Pharmacology of Marihuana (Cannabis sativa)

Abstract

THE ANNUAL PLANT Cannabis sativa-notorious under the names marihuana and hashish and known more benignly as Indian hemp-grows wild in many parts of the world. It is often considered a highly valuable crop, as the plants may grow to a height of 3-4 m and yield a multitude of products: hemp rope and twine from the trunk fibers, oil from the seeds, and licit or illicit drugs from the leaves and flowers. Indeed, cannabis (to use the name of the genus as its vernacular name) was brought to the Western Hemisphere by 16th-century Spaniards. It was a significant fiber and seed crop in the early British colonies in North America, including, for example, a portion of George Washington's plantation at Mount Vernon. According to Boyce (1912), Virginia awarded bounties for hemp culture and manufacture, and imposed penalties on those who did not produce it. It appears that the farmers of colonial times were largely unaware of the pharmacologic potentiality of cannabis (Andrews and Vinkenoog 1967). When the major supply lines from the Orient were cut off during World War II, varieties of hemp selected for high fiber content were cultivated in North America.