OUTLOOK CANNABIS
THE CANNABIS CROP
Cannabis is one of humanity’s oldest cultivated crops. But despite its long history and many uses,
hard facts on its evolution and impact on the human body are in short supply. By Julie Gould.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANTONIO ROMERO/SPL; CREATIVE COMMONS; DAVE LONG/GETTY IMAGES; D-KURU/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
WHAT IS WEED? Various strains of cannabis exist, but there is no consensus on taxonomy. Sativa,
indica and ruderalis might be three separate species or subspecies of Cannabis sativa. DIVERSE USES
Cannabis plants grown for fibre or hemp oil will differ
in chemical make-up from those grown for medicinal
or recreational use.
SATIVA ~ 5 m Cannabinoids are Material
The outer layer
From the latin for produced in trichomes
cultivated, these ― small, mushroom of the plant
plants are tall and -like growths, consists of long
branched. They thought to protect bast fibres,
are the most the plant from which can be
common strain for ultraviolet light, used to make
all uses. predators and fabrics.
dehydration.
Medicine and
intoxicants
Trichomes on
leaves and buds
(pictured)
INDICA 1 – 2 m produce the
These short, broad-leaved plants plant’s
are often used to make hashish. medically useful
substances.
RUDERALIS < 1 m
The scrawny
‘roadside’ plants
Food and
have lower levels of
cosmetics
cannabinoids and
Hemp seeds
are used for
are technically
cross-breeding.
nuts and
contain more
than 30% oil
and 25%
protein.
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is responsible for the mental high that can result from using cannabis. But there
are many other cannabinoids and chemicals found in the plant, the roles of which are as yet unknown.
Cannabis contains hundreds of chemical compounds1. As well as Δ8- and Δ9-THC are the main
the archetypal cannabinoids, there are flavonoids, terpenes, fatty psychoactive ingredients. They bind
acids and more, all with potential medical uses (see page S6). to CB1 receptors in the human body,
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441 non-cannabinoids
A nonpsychoactive component of cannabis that indirectly affects CB1 and CB2 receptors. Cannabinol was the first cannabinoid to be isolated in 1899.
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CANNABIS OUTLOOK
THE RESEARCH The legal status of cannabis worldwide is in flux. One country and several US states have made herbal cannabis fully legal.
Four countries have formal federal research programmes. Elsewhere, many countries have special exemptions for prescribed
LANDSCAPE medical cannabis; others have decriminalized possession (not shown). Outside Europe and North America, however,
severe punishments for even minor offences are common.
Netherlands Germany
Czech Republic
Belgium There are seven main
Austria
66,000
funding bodies that
support cannabis
Canada research. These are
United States
Since 2001, coordinated by the
HECTARES Health Canada’s
Spain
National Monitoring
Estimated land area 2 Marihuana Medical Centre for Drugs and
Access Division has Drug Addiction.
under cultivation regulated access
Israel
for cannabis and funding for The country has one of the
cannabis research. oldest cannabis research
in 2012. programmes in the world Italy
(see page S12). In 1999, The Italian army is
the Ministry of Health growing cannabis
Alaska
began issuing licences for for medical
medical marijuana use. products.
Washington
Oregon
Colorado
District of
Columbia
Uruguay
30
Number of countries
The only country
Hawaii breaking the International in Europe, Asia and
United States Conventions on Drug North and South
The US federal government deems cannabis Control by permitting the
consumption illegal, but four states and the full commercialization of
America that
District of Columbia have legalised its the cannabis trade, from grow hemp3.
recreational use4. ‘seed to shelf’.
Full legalization Federal, funded cannabis research programme Explicit exemption for medical marijuana
PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Brain
There is some clinical evidence that CBD can treat
The body’s endocannabinoid system was epilepsy. But the strongest evidence for a link between
discovered in 1988 as a result of THC research. So epilepsy and the endocannabinoid system comes from
far, only two receptors have been studied in detail, basic research into neuronal signalling.
although more have been found. Despite what the
name suggests, there is not an exclusive Central nervous system
relationship between cannabinoids and the Smoking cannabis can reduce HIV-associated
endocannabinoid system: phytocannabinoids chronic pain. Cannabinoids may be beneficial
target a range of receptors. for the treatment of chronic neuropathic or
cancer pain5.
Liver
CB1 receptor signalling is linked to liver fibrosis,
whereas CB2 receptor signalling reduces fibrosis.
CB1 CB2 Endocrine system
Animal studies have shown that THC can suppress
The two best known cannabinoid receptors reproductive hormones, prolactin and growth hormones,
are: CB1, which is mostly found in the central but effects in humans have been inconsistent6.
nervous system and to a lesser extent in
peripheral nerves, the uterus, testes, bones
and other body tissues; and CB2, which Muscles
exists mostly in the immune system. A combination of THC and CBD can alleviate muscle
spasms in multiple sclerosis5.
1. Pertwee, R. G. (ed) The Handbook of Cannabis (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014). 2. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. World Drug Report 2014 (UN, 2014); 3.
Johnson, R. Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity (Congressional Research Service, 2015). 4. The Economist. 5. Whiting, P. F. et al. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 313, 2456–2473
(2015). 6. Brown, T. T. et al. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 42, 90S–96S (2002).
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