What is cannabis? What is the difference between marijuana and hemp? Is it the same plant? These are probably the questions many of you are asking, so let’s start at the beginning.
The cultivation of hemp for fibre has been around since the beginning of time. Their stems were used to weave ropes, weave cloth and make hemp paper. The cannabis seeds ripened in the rings were used for cooking, while the cannabis flowers and leaves were smoked and incensed in ritual ceremonies.
Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants. There are three types of cannabis: sowing hemp(Cannabis sativa), Indian hemp(Cannabis indica) and garbage hemp (Cannabis ruderalis). What are the differences between the three types of cannabis?
The main difference between these types of cannabis is their characteristics, which allows us to use the terms „cannabis” and „marijuana” to refer to different types and their characteristics.
The history of the word „marijuana”
The word „marijuana” was coined in the early 20th century. rising racism and immigrant hatred of the US. At the time, Mexicans were actively migrating to the US and the Mexican Revolution was underway. Cannabis was legally imported at the time, and Mexicans were stereotyped as frequent cannabis users, as cannabis smoking was previously unknown in the US.
The US government’s use of the term ‘marijuana’ in the fight against immigration has given rise to many myths and reinforced stereotypes.
One by one, states passed laws banning cannabis, until finally cannabis became illegal in the US. And many other countries around the world have followed suit.
Differences between cannabis and marijuana
In the EU and the UK, marijuana, or ‘pot’, is legally defined as cannabis with a THC content of more than 0.2%, which can produce psychoactive effects. The US limit for THC is 0.3%.
The term „cannabis” is used to refer to cannabis with a THC content of less than 0.2%, which does not produce psychoactive effects on our body when consumed.
Cannabis and its products with a THC content of more than 0.2% are legally illegal and subject to criminal prosecution. However, at the moment, the issue is a matter of much debate in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania as to whether it is not too harsh a punishment, since in other developed countries (USA, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, etc.), the use of marijuana is not considered a crime.
Interesting fact
Interestingly, a THC content of 0.3% was first defined and proposed in 1979. Ernest Small’s „The Cannabis Species Problem: Science and Semantics”. However, he himself admitted that this figure has no factual basis.