What is cannabis?
Cannabis is a flowering plant that has been used for centuries for industrial, medical, and recreational purposes. The leaves and flowers are covered with trichomes - tiny glands of resinous oil containing cannabinoids (class of chemical compounds) and terpenes that, when consumed, can provide physical and psychoactive effects.
There are more than 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, of which the most well known and studied are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
- THC: Principal psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, which means it is the cannabinoid responsible for the “high” or euphoria.
- CBD: The other major compound without the psychoactive effects, lacking the “high” users experience with THC. CBD reaches the body’s receptors associated with pain, inflammation and anxiety.
Other names
Cannabis is also known as weed, dope, pot, joint, grass, hash, reefer, herb, mull, skunk, buddha, stick, buckets, hooch, cones, hydro, yarndi, smoke and ganja.
How can it be used?
There are many ways cannabis can be consumed. This includes:
- Smoking it as a dried plant
- Drinking it as a beverage or brewing it into tea
- Inhaling it as a vapour
- Spraying it under the tongue
- Applying it to the skin (topical)
- Eating it in prepared foods (edibles)
What is a cannabis strain?
With thousands of available strains, individuals can easily get overwhelmed and/or confused when it comes to selecting the best strain for their desired effect. Cultivators specifically bred their plants, based on the intended use. As a result, variations in cultivation began to develop, which then became known as strains.
Strains are generally divided into three categories - indica, sativa, and hybrid. What does this even mean?