to be forced to phase out CFCs in their produ cts (Gopalnarayanan, 19) Refrigeration as a symbol of growth. Refrigeration has allowed many families and industries to keep food fresh for long periods of time. It is a symbol of growth in that most families are small and they occupy a small piece of land and hence there is no space for keeping livestock and growing different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Also most modern families live in towns and cities where there are no gardens for growing fruits and vegetables or keeping animals. This does not therefore mean that because these families are limited by these factors, they cannot enjoy a varied and balanced diet. Supermarkets have stocked all types of me4at, eggs, vegetables and eggs in their refrigerated shelves. These customers come and buy the same and stock it in their refrigerators. The fish, poultry, dairy products and vegetables can be kept in the same space of the refrigerator within the kitchen. Refrigeration is an important symbol of growth and societal progress in that the society can enjoy a variety of salads, fruits and vegetables all year long without having and tilling their own garden. The society can also enjoy dairy products without having their own dairy animals, meat products without owning beef cattle, egg products without rearing their own poultry and all kinds of fish without having a fish pond all year round. Also other types of foods from far off countries are madder available to the society. These food products are shipped or delivered by air under refrigeration. Refrigeration allows purchase of goods in large scale and in bulk. With regard to economies of scale, this saves on money. It has become possible to enjoy ice cream which may have been produced from abroad unlike in the past where ice cream was eaten on the spot at the place of manufacture. Through refrigeration world trade has been opened up and refrigerated goods from one country can be easily market in another without the fear of spoilage. Refrigeration technology has acted as a source of employment to many people. The direct employees include the refrigeration experts, technicians; mechanics and installers. These are mainly people employed by air conditioning, plumbing and heating contractors and companies. Indirect employment involve people in other sectors e.g. in shops that sell the refrigeration equipments, dairy farmers, fishermen and fruits and vegetable farmers. How government institutions helped shape refrigeration. Government as a regulator- the government through the Environmental Protection Agency has set standards for monitoring and regulating refrigerant leaks. There are other regulations and strict standards that have been set by the government regarding green house emissions from the refrigerants. The government has identified CFCs, HCFCs, and PFCs as ozone depleting gases (ODS) and also global warming gases and has therefore prohibited their use as refrigerants. These are the gases commonly used for HVAC and in AC units. Many US states have increased the demand for a detailed refrigerant reporting requirement (Stouffer, 1998). Government as consumer- many government buildings, both central and federal government, is installed with air conditioners, refrigerators and other heating and cooling systems that use the refrigeration technology. Also government hospitals and other governmental organizations are installed with refrigeration systems. This is evident that the government is a major consumer of the refrigeration technology. Is refrigeration an example of deterministic technology or socially constructed technology. In my opinion, refrigeration is a socially constructed technology. Refrigeration does not determine the human actions but rather it is the human actions that have shaped refrigeration. The need for fresh products has resulted into the invention of the refrigeration technology. Human beings actions are such that they are very busy either in work places or in school and hence have no time to cook fresh foods every day. This has led to the development of the refrigeration technology. With its development, the human beings are now able to cook more food whenever they are free which they can refrigerate and eat them for a long period of time. Abstract Refrigeration can be said to the process of heat removal from substances. It is done with the aim of lowering the temperature of the substance and maintaining that low temperature. Refrigeration in food is done to reduce the risk of bacteria survival. Bacteria are responsible for most of the illnesses. The technology of refrigeration can be said to have started a long time ago. Its evolution is still continuing as we seek to find the best refrigerant that can be safe to us and to our environment. Refrigeration has been associated with a lot of benefits in our homes and in the society at large. Many homes in the United States are now equipped with a refrigerator. Important words used :refrigerator, fridge, fridgerator, refrigeration, Carl Linde, Carl von Linde, William Cullen, Oliver Evans, Fred Wolf, Linde, William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, James Prescott Joule,   invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, CFC, HCFC, ODS,AC, HAVC.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Becoming The Third Dimension: Cubism In In The Skin Of A Lion :: essays research papers fc

Becoming the Third Dimension Images splatter against the viewer's face like a moth on the windshield when gazing at the pigmented speckles dappled along the textured canvas hanging on the wall in the local gallery. Examining the seemingly incomplete picture before them, the viewer may inquire as to the perception of the painted figure from various angles as opposed to the solitary linear image presented by the artist. Mona Lisa's intriguing smile may birth more questions if the art critic could view it from a profile, or the back of her head, or even from the underside of the canvas as a whole. Although a picture may say a thousand words, a panoramic view of the same subject would utter a hundred thousand more. Realizing the human desire to know and understand what they witness in full, artists such as Pablo Picasso began a style known as cubism between 1907 and 1914. Cubism acknowledges the idea that objects (and perhaps ideas?) are three-dimensional and should therefore be expressed as that. The cubist theory drives itself into the minds of artists of numerous mediums including literature. But in bringing a prismatic feel to a two-dimensional topic, the audience is bombarded with more questions than answers given. This reader then is likely to draw a blank at the images forming in his mind as he pieces the angles together. By producing these multiple angles, whether it be in art or literature, the creator fails to emphasize any particular perspective and often leaves one of them open without explanation, that of the reader. Through its development in the literary cubism method, In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje defies the reader's initial perception of a single story by trivializing the narrow linear view of the lead character and in turn completing the multidimensional view of the story by invoking the reader's own perspective. In composing this multidimensional story line, Ondaatje eradicates the reader's inclination to base the story off of the linear perspective of one character by delineating the main character's nugatory existence. Obliterating the linear perspective concept, the author allows the cubist conditions of portraying a three-dimensional story contrived from the perspectives of a multitude of characters to unfold. This destruction begins when he states, in reference to Patrick Lewis' homeland, that "He was born into a region which did not appear on a map until 1910, though his family had worked there for twenty years and the land had been homesteaded since 1816" (Ondaatje 10).

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Comparing China with the West: What Hofstede taught us about Cultural Consequences Essay

The world today is a smaller place than it has ever been, thanks to the rapid and ongoing development of the global economy; we have become a borderless and cyber-connected community (Hofstede 2001; Kottak 2008; Mead, 2009). This has resulted in greater links and more and more interchanges between different nationalities. The ease at which we can physically communicate and travel has allowed for the free movement of goods and services across borders increasing trade and investment in foreign countries. International commerce, travel, migration and the media are the forces behind globalisation (Kottak, 2008; Craig and Douglas, 2006). Globalisation has a phenomenal effect on the business world; it opens up businesses to potential new markets, allowing them to increase their supply of consumers. Setting the stage for international collaboration (Hofstede, 2003) and while doing so, it is reshaping the global economic outlook (World Investment Report, 2005). In despite of this, Osland (1990) points out, that one of the barriers to international business success ‘Is the one erected by culture’ (p.4). Each civilization breeds its own social-political-economic systems. Essentially, each culture has its own method to conducting business. Such methods are intrinsically cultural bound. In order to understand how the different systems work one must first understand the values that underlie it. Thus, managers, employees, business partners and other corporate stakeholders must recognise that the methods they use, to make their decisions, solve their problems and deals with other people are all done by reflecting on their cultural backgrounds and perspectives (Mead, 2009; Mott, 2004; Hofstede, 2005). As acknowledged above, globalisation leads to problems in cross-cultural communication. We live in a world where a cultural competency is essential for global business profitability. Over the years there have been many studies conducted on culture. In the 1950’s Kroeber and Kluckhohn, where one of the first scholars to provide a theoretical framework for explaining culture as a system of integrated values they wanted to characterize differences between national cultures (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1963). Since then, many scholars have focused their attention on how national differences affect the decision-making practices of professionals and have produced some tangible guidelines for cross-cultural understanding (Hofstede, 1980; Adler & Graham, 1986; Black &  Mendenhall 1989; Trompenaars, 1994; Triandis, 1994; House et al, 2004). One of the first of these studies, and perhaps the one which has had widespread implications in helping scholars and professionals interested in cultures, is Hofstede’s Five Dimension model (5-D). Its primary innovation is to class national cultures along a number of dimensions. The underlying thesis in these studies is that there are nationally influenced differences in work placed values (Hofstede, 2001; 2005). This presented scholars with insight into the composition of national culture and according to Hofstede culture-focused research is becoming more prominent, and understanding culture is becoming increasingly vital (Hofstede, 1994). Even though, Hofstede was not the first study on cross-cultural research, his study succeeded in putting cross-cultural research at the forefront of international business research (Hofstede, 2001). It is considered valuable in international business and management and due to the growing interdependence among nations; the need for a better understanding of cultural influence on organisational practices has never been greater (House et al, 2004). A cross-cultural understanding is a prerequisite to an effective entry into an international market (Morder, 1999) as businesses operating in different cultures must maintain a multifaceted approach, developing appropriate skills and compromising the interacting cultures, adjusting their norms, practices and perspectives to work within another culture’s border (Morder, 1999; Selmer, 2009). There have been many documented cases of cultural incompetence, (Selmer, 1999; 2000; Hutchings, 2005), outlining how a lack of cultural competence can have devastating effects to the success of business ventures. Thus as we move to a more connected world some might expect a convergence on a cultural level, to match the significant business transactions that globalisation has inspired by the fact that trade, travel and education has helped facilitate the global economy (Scarborough, 1998). Nonetheless, one must concede that there remains a gulf between cultures created by the different nationalities in the world today. The roots of culture are so deep that they have produced highly divergent values systems, (Scarborough, 1998) and without reconciling these differences and working around them then there is no hope of successful business relationships between the ones cultural counterparts (Uniser & Lee, 2005). Through the literature, it is suggested that a  comparison be conducted between cultures helping to promote better working relationships (Torres and Jones, 2011; Tsang, 2011) The focus of this paper is the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as it is emerging as a particularly dominant player in the global economic market and the process of globalisation brings us in a global community China will play a central role in this. Thus, understanding it is of the greatest importance. Over the last three decades, China has positioned itself in the epicentre of the global market and the world is paying close attention to this new economic giant. (Detert et al, 2000; Scarborough 1998; Dent et al 2000) More references. Before this prosperous period began, China’s business environment and economic stability had been predominately controlled by the state. More recently, the country has seen a tremendous surge of economic success due to the relaxing of the state in relation to foreign direct investment (Euromonitor, 2012). Leading to the increase of the number of foreign business people working within China, resulting in an unprecedented growth in Sino-foreign joint ventures and wholly owned foreign firms (Selmer, 1999; Detert et al, 2000). Currently there is an opportunity for growth and prosperity in China, which seems endless and has attracted businesses and professionals to move to China to live and work. The country is now considered the ‘new hub’ in the international migration order (Pieke, 2011, 40). All this force in the Chinese Business environment has engendered much scholarly attention in exploring and understanding how the Chinese operate in a business manner, (Detert et al, 2000). Thus, those involved have become acutely aware of the great divide between the Chinese cultures and other cultures. The differences in the way one thinks, one’s beliefs and how one behaves (Scarborough, 1998). A basic understanding of the core component of China’s culture is particularly noteworthy given the magnitude of China as a trading partner to the rest of the world (Pieke, 2010). Until recently, China was viewed as a mysterious nation that was literally impenetrable (Lightfoot & Almeida, 2007), because they draw their culture from a distinctive, indigenous and philosophical cultural heritage, that dates back thousands of years consequently it is unlike any other economic giant in the global market (Rinder and Starbuck, 1997; Selmer, 2009). Thus, they can bewilder other nationalities that encounter them (Chen, 2001) because they do not identify with the Chinese practices and cultural traditions. It has  been suggested that from, a Western perspective, China can be considered ‘the most foreign of foreign places’ (Selmer, 2009, 42). Thus, in order to infiltrate this dynamic market, one must learn to accept and adapt to, the distinctive business culture that makes China unique (Bond, 1991). China China is the oldest empire in recorded history; it has a continuous recorded history of about 5000 years (Hofstede, 2005) and it is one of the world’s earliest and thus oldest civilisations. It is now one of the fastest growing and vibrant economies in the world, (Wang et al 2008) and the world is now paying close attention to this gigantic influential country. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded on October 1st 1949. (National Bureau of Statistics, 2012a) Below are some facts about the enormous and enigmatic county. Bibliography Adler, N. J., Campbell, N. & Laurent, A. (1989) ‘In search of appropriate methodology: from outside the People’s Republic of China looking in’, Journal of International Business Studies, 20, 61-74 Bohlander, G. W., Snell, S., & Sherman, A. W. (2001), Managing Human Resources. (12th ed.), South West College Publications. Bond, M. H. (1991) ‘Chinese values and health: A cultural level examination’, Psychology and Health: An International Journal, 5, 137-152 Bond, M. and Hofstede, G. (1989) ‘The cash value of Confucian values’, Human System Management, 8, 195-200. Black, J.S. and Mendenhall, M. (1989), ‘A practical but theory-based framework for selecting cross-cultural training methods’, Human Resource Management, 28(4), 511-39. Bratton, J., Sawschuk, P., Forshaw, C., Callinan, M. & Corbertt, M. (2010) Work and Organisational Behaviour, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Brown, A. (1998) Organisational Culture, 2ed., London: Pitman Publishing. Cardon, W. P. (2009) ‘A model of face practices in Chinese business culture: Implication for Westerners’. Thunderbird International Business Review 51, 19-36. Chen, M. J. (2001), Inside Chinese Business: A Guide for Managers Worldwide, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press China National Tourist Office (2012a) ‘About China’, [online], available: http://www.cnto.org/aboutchina.asp [accessed 8th August 2012]. China National Tourist Office (2012b) ‘Foreign Arrivals by Purpose: Jan/Dec 2010’, [online], available: http://www.cnto.org/chinastats_2010ArrivalsB yPurpose.asp [accessed 8th August 2012]. Chinese Culture Connection (1987), ’Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of culture’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 18, 143-64. Child, J. (2009) ‘China and International Business’ in Alan, M. 2nd ed., The Oxford Handbook of International Business Oxford

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Marijuana Mysteries 5 Things We Still Don t Know About...

Marijuana mysteries: 5 things we still don’t know about cannabis and how it could affect our bodies Let’s be blunt – marijuana is a hot topic in today’s political atmosphere. With more and more states legalizing it for medicinal and recreational use, the drug will likely appear on the ballot come November. Yet, despite being historically popular – the most widely used recreational drug in the world behind alcohol and tobacco – we don’t know much about this notorious plant. Marijuana remains a mysterious substance whose effects – both risky and beneficial – are widely debated. So what do we know about marijuana, and what are we yet to find out? The history of hemp The cannabis plant was used as far back as 12,000 years ago, with†¦show more content†¦In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. Now 23 states and the District of Columbia allow cannabis to be sold for medicinal purposes. In 2013, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, with Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia doing the same in 2014. Regulation in these states mandates that a limited amount of marijuana (usually up to an ounce at a time) can be sold to individuals over the age of 21. However, most cannabis products are not tested for potency or toxicology before going on the market. Due to the long history of prohibition, few controlled tests have been conducted on marijuana to determine its purity, safety and efficacy. So if you were to buy an ounce of marijuana at a vendor in Colorado, you may not be able to answer questions like: 1) What’s in this stuff? A bag of marijuana you buy at your local store in Colorado may look perfectly pure, but chances are, it’s not. Because unregulated cannabis is not scientifically tested before it is sold, the drug could be laced with pesticides, other more dangerous drugs, poisons or allergens. Unregulated, untested substances can cause a host of serious health problems in an individual, ranging from allergic reactions to overdose. 2) Can it hurt me? For years, marijuana legalization