Difference Between Cannabis and Hemp?
With the rise in the level of interest brought on by the rising popularity of CBD and all the health benefits attributed to it, there appears to be a lot of confusion regarding the names associated with this product.
Traditionally, many different names have been associated with this plant. Some of these include weed, marijuana, pot, cannabis, hemp, and more. With more studies now being carried out on this subject, certain clarifications and differences that many may not have been aware of are beginning to emerge.
In this article, we will be focusing on the difference between cannabis and hemp explaining why people use hemp-derived delta 8 THC. The goal shall be to determine if there indeed is any difference between the two and if there are, enumerate them,
Contents
What is Cannabis?
Starting from the very basics, cannabis is actually the name of a genus under the Cannabaceae plant family. All of these plants or products (whatever the name they are called) are under the Cannabis genus.
Under this genus, you have three species (though there are still some disputations) – Cannabis sativa, Cannabis ruderalis, and Cannabis indica. You can read about it in this article. Today, however, people usually refer to marijuana as cannabis, and we will be basing our comparison on this popular usage. We just provided the information above for some background clarity.
Given the above, our usage of cannabis will refer to marijuana, pot, or weed. Cannabis can be described as any species of this plant that contains over 0.3% of THC. It can, therefore, only be marijuana, pot, or weed if it can get you high. It is very difficult to find Cannabis with high purity online, but Canmedi has various sorts of cannabis with high quality and purity.
What is Hemp?
From the definition we looked at above, it should be clear that hemp is actually a part of this same family. In fact, some experts are stating that it is incorrect to describe these two as being different species. The argument is that separating these two is like classifying two sets of oranges into different groups simply because one set is sweet, and the other is not.
Aside from any other differences, some of which we will list below, the major one is that hemp describes plants under the cannabis genus that does not contain more than 0.3% of THC. Given this reality, it cannot, in a lot of situations, be put to the same use as regular cannabis.
For centuries, hemp has mainly been cultivated for its industrial use, which is why it is also known as industrial hemp. It is recorded to have over 50, 000 uses, which is quite impressive. In fact, as far back as 2800 BCE, it has cultivated for its fiber, which is used for clothing, sail, and many other essential products.
Practically every part of this plan has some important use, as you can see in this article here: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/02/09/hemp-vs-marijuana-whats-the-difference.aspx. We will just list a few examples of these uses in case you do not have the time to go through the article linked above.
The Leaves – They have medicinal value because CBD oil can also be extracted from them.
The Stalk – This is where the fiber we mentioned earlier is gotten from. They can also be used for making paper.
The Seed – This probably offers the most uses, which include oils, animal feed, body care products, dietary supplements, and more.
Roots – These also have medicinal applications.
These are obviously just a few of the 50, 000 uses.
Difference between the Two
Let’s now try to look at a side by side comparison of these two, so we can determine their points of similarity and difference.
| Cannabis | Hemp |
| ★ It can happen derived from the Indica or Sativa species; ★ Has broader leaves; ★ THC levels contained in it can reach up to 30%, which is why it will get you high; ★ It is mainly cultivated for medicinal or recreational use; ★ It is still largely regulated by Federal law. This includes the CBD extracted from it. | ★ Can only be derived from the Sativa species; ★ Has leaner leaves; ★ THC levels contained in it are about 0.3% which is why it is not used for recreational purposes; ★ It is mainly cultivated for commercial use as its fiber is required for numerous industrial uses. It can, however also be used for food products like hemp flour and cooking oil as well as medicinal purposes like the extraction of CBD oil; ★ It is largely unregulated, and this includes any CBD extracted from it.
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The above just describes the main differences between cannabis and hemp. From everything we have looked at above, it is clear that these two plants are important and can be useful to us, especially if we know exactly what we need them for.
What has been the single most important aspect of the recent popularity of this plant family is CBD oil, and all the health benefits it offers. Since CBD oil can be extracted from these two, it makes them both equally useful to us on the medicinal level. Yes, from our description above, it appears that hemp may offer additional health benefits, but these are not as commonly known as those offered by CBD oil.
One thing that is important in this new rage is the need for a good understanding of whatever products we choose to purchase for our use. Thankfully, there are a number of places where we can get information to help us choose products that will indeed offer us the benefits we seek, and we can find one such website here.
Always ensure you take some time to carry out a thorough investigation to avoid getting the wrong product. One of the main challenges facing this industry today is the lack of proper regulation. This has resulted in the proliferation of sub-standard products and false claims. By carefully researching any product you want to purchase, especially relying on expert reviews from more experienced individuals, you will be in a better position to know the products you should go for so as to get the best results.
