Cannabis strain
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Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.
Varieties are developed to intensify specific characteristics of the plant, or to differentiate the strain for the purposes of marketing or to make it more effective as a drug. Variety names are typically chosen by their growers, and often reflect properties of the plant such as taste, color, smell, or the origin of the variety.[2] The Cannabis strains referred to in this article are primarily those varieties with recreational and medicinal use. These varieties have been cultivated to contain a high percentage of cannabinoids. Several varieties of cannabis, known as hemp, have a very low cannabinoid content, and are instead grown for their fiber and seed.
Major variety types
Taxonomic paradigm
The two species of the Cannabis genus that are most commonly grown are
Pure sativas are relatively tall (reaching as high as 4.5 meters), with long
The informal designation sativa and indica may have various, controversial meanings. Morphologically, the name sativa designates tall plants with narrow leaves, while indica refers to short plants with wide leaves. Among the marijuana community however, sativa rather refers to equatorial varieties producing stimulating psychoactive effects, whereas indica-type plants from Central Asia are used for relaxing and sedative drugs (THC:CBD > 1).[7]
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Relative size of cannabis types
Alternative classifications
There is an increasing discussion about whether the differences between species adequately represents the variability found within the genus Cannabis.[8][9][10][11]
There are five chemotaxonomic types of cannabis: one with high levels of THC, one which is more fibrous and has higher levels of CBD, one that is an intermediate between the two, another one with high levels of cannabigerol (CBG), and the last one almost without cannabinoids.[12]
There has also been a recent movement[13] to characterize strains based on their reported subjective effects. For example, WoahStork has used machine learning algorithms to classify strains into six Distinct Activity groups.[14]
Breeding
In addition to pure indica, sativa, and ruderalis varieties, hybrid varieties with varying ratios of these three types are common, such as the White Widow hybrid which has about 60% indica and 40% sativa ancestry. These hybrid varieties exhibit traits from both parental types. There are also commercial
Breeding requires pollinating a female cannabis plant with male pollen. Although this occurs spontaneously and ubiquitously in nature, the intentional creation of new varieties typically involves selective breeding in a controlled environment.
When cannabis is cultivated for its psychoactive or medicinal properties, male plants will often be separated from females. This prevents fertilization of the female plants, either to facilitate sin semilla flowering or to provide more control over which male is chosen. Pollen produced by the male is caught and stored until it is needed.
When a male plant of one strain pollinates a female of another strain, the seeds will be F1 hybrids of the male and female. These offspring will not be identical to their parents. Instead, they will have characteristics of both parents. Repeated breeding results in certain characteristics appearing with greater regularity.
It is impossible for a hermaphrodite to create any male-only seeds. A hermaphrodite may create female only seeds and hermaphrodite seeds. Also the female-only seeds may carry the hermaphrodite trait.[15]
Hybridization is the process of plants and animals breeding. Natural wind currents help speed up this hybridization process and promotes a positive growth. Some plants produce many seeds while some produce little to none depending on how it is bred. If seeds are produced traits from both the original parents will be expressed.
Techniques such as mutation breeding are used to develop new strains using irradiation or chemical mutagens such as colchicine.[16] Various companies have been experimenting with creating new strains using genetic engineering techniques.[17][18][19]
THC vis-à-vis CBD
During the selective breeding process for medical marijuana, THC:CBD ratios are accounted for and accommodated to the needs of the client's preference/illness. Due to the large genetic diversity and different geographical climates and environments, a wide range of strains and properties exist.
THC is associated with the psychoactive high, while CBD is not psychoactive and is purported to have medicinal properties.[20][21][22]
There is little evidence about the safety or efficacy of cannabinoids in the treatment of epilepsy.[23][24]
Genetic stability
In order for there to be genetic stability within a marijuana strain the breeder has to go through selection and breeding, pinpointing the dominant and recessive genes within the two strains being crossed. After analyzing offspring with the preferred traits a breeder is looking for, the breeder will select the preferred traits and continue to breed those offspring to create the desired final product. Selection is a crucial process for a breeder to create a strain, especially if a client is looking for something with specific plant traits the breeder has to ensure that the hybrid's genetic traits have been closed in enough so unwanted traits aren't expressed in future harvests.
Varieties
In a retail market that is decriminalized such as in
Acapulco Gold
Acapulco Gold is a golden-leafed Cannabis sativa strain originally from the Acapulco area of southwest Mexico.[26][27][28]
Bedrocan
Bedrocan is a medicinal cannabis variety cultivated from a
Blue Dream
Blue Dream is a hybrid cannabis strain widely used for both medical and recreational purposes, developed in 2003.[30]
Charlotte's Web
Skunk
Skunk refers to cannabis strains that are strong-smelling and have been likened to the smell of the spray from a skunk. These strains of cannabis are believed to have originated during the early 1990s in the United States prior to larger-scale development and popularization by Dutch growers.[40] Just as with other strains of cannabis, skunk is commonly grown in controlled indoor environments under specialized grow lights, or in a greenhouse when full outdoor conditions are not suitable; skunk strains are hybrids of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica.[40]
Sour Diesel
Sour Diesel is a hybrid strain of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica.
See also
References
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- ^ Tedesco, Laura (December 8, 2014), Why Parents of Children with Epilepsy Are Increasingly Turning to Marijuana, yahoo.com, archived from the original on January 28, 2016, retrieved February 9, 2016,
'Charlotte's Web is high in CBD and low in THC,' ... To many in the medical community, these parents are relying, at best, on shaky science. A 2013 Cochrane review of studies examining CBD as a treatment for epilepsy concluded that, due to the dearth of large, high-quality studies, 'the safety of long-term cannabidiol treatment cannot be reliably assessed.'
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- ^ Realm of Caring Foundation (2014), Realm of Caring: About Us, archived from the original on May 4, 2014, retrieved May 31, 2014
- ^ Martinez, Tracy (March 7, 2014), Touring the marijuana facility growing plants to save children's lives, Al Jazeera America, archived from the original on March 8, 2014, retrieved March 7, 2014
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- ^ Waltz, Vanessa (September 18, 2014), Realm of Caring Announces Charlotte's Web to be Shipped to All 50 US States, Ladybud Magazine, archived from the original on October 20, 2014, retrieved September 19, 2014
- ^ Weed: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports (full transcript), CNN, August 11, 2013, archived from the original on January 2, 2014, retrieved January 1, 2014
See full CNN video Archived 2016-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. - ^ Weed 2: Cannabis Madness, Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports (full transcript), CNN, March 11, 2014, archived from the original on March 15, 2014, retrieved March 15, 2014
CNN's main page. Archived 2021-05-17 at the Wayback Machine See full CNN video Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine. - ^ Osborne, Hannah (June 20, 2014), "Charlotte Figi: The Girl Who is Changing Medical Marijuana Laws Across America", International Business Times, archived from the original on June 23, 2014, retrieved June 22, 2014
- ^ Schaaf, Melissa (September 25, 2014), Hemp Industry Overview, Boulder Weekly, archived from the original on December 6, 2014, retrieved September 26, 2014
- ^ a b "Skunk". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06.
External links
- Media related to Cannabis by strain at Wikimedia Commons