 Cannabis is the short name for the plant Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica.
It is not universally excepted that Cannabis indica is a distinct species of the Cannabis plant
as all strains of Cannabis can interbreed, and produce
fertile offspring, which means that all known Cannabis
plants satisfy one criterion for a single species type
called Cannabis sativa L. But whether the different
strains of Cannabis actually do constitute a single
species or multiple species has been a contentious issue
for more than two centuries.
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. The Cannabis plant is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions just northwest India and Himalayas. Cannabis in the wild, can reach a height of 5 metres and flowers naturally from late summer to mid autumn.
The first written account of cannabis use can be found in Chinese records dating from 2800 BC as a medicine. However, experts widely accept that cannabis was being used for medical, recreational and religious purposes for thousands of years before that. The first archaeological remains of cannabis in England date back to 400 AD where evidence suggests that it was cultivated at Old Buckenham Mere. Recreational use of cannabis was first prohibited in the United Kingdom in 1928.
Cannabis is also referred to as hemp; this term usually refers to varieties of Cannabis cultivated for clothing, paper, oil, other commercial non-drug use. Commercial hemp contains none of the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) responsible for the psychoactive effects associated with recreational use of cannabis; hemp is a different breed of Cannabis sativa.
However, hemp cannot be commercially grown in the many countries because it is confused with illegal cannabis or marijuana (term used to describe cannabis grown for psychoactive effects). Although this stand on the commercial growth of hemp is seen by a growing number people as ridicules as consuming hemp can produce a headache but not a high. Hemp is seen as a valuable commercial resource that could utilised in a number of industrial applications.
The main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, there are more than 400 active compounds have been isolated. More than 60 of these active compounds are unique to cannabis and are referred to as cannabinoids.
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