Dear IDMU
I have been busted for growing cannabis indica, not
cannabis sativa, the misuse of drugs act 1971 states
(any plant of the genus cannabis, the species known
to pharmacology is sativa.) also in the encyclopaedia
Britannica it states, the genus cannabis contains
only one species sativa. I was not growing sativa,
so I am pleading not guilty to the charges. I have
been trying to find a botanist to help with my trial,
your site was recommended to me, one of the key points
of my plant is the flowering time, if im telling the
truth and I am, then premating isolation is in place,
and my plants would not fertilise the species sativa,
and therefore would be of a separate spieces. any
help you could provide me would be appreciated.
IDMU reply
Sativa,
Indica and Ruderalis are all sub-species of the genus
cannabis, and are all equally 'illegal' under UK law.
They can all inter-breed freely, and many 'pedigree'
cultivars are indica/sativa hybrids. Authorities disagree
about the number of species of plant which constitute
the genus Cannabis. Although many authorities
continue to class all varieties of the plant, including
Hemp and Marijuana, as Cannabis sativa, it is widely
accepted that there are three separate species or
sub-species: C.sativa being most widely cultivated
in the Western World, was originally grown on an industrial
scale for fibre, oil, and animal feedstuffs, is characterised
by tall growth with few, widely-spaced, branches;
Cannabis indica, originating in south Asia, and also
known historically as Indian Hemp, was cultivated
for the drug content, with shorter bushy plants giving
a much greater yield per unit height; Cannabis
ruderalis is a hardier variety grown in the northern
Himalayas and southern states of the former Soviet
Union, having a more sparse "weedy" growth,
and is rarely cultivated for the drug content .
Those who argue that all three are one species point
to the fact that cross-breeding produces viable and
fertile daughter plants. Technically, therefore,
they can be so considered, in the same (albeit less
extreme) manner as a Great Dane and a Chihuahua are
technically the same species of dog
