CANNABIS SATIVA: THE MARIJUANA PLANT

2009.03.18

Cannabis sativa is famous for its use as a psychoactive drug and its hemp. The genus Cannabis bears three flowering plants all of which are most abundant in central Asia and its surroundings. Cannabis sativa is listed by many countries as a noxious weed and its recreational usage, cultivation and possession is outlawed.

 

Cannabis sativa belongs to the family: Cannabaceae (the hemp family), genus: Cannabis L. (hemp), species: Cannabis Sativa L. (marijuana). Cannabis sativa is an herbaceous annual flowering dicotyledon. It has a unique leaf arrangement. The Cannabis sativa leaves are arranged palmately, radiating from a common centre. There are usually 7-9 leaflets (up to 13 even) per leaf but the count tends to decrease in topmost leaves. There are separate male and female flowering plants but occasionally we can find both types on same plant; and rarely on the same flower. Male flowers grow in elongated clusters besides leaves and turn yellow before falling. Female flowers grow in spike-like clusters and are dark green until ripening of seeds. The flowers bloom from late summer to mid-fall. Cannabis sativa is a short-day plant and is wind pollinated. Cannabis seeds are called achenes.

 

Cannabis sativa produces over 400 types of chemicals; about 60 of them are terpeno-phenolic chemicals called cannabinoids. The cannabinoids are secreted by the glandular trichomes which are most abundant in female Cannabis flowers. Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC) are the widely produced cannabinoids, THC is psychoactive and produces the “high” that is experienced while smoking marijuana. As a drug, Cannabis sativa comes in various forms. Cannabis sativa also produces other important chemicals like choline, eugenol, guaicacol and piperidine.

 

I will further explain various parts and forms of Cannabis sativa here:

 

Hemp:

Hemp is the fibrous, stiff, non-woody stalk of marijuana plant. Stalk has two parts, the hurd and the bast. Hemp is made from the bast. It is woven into fabric, canvas, ropes, ship-sails and many more. Cannabis sativa is also known as hemp because of its fiber which has long been used in industry.

 

 

Hurd:

Hurd provides pulp for paper making, oil for solvent in paints, and seed for food. The Cannabis sativa seed is a high-protein, high-carbohydrate product and it contains only traces of psychoactive compounds. These seeds are used as cereals.

 

Marijuana:

These are dried flowering tops from female Cannabis sativa plants and contain from 1-22% of THC. Marijuana looks like dried herbs and that’s the reason for its common names: weed, grass etc.

 

 

Kief:

Kief are the sticky, resin-saturated tops of glandular trichomes from Cannabis sativa and look like crystals or pollens. These are left at bottom when grinding the marijuana. They are usually smoked.

 

Hashish:

Hashish is the brown or black lump of Cannabis sativa resin concentrates prepared by heating its glandular trichomes that have been extracted by rubbing, sifting or with ice. Hashish is the pressed form of kief. It is also called as hash or charas.

 

Hash-oil:

It is dark, sticky, honey-coloured oil made from various extracts from Cannabis sativa plant, mainly resins. It is also called as honey oil.

 

 

 

 

For recreational purposes, Cannabis sativa is ingested, smoked, used alongwith other drugs, used as a tea and prepared as a recreational drink