The evolution of cannabinoid phenotypes inCannabis

Abstract

The medical and public concern over the use of marihuana in our society strongly reflects the fact that Cannabis sativa is indeed an exceptionally important plant. Apart from its drug and fibre products, it is economically important from yet another aspect: that of being a serious weed in some countries, necessitating costly eradication. Botanists are participating in the accelerated research on Cannabis which began roughly five years ago, and several botanical programs are in progress around the world. The research described here may duplicate to some extent the findings of other researchers. We believe, however, that verification of research findings is necessary for a plant as important as Cannabis, particularly as some of our findings either contradict earlier generalizations or have not yet been recorded in the literature. In Canada, one research project on Cannabis is being conducted jointly between the Plant Research Institute of the Canada Department of Agriculture, and the Health Protection Branch of the Canada Department of National Health and Welfare. The senior author is directly responsible for the botanical aspects, and the second author for chemical analysis. Although several aspects are being investigated, the research reported focuses mainly on the question of natural variation in Cannabis sativa, with particular emphasis on the cannabinoids the class of compounds responsible for the psychoactive properties of cannabis drugs. A