Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine. Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The word “sativa” means things that are cultivated.
\nPlant physiology<\/p>\n
A female sativa cannabis strain in flowering or \u201cbudding\u201d stage.<\/p>\n
The flowers of\u00a0Cannabis sativa\u00a0are unisexual and plants are most often either male or female. It is a short-day flowering plant, with staminate (male) plants usually taller and less robust than pistillate (female or male) plants. The\u00a0flowers\u00a0of the female plant are arranged in\u00a0racemes\u00a0and can produce hundreds of seeds. Male plants shed their pollen and die several weeks prior to seed ripening on the female plants. Under typical conditions with a light period of 12 to 14 hours both sexes are produced in equal numbers because of heritable\u00a0X and Y chromosomes.\u00a0Although genetic factors dispose a plant to become male or female, environmental factors including the\u00a0diurnal light cycle can alter sexual expression. Naturally occurring\u00a0monoecious\u00a0plants, with both male and female parts, are either sterile or fertile but artificially induced “hermaphrodites” can have fully functional reproductive organs. “Feminized” seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers are derived from artificially “hermaphroditic” females that lack the male gene, or by treating the plants with hormones or silver\u00a0thiosulfate.<\/p>\n
Pharmacology
\nMain article:\u00a0Cannabis (drug)<\/p>\n
\u03949-tetrahydrocannabinol\u00a0(THC)<\/p>\n
Cannabis sativa, scientific drawing from\u00a0c1900<\/p>\n
Although the main\u00a0psychoactive\u00a0constituent of\u00a0Cannabis\u00a0is\u00a0tetrahydrocannabinol\u00a0(THC), the plant is known to contain more than 500 compounds, among them at least 113\u00a0cannabinoids; however, most of these “minor” cannabinoids are only produced in trace amounts.\u00a0Besides THC, another cannabinoid produced in high concentrations by some plants is\u00a0cannabidiol (CBD), which is not psychoactive but has recently been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous system. Differences in the chemical composition of\u00a0Cannabis\u00a0varieties may produce different effects in humans. Synthetic THC, called\u00a0dronabinol, does not contain cannabidiol (CBD),\u00a0cannabinol\u00a0(CBN), or other cannabinoids, which is one reason why its\u00a0pharmacological\u00a0effects may differ significantly from those of natural\u00a0Cannabis\u00a0preparations.<\/p>\n
Chemical constituents<\/p>\n
Beside cannabinoids,\u00a0Cannabis chemical\u00a0constituents include about 120 compounds responsible for its\u00a0characteristic aroma. These are mainly volatile\u00a0terpenes\u00a0and\u00a0sesquiterpenes.<\/p>\n
\u03b1-Pinene
\nMyrcene
\nLinalool
\nLimonene
\nTrans-\u03b2-ocimene
\n\u03b1-Terpinolene
\nTrans-caryophyllene
\n\u03b1-Humulene,\u00a0contributes to the characteristic aroma of\u00a0Cannabis sativa
\nCaryophyllene, with which some hashish detection dogs are trained
\nDifference between\u00a0C. sativa\u00a0and\u00a0C. indica<\/p>\n
Human intervention has produced variation within the species and some authorities only recognize one species in the genus that has had divergent selective pressure to either produce plants with more fiber or plants with greater THC content.\u00a0Large variability exists within either species, and there is an expanding discussion whether the existing paradigm used to differentiate species adequately represents the variability found within the genus\u00a0Cannabis.\u00a0There are five chemotaxonomic types of\u00a0Cannabis: one with high levels of THC, one which is more fibrous and has higher levels of CBD, one that is an intermediate between the two, another one with high levels of\u00a0cannabigerol\u00a0(CBG), and the last one almost without cannabinoids.<\/p>\n
Cannabis\u00a0strains with relatively high CBD:THC ratios are less likely to induce\u00a0anxiety\u00a0than vice versa.\u00a0This may be due to CBD’s\u00a0antagonistic\u00a0effects at the\u00a0cannabinoid receptors, compared to THC’s\u00a0partial agonist\u00a0effect.\u00a0CBD is also a\u00a05-HT1A\u00a0receptor\u00a0(serotonin) agonist, which may also contribute to an anxiolytic-content effect.\u00a0The effects of\u00a0sativa\u00a0are well known for its cerebral high, while\u00a0indica\u00a0is well known for its sedative effects which some prefer for night time use.\u00a0Both types are used as\u00a0medical cannabis.\u00a0Indica\u00a0plants are normally shorter and stockier than\u00a0sativas.\u00a0Indicas\u00a0have broader, deeply serrated leaves and a compact and dense flower cluster.[citation needed]<\/p>\n
Common uses
\nMain articles:\u00a0Industrial and personal uses of\u00a0Cannabis,\u00a0Cannabis (drug), and\u00a0Hemp<\/p>\n
Cannabis sativa\u00a0seeds are chiefly used to make hempseed oil which can be used for cooking, lamps, lacquers, or paints. They can also be used as caged-bird feed, as they provide a source of nutrients for most animals. The flowers and fruits (and to a lesser extent the leaves, stems, and seeds) contain\u00a0psychoactive\u00a0chemical compounds\u00a0known as\u00a0cannabinoids\u00a0that are consumed for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. When so used, preparations of flowers and fruits (called\u00a0marijuana) and leaves and preparations derived from resinous extract (e.g.,\u00a0hashish) are consumed by smoking, vaporising, and oral ingestion. Historically,\u00a0tinctures,\u00a0teas, and\u00a0ointments\u00a0have also been common preparations. In\u00a0traditional medicine\u00a0of India in particular\u00a0C. sativa\u00a0has been used as hallucinogenic, hypnotic,\u00a0sedative,\u00a0analgesic, and\u00a0anti-inflammatory\u00a0agent.\u00a0Terpenes have gained public awareness through the growth and education of medical and recreational cannabis. Organizations and companies operating in cannabis markets have pushed education and marketing of terpenes in their products as a way to differentiate taste and effects of cannabis.\u00a0The\u00a0entourage effect, which describes the synergy of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other plant compounds, has also helped further awareness and demand for terpenes in cannabis products.[citation needed]<\/p>\n
Cultivation<\/p>\n
A\u00a0Cannabis\u00a0plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life requires more than 16\u201318 hours of light per day to stay vegetative. Flowering usually occurs when darkness equals at least 12 hours per day[dubious\u00a0\u2013\u00a0discuss]. The flowering cycle can last anywhere between 7 and fifteen weeks, depending on the strain and environmental conditions. When the production of\u00a0psychoactive\u00a0cannabinoids\u00a0is sought, female plants are grown separately from male plants to induce\u00a0parthenocarpy\u00a0in the female plant’s fruits (popularly called “‘sin semilla’ which is Spanish for ‘without seed'” ) and increase the production of\u00a0cannabinoid-rich resin.<\/p>\n
In soil, the optimum\u00a0pH\u00a0for the plant is 6.3 to 6.8. In\u00a0hydroponic\u00a0growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.2 to 5.8, making\u00a0Cannabis\u00a0well-suited to hydroponics because this pH range is hostile to most bacteria and fungi.[citation needed]<\/p>\n
Tissue culture multiplication has become important in producing medically important clones,\u00a0while seed production remains the generally preferred means of multiplication.\u00a0Sativa plants have narrow leaves and grow best in warm environments. They do, however, take longer to flower than their Indica counterparts, and they grow taller than the Indica cannabis strains as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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