Marijuana hemp cultivation

In recent years, the cultivation ol hemp has been subject to controls because marijuana is prepared from the dried leaves and Dowers of the plant, which then are smoked 111 the lorm ol cigarettes as a narcotic. The species Ctmmibi iiiiliftr is usually used in Ibis innnec tinn... 

Marijuana is the flowering part of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa, a weed-like species that grows wild and is also cultivated in many tropical and temperate parts of the world. Cannabis means hemp in Latin and is derived from the Greek word kannabis. Marijuana probably comes from the Mexican Spanish marijuana/marihuana (Mary s leaf or plant) or from Maria and Juan (Mary and John). Among its many names, marijuana is commonly known as weed, ganja, mary jane, and pot. 

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Statement on the Cultivation of Industrial Hemp, 2002. http //www.norml.org. 

Marijuana is an ancient drug used since prehistoric times in parts of the Old World. It is a product of the hemp plant. Cannabis sativa, a species that also provides a useful fiber, an edible seed, an oil, and a medicine. That is a lot for one plant to do, vsrhich explains why it has always been an important cultivated crop. Cannabis is probably native to central Asia. It tends to grow in waste places around camps and settlements and has been associated with human beings for so long that it is unknown in a truly wild state. 

The cannabis plant has been cultivated for centuries both for the production of hemp flber and for its presumed medicinal and psychoactive properties. The smoke from burning cannabis contains many chemicals, including 61 different cannabinoids that have been identified. One of these, A-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (A-9-THC), produces most of the characteristic pharmacological effects of smoked marijuana. 

Since outlawing marijuana would make all cannabis cultivation illegal, Congress also wanted to hear testimony from representatives of the rope, paint, and birdseed industries that used hemp for their products. Representatives from the rope and paint industries testified that they could use other raw materials in place of hemp. The representative of the birdseed industry, however, said no other seeds produced the glossy feathers that hemp seed did and they wanted to keep using hemp seed. As a result of that testimony, birdseed companies later received an exemption from the Marihuana Tax Act. They were allowed to use imported hemp seeds that have been treated so they do not sprout. That exemption remains in effect today. 

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