Portal:Cannabis

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Introduction

Common hemp

Cannabis (/ˈkænəbɪs/) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa; or all three may be treated as subspecies of a single species, C. sativa. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Central Asia, with some researchers also including upper South Asia in its origin.

The plant is also known as hemp, although this term is often used to refer only to varieties of Cannabis cultivated for non-drug use. Cannabis has long been used for hemp fibre, for hemp oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. To satisfy the UN Narcotics Convention, some cannabis strains have been bred to produce minimal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent. Many plants have been selectively bred to produce a maximum of THC (cannabinoids), which is obtained by curing the flowers. Various compounds, including hashish and hash oil, are extracted from the plant.

Selected general articles

The bracts surrounding a cluster of Cannabis sativa flowers are coated with cannabinoid-laden trichomes
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Sebsi, a Moroccan long-drawtube one-hitter
Cannabis consumption refers to the variety of ways cannabis is consumed, among which inhalation (smoking and vaporizing) and ingestion are most common. Each method leads to subtly different psychoactive effects due to the THC and other chemicals being activated, and then consumed through different administration routes. It is generally considered that smoking, which includes combustion toxins, comes on quickly but lasts for a short period of time, while eating delays the onset of effect but the duration of effect is typically longer. In a 2007 ScienceDaily report of research conducted at the University of California–San Francisco, researchers reported that vaporizer users experience the same biological effect, but without the toxins associated with smoking. Read more...
The Finnish Cannabis Association (FCA; Finnish: Suomen kannabisyhdistys; Swedish: Finlands Cannabisförening, commonly referred to by the acronym SKY) is a Finnish non-governmental organisation whose purpose is to advocate legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis.

The FCA started operating in 1990 and was officially established in 1991. According its mission statement, the purpose of the association is to influence the Finnish legislation so that adults could legally use, obtain and cultivate cannabis for personal use. The FCA also studies the use of cannabis in different cultures during different times.

The association had 36 members in 1991, and about 650 in 2000. Read more...
Madrid, Spain. May 8, 2004. Million Joint March (La Marcha del Millón de Porros en Madrid, Mayo 2004), part of the Million Marijuana March.

The Global Marijuana March (GMM), also referred to as the Million Marijuana March (MMM), is an annual rally held at different locations around the world on the first Saturday in May. A notable event in cannabis culture, it is associated with cannabis-themed events, which may include marches, meetings, rallies, raves, concerts, festivals, and attempts at educational outreach.

The first Global Marijuana March was held in 1999. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have participated in over 829 different cities in 72 countries. Locally, the Global Marijuana March is associated with names including World Cannabis Day, Cannabis Liberation Day, Global Space Odyssey, Ganja Day, J Day, and Million Blunts March. Read more...
Bag and contents of a well known early brand named Spice that contains herbs spiked with synthetic cannabinoids, now illegal throughout much of the world
Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of molecules that bind to cannabinoid receptors in the body—the same receptors to which THC and CBD attach–which are cannabinoids in cannabis plants. Synthetic cannabinoids are also designer drugs that are often sprayed onto plant matter. They are typically consumed through smoking, although more recently they have been consumed in a concentrated liquid form in the US and UK. They have been marketed as herbal incense, or “herbal smoking blends” and sold under common names like K2, Spice, and Synthetic Marijuana. They are also often labeled “not for human consumption.”

When synthetic cannabinoid blends first went on sale in the early 2000s, it was thought that they achieved the psychoactive effects through a mixture of natural herbs. Laboratory analysis in 2008 showed that this was not the case, and that many in fact contained synthetic cannabinoids. Today, synthetic cannabinoids are the most common new psychoactive substances to be reported. From 2008 to 2014, 142 synthetic cannabinoids were reported to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). A large and complex variety of synthetic cannabinoids are designed in an attempt to avoid the legal restrictions on cannabis, making synthetic cannabinoids designer drugs.

Most synthetic cannabinoids are agonists of the cannabinoid receptors, and many have been designed based on THC, the natural cannabinoid with the strongest binding affinity to the CB₁ receptor, which is linked to the psychoactive effects or “high” of marijuana. These synthetic analogs often have greater binding affinity and greater potency to the CB₁ receptors. There are several synthetic cannabinoid families (e.g. CP-xxx, WIN-xxx, JWH-xxx, UR-xxx, and PB-xx) classified based on the base structure. Read more...
The Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating physicians about the medical use of cannabis. Its mission is to unite into one association members of the various medical specialties and allied professionals with this common purpose. The goals of the Society are as follows:
- Expansion of knowledge on the medical use of cannabis
- Facilitation of best practice standards for cannabis consultations
- To study, discuss and make recommendations relating to research, practice and policy in the medical use of cannabis
- To further the recruitment of medical graduates and able physicians willing to recommend cannabis to patients
- To maintain and advance the highest possible ideals and service standards in the education, practice and research in the medical use of cannabis
The group was established in 2004 by Tod Mikuriya, MD as a project of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group to facilitate voluntary medical standards for physician-approved cannabis under California law (HSC §11362.5). Read more...
Hemp hurds can be used for animal bedding

Hemp fiber, seed and oil can be used for a number of products.

;Food products
;Construction and materials
Read more...
Sebsi, a Moroccan long-drawtube one-hitter.

Cannabis smoking is the inhalation of smoke or vapors released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs.

Apart from being smoked and vaporized, cannabis (and its active cannabinoids) may be ingested, placed under the tongue or applied to the skin. The bioavailability characteristics and effects of smoking and vaporizing cannabis differ from other consumption methods in having a more rapid and predictable onset of effect. Read more...
Kief (pronounced [keːf, ki(ː)f, kɪf]; from Arabic كيف (kayf), meaning ' pleasure, intoxication'), sometimes transliterated as keef or kif, refers to the resinous trichomes of cannabis that may accumulate in containers or be sifted from loose, dry cannabis flower with a mesh screen or sieve. Kief contains a much higher concentration of psychoactive cannabinoids, such as THC, than that of the cannabis flowers from which it is derived. Traditionally, kief has been pressed into cakes of hashish for convenience in storage, but can be vaporized or smoked in either form. After the kief is collected it is heated and pressurized, which turns it into hashish.

In Morocco, kif also refers to a traditional mix of finely-chopped marijuana and indigenous tobacco which is distinctly different from trichome powder and usually smoked in a long pipe called a sebsi. In other countries like the US and those of Western Europe, kief is used to make products via infusions. Some examples are baked cookies or brownies or other edibles. Due to its potency, however, there is a tendency to only use a small quantity of kief in order to minimize the effects of it. Read more...
In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is decriminalized in 13 states (plus the U.S. Virgin Islands), and legalized in another 9 states (plus the District of Columbia and Northern Mariana Islands), as of September 2018. "Decriminalization" refers to a policy in which individuals caught possessing small amounts of cannabis will not face criminal prosecution, and instead will be subject to only some type of lesser civil penalty (often similar to how a minor traffic violation is treated). In jurisdictions without any such penalties, the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes broadly used for this purpose as well.

The first state to decriminalize cannabis was Oregon in 1973. Ten more states followed during the 1970s, influenced by the federally-appointed Shafer Commission which endorsed the policy of decriminalization. By the end of the decade the tide had turned strongly in the other direction, however, and no state would decriminalize again until 2001.

In 2012 Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis, both by way of ballot initiative. Several states followed in 2014 and 2016, and in 2018 Vermont became the first to legalize through an act of state legislature. All jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis allow for its commercial distribution, except Vermont and the District of Columbia. All allow for personal cultivation, except Washington state. Read more...
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is an international non-profit advocacy and education organization based in Washington D.C. SSDP is focused on reforming drug policy in the United States and internationally. SSDP is the only international network of students dedicated to ending the war on drugs. At its heart, SSDP is a grassroots organization, led by a student-run Board of Directors. SSDP creates change by bringing young people together and creating safe spaces for students of all political and ideological stripes to have honest conversations about drugs and drug policy. Founded in 1998, SSDP comprises thousands of members at hundreds of campuses in countries around the globe.

SSDP neither condones nor condemns drug use, and respects the right of individuals to make decisions about their own health and well-being. SSDP encourages honest conversation about the realities of the drug war, especially in light of misinformation contained in modern "anti-drug" ad campaigns or school programs. SSDP promotes youth civic engagement as a critical tool in reforming drug policy. SSDP respects the diverse experiences and identities of its constituents and encourages its members to undertake diversity training, some of which SSDP provides itself. Due to its relationship with the problem of mass incarceration, SSDP self-defines as an anti-racist organization. Read more...
Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6 (1969), is a U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with the constitutionality of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Timothy Leary, a professor and activist, was arrested for the possession of marijuana in violation of the Marihuana Tax Act. Leary challenged the act on the ground that the act required self-incrimination, which violated the Fifth Amendment. The unanimous opinion of the court was penned by Justice John Marshall Harlan II and declared the Marihuana Tax Act unconstitutional. Thus, Leary's conviction was overturned. Congress responded shortly thereafter by replacing the Marihuana Tax Act with the newly written Controlled Substances Act while continuing the prohibition of certain drugs in the United States. Read more...
A vaporization heat wand and vaporization chamber bowl used to deliver vapor through a water pipe

A vaporizer or vaporiser, colloquially known as a vape, is a device used to vaporize substances for inhalation. Plant substances can be used, commonly cannabis, tobacco, or other herbs or blends. However, they can also be filled with a mixture of propylene glycol, glycerin, and drugs such as nicotine (e.g. tobacco-free nicotine) or tetrahydrocannabinol.

Vaporizers contain various forms of extraction chambers including straight bore, venturi, or sequential venturi, and are made of materials such as metal or glass. The extracted vapor may be collected in an inflatable bag, or inhaled directly through a hose or pipe. When used properly, cooler temperatures due to lack of combustion result in significantly more efficient extraction of the ingredients. Hence, the irritating and harmful effects of smoking are heavily reduced, as is its secondhand smoke. Read more...
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP; also known as the Cannabis Party) is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to removing or reducing restrictions on the use of cannabis and similar substances.

Under New Zealand's Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, cannabis is currently classed (depending on product / substance) as either a Class B drug ("Very high risk of harm") or a Class C drug ("moderate risk of harm"). Read more...
Americans for Safe Access (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a member-based organization working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research. Americans for Safe Access works in partnership with local, state, and federal legislators to create policies that improve access to medical cannabis for both patients and researchers. ASA has over 100,000 active members across the United States. Read more...
Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) is a non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. The SAFER campaign was initially launched in Colorado on the campuses of the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) and Colorado State University (CSU) in response to the alcohol overdose deaths of CSU sophomore Samantha Spady, 19, and 18-year-old CU freshman Lynn "Gordie" Bailey. SAFER, led by Mason Tvert, argued that students should not be punished more severely for using marijuana – which is incapable of causing death by overdose—than for using the potentially fatal (and for many college students legal) drug alcohol.

The pilot project took off quickly. Within months, organizers had coordinated and passed student referendums at both campuses. These referendums called on the universities to make the penalties for the use and possession of marijuana no greater than the penalties for the use and possession of alcohol.
Under Colorado state law prior to 2013, having an ounce of marijuana or less is punishable by a $100 fine but no jail time.

In the summer of 2005, SAFER leaders decided to run a citywide marijuana legalization initiative in Denver, Colorado called the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. The proposed initiative (I-100) would have made the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana legal for individuals 21 and older under city ordinances. After a campaign in which the relative harms of marijuana and alcohol were repeatedly highlighted, the initiative passed November 1, 2005 by a 53.5% to 46.5% margin. The initiative also made possession of marijuana by those under 18 punishable by fine only. Read more...
A sadhu, or holy person, smoking cannabis in Kolkata, India

Cannabis has been used in an entheogenic context—a chemical substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context—in India and Nepal since the Vedic period dating back to approximately 1500 BCE, but perhaps as far back as 2000 BCE. Cannabis has been used by shamanic and pagan cultures to ponder deeply religious and philosophical subjects related to their tribe or society, to achieve a form of enlightenment, to unravel unknown facts and realms of the human mind and subconscious, and also as an aphrodisiac during rituals or orgies. There are several references in Greek mythology to a powerful drug that eliminated anguish and sorrow. Herodotus wrote about early ceremonial practices by the Scythians, thought to have occurred from the 5th to 2nd century BCE. Itinerant Hindu saints have used it in Nepal and India for centuries. Over the last few decades hundreds of archaeological and anthropological items of evidence have come out of Mexican, Mayan and Aztec cultures that suggest cannabis, along with magic mushrooms (psilocybin), peyote (mescaline) and other psychoactive plants were used in cultural shamanic and religious rituals. Mexican-Indian communities occasionally use cannabis in religious ceremonies by leaving bundles of it on church altars to be consumed by the attendees. Read more...
Process of making bhang into a drink

Bhang (Hindi: भांग) is an edible preparation of cannabis. It has been used in food and drink as early as 1000 B.C. in the region of South Asia. Bhang is traditionally distributed during the spring festival of Holi. Read more...
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies; (2) identify and activate supporters of non-punitive, non-coercive marijuana policies; (3) change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the medical and non-medical use of marijuana; and (4) gain influence in Congress. MPP advocates taxing and regulating the possession and sale of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, envisions a nation where marijuana education is honest and realistic, and believes treatment for problem marijuana users should be non-coercive and geared toward reducing harm. Read more...
Cannabis use disorder (CUD), also known as cannabis addiction or marijuana addiction, is defined in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and ICD-10 published by World Health Organization as the continued use of cannabis despite clinically significant impairment, ranging from mild to severe. Read more...
Cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant and its derived drugs are known to cause impaired driving in users, with effects on a driver similar to those of alcohol. Meta-analysis of epidemiological studies shows that recent cannabis use elevates the risk of motor vehicle accident 1.5 to 2 times above control. Many jurisdictions have laws forbidding cannabis-impaired driving, and some have per se impairment levels determined by metabolites detected in body fluids. Read more...
Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR), formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, is a UK lobby group which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently for those who need it as medicine. Read more...
The list includes significant events globally in the history of national-level cannabis law. Read more...
Early in January 2006 Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said that on the basis of advice from the Advisory Council, a decision was made not to return cannabis to class B. However, during Prime Minister's Questions on 18 July 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was reviewing again whether to return cannabis to class B status. On 7 May 2008, Smith confirmed that cannabis in the UK would again be classified as a class B drug, despite the Advisory Council's recommendation. On 26 January 2009, cannabis was reclassified as a class B drug. The reclassification of cannabis to a class B drug had been hinted at as early as 2005 by allies of Gordon Brown, on the election night in 2005, Ed Balls stated that cannabis and the war in Iraq were mistakes that the Labour party had to learn from. Read more...
High Times is a New York–based monthly magazine founded in 1974 by Tom Forçade. The publication advocates the legalization of cannabis. The magazine has been involved in the marijuana-using counterculture since its inception. Read more...
Cannabis sativa female- recreational/medicinal marijuana, not hemp

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. Read more...
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a membership-based 501(c)(3) organization working to raise awareness and understanding of psychedelic substances. MAPS was founded in 1986 by Rick Doblin, and is now based in Santa Cruz, California.

MAPS helps scientists design, fund, and obtain regulatory approval for studies of the safety and effectiveness of a number of controlled substances. MAPS works closely with government regulatory authorities worldwide such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to ensure that all of its sponsored research protocols conform to ethical and procedural guidelines for clinical drug research. Included in MAPS' research efforts are MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); LSD and psilocybin for the treatment of anxiety, cluster headaches, and depression associated with end-of-life issues; ibogaine for the treatment of opiate addiction, ayahuasca for the treatment of drug addiction and PTSD; medical marijuana for PTSD; and alternative delivery systems for medical marijuana such as vaporizers and water pipes. MAPS officials say the organization's ultimate goal is to establish a network of clinics where these and other treatments can be provided together with other therapies under the guidance of trained, licensed physicians and therapists.

In addition to sponsoring scientific research, MAPS organizes continuing medical education (CME) conferences, sponsors and presents lectures and seminars on the state of psychedelic and medical marijuana research, provides psychedelic harm reduction services through the Zendo Project at events such as music festivals and Burning Man, and publishes a triannual magazine-style publication, the MAPS Bulletin, with updates about its ongoing research efforts, legal struggles, and educational initiatives. MAPS also publishes books dealing with the science, history, and culture of psychedelic research and psychedelic therapy. Read more...
Madrid, Spain. May 8, 2004. Million Joint March (La Marcha del Millón de Porros en Madrid, Mayo 2004), part of the Million Marijuana March.

The Global Marijuana March (GMM), also referred to as the Million Marijuana March (MMM), is an annual rally held at different locations around the world on the first Saturday in May. A notable event in cannabis culture, it is associated with cannabis-themed events, which may include marches, meetings, rallies, raves, concerts, festivals, and attempts at educational outreach.

The first Global Marijuana March was held in 1999. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have participated in over 829 different cities in 72 countries. Locally, the Global Marijuana March is associated with names including World Cannabis Day, Cannabis Liberation Day, Global Space Odyssey, Ganja Day, J Day, and Million Blunts March. Read more...
Different religions have varying stances on the use of cannabis, historically and presently. In ancient history some religions used cannabis as an entheogenic, particularly in South Asia where the tradition continues on a more limited basis.

In the modern era, religions with prohibitions against intoxicants, such as Islam, Buddhism, Bahai, Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and others have opposed the use of cannabis by members, or in some cases opposed the liberalization of cannabis laws. Other groups, such as some Protestant and Jewish factions, have supported the use of medicinal cannabis. Read more...
The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advance drug policy and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War. As of April 2017, they have more than 180 representatives around the world who speak on behalf of over 5,000 law enforcement members and 100,000 supporters.

The organization transitioned from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition into the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in January 2017. They previously focused on ending the War on Drugs and now discuss a broad range of issues relating to policing and criminal justice - from procedural justice practices to reducing recidivism. Their overarching message is about reducing crime and violence and improving public safety, while the issues they discuss fall into five key areas: improving police-community relations, reducing and finding alternatives to incarceration, improving access to harm reduction services, ending the War on Drugs, and global issues. Read more...
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub.L. 75–238, 50 Stat. 551, enacted August 2, 1937, was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The seventy-fifth Congress held hearings on April 27, 28, 29th, 30th, and May 4, 1937. Upon the congressional hearings confirmation, the H.R. 6385 act was redrafted as H.R. 6906 and introduced with House Report 792. The Act is now commonly referred to, using the modern spelling, as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. This act was overturned in 1969 in Leary v. United States, and was repealed by Congress the next year. Read more...

Charas (Hindi/Urdu) is the name given to a hashish form of cannabis which is handmade in many South Asian countries and Jamaica. It is made from the resin of the cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica). The plant grows wild throughout Northern India along the stretch of the Himalayas (its putative origin) and is an important cash crop for the local people. The difference between charas and hashish is that hashish is made from a dead cannabis plant and charas is made from a live one. Read more...

Adult lifetime cannabis use by country is the lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among all adults in surveys among the general population. Lifetime prevalence means any use of cannabis during a person’s life. Unless another reference is indicated (see "References" column) all the data comes from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addictions statistical bulletin from 2007. Read more...
Kyllo v. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001), held in a 5–4 decision that the use of a thermal imaging, or FLIR, device from a public vantage point to monitor the radiation of heat from a person's home was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and thus required a warrant. Read more...
World laws on possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use.
  Illegal but decriminalized, unprotected rights
  Illegal but often unenforced, unprotected or no rights
  Illegal, no rights

Cannabis rights or marijuana rights are individual civil and human rights that vary by jurisdiction considerably. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from employment discrimination and housing discrimination.

Anti-cannabis laws include civil infractions and fines, imprisonment, and even the death penalty. Read more...
ADPF 187 (June 15, 2011), is a landmark Brazil Supreme Court case. The rapporteur Celso de Mello voted in favor of protests of decriminalization of drugs. Read more...
Statue of Louis Pasteur created by Benny Bufano at San Rafael High School, said to be the site of the original 4:20 gatherings

420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term in cannabis culture that refers to the consumption of cannabis, especially smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m. (or 16:20 in 24-hour notation) and smoking cannabis in celebration on the date April 20 (which is 4/20 in U.S. form). Read more...
Cannabis flower with visible trichomes

The long-term effects of cannabis have been the subject of ongoing debate. Because cannabis is illegal in most countries, research presents a challenge; as such, there remains much to be concluded. Read more...
Tincture of cannabis, sometimes known as green dragon, is an alcoholic extract of cannabis. Cannabis tinctures are used in the production of specific extracts, like nabiximols. Read more...
Common hemp

Cannabis (/ˈkænəbɪs/) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa; or all three may be treated as subspecies of a single species, C. sativa. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Central Asia, with some researchers also including upper South Asia in its origin.

The plant is also known as hemp, although this term is often used to refer only to varieties of Cannabis cultivated for non-drug use. Cannabis has long been used for hemp fibre, for hemp oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. To satisfy the UN Narcotics Convention, some cannabis strains have been bred to produce minimal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent. Many plants have been selectively bred to produce a maximum of THC (cannabinoids), which is obtained by curing the flowers. Various compounds, including hashish and hash oil, are extracted from the plant.

Globally, in 2013, 60,400 kilograms of cannabis were produced legally. In 2014 there were an estimated 182.5 million cannabis users (3.8% of the population aged 15–64). This percentage has not changed significantly between 1998 and 2014. Read more...
GHaze x Dieselryder autoflower

Autoflowering cannabis varieties automatically switch from vegetative growth to the flowering stage with age, as opposed to the ratio of light to dark hours required with photoperiod dependent/short-day strains. Many autoflowers will be ready to harvest in less than 10 weeks from seed. Dwarf varieties can have short stature while still giving decent yield. Conversely "super autos" can take over 100 days to mature and can reach over 6 feet tall. Read more...
The California Cannabis Research Medical Group (CCRMG) is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating physicians about the medical use of cannabis.

The group was established by Tod Mikuriya, MD to help physicians share and exchange data about cannabis use by their patients. In 2004, the CCRMG formed The Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC) to facilitate voluntary medical standards for physician-approved cannabis under California law (HSC §11362.5).

The CCRMG published their research findings in the unconventional Journal of Cannabis in Clinical Practice O'Shaughnessy and is in the process of developing an online research archive. CCMRG maintains the William B. O'Shaughnessy Archives. Read more...
Cannabis tea (also known as herbal tea, weed tea, pot tea, ganja tea, or green tea) is a cannabis-infused drink made with cannabis infused in hot or cold water. Properly produced decarboxylated cannabis teas are very effective when ingested. Read more...
The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) is a non-profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers and supporters in the United States and Canada. The group petitions for fair and equal treatment of industrial hemp. Since 1992, the HIA has been dedicated to education, industry development, and the accelerated expansion of hemp world market supply and demand.

The HIA was founded by cannabis activist and author Chris Conrad, who also served as the organization's first president.

In 2010, the organization bought the diaries of Lyster Dewey and plans to display them to the public for the first time in many years. Read more...
The "Nirvana" head shop in Dublin, Ireland. A large image of a cannabis leaf adorns the front of the store.

A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. Products may include magazines (e.g., about cannabis culture, cannabis cultivation, tattooing and music), clothing, and home décor (e.g., posters and wall hangings illustrating drug culture themes such as cannabis, jam bands like The Grateful Dead, psychedelic art, etc.). Some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks and sex toys. Since the 1980s, some head shops have sold clothing related to the heavy metal or punk subculture, such as band T-shirts and cloth patches with band logos, studded wristbands, bullet belts and leather boots. Head shops emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and many of them had close ties to the anti-Vietnam War movement as well as groups in the marijuana legalization movement like LeMar, Amorphia, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Products offered typically include hashish pipes, "one hitter" pipes; pipe screens; bongs (also referred to as water pipes); roach clips (used for smoking the end of a marijuana "joint"); vaporizers used for inhaling THC vapour from cannabis; rolling papers; rolling machines; small weighing scales; small ziplock baggies; cannabis grinders; blacklight-responsive posters and blacklights; incense; cigarette lighters; "stashes", which include a range of standard consumer products such as clocks, books, tins of cleaning powder and toilet brushes which have hidden compartments for cannabis and non-camouflaged "stash boxes" which are tins or wooden containers for storing marijuana; and legal highs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide) and Salvia divinorum (both of which are illegal in some countries and some US states for recreational purposes). Some head shops also sell items used for home cultivation of marijuana plants, such as hydroponic equipment and lights and guidebooks on cultivation. Since the 2000s, some head shops also sell e-cigarettes and the flavoured liquids used with these devices. Read more...
Marc and Jodie Emery, former publisher and editor

Cannabis Culture is a Canadian online magazine and former print magazine devoted to cannabis and the worldwide cannabis subculture. Cannabis Culture publishes stories about the struggle to legalize marijuana, profiles of marijuana paraphernalia, articles on how to grow marijuana, interviews with prominent marijuana users, and coverage of cannabis cultural events like the Nimbin MardiGrass festival and the High Times Cannabis Cup. Read more...
A cannabis plant

Terms related to cannabis include: Read more...
The legal history of cannabis in the United States pertains to the regulation of cannabis (legal term marijuana or marihuana) for medical, recreational, and industrial purposes in the United States. Increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.

Cannabis was officially outlawed for any use (medical included) with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. Multiple efforts to reschedule cannabis under the CSA have failed, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Gonzales v. Raich that the federal government has a right to regulate and criminalize cannabis, even for medical purposes. Despite this, states and other jurisdictions have continued to implement policies that conflict with federal law, beginning with the passage of California's Proposition 215 in 1996. By 2016 a majority of states had legalized medical cannabis, and in 2012 the first states legalized recreational use. Read more...