The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper.
There are three types of cannabis species the Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis:
The first (and arguably the most common) species is called Cannabis Sativa. Within the realm of cannabis, sativa is a very large plant, with a height reaching anywhere from 6.5-19.6 feet (2-6 meters). It’s not particularly dense with foliage, however, being far more impressive in its height.
The leaves of the sativa species are delicate, and the seeds are smooth, without any marbling or flecks. Sativa is relatively slow to flower and is less affected by changes in light cycles than the other species of cannabis. Sativa is usually found below a latitude of 30° N, in places like India, Thailand, Nigeria, Mexico, and Colombia.
Cannabis Indica is significantly denser than Sativa, although it is also much shorter, clocking in between 3.2-9.8 feet (1-3 meters) tall on average. The lush foliage is made up of rounder, more robust leaves than the Sativa, which has a more jagged angular appearance. The seeds are very similar, with marbled coloring and a smooth surface.
Flowering occurs more rapidly in Indica varieties than it does for Sativa, and it’s more susceptible to changes in light cycle that induce flowering. It is most commonly found above 30° N, in countries like Nepal, Lebanon, Morocco, and Afghanistan.
Indica flowers and buds are spaced much closer to each other than the buds and flowers found in Sativa, and very sticky and resinous by comparison. Indica is the variety traditionally chosen to make hashish, in part because of the high volume of resin. The drug effect from Indica has a strong ‘stoned’ feel, due to the high amount of CBN in the plant. Sometimes there is even more CBN than THC in the plant.
Of the primary varieties, it is cannabis ruderalis that is the least well-known. This is not because of it’s size, although the ruderalis plant is extremely short, usually ranging from 11.8-23.6 inches (30-60 centimeters) in height. Like Indica, Ruderalis has a remarkably thick foliage. Ruderalis has an extremely early and fast flowering cycle because it grows farther north than any other types of marijuana and so doesn’t have the luxury of a lot of time to mature before cold weather hits. Ruderalis is used to produce autoflowerers.
