Marijuana and Hemp are not the same things, however they do belong to the same species of plant, cannabis sativa. It’s believed cannabis was first cultivated between 9-10,000 years ago. The more durable plant is hemp. The main difference is that marijuana has flowers with psychoactive properties. It’s not possible to get high off hemp because it doesn’t contain enough THC. Cannabis plants that contain below 0.03% THC are considered hemp.
It’s vital to understand what cannabis is and why did people misunderstand it when it was illegal. There are multiple names for marijuana which include weed, reefer, ganja, tree, dry herb, and of course cannabis. The control substance act in 1970 made hemp into a schedule 1 drug. It was known as the gateway drug and commercials ran throughout the USA advising against its use. A lot of people of color ended up being affected than any other people with criminal charges related to marijuana. This misleading spear campaign on cannabis created a misconception of cannabis and its many healing properties.
