Cannabis is believed to have evolved in Central Asia, in the regions of Mongolia and southern Siberia, and spread naturally throughout the world primarily between the 30º N and 30º S latitudes.
Since humans discovered the benefits of cannabis for medical, recreational, spiritual and industrial uses the plant has spread throughout the entire globe and can now be grown anywhere, either outdoors or indoors under grow lights.
Cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb and includes three sub species….Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis.
Ruderalis, itself, is not generally even considered amongst most marijuana users as it does not contain high levels of either of the two major cannabinoids THC or CBD.
For growers and seed producers, however, Ruderalis can be very useful, when crossed with Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica plants, in creating certain new characteristics in strains…such as limiting a plant’s height and producing “auto-flowering” plants.
In most provinces you are now legally allowed to grow 4 plants per household. “Autoflowering” plants may be worth a try.
This “auto-flowering” White Widow plant I grew outdoors, legally, in the summer of 2018 is mature and ready to harvest after 3 months at just under 2 feet in height due to the Ruderalis characteristics that were combined with Cannabis Sativa Hybrid, plants.
Auto-flowering plants may be ideal if you have a limited space to grow or if you don’t want to attract attention. They blend easily into a garden.
Sativa and Indica are the two species used in both Medical Marijuana and Recreational Marijuana. Most strains today, however, are a HYBRID, or combination, of the two.
“Marijuana” is Cannabis that produces the resinous “trichomes” on its’ flowers and leaves which contain the “cannabinoids” that are essential for both medical and recreational use. Cannabis seeds do not contain these “cannabinoids”. Cannabinoids are discussed later in this Site in the section, “Cannabinoids Explained“.
Traditionally SATIVA has always been reported to be “uplifting and creative with cerebrally-focused effects”. It was believed to increase alertness and energy and to enhance creativity, while INDICA was believed to be “sedating and relaxing with full-body effects.”
With so much cross breeding and development of HYBRIDS (combinations of Indica and Sativa) since these original historical classifications, however, it can be very difficult to determine if a strain is truly Sativa or Indica. If you search for a particular strain review on the Internet you will find that some Sites refer to that particular strain as being predominantly Sativa while other Sites may report the same strain as being Indica.
More recent research has shown that these uplifting or sedating effects, traditionally credited to Indica or Sativa, can be determined by the “Terpenes” and other compounds contained in a particular strain rather than by any difference between “Sativa” and “Indica”.
Terpenes are the essential oils in plants that produce unique flavours and smells. A cannabis strain can have different effects on people depending on the “Terpene Profile” and other characteristics of a particular batch.
The terpene Myrcene, for example, induces sleep whereas the terpene Limonene elevates mood.
An interesting article HERE explains the effects of the Terpenes in cannabis.
The effect of marijuana, uplifting or sedating, is also determined by the stage of development when the plant is harvested. The appearance of the “Trichomes” (explained further down this page) at harvest has a great influence on the effect users will experience. Clear or milky trichomes result in a more uplifting effect while later harvest amber trichomes contribute to a sedating or “couch lock” effect.
This article explains why the classifications, “Sativa or Indica” do not necessarily determine the effects that cannabis may have on an individual user.
Personally, I do find that “Sativa” strains do seem to induce a more “uplifting” experience and “Indica” strains a more introspective “couch-lock” feeling. This, however, is most likely to be due to other cannabinoid and chemical compound differences in those strains rather then the effects of the THC.
On the molecular level there is NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATIVA AND INDICA ! The THC is the same in both species.
HYBRIDS, of course, are a combination of the two strains and can be either Sativa Dominant, Indica Dominant or 50/50. They are often designed with different ratios and different strains of each species creating new strains to treat specific medical conditions. The majority of marijuana strains today are Hybrids.
It is important to remember that a person’s individual chemistry will determine how a particular strain of cannabis will affect them. One person can have a completely different experience than another when using the same strain. The effect of cannabis is not an exact science !
HEMP, is also a cannabis sativa plant, but contains only trace amounts of THC. Original research in Canada, the “1976 Taxonomic Report” by plant scientists Earnest Small and Arthur Conquist, found that hemp seemed to contain less than 0.3% THC. They did not intend for this discovery to define “hemp” but the American government then, in 2014, set this rather arbitrary percentage to distinguish hemp from marijuana. As a result, any cannabis plant with a THC content of less than 0.3% can be classified as “hemp”….even though it may actually be “marijuana” and not industrial hemp !
Industrial “hemp seed oil” is not the same as the CBD-rich oil extracted from the flowers and leaves of the resinous cannabis, marijuana, plant.
Oil pressed from “hemp seed” contains no CBD or THC, just as oil from “marijuana seeds” does not contain these cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are found in the flowers and leaves, not the seeds, of cannabis plants.
Hemp was historically used for rope but has many other uses, including clothing and mulch from the fibre, hemp milk and cooking oil from the seeds, and soap and lotions. Other uses include building materials, animal bedding and biofuels.
According to an article on projectcbd.org there are reports that some farmers in Colorado are actually growing high-resin, CBD-rich marijuana “drug” plants, such as the ACDC strain, and calling it hemp. These “hemp” growers typically harvest their crop several weeks before maturity (i.e., before peak resin content) to keep the THC level at 0.3 percent or less so it can be classified as “hemp” to circumvent State export laws but it is, in reality, Cannabis Sativa marijuana, not industrial hemp.
Until August, 2018, when cannabis was legalized in Canada, licensed industrial hemp growers in Canada were only allowed to harvest the stocks and seeds of industrial hemp plants while the flowers and leaves, containing CBD, had to be left in the fields. Under the new “Cannabis Act”, however, farmers are now allowed to harvest the whole plant, including the buds and leaves containing the CBD, and sell it to Licensed Producers for extraction of the CBD oil.
One characteristic of industrial hemp, however, is that it can extract contaminants from soil. Hemp is a “bioaccumulator”, meaning the plant naturally draws toxins from the soil. It can be planted on a former industrial site to help “clean” the soil of contaminants before planting crops. If industrial hemp is used to produce CBD the oil could well contain contaminants extracted from the soil. Any CBD oil extracted from industrial hemp would have to be thoroughly tested for any contaminants.
CBD oil purchased in Canada from Health Canada Licensed Producers is, at present, made from the resinous trichome laden flowers and leaves of marijuana plants but, as CBD extraction from industrial hemp plants improves, CBD might become more readily available and, hopefully, cheaper to buy!
As stated in another article on projectcbd.org, widespread mislabeling of CBD products exists. Independent research has confirmed that the CBD content in almost 70% of CBD products available online could be mislabeled. In the USA the FDA sent warning letters to 25 companies in 2015-16 for violations of FDA rule. The FDA has also sent cease and desist letters to companies for making drug claims about their so-called “CBD” products, including claims that they treat, or even cure, cancer. Be very leery of “CBD” oils sold online from sources that are not regulated under the Cannabis Act as many of them contain no CBD at all.
Male cannabis plants are much less potent than female plants and, so, are not very desirable for either recreational or medical use.
Female cannabis plants are much more desirable as they are much more potent…. unless they have been pollinated by a male and then their energy goes into producing seeds and they are no longer as potent.
Male plants are removed from grow areas as soon as their sex becomes evident so that the females will become sinsemilla…”without seed”. Without pollen from the male plant, the female blossoms produce no seeds, forming large panicled flowers or “BUDS” instead.
A female plant can occasionally become “hermaphrodite”, whereby it will develop some male flowers in an attempt to pollinate itself to produce seeds. Growers must be vigilant and remove these male parts immediately before they can pollinate the female flowers.
(Further study might be needed to determine if the plant could actually “go blind” if it attempts to “self-pollinate” too often !)
During the 1960s most of the marijuana we smoked in Western Canada came from Mexico and consisted of dried leaves, stems, twigs, seeds and the occasional pebble. Seldom, if ever, any flowers or “buds”. We believed the strength of the pot was in the leaves and, even if we grew our own plants from those Mexican seeds we, far too impatiently, harvested the plant before the female flowers even formed !
The leaves of the cannabis plant are trimmed off the plant during harvest and are discarded as “shake” or “trim”. These clippings may be saved to be used later for making extracts to be used in baking, etc. The BUDS are then carefully trimmed and dried.
These TRICHOMES contain the “CANNABINOIDS” that make cannabis so important to us as medicine.
When these TRICHOMES are separated from the plant material the resulting powder is called KIEF …..
The strain from which the trichomes were extracted, the amount of resin glands in the flower or bud, the amount of pressure and heat applied to create the HASH, as well as the TERPINE profile of the plant, will result in different flavors and colors of HASHISH…from light blond to black.
If the last time you used marijuana was in an incensed filled room, staring at a lava lamp and listening to Ravi Shankar vinyl records you’ll be very surprised at the quality of cannabis strains today !! Growers have certainly mastered the art of cannabis cultivation, and Canada now produces some of the best cannabis strains in the world.
So, just what are these “CANNABINOIDS” that are mentioned so often on this Site ??………click HERE to find out.