1

PLANTS THAT ALTER

MINDS
Cheung Ming CHOW (Cherry)
cmchow@cuhk.edu.hk (39434465)
Lecturer
SC EG01B, Science Center
Biology Programme,
School of Life Sciences
 Outline
2

Coffee Botany
Stimulants Psychoactive substance
Psychoactive drugs Health impact
Depressants Opium & Medicinal use
精神藥品 Opiate Other uses
Social impact
Hallucinogens Cannabis History
 Psychoactive drugs 精神藥品
3

• Affect the central nervous system (中樞神經系統; CNS)

• By influencing the release of neurotransmitters (chemical messagers within
nervous system)

脊椎神經
 Psychoactive drugs
4

Type of psychoactive drugs Effect Examples

Stimulants (興奮劑) • Excite and enhance mental • Cocaine (可卡因)
alertness • Caffeine (咖啡因)
• Reduce fatigue
• Suppress hunger

Depressants (鎮抑劑) • Dull mental awareness • Opium (鴉片) and opium

• Reduce physical performance derived drugs
• Often induce sleep or a - morphine (嗎啡)
trancelike (恍惚) state - codeine (可待因)
- heroin (海洛英;俗稱白粉)

Hallucinogens (迷幻劑) • Produce changes in • Cannabis/ Marijuana (大麻)

perception, thought and • LSD (俗稱黑芝麻 、 FING
mood 霸)
• Often induce a dreamlike
state
 Coffee
5

 Coffea arabica小果咖啡
 A small tree, native to Africa
 A member of coffee family (Rubiaceae 茜草科)
 Grow best in the cool highlands (1000-2000
meters) with stable temperature ~20oC
 Coffea canephora 中果咖啡
 Coffea liberica 大果咖啡

Blue Mountain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Mount
ains,_Jamaica.jpg
http://www.sweetmarias.com/growingcoffe
e/Growing_Coffee_at_Home.html
Coffee “beans”
6 http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Coffea-arabica.htm

Outer fruit wall

Middle
fruit wall

http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.hk/2012/12/unfinished-business-coffea-
arabica.html Inner fruit
wall (Stony) Seed
Coffee “cherry” Coffee
‘As I'd heard that coffee cherries were
“bean”
edible, I was excited to taste one for the
first time. It was . . . disappointing. ’ http://www.cafedecolombia.com/particulares/en/sobre_el_cafe/el_cafe/el_arbo
l_y_el_entorno/
 Coffee: From crops to cups
7
 (1) Planting: 3-5 years to reach maturity
 (2) Cherry Picked
 Ripe (6-9 months), not unripe or overripe
 Handpick
 (3 & 4) De-pulping & fermentation by enzymes
 separate beans from cherries
Toasted beans

Ripe Cherry Ripe Cherry

Dry beans
Drying beans

Drying under sun & Removal of outer

Fermenting fruit wall Ground
beans
Washed
Soaked with beans
water &
fermenting
Removal of
fruit wall Flower
Steeping
Fermenting
Washing coffee
beans
Coffee bean & Drying
Coffee bean Ripening fruit

Dry method Wet method Pulp

(more ancient) (high-quality grades of coffee ) Ripe

http://www.quaffee.co.za/Pages/xtras/CoffeeProcess.aspx fruit
http://www.fincahartmann.com/pgs/coff_proc.html
http://coffee-ucc.com/en/about_coffee/storage/
 Depulping Wet method
Fermenting (~8 hours)
8

Washing
Drying
Storage

http://www.fincahartmann.com/pgs/01.html
 Coffee: From crops to cups
9

 (5) Packing, Warehousing & Transport

 Unroasted beans: stored for long time
 (6) Roasting咖啡焙烘
 180oC-240oC; 8-15 minutes
 Chemical reactions including
 Starches  sugar [from ~200oC]
 Browning of sugar (Caramelization
焦糖) [212-218oC] Beans turn
brown (+ nutty flavour)
 Carbonization of sugar [from 238oC]
Beans are darkened
 Release of coffee oil (caffeol):
characteristic aroma
 Breakdown of cell wall: aid in grinding
 Coffee: From crops to cups
10

 (6) Roasting咖啡焙烘 (continued)

 Color of beans & the taste:
 The darker: the stronger and less sweet the flavor
 The lighter: the milder and the sweeter the coffee
 Caffeine content
 Roasted coffee beans: susceptible to deterioration
 the flavour can be damaged by moisture, light and especially by oxygen
 Coffee: From crops to cups
11

 (7) Grinding & Brewing咖啡沖泡

http://www.ico.org/making_coffee.asp

From Coffee Bean to Coffee Cup - Take a Coffee Journey with PBFY.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X-pErkPNhI
 Coffee – stimulating drink
12

 Psychoactive component:
Caffeine
Source of Caffeine Mg
Coffee (10 oz.) brewed, drip 230
Coffee (10 oz.) instant 130
Coffee (10 oz.) decaf 5
Tea (10 oz, brewed) 80-120
Iced tea (12 oz) 70
Hot cocoa (8 oz) 5
Soft drink (12 oz) Coca Cola 45
Pepsi 40
Dr. Pepper 40
Diet Coke/Pepsi 40-45
Mountain Dew 55
10 oz. ~ 295ml
 Physiological effects
of Caffeine
13

 Energetic goat
 Effect on human:
 As stimulants to the central
nervous system (CNS)
 Lessen fatigue and drowsiness
 Speed the heartbeat
 Increase blood pressure
 Stimulate respiration
 Constrict blood vessels
 Enhances the pain-relieving effects of aspirin and
acetaminophen
 Suppress appetite and as a weak diuretic利尿
 Diet pills
 Caffeine as a CNS stimulant
14

 One major mechanism:

 Block adenosine receptors as an
antagonist (對抗者) Adenosine
Caffeine
 An increase in the excitability of (natural ligand)
(antagonist)
nerve cells in the CNS

Full activation No activation

Inhibition of Removal of
neurotransmission inhibition

http://www.cnsforum.com/imagebank/item/
Adeno_A1_A3/default.aspx
 Others Physiological
15
effects of Caffeine
“每粒含有500毫克乙醯氨基酚
(Acetaminophen)及65毫克咖啡因
(Caffeine)。”
 Speed the heartbeat
 Increase blood pressure

 Constrict blood vessels

 Enhances the pain-relieving
effects of aspirin and
acetaminophen
 Suppress appetite and as a
“每粒含有撲熱息痛(Acetaminophen) 500毫克及鹽
酸去氧腎上腺素( Phenylephrine Hydrochloride) 10
毫克、那可汀(Noscapine) 15毫克、咖啡因
(Caffeine) 25毫克、抗壞血酸(Ascorbic Acid) 63.33
毫克、水合萜二醇(Terpin Hydrate) 33.33毫克”

weak diuretic利尿 https://www.panadol.com.hk/all-products/

 Diet pills

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/HEAL_228629.html
 Pros and Cons of Coffee (Not
16
exclusively to caffeine)
Pros
 Boost work performance
 Rich source of antioxidants
 May lower the risk of type 2
diabetes
 Reduces the risk of Parkinson’s
disease
http://www.healthassist.net/blog/general/pros-and-cons-of-coffee/
Cons
 Increase blood pressure
 Increase cholesterol levels
 Can impair absorption of calcium
from the digestive tract and
induce extra urinary excretion of
calcium
 Disrupted sleep
 Heartburn
 Dehydration
 Withdrawal symptoms
 Why plants produce caffeine?
17

 Role of caffeine in plants (e.g. Coffea)

 Discourage predators
 Bitter
 Toxic in high concentration
 Repellent
 Lead to more effective pollination
 Low level of caffeine in nectar
 Enhance the memory of bee
 Remember the floral scent
 Return to the flowers bearing the same scent
http://www.sciencedaily.com/relea
ses/2013/03/130307145257.htm

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1202.full.pdf
 Volume 25, Issue 21, 2
November 2015, Pages
2815-2818
18

waggle dance
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982215010544?via%3Dihub
19

Nature Neuroscience 17, 201- 203 (2014)

 Types of coffee
20

 Source of beans
 Processing methods
 Brewing methods
 Other components
 Other factors

http://www.coffeereview.com/reference.cfm
Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee)
麝香貓咖啡/貓屎咖啡
21

 Kopi = coffee
 Luwak = the cat-like Asian palm civet 麝
香貓
 the Indonesian Island
 pick the best and ripest coffee
berries (coffee cherries)
 stomach acids & enzymes in their
digestive system break down the http://www.kopiluwak.org/new/about.htm

flesh of the fruit

 fermented coffee beans from
animal droppings
 rich, heavy flavor with hints of
caramel or chocolate
 £70 (>HK$800) per cup http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/englan
d/london/7340005.stm
World's most expensive coffee tainted by 'horrific' The Disturbing Secret Behind the
civet abuse World’s Most Expensive Coffee
Asian palm civets are force-fed a debilitating diet of Kopi luwak is made from coffee beans
coffee berries to create Kopi Luwak, say animal plucked from civets’ feces. This is bad
welfare
22 groups news for civets. PUBLISHED APRIL 29, 2016
Oliver Milman in Medan, Indonesia
guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 November 2012 14.36
GMT

The civets are almost exclusively fed coffee berries,

which they then excrete. This image was taken on a
civet farm just outside Surabaya, Indonesia.
Photograph: guardian.co.uk http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160
429-kopi-luwak-captive-civet-coffee-Indonesia/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/
19/civet-coffee-abuse-campaigners
 Artificial, “cruelty-free” kopi luwak
23

 a fermentation process mimics some of

the changes that occur in coffee beans
through a civet's digestive tract.

https://www.wired.com/2014/10/civet-coffee-without-civets/
https://sprudge.com/vegan-kopi-luwak-biotechs-cruelty-free-coffee-fermentation-64293.html
 Decaffeinated Coffee
24

 Enjoy the taste and aroma of coffee without

experiencing the stimulant effects provided by
the caffeine
 Avoid caffeine because of certain medical
conditions
 E.g. High blood pressure
 Decaffeination
 The act of removing caffeine
 Decaffeinated =/= Caffeine-free

Source of Caffeine Mg
Coffee (10 oz.) brewed, drip 230
Coffee (10 oz.) instant 130
Coffee (10 oz.) decaf 5
(10oz ~ 300ml) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012185602.htm
 Decaffeinated Coffee
25

 The supercritical carbon dioxide

decaffeination
 Soak green beans in water
 Pass through vessel filled with
supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2)
 Properties midway between a gas
and a liquid
 Penetrate the beans as a gas
 Dissolve the caffeine as a liquid
 Drying
 Widely used:
 Selectively removes caffeine and very
little flavouring
 Little or no residue left in beans - no
concern over toxicity
 97% to 99% caffeine removed
 Caffeine obtained: for soft drinks and
pharmaceutical preparations http://www.greener-
industry.org.uk/pages/superCO2/3superCO2_coffee.htm
 Fair trade Coffee
26

 The coffee trade: over US$10

billion/ year
 Produced mainly in the
developing world: 25 million
farmers
 Farmers to middlemen:
 Market price: sometimes only
US$0.2 to 0.5 per pound
 Fair Trade certified coffee: >=
US$1.35 per pound

http://fairtrade.org.tw/?page_id=377
https://www.fairtrade.net/standards/price-
and-premium-info.html
27

http://www.fairtrade.net/coffee.html

Fair Trade Coffee in HK: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/en/one_736.aspx

 Coffee and Society
28

 In Arabian world (A.D. 1500)

 Hated by religious leaders & political
leaders The London Coffee House (1750s)
 In London (A.D. 1615-1700)
 “Penny University”
 Commerce, the arts, intellectual discourse,
political debate
 Edward Lloyd’s coffee house: for
obtaining marine insurance
 In United States (A.D. 1960s)
http://www.lloyds.com/lloyds/about-us/history
 Focal points of political thought and
socially conscious folk music.
 In Hong Kong…
 Short summary (1)
29

• Coffee
• Coffea arabica小果咖啡
• Coffee “beans”

• From crops to cups

• Psychoactive component: Caffeine

• Physiological effects of Caffeine on human

• Why plants produce caffeine?

• Types of coffee

• Coffee and Society

 Opium鴉片 &
Opiate
30

 Opium poppy 罌粟
 Papaver somniferum; the Plant Of Joy
 Poppy family (Papaveraceae;罌粟
科)
 Origin: Middle East
 Cultivation: Legally and illegally
throughout much of the world India
 Leading growers
 Legal: Indian
 Illegal: Afghanistan

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/2185489/Tali
Opium trade routes ban-makes-50m-from-Afghanistan-opium-trade.html

http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1216&subcatid=348
Opium poppy罌粟
31

 Poppy seeds
 Toppings for bagels and rolls
 For cooking
 No opium content
 A positive reaction in very sensitive urine tests for
drugs
 Poppy flowers
 For the gardens

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/opium.htm
http://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/opium/history.html
Opium poppy
罌粟
32

 Opium鴉片 http://americanlivewire.com/2014-
09-25-chinese-food-laced-opium/

 The green seed capsule (fruit)

 Incision http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/64

 The milky latex sap exuded http://beta.dawn.com/news/765539/afghan-opium-

production-falls-sharply-un

 Oxidation & solidification

 Scrapped off
 Air-dried
 Crude opium
 Psychoactive components: morphine
(10%) & codeine (0.5%)
 Pain-relieving and sleep-inducing
properties (narcotic 麻醉的effects)
 Addiction & Abuse
 For plants: Chemical weapons
 Defenses against pathogens
 Defenses against herbivores
http://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/opium/history.html
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/opium.htm
 Opium & Chinese
33

Opium Wars

Opium
Chinese Style
Smoking
Opium Pipes
http://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/opium/history.html Equipment
http://www.sickchirpse.com/chinese-opium-dens/
 Morphine (嗎啡)
34

 10% of opium; first isolated in 1806

 Named after Morpheus, the Greek god
of dreams
 Actions
 Bind to the endorphin receptor sites and
mimics endorphin’s actions http://www.quia.com/jg/1130074list.html

 Agonist (增效劑) of endorphins Action of endorphins on

Pain signal: brain signal:
 Reducing sensations of pain and
Pain signal Brain cell Pain signal Brain cell
enhancing pleasurable feelings
 A general central nervous system
depressant
 Overdose: completely suppressing the
respiratory center in the brain
Brain cell Brain cell

 Strongly addictive Transmission of

pain signal
Endorphin

The pain signal is transmitted from Endorphins combine with receptors

brain cell to brain cell. to block the transmission of pain.
http://www.carlosdinares.com/carlos-dinares-tip-333-rowing-or-moving-but-not-sitting/
 Morphine (嗎啡)
35

 Medical use:
 Routes of intake:
 Oral administration: rapidly inactivated
and excreted
 Injection by the hypodermic syringe
 Applications
 War injuries & stresses
 The American Civil War (1861-1865):
 ~10,000,000 opium pills

 ~ 850 kg of morphine sulfate

  Soldier’s disease
 Diarrhea: slows movement of the digestive
tract
 Coughing: suppresses the “cough center” in the
central nervous system
 Intense pain from severe burns, during the
postoperative period or terminal cancer
 Morphine (嗎啡) &
36
Heroin (海洛英)
 Heroin: synthesized from morphine;
introduced in 1898
 Much more potent than morphine but
without the respiratory depression effect
 Intrude brain more rapidly
 6 times more addictive than morphine
 Hydrolyzed to morphine for its activity http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/674narc
otic.html
 Rarely used medicinally
機場海關檢值300萬海洛英 Heroin shoes
2013年06月17日

http://factsanddetails.com/world.ph
p?itemid=1216&subcatid=348

Heroin condom busts, grounds

Sydney-bound jet
http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_tc/04_crime_matters/dru by:By Nigel Adlam
g/common_drug.html From:The Daily Telegraph
http://www.news.gov.hk/tc/categories/law_order/html/2013/
January 01, 200912:00AM
37

3歲女兒作掩護毒販58萬海洛英藏假髮
台毒販運毒新招 海洛英變身腰果闖關被逮
英國《每日鏡報》 2015年01月18日
2014年11月18日(二) 17:12 http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/realtime/10793140/20150118/53345767

http://hk.on.cc/tw/bkn/cnt/news/20141118/bkntw-
20141118171252454-1118_04011_001.html

大猩猩木雕暗藏
海洛英

2013-03-07
http://news.singtao.ca/calgary
/2013-03-
07/headline1362654959d438
5682.html
 Codeine可待因
38

 Much less potent than morphine

10歲童也濫用咳藥水 …有人每日「啪」三十粒咳丸
 Effectively suppresses the “cough “阿 Ling稱高 期曾每日飲一樽咳水， http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20120204/00176_063.html

center” in the central nervous 整天渾渾噩噩神志不清。 “

http://paper.wenweipo.com/2004/06/26/HK0406260042.htm

system
 A cough suppressant
 Low concentration (0.5%) in opium
 Synthesized from morphine
(10%)
 Large amount consumption:
addiction
 10% converted back to
morphine in our body
 No longer sold as over-the-
counter drug http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/674narcotic.html

藥的淺談：可待因（Codeine）藥品的風險
 Prescription drug http://pharmnet.tw/2013/02/28/
 Addiction to opium & opium-derived
drugs (opiate)– From Heaven to Hell
39
'Opium is a charismatic lover who takes you to heaven,  Possible Effects:
giving you years of warmth and affection, and then,
like a schizophrenic, inexplicably and without warning  Euphoria; Drowsiness; Respiratory depression;
begins putting you through hell' Constricted pupils; Nausea.
- Steven Martin, former opium addict and author of
'Opium Fiend'  Addiction:
 Brain stops producing endorphins: a physical
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212353/Opium-
addict-smoked-20-pipes-day-details-love-affair-drug-vomit-therapy- dependence on an external supply source
cured-him.html#ixzz2WX7RqWjZ
 Develop tolerance: more drug to obtain the
same level of effect
Early symptoms of
Late symptoms of
withdrawal include:
withdrawal include:  Effects of Overdose:
Agitation
Anxiety Abdominal cramping  Slow and shallow breathing; Convulsions抽搐;
Muscle aches Diarrhea Coma; Possible death.
Increased tearing Dilated pupils
Insomnia Goose bumps  Withdrawal Syndrome:
Runny nose Nausea
Vomiting  Last from one week to one month
Sweating
Yawning
 Woman whose husband died of a heroin overdose smiles for a photo by
his casket with their two young children 'to show the reality of addiction'
• Mike Settles, 26, died of a heroin overdose in Cincinnati,
40 Ohio, September 2
• His wife, Eva Holland, posted a photo to Facebook and
Instagram with the couple's two children, Lucas and Ava,
by her husband's open casket
• 'You may think it will never happen to you but guess what
that's what Mike thought too,' she wrote with the photo
• Holland said husband turned to heroin after getting
hooked on pain pills
• He had been clean since leaving rehab at Christmas but
recently relapsed
• The post quickly went viral and has been shared 250,000
times

 'He did so good for so long but then a couple months ago it
started with a single pill for a 'toothache' which inevitably led
him back down the road of addiction instead of staying (on) the
course of recovery.
 'He said he could handle it, that he could stop on his own and
didn't need to get help again.
 'Well, he was wrong. Last Wednesday he took his last breath.
My kids' father, the man I loved since I was a kid, a great son
and a great person lost his battle.

PUBLISHED: 17:32 BST, 14 September 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3234153/Hiding-facts-going-epidemic-going-
Woman-husband-died-heroin-overdose-smiles-photo-casket-children-reality-addiction.html
 Short Summary (2)
41

• Opium & Opiate

• Opium poppy 罌粟 (Papaver somniferum)
• Opium extraction
• Psychoactive components: morphine & codeine
• For plants: Chemical weapons
• Opium & Chinese
• Morphine (嗎啡), Codeine (可待因) & Heroin (海洛英)
• Addiction to opium & opium-derived drugs (opiate)– From Heaven to
Hell
 Cannabis/Marijuana大麻
42

 Cannabis sativa (大麻)

 mulberry family (Moraceae; 桑科)
 probably originally native to
Central Asia
 1-3 m tall
 Palm-like leaf; 5-7 toothed leaflets
 Female plants and male plants
 Inconspicuous

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cannabis_sativa_leaf_D
orsal_aspect_2012_01_23_0830.JPG
 Cannabis plant
43

 For fibers
 For cloth, paper, and rope
 For medicinal properties
 Huomaren火麻仁
 Seed
 Lubricating intestines and https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E9%BA%BB

relaxing the bowels

http://www.cosmoloan.com/funding/3-world-changing-innovations-held-back-by-
corporations.html

http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/2e/72/6a.html Draft of Declaration of Independence on hemp paper

 Cannabis plant
44

 For ritualistic ceremony

 one of the five sacred plants of ancient India

 communicate with the spirits:

 “多食令人見鬼而狂走……久服通神明輕身”
 For oil
 Hemp oil
 pressing seeds
 Edible oil: Omega 6 and Omega 3
 Lotion
 Industrial use, e.g. paint
 Cannabis/Marijuana大麻
45
 Routes of intake: smoking
 Hallucinogenic
 A sense of euphoria calmness
 Distorting perception of time and space
 Psychoactive component: THC (delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol)
 in the resin secreted by glandular trichomes on leaves
& floral structures; not in seeds
http://www.phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-
bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Cannabis&rank=genus
“Within a few minutes he begins to feel
more calm and soon develops definite
euphoria; he becomes talkative… is
elated, exhilarated… begins to have an
astounding feeling of lightness of the
limbs and body… laughs uncontrollably
and explosively… without at times the
slightest provocation…has the impression
that his conversation is witty, brilliant.”
“多食令人見鬼而狂走……久服通神明輕身”
 2017年5月10日 星期三
46
 強拖女生回房非禮
據悉，早於案發之前，已有學生發現3名
韓籍男女交流生在校內某圖書館對開空地
公然吸大麻，情緒高漲。消息稱，事發昨
凌晨約4時，疑崔受毒品影響，將女生強
行拉回陳震夏學生宿舍房間，其間崔脫光
自己衣服，繼而向女生大肆非禮，並企圖
脫去女生衣物有所不軌，女生奮力反抗，
未幾奪門逃出房間。
 裸闖女生房搶手機
崔疑情緒失控，全身赤裸尾隨走出房間到
處亂跑，更赤裸走到女生宿舍樓層，有女
宿生赫見裸男出現，即返回房間反鎖房門，
其間崔闖入一女生的房間取走手機，繼而
跑落宿舍地面，驚動保安員報警。警員趕
至搜查發現裸男，合力將他制服拘捕，再
五花大綁交救護車送院。

https://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20170510/s00002/1494352
832809
 Cannabis/Marijuana大
47
麻
 Actions of THC:
 Not very clear
 Interact with cannabinoid/CB receptors:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/marijuanas-coup-de-grass-
 Regions of CNS involved in motor coordination, short-term to-memory-20080603-2lcb.html
memory and emotional memory
 Stronger & longer-lasting than endo-cannabinoids

 Adverse effects:
 Impairs learning, short-term memory, and reaction time
 Fat soluble: accumulates
 Male reproductive system: decrease sperm production and decrease
testosterone levels
 Crossing the placenta胎盤; might be damaging to the fetus
 Damage lung tissue (if inhaled)
 Less addictive (1/10 of users) than opiate and mild withdrawal
symptoms
 50% develop dependency if taking everyday
Cannabis/Marijuana
大麻
48 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/cannabis-marijuana-
vending-machines-could-816851
 Medical use of THC
 Reduce eye pressure in patients
with glaucoma青光眼
 Reduce side effect of California-
chemotherapy based
company The
 nausea, vomiting, and loss of Dispensary
appetite Group
 May kill off cancer cells
 Induce cell suicide
 Inhibit the growth of blood vessels
to a tumor
 Cannabis/Marijuana
49
大麻
 the most widely used illicit
substance

(World Drug Report 2018, UNODC)

 Legal Issues
50

Legal
Illegal but decriminalized
Illegal but often unenforced
Illegal
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/World-cannabis-laws.png

 Hong Kong: illegal

 North Korea,
Netherlands: legal

http://www.vice.com/read/north-korea-is- A cannabis coffee shop in Netherlands

stoned-all-the-time-which-explains-a-lot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CoffeeShopAmsterdam.jpg
 今日搜查村屋，檢獲逾300株大麻及大麻花，
Hong Kong 市值222萬元。
167棵大麻植物,可製成5公斤價值52萬元(港幣)的大麻

警方破黑幫大麻種植場 檢16公斤
毒品拘1男 (2016)
鴨寮街樓上住宅室內花盆種大麻 (2013)
上水古洞金錢村一間村屋， 600株大麻，市值240萬元
樓高3層…根據種植期將
大麻分配至各樓層，樓層
愈低，大麻便愈成熟，亦
設有大量太陽燈、花泥、
營養液、抽濕機及冷氣機。

檢獲1205棵大麻，市
值約1600萬元

【屋內照片曝光】搗上水村屋大麻種植場 元朗以養狗場作掩飾的高科技溫室大麻種
警檢1600萬元大麻拘2男 (2018) 植場 (2011)
52

科羅拉多州 Colorado

 「通過合法化的部分原因就是黑市交易已經
行之有年，該是加以管制，徵稅，從中獲取
利潤的時候了。」
 「創業總是有風險和挑戰的，聯邦監獄裏面
可不好玩，這個風險有點高。」

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/trad/world/2013/05/130511_us_marijua http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/28/us/10-things-colorado-
na_economic.shtml recreational-marijuana/
 Legalization of Cannabis in US
53

(World Drug Report 2016, UNODC)

 Legalization of
Cannabis in US
54

(World Drug Report 2018, UNODC)

55

http://std.stheadline.com/daily/news-
content.php?id=1587612&target=2

https://www.canada.ca/en/campaign/don-t-drive-high.html
 Short Summary (3)
56

• Cannabis/Marijuana大麻
• Cannabis sativa (大麻)
• Psychoactive component:
THC (delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol)
• Adverse effects and
medical use of THC
• Legal Issues

https://www.unodc.org/res/wdr20
(World Drug Report 2021, UNODC) 21/field/WDR21_Booklet_3.pdf
• Psychoactive drugs

Summary
• Stimulants
• Depressants
• Hallucinogens
• Coffee
57 • Coffea arabica小果咖啡
• Coffee “beans”
• From crops to cups
• Psychoactive component: Caffeine
• Physiological effects of Caffeine on human
Botany
• Why plants produce caffeine?
• Types of coffee
History Psychoactive
• Coffee and Society substance
• Opium鴉片 & Opiate
• Opium poppy 罌粟 (Papaver somniferum)
• Opium extraction
• Psychoactive components: morphine & Plants
codeine that alter
• For plants: Chemical weapons
• Opium & Chinese
Social minds Health
• Morphine (嗎啡), codeine (可待因) & Heroin
impact impact
(海洛英)
• Addiction to opium & opium-derived drugs
(opiate)– From Heaven to Hell
• Cannabis/Marijuana大麻 Other Medicinal
• Cannabis sativa (大麻)
• Psychoactive component: THC (delta-9-
uses use
tetrahydrocanabinol)
• Adverse effects and medical use of THC
• Legal Issues
 References
58
Key reference:
Levetin & McMahon (2012) Plants and Society (6th Edition). McGraw-Hill, Boston. Chapters 16 & 20. <older
version: UL: QK47 .L48 1999/2003/2008 >
Other references:
 Caffeine: how does it affect our health?
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271707
.php
 Neurologic Effects of Caffeine
 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1182710-
overview
 Introduction - Drugs Acting Upon the Central
Nervous System
 http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/670drug
cns.html
 10 Steps from Seed to Cup
 http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/10-Steps-
from-Seed-to-Cup
 Bees Get a Buzz from Flower Nectar Containing
Caffeine
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/13
0307145257.htm
 The Pros & Cons of Coffee
 http://www.healthassist.net/blog/general/pros-and-
cons-of-coffee/
 The Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
 http://waynesword.palomar.edu/opium.htm
 Opium Poppy: History
 http://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/opium/history.ht
ml
 Hong Kong Police Force: Common Drugs
 https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/04_crime_ma
tters/drug/common_drug.html
 Narcotic Analgesic Drugs: Morphine and
Codeine; Heroin
 http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/674n
arcotic.html
 Marijuana Dependency Compared to Other
Drugs
 https://www.drugscience.org/dl/dl_comparison.ht
ml
 World Drug Report 2019
 http://www.unodc.org/wdr/index.html