5 Key Differences Between Hemp and Marijuana

By Shin Yun-bok
Source: cannasos.com

Here are the Main Differences Between Hemp and Weed!

Cultivation

Hemp and marijuana are grown for different goals, that is why the process of their cultivation is absolutely different.

Medical marijuana was bred selectively many years ago, and it was optimized to produce only female plants - which give buds at the flowering stage of their growth. These flower buds are the goal of medical marijuana cultivation. Marijuana is often cultivated indoors - under serious control.

Hemp is cultivated in the opposite way. Only male plants, which don't produce flowers, are of the interest of breeders. Hemp plants grow fast and are optimized to produce the largest harvest. Hemp is grown outdoors in large volumes, in the majority of cases, and that is one of the most important differences between hemp and marijuana.

Genetics

Marijuana is probably one of the most ancient plants that were domesticated. People have been growing cannabis for recreational, religious or medical purposes for centuries in different parts of the world.

Cannabis plants were probably crossed with other plants with the same characteristics, producing hemp as a result. So the genetics of hemp and cannabis is different.

Research

The illegal status of both hemp and marijuana made the process of research very difficult in North America. That is why Israel and other European countries were the pioneers of medical marijuana research for many years. Even THC, the most important cannabinoid, was discovered by an Israeli professor.

Fortunately, the situation with research is getting better, as weed has become legal in 30 American states. Scientists have begun extensively exploring health benefits of medical weed. The latest research revealed, that, marijuana can be effective for treating dementia.

Researchers keep revealing new interesting methods of hemp utilization. The University of Alberta has recently created a supercapacitor, using raw hemp material, making it possible to produce cheap and effective batteries from hemp! Hemp can also be utilized for creating renewable organic materials.

Psychoactive Properties

Marijuana has a unique chemical structure - with almost a hundred cannabinoids. THC is the most famous and most important cannabinoid - because it makes you high.

Hemp, on the contrary, has very small amounts of THC which means that hemp is non-psychoactive. This is one of the most important differences between hemp and marijuana. In Canada, for example, if a plant has less than 0.3% of THC, it is considered hemp, if there is more THC, then it's marijuana.

As for CBD, another important cannabinoid, hemp has the same and possibly bigger CBD levels.

This is a sample of hemp and fiber - which is produced from hemp.

Legal Status

Industrial hemp can be cultivated in more than 30 countries, excluding the USA. At the same time, many countries, such as Canada and China, benefit from cultivating and exporting hemp abroad. American hemp farming still remains an uncertainty.

Medical and recreational cannabis remains illegal in the majority of countries, however, the global public shift towards legalization is obvious. The USA made the greatest breakthrough, legalizing weed in 29 states, and this year Germany joined the company of legal countries.