Noun

Singular cannabis

Plural uncountable

cannabis (uncountable)

1. A tall annual dioecious plant (Cannabis sativa), native to central Asia and having alternate, palmately divided leaves and tough bast fibers.
2. Any of several mildly euphoriant, intoxicating hallucinogenic drugs, such as ganja, hashish, or marijuana, prepared from various parts of this plant.

Scientific names

• Cannabis sativa
• Cannabis indica
• Cannabis ruderalis

Synonyms

• hemp
• dope
• grass
• marijuana
• THC
• weed
• string

Cannabis sativa L. Cannabis indica Lam. (putative) Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. (putative)

Cannabis (Cán-na-bis) is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre (hemp), for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from Cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber and minimal levels of THC (Δ- tetrahydrocannabinol), a psychoactive molecule that produces the "high" associated with marijuana. The psychoactive product consists of dried flowers and leaves of plants selected to produce high levels of THC. Various extracts including hashish and hash oil are also produced from the plant.

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant believed to be indigenous to Central Asia, China, and the north-west Himalayas. The common name for Cannabis is hemp, although this term is sometimes used to refer only to strains cultivated for "industrial" (non-drug) use. Cannabis plants produce a unique family of compounds called cannabinoids, several of which produce mental and/or physiological effects when consumed. The drug usually comes in the form of dried flowers and leaves (marijuana), resin (hashish), or various extracts. The cultivation or possession of Cannabis for drug purposes is outlawed in most countries. In Australia each state has different rules for the amount of marijuana you can possess before facing criminal charges.

Sourced

• Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!
  • George Washington in a note to his gardener at Mount Vernon (1794), The Writings of George Washington, Volume 33, page 270 (Library of Congress)
  • Washington also recorded his concern that the male and female plants be separated:

May 12-13 1765: Sowed Hemp at Muddy hole by Swamp.

August 7, 1765: —began to seperate (sic) the Male from the Female Hemp at Do —rather too late.

Some assert his interest in separating the male and female plants is an indication that he may have used Indian hemp medicinally to treat his chronic tooth aches. Others note that fiber of the male and female hemp plants have different optimum harvest times.

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