Cannabis

? Cannabis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Cannabaceae Genus: Cannabis L.
Species
Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. The plant is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions just north of the Himalayas in India. It is also known as hemp, although this term usually refers to cannabis cultivated for non-drug use. As a drug it usually comes in the form of dried flowers (marijuana), resin (hashish), or various extracts collectively referred to as hash oil. Its use in this regard is documented more extensively in the article cannabis (drug).

Species

The genus Cannabis was formerly placed with nettles in the family Urticaceae or with mulberries in the family Moraceae, but is now considered along with hops (Humulus sp.) to belong to the family Cannabaceae. Whether the different strains of Cannabis constitute a single species (Cannabis sativa L.) or multiple species has been a contentious issue for well over two centuries.^[1][2]

Ernest Small conducted a taxonomic investigation of Cannabis and concluded that there is only a single species with two subspecies, sativa and indica, each divisible into a cultivated and a wild variety.^[3] According to this concept, C. sativa subsp. sativa was selected for traits that enhance fiber or seed production and has low levels of the psychoactive delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), whereas C. sativa subsp. indica was primarily selected for drug production and has relatively high levels of THC.

Botanists Richard E. Schultes and Loran Anderson also conducted taxonomic studies of Cannabis, and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to support recognition of three species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica Lam., and Cannabis ruderalis.^[4][5][6] According to their species descriptions, C. sativa is tall and laxly branched with relatively narrow leaflets, Cannabis indica is shorter, conical in shape, and has relatively wide leaflets, and Cannabis ruderalis is short, branchless, and grows wild in central Asia. This concept was embraced by cannabis aficionados who commonly distinguish narrow-leafed "sativa" drug strains from wide-leafed "indica" drug strains.

A recent study of genetic variation in Cannabis supports recognition of C. sativa and C. indica as separate species, although the existence of a third species, "C. ruderalis", is less certain. This study assigned hemp (fiber/seed) landraces and feral populations from Europe, central Asia, and Asia Minor to C. sativa. Cannabis indica includes both narrow-leafed drug (NLD) and wide-leafed drug (WLD) strains, as well as southern and eastern Asian hemp strains and feral Himalayan populations^[7].

Cannabis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Ghost Moth and The Nutmeg.

Etymology

The name cannabis is thought to be of Scythian origin. Possibly it has an earlier origin in Semitic languages like Hebrew, in Exodus 30:23 God commands Moses to make a holy anointing oil of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosm, and kassia. In kaneh bosm (Hebrew kannabos or kannabus) kan means "reed" or "cane", while bosm means "aromatic". Greek translations of the Old Testament rendered kan as "reed", leading to possibly erroneous English translations as sweet calamus (Exodus 30:23), sweet cane (Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20) and calamus (Ezekiel 27:19; Song of Songs 4:14).

Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying:

The astonishing resemblance between the Semitic kanbos and the Scythian cannabis lead me to suppose that the Scythian word was of Semitic origin. These etymological discussions run parallel to arguments drawn from history. The Iranian Scythians were probably related to the Medes, who were neighbors of the Semites and could easily have assimilated the word for hemp. The Semites could also have spread the word during their migrations through Asia Minor.

Comparing the English word hemp and the Greek word kannabis shows that the word came down from the Common Indo-European language. Words like kanapish for "hemp" occur in some Finno-Ugrian languages. It is likely that, soon after agriculture started, hemp as a cultivated plant spread widely, carrying its name with it.

Aspects of cannabis use

• Cannabis (drug) discusses its use as a psychoactive drug.

• Cannabis cultivation
• Health issues and the effects of cannabis
• Legal issues of cannabis
• List of cannabis strains
• Wiktionary Appendix of Cannabis Slang

• Pot tea discusses its use as an herbal beverage.
• Cannabis (spiritual use) discusses traditional and entheogenic use of cannabis, by Rastafari, Hindus, Sufis and others.
• Medical cannabis discusses its use as a medicinal drug.
• Hemp discusses its uses as a source of housing, oil, food, fibers, and industrial materials.

Pharmacology

The chemical structure of Δ9-THC

The pharmacology of cannabis is complex, due to a wide variety of terpenoid and terpenophenolic compounds (cannabinoids) in the essential oil. The most important pharmacologically active cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC), cannabidiol, and cannabinol (a degradation product of Δ⁹-THC).

Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

Micro shot of mature glandular trichomes, from Overgrow.

The best known component of cannabis is THC. This psychoactive compound may produce relaxation, euphoria, concentration or diffusion of attention, altered space-time perception, alteration of visual, auditory, and olfactory senses, and appetite stimulation.

Cannabis strains cultivated for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational use have a high content of THC, whereas certified industrial hemp strains have a low THC content.

Most hemp farmers try to maximize the amount of fiber, seed, or oil that the plants produce. However, most marijuana growers try to maximize the number of glandular trichomes produced on the floral clusters of unfertilized female plants. The glandular trichomes secrete an essential oil having high concentrations of cannabinoids.

Cannabinoids

Macro shot of fairly mature glandular trichome, from Overgrow.

In addition to Δ⁹-THC, the essential oil of cannabis includes the non- psychoactive cannabinoids cannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabinolic acid. These latter compounds are thought to produce certain beneficial effects such as cell protection, immunosuppression and anti-inflammatory properties.

Cannabinoids usually contain a 1,1'-di-methyl-pyrane ring, a variedly derivatized aromatic ring and a variedly unsaturated cyclohexyl ring and their immediate chemical precursors, constituting a family of about 60 bi-cyclic and tri-cyclic compounds.

Cannflavins

Cannabis also contains a related class of compounds, the cannflavins. These compounds have been suggested to contribute certain beneficial effects of cannabis, such as analgesia and anti-inflammatory properties, and are considerably more effective than aspirin.

Cannaflavins usually contain a 1,4-pyrone ring fused to a variedly derivatized aromatic ring and linked to a 2nd variedly derivatized aromatic ring and include for example the non-psychoactive cannflavins A and B.

Terpenoids

The essential oil of cannabis also contains many fragrant terpenoids, which may synergize with the cannabinoids to produce its unique effects.

The cannabinoid receptor system

Humans and other animals have two types of cannabinoid receptors: CB1 and CB2. The activation of these receptors is responsible for several of the medicinal and psychotropic effects of consuming cannabis. The discovery of these receptors in the 1980s revolutionized the understanding of cannabis pharmacology, reinforcing many long-standing assertions about its medical efficacy, and suggesting possibilities for cannabis-derived pharmaceutical compounds developed for specific medical purposes.

See also

External links

• Erowid's Cannabis Vault - In-depth collection of cannabis-related resources.
• Overgrow.com - Compliments erowid, is superior in the supply of first generation knowledge, and caters to the recreational, medicinal, spiritual, horticultural, and scientific cannabis communities.
• Cannabis.com
• NORML - U.S. organization for reforming Marijuana laws.
• Int'l Association for Cannabis as Medicine - International association promoting medicinal marijuana.
• Drug Policy Alliance - Cannabis myths and facts
• How Marijuana Works - the "how stuff works" article on marijuana.
• People using Cannabis - A list with historical and contemporary users of cannabis
• Four full pages of photos of cannabis cultivation in Morocco (Rif) on www.geopium.org
• The Ivory Tree - What evolutionary purpose does the 'high' from cannabis serve?
• "Regular marijuana use damages teen brains: Scans show heavy smokers have abnormalities in key development regions" Reuters, Nov. 30, 2005. (Study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.)
• Cannabis may help fight cancer (Studies by researchers at the medical colleges of the University of South Florida and the University of Jerusalem)

References

1. ^ Emboden, W. A. 1981. The genus Cannabis and the correct use of taxonomic categories. J. Psychoactive Drugs 13: 15–21.
2. ^ Schultes, R. E., and A. Hofmann. 1980. Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. C. C. Thomas, Springfield, IL., pp. 82–116.
3. ^ Small, E., and A. Cronquist. 1976. A practical and natural taxonomy for Cannabis. Taxon 25: 405–435.
4. ^ Schultes, R. E., et. al. 1974. Cannabis: an example of taxonomic neglect. Harvard University Botanical Museum Leaflets 23: 337–367.
5. ^ Anderson, L. C. 1974. A study of systematic wood anatomy in Cannabis. Harvard University Botanical Museum Leaflets 24: 29–36.
6. ^ Anderson, L. C. 1980. Leaf variation among Cannabis species from a controlled garden. Harvard University Botanical Museum Leaflets 28: 61–69.
7. ^ Hillig, K.W. 2005. Genetic evidence for speciation in Cannabis (Cannabaceae). Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 52: 161-180.