Peroxidase Lab Report free essay sample

Determining the Catalytic Properties of the Enzyme Peroxidase Extracted from a Turnip Under the Conditions of Temperature, pH, Boiling and Competitive Inhibitors By Robin Caserta BIO 101 September 30, 2013 ABSTRACT The enzyme, peroxidase, extracted from a turnip was tested for its efficiency in binding to its substrate and its stability under several conditions. To do this, we tested effects on peroxidase activity, first, with different amounts of the enzyme, next at temperatures of 4oC, Room Temperature, 32oC, 48oC and boiling; then, at pH 3, pH 5, pH 7 and pH 9; and, finally, with the competitive inhibitor, hydroxylamine. We were able to measure enzymatic activity by the change in absorbance per second with a spectrophotometer. By testing different concentrations of peroxidase and its reaction rate in seconds, we were able to see that as the amount of enzyme increased the catalytic reaction also increased. The optimal amount of peroxidase concentration to be used in the subsequent experiments was determined to be 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Peroxidase Lab Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 0 mL. Any amount above this would have caused the rate of absorbance to be too fast, making it too difficult to get accurate readings. Any amount below this would not have produced a reaction â€Å"at an appreciable rate. In addition, our results show that a rise temperature and pH only increase the rate of reaction to a certain point before the reaction rate begins to decline dramatically. In the case of boiling of the enzyme there was no rate of reaction found whatsoever. A similar result was found when hydroxylamine was added to the peroxidase and it caused an inhibition reaction. Overall, the results show that the peroxidase enzyme is sensitive with reference to the above factors in whether or not a reaction is catalyzed. INTRODUCTION Enzymes are essential in the breakdown of certain materials or molecules that cannot be used by or are harmful to an organism as they are, into products that can be used or are not harmful for the organism. They are proteins and their structure consists of amino acids with a specific shape. Enzymes have an area called an active site where substrates (only a particular molecule or material to be converted) bind. When the substrate is bound to the active site on the whole entity becomes an enzyme-substrate complex. The substrate’s covalent bond is disrupted and this chemical change constructs a new product from the original substrate while leaving the enzyme unaffected. Once this new product is released, the enzyme can bind again with more of these molecules needing conversion. Sometimes the enzyme works with coenzymes or cofactors such as vitamins or metallic ions to help the binding process. In other cases competitive inhibitors are at work and prevent a substrate from being bound to the active site on the enzyme. The competitive inhibitor is similar enough to bind with the enzyme, but because it is not a perfect match, the enzyme then loses its ability to catalyze a reaction for that moment. In accordance with these properties, we will see how certain factors affect the reaction rate of peroxidase. For our purposes in this lab we used the enzyme peroxidase extracted from a turnip. Peroxidase, along with the help of its iron ion cofactor, catalyzes harmful hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into a harmless compound and water. In order to follow the rate of reaction for the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, we used guaiacol, a colorless dye, which donates electrons and turns brown when it is oxidized. We used this dye so that we could measure the absorbance with the spectrophotometer as the hydrogen peroxide is being broken down and the color change gets stronger over specific time intervals. We developed several null hypotheses for these experiments: 1) The amount of enzyme added to the reaction will not affect the rate of reaction.  emperature will not affect the enzymatic activity. 3) pH will not affect enzymatic activity. 4) Similar molecule to substrate will not affect enzymatic activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials and methods are taken from Lab Topic 7 in the Biological Investigations, 9th Edition. RESULTS Graph 1- Effects of Peroxidase Amounts Graph 2 Temperature Effects on Peroxidase Activity Graph 3 pH Effects on Peroxidase Activity Graph 4 – Boiled Peroxidase Results Graph 5  œ Hydroxylamine Results. Optimum Temperature for Reaction Rate of Peroxidase Graph 7 – Optimum pH for Reaction Rate of Peroxidase In Graph 1, Effects of Peroxidase Amounts, it shows the difference in rates of reactions with different concentrations of peroxidase in the solution Tubes 2 3 at 0. 5 ml, Tubes 4 5 at 1. 0 ml and Tubes 6 7 at 2. 0 ml, along with corresponding line slopes. Graph 2, Temperature Effects on Peroxidase Activity, shows the difference in rates of reaction for 1. 0 ml peroxidase at 4 °C, Room Temperature ~ 23 °C, 32 °C and 48 °C along with their corresponding line slopes. This result allowed us to reject our hypothesis that the amount of enzyme added to the reaction will not affect the rate of reaction. This test was important so that we could ascertain the best amount of concentration to use in the subsequent experiments with the spectrophotometer set at absorbance 470 nm and timed recordings at 20-second intervals for a total of 2 minutes. At 0. 5 ml of peroxidase the reaction time was too slow thus no appreciable line or slope was rendered to measure the reaction with any accuracy. Conversely, it was a challenge to get accurate absorbance readings at 2. 0 ml of peroxidase because the pace of the reaction appreciated so quickly and then met equilibrium. At 1. 0 ml of peroxidase the reaction time rendered an appreciable line and slope making it easier to record the absorbance every 20 seconds for 2 minutes and ultimately, the best concentration for use in the next experiments. It is known that when heat is applied to molecules, they move faster and collide more as the temperature rises. This is also true for the enzyme peroxidase and its substrate until the temperature reaches 32 °C and then the reaction begins to taper off and it dives down drastically at 48 °C when the hydrogen bonds holding peroxidase structure together begin to break. The results of this test confirm the same by the slope of each line and thereby we are able to reject our hypothesis that temperature has no effect on peroxidase rate of reaction. At 4 °C the slope of the line is 0. 0071, at Room Temperature ~ 23 °C the slope is 0. 0094, at 32 °C the slope is 0. As for pH effects on peroxidase activity, Graph 3, indicates that the amount of acidity or basicness to a solution changes the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme and thereby changes the ability to bind with the substrate in an effective manner. Here we tested the null hypothesis: pH will not affect enzymatic activity. The results from Graph 3: pH Effects on Peroxidase Activity indicate that the more acidic pH 3 level disrupted the enzyme’s ability to bind with its substrate and its reaction rate did not appreciate noticeably. As the solution became less acid at pH 5, the greatest reaction efficiency resulted. Once the pH was at 7 and beyond the reaction rate for peroxidase and its binding ability became poor and the reaction rate declined. Again, it was necessary to do a derivative graph to see the slope results clearly. In Graph 7: Optimum pH for Reaction Rate of Peroxidase, the rate of reaction increased drastically from pH 3 with a slope of 0. 00007 to pH 5 with a slope of 0. 0055 and then trails off as the basicness increases at pH 7 with a slope.

Personal and Professional Healthcare Communication Essays

Personal and Professional Healthcare Communication Essays Personal and Professional Healthcare Communication Paper Personal and Professional Healthcare Communication Paper The healthcare industry is among the pillars that determine the success and economy of a nation, because this involves the safety and future of the citizens inhabiting it. Which is why, it is always almost imperative for a nation to ensure that the healthcare programs are aligned with the goals and purposes of seeing to it that the people are functioning and living a healthy lifestyle, in a healthy environment. The process that ensures the efficiency of care involves the simple yet highly intricate manner with which the health care team interacts with one another.   Through communication, the goal of promoting wellness and making sure that the patient gets well comes into being. The effective communication among the health care personnel is the key to how a sick person gets well.   It is this premise that will be discussed in the succeeding paragraph, wherein the difference between personal and professional communication will be thoroughly defined and elaborated. Health care communication defined In health care communication, the personnel involved in this team confer with each other to consult and seek information, exchange ideas, advice, or instruction. All of which carry the goal of implementing the best possible care for the patient (Servellen. 2005). A nurse might consult with another nurse, such as when a primary nurse consults with a clinical specialist about a particular patient care. A school nurse might confer with the child’s teacher or a psychologist about certain behavioral problem. A community health nurse might confer with a physician about the patient’s activity regimen. Communication, in the healthcare setting is a continuous process, it is endless until the goal of wellness has been reached and begins a patient is admitted. In the healthcare setting, collaborative kind of care has long been instituted as the best approach to planning and implementing patient care. Such that all the aspect of the patient’s being is addresses and the over all wellness is involved. There is the physical, psychosocial, and even the spiritual aspect.   The kind of care given to a patient must always be holistic in approach.   This approach highly requires the participation of all discipline is science, such as, physical therapy, diet, counseling, and of course the medical aspect of care, which is the pharmacologic intervention as well as the nursing care. The coordination among members of the health care team requires for each member to constantly interact, update, and consult each other in order to promote consistency of care and ensures the success of the primary wellness objective. Relevance of personal and professional health care communication An effective personal healthcare communication is important in the health care setting, because it determines the success of the health care objective.   It determines whether or not the plan of action is as effective as it should be. The communication follows a trail of person involve, from those involve in the primary care up until the care necessary when the patient should be discharge to home.   Constant feedback, updates, and consultation is what makes the chain of communication effective (McConnel. 2002). With out proper channel, the objective could not be carried out, and the implementation of plan will falter even before it can continue. For instance, in the aspect of implementing pharmacologic intervention, if the physician orders the certain medication to be given to the client, the primary nurse will implement this order by informing the pharmacy about this need so as the pharmacy may dispense the quantity required by the patient while being admitted. The pharmacist will then dispense the medication back to the nurse for her to administer to the patient, but the nurse likewise is tasked to inform the rest of the health care team, such as the, the dietitian, the physical therapist, so that they will be aware of which and uses such information as the basis for each of their program to implement. Therefore, all team members must then heed notice of the physician’s medication order, so as to avoid any detriment along the implementation of this pharmacologic intervention. The dietitian, through this information will then be able to avoid any food that may enhance or create side effects to the patient, so over all, the main priority here is the effective communication among all team members in order to prevent any mistakes from being committed, and further ailing the already suffering patient. Professional communication on the other hand is the kind of communication that rather requires the essence of ethics and moral. How Personal and Professional contributes to healthcare outcomes. When nurses detect problems they cannot resolve because they lie outside the scope of independent nursing practice or their expertise, they make consultations or referrals to other professionals. The process of inviting another professional to evaluate the patient and make recommendation to our about his or her treatment is called consultation. The process of sending or guiding the patient to another source for assistance is called referral. A patient might be referred by a hospital to a community health nursing service for assistance with home care. The healthcare team members frequently confer with each other to plan and coordinate patient care. Such conferences are also used for instructing students and practitioner. It is the meeting of healthcare professional which are also consequently used in instructing students and practitioner. Nurses might invite other healthcare practitioner to a nursing care conference concerning the patient’s care (Darley.2005). For example a clinical psychologist might be invited in the preceding example to address the possibility that a mental disorder is influencing this patient’s behavior. Discuss the principles of therapeutic communication for the healthcare professional The ability to communicate with individuals or with patient and with other health care professionals is essential for effective implementation of wellness goal. Knowledge of communication process and of effective communication techniques is fundamental to all aspect and all steps of the nursing process. At the same time, the nursing process provides the nurse with patient effectively. Health care professional, enter the health care industry to help people. Relationships between health care professional and providers are not accomplished randomly, but through the purposeful relationships. A helping relationship exist among people who provide and receive assistance in meeting human needs. It exists in the climate for the participant to move towards common goals of meeting human needs. Therefore, need gratification occurs as a result of successful helping relationship. Reference Page Darley, Mark. (2005). Managing Communication in Healthcare. PA: Elsevier Health Science. McConnel, Charles. (2000). Healthcare supervisor on Effective Communication. NY: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Gwen Marram Van Servellen. (2002). Communication Skills for Healthcare Professional. Concept and techniques. NY: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Criminal Law Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal Law Assignment - Essay Example ntion, unless they feel sure that death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty as a result of the defendants actions, and that the defendant appreciated that such was the case.†2 Based on this ruling there is little chance that Robert and/Stuart can argue that neither had the necessary intention to cause Terry’s death. The dialogue between them prior to cutting Terry loose strongly suggest that each of them knew that by cutting Terry loose death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty. In order for a charge of murder to be substantiated against Robert and Stuart it is not necessary for the Crown to prove that the defendants’ conduct was the only and main cause of death. Although there was an intervening cause, namely; the negligence of the rescue crew that ultimately caused Terry’s death, he would not have been exposed to hyperthermia had it not been for Robert and Stuart’s conduct in the first place. Even if it can be shown that Terry had suffered from some medical condition that made him particularly vulnerable to hyperthermia, this would not discharge Stuart and Robert’s responsibility under the â€Å"thin skull rule† which mandates that you take your victims as you find them.3 In R v Dear4 the court ruled that the question was whether or not the injuries caused by the defendant’s conduct was the significant cause of death or significantly contributed to the death of the victim. On the facts of the case for discussion, Robert and Stuart’s conduct not only significantly contributed to Terry’s death but was a significant cause. Therefore it is unlikely that causation would be of any assistance to either one of them as a defence. The defence of necessity was used in the early case of R v Dudly and Stephens5. In this case four persons had become shipwrecked and remained out to sea aboard a small vessel without food and other necessary provision. In order to save themselves, the three strongest decided that it was necessary

How telecommunication has shaped the work place Assignment

How telecommunication has shaped the work place - Assignment Example Other pertinent information contained in the white paper could be cited as an authoritative source backed by statistical information and encompasses different organizations on a global sphere. The annual report published by Deloitte presented crucial information regarding three significant drivers of change in the global setting: technology, media and telecommunications. From among the noted predictions under telecommunications include: (1) the preponderance of $100 smartphones; (2) technological devise with near field communications (NFC) capabilities would double in growth; (3) web bypass would predominate emphasizing visual connectivity without the need for Internet access; among others. The information contained herein is relevant in the current research in terms of clearly identifying future trends which have significant impacts in the work setting through its impact on current telecommunications resources used by contemporary global organizations; as well as the need to adapt, adjust, and upgrade, as identified. The authors aimed to determine the impact of smartphones in the health care work settings by initially providing an overview of the development of smartphones. Likewise, the authors expounded on assessing how smartphones were instrumental in transforming the work setting in health institutions through the various applications that were initially offered and which caters to the health care environment. The apparent distraction from tasks were closely examined through a SWOT analysis. The findings revealed some detailed guidelines and best practices to monitor and control the use of smartphones and ensure their beneficial applications within the health care setting. This article is useful in the current study particularly in identifying how a telecommunications application, through the smartphone, has significantly affected and shaped the

Appropriation as a critical practice in postmodernist art Essay

Appropriation as a critical practice in postmodernist art - Essay Example In the context of visual arts, art appropriation is associated with concepts of borrowing, adoption, recycling, or sampling certain aspects or even the entire form of any visual arts creation. The strategies used include recombinant, variation, interpretation, re-vision, imitation, supplement, re-evaluation, version, improvisation, increment, homage, paraphrase, forgery, mimicry, allusion, and karaoke.   Thus, in this form of art the artist while creating a new object uses certain elements borrowed from another artist’s works. This borrowing, referred to in the context of describing the new work, will term it as 'the artist uses appropriation;' or it may also directly refer to the new work and state, 'this is a piece of appropriation art'. Within ‘Arts’ the practice of appropriation involves the use of other artists’ symbol, ideas, artefacts, objects, photographs, sound, forms or styles from the various cultures, popular culture, art history, or any man c reated visual or non visual art form (Schneider, 2003). An elementary feature of appropriation art is that the artist in his new work simply reframes the original idea and presents it as a new one. Thus, in a majority of the cases, the original work still remains visible or accessible without change within the framework of the new creation. Anthropologists in their various research papers have claimed that this process of appropriation, is another form of  cultural borrowing  and includes concepts of both art and urbanism, and represents a path of the cultural modifications taking place while also distinguishing the relationship between the different cultures worldwide (Schneider, 2007). The words variation and   appropriation  in art often viewed as synonyms and used interchangeably, to denote the same form of work (ibid). In this context, we will examine works of three famous artists Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Barbara Kruger as we explore the use of appropriatio n as a critical practice in postmodernist art.   Discussion A brief overview of the history of appropriation art: Various artists, scholars and critics, have studied and analysed the route of the ‘appropriative’ notions that have been present in the arts history for many centuries. The word ‘appropriation’ implies ownership rights, and associated questions on unethical practices. Appropriation has been long present within the history of arts, and a study of the ancient artworks will reveal that the classical Greek artworks existed primarily through the Roman art appropriations. These were presented in the form of reproductions, created specially, to preserve, to keep records, to document, or to elicit a culture they hoped to imitate in the future (Deloria, 1999), while during the Middle Ages, a perfectly reproduced artwork was generally granted the same honour as the original piece. As per the notions associated with appropriation art, one can also refer Leonardo da Vinci  as an appropriation artist of the middle ages. Da Vinci used the ‘recombinant’ technique of appropriation, and accepted ideas from different sources and diverse subjects like art, mathematics, biology, and engineering and then combining them to create inventory artworks. In fact, modern historians contend that many of Da Vinci’s scientific models and designs were imitated and improvised versions of the works of another famous sculptor

The purpose of a lesson plan

The purpose of a lesson plan When I decided to design this lesson I wanted it to be as coherent as possible. The purpose of every lesson plan is to communicate. Every single lesson plan guides the teacher in organizing her material and herself for the purpose of helping her students to attain the intended learning outcomes. Your lesson plan must not be interpreted in many ways; otherwise it will be identified as a not very good plan. This leads to the conclusion that a key principle in creating a plan, is specificity. An effective teaching combines a number of techniques in order to satisfy students different learning styles. The lesson includes some individual works as well as pair work, in order to give students a chance to work with both techniques. Harmer (2007:370) cited that, when planning lessons we need to think carefully, therefore about what stages a lesson will go through and how we will get from one stage to another. So I think that it would be better if I split the lesson into three stages; the opening, the middle and the end. I start the lesson by reminding the students to speak English in the class, as it will help them to practice their fluency in speaking English, and I tell them what we are going to cover during the lesson. While i am talking I will give them a sheet with the sequence of the lesson, because as Harmer (207:370) pointed out, students need to know during a lesson when one stage has finished and another is about to begin. Each lesson plan has to follow a logical sequence so that learners will not find any difficulties in the different activities they will do with the teacher. In order to start the main part of the lesson, I use a picture of Ainsley Harriot who is a very famous English  celebrity chef  and television presenter in order to activate their background knowledge and to motivate them. I will ask them questions related to Ainsley, so that the whole class can participate by answering my questions. This is a very good pre-reading activity because learners activate their schemata but also because the teacher activates their motivation through the discussion about Ainsley Harriot. After this pre-reading activity, I will give them a text related to Ainsley Harriot with a global reading task to do. I decided to give them some reading exercises to do, because as Ur P. (2007:147) points out, reading skills need to be fostered so that the learner can cope with more and more sophisticated texts and tasks and deal with them efficiently. The worksheet I am going to give them includes three paragraph headings. Each paragraph heading goes to one paragraph. The students will gain an idea of the organization of the text and skim quickly through the text in order to find the correct heading for each paragraph. According to Thornbury and Watkins (2007:211) skimming in reading is getting the main ideas or gist of a text by reading it rapidly. After the global reading task I will give them an intensive reading task. I will supply them with another worksheet; which contains 8 questions with four possible answers allocated to each question. Students are supposed to circle the correct answer. They will use the text to find the correct answers. Specifically they are required to carry out specific information in order to find the correct answer. So they do not have to read the whole text, but they will focus on important key words in the questions and then find these keywords in the text in order to decide which answer to circle. This is called the scanning method. According to Lindsay and Knight (2006:72) scanning is the kind of reading you do when you want to find out about something specific. I think it would be better if I used the given text of Ainsley Harriot in order to design some other exercises. Thus I planned a vocabulary activity based on the words from the text. When the students will finish the last worksheet, I will take some words out of the text, write them on the board and I will ask students to tell me some family words of the given words. (Word families) As Nunan (2000:137) points out, word families is an extension of the formal grouping technique and she provides an example of exercise which can be developed in order to show how word families are developed from a single root. For example, music, musician musical. So the activity I decided to give them is called word families. I am going to write on the whiteboard a word like entertain which is in the text. Then, I will tell students to tell me some family words of the word given by giving them an example from another word. Word families are important because they can bring out hidden parts of spelling in a word that we already know. Likewise are very useful because it will give students the chance to expand their vocabulary and meet new words. When they will finish the previous exercise I will tell students to write a short biography of themselves (approximately 10 lines). As Wallace T, Winifred E. Stariba and Herbet J. Walberg (page 15) point out; writing is the final product of several separate acts that are hugely challenging to learn simultaneously. It will be based on the text and if they want they can use some of the words we wrote on the board. I will also indicate that they have to use the present tenses we did in the last lesson (simple present and present continuous). In this piece of writing they have to write about their likes, their hobbies and their daily routine. This type of writing is called personal writing. The purpose I have chosen personal writing is because students are invited to write about themselves. This is an interesting topic, and it is a thing which many students like, because they prefer this sort of writing as they do not have to imagine or invent stories, but if they want to, they can add s ome fictional details on order to make it more fascinating. Ur P. (2007:250) has pointed out, that written work includes assignments on grammar or vocabulary, and so on. Indubitable, when writing we practice the language but also we reinforce the language we have learnt. Thereby, students will practice writing in terms of the grammar, but also the vocabulary activity they have been doing. After writing the short biography, I will suggest that students have to swap their biographies. I will also mention that the purpose of this activity is to read and correct any mistakes they will spot in the biography of their classmates. When they finish reading the biography, they will tell to his/her classmate what mistakes they have done. For example, Marc holds Marinas biography. When they finish, they get together and they tell to each other (Marc-Marina, Marina-Marc) their mistakes. Peer correction is the method of error correction, where students correct each others mistakes rather than having the teacher to correct them. However, students may not be able to identify all the mistakes, but at least they will be able to detect some of them. As Ur P. (2007:172) points out, peer correction can be a time-saving and a useful technique. It can be a useful technique as the learner will feel more comfortable and less afraid or anxious when being helped by their fellow students. In order to finish the lesson, I will tell students the correct answers of the worksheets they have done, and ask them in order to reaffirm if they have any queries. Lastly, I will tell them what they have to do for homework, and collect their biographies so that I will be able to correct them and bring them back next week.

Everything about Marijuana Essay -- Illegal Drugs Narcotics Cannabis

"I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?" (Willie Nelson) Marijuana is a psychoactive product, meaning that it interacts with the central nervous system and can alter perception, mood and behavior. It is widely and illegally used by many people all over the world. Marijuana is used for its euphoric feeling and pleasure when smoked, but also for its medical purposes. Marijuana comes from two main flowering plants, Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica. Cannabis Sativa plants are generally tall, thin plants with narrow leaves and a rather light green color. They are natively grown in Mexico, Colombia, Thailand and Southeast Asia. In contrast, Indica plants grow in hash producing countries like Afghanistan, Morocco and Tibet. They are shorter, have broader leaves and usually look bushier than Sativa plants. Sativa plants are used more often for smoking, and said to have a stronger effect than the Indica plant. Such plants usually grow in the wild, but some people illegally grow marijuana in their homes, using special lights and growing tools. There are many substances in marijuana, over 400 known. The substance that creates a person to get ?high? while smoking marijuana is called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is a type of cannabinoid which is a strong chemical in the plant, found in the flower or buds, stems and leaves. The higher content of THC is usually found in the buds, the most smoked part of marijuana. When weed is smoked, the THC goes straight through the blood stream, into the lungs and the brain. People usually start to feel ?hi... ...ers are also used to roll loose marijuana. The filled cigar or swisher would be split in the middle, emptied and the marijuana would be added and then the blunt would be rolled. Other popular smoking items are water pipes, or bongs and just normal pipes. Bongs filter out the marijuana through the water and most of the THC is inhaled. Pipes come in many different shapes, colors and sizes and are sold at just about any smoke shop. Vaporizers are also used, mostly for medical purposes though, which filter out the marijuana but are very costly. Pot does not always have to be smoked. It can be cooked into foods or even made into teas. Marijuana is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. After many centuries of using marijuana, it has become a trend for many people. It is smoked around the world today, and just about anyone can get their hands on this drug. Everything about Marijuana Essay -- Illegal Drugs Narcotics Cannabis "I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?" (Willie Nelson) Marijuana is a psychoactive product, meaning that it interacts with the central nervous system and can alter perception, mood and behavior. It is widely and illegally used by many people all over the world. Marijuana is used for its euphoric feeling and pleasure when smoked, but also for its medical purposes. Marijuana comes from two main flowering plants, Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica. Cannabis Sativa plants are generally tall, thin plants with narrow leaves and a rather light green color. They are natively grown in Mexico, Colombia, Thailand and Southeast Asia. In contrast, Indica plants grow in hash producing countries like Afghanistan, Morocco and Tibet. They are shorter, have broader leaves and usually look bushier than Sativa plants. Sativa plants are used more often for smoking, and said to have a stronger effect than the Indica plant. Such plants usually grow in the wild, but some people illegally grow marijuana in their homes, using special lights and growing tools. There are many substances in marijuana, over 400 known. The substance that creates a person to get ?high? while smoking marijuana is called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is a type of cannabinoid which is a strong chemical in the plant, found in the flower or buds, stems and leaves. The higher content of THC is usually found in the buds, the most smoked part of marijuana. When weed is smoked, the THC goes straight through the blood stream, into the lungs and the brain. People usually start to feel ?hi... ...ers are also used to roll loose marijuana. The filled cigar or swisher would be split in the middle, emptied and the marijuana would be added and then the blunt would be rolled. Other popular smoking items are water pipes, or bongs and just normal pipes. Bongs filter out the marijuana through the water and most of the THC is inhaled. Pipes come in many different shapes, colors and sizes and are sold at just about any smoke shop. Vaporizers are also used, mostly for medical purposes though, which filter out the marijuana but are very costly. Pot does not always have to be smoked. It can be cooked into foods or even made into teas. Marijuana is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. After many centuries of using marijuana, it has become a trend for many people. It is smoked around the world today, and just about anyone can get their hands on this drug.