The main difference between hemp and marijuana plants is the THC content. Hemp plants contain less than 0.3% THC, while marijuana can have more than 30% THC. This means that CBD flower does not produce the same intoxicating effect as marijuana, and CBD is not intoxicating, while THC has psychoactive effects. Some cannabinoids, mainly THC, are intoxicating, meaning they can make a person feel “high”.
Hemp plants are low in THC, but they can be abundant in other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), which is not intoxicating. It can be difficult to tell if a plant is hemp or marijuana just by looking at it. However, if you see the plant and it looks like a normal marijuana plant with a cluster of eight or nine thinner leaves than normal, the plant may be hemp. The easiest way to differentiate between male and female hemp plants is by studying growths near the nodes. The term cannabis is most often used to describe plant varieties that contain remarkable levels of THC. Hemp plants have a minimum amount of THC, while marijuana has a large amount, more than 0.3%, which exceeds the legal limit.
Sometimes, there may be a medical reason for using the plant, and the doctor may recommend parents to follow that route. Height is an excellent indication of the cannabis plant being treated, as hemp plants have deep roots and long stems. Given how fast it grows, hemp is excellent for sequestering or “trapping” carbon, or for absorbing carbon from the air and transforming it into plant material throughout the hemp plant. Another important part of identifying hemp plants is the ability to distinguish between genera. In the US, plants that contain more than 0.3% THC when dry are illegal because they are classified as “marijuana plants, not hemp plants.” The government has been unable to find a middle ground for drafting regulations on hemp and marijuana because they come from the same plant. HEMP plants generally have only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. To avoid confusion between the two, let's see what characteristics separate these closely related plants.
The hemp plant can produce the CBD flower, which is a mature dried and cured flower of cannabis plants. Without a doubt, the most important fact about the hemp plant is that it doesn't get you high. For a long time, hemp plants were illegal along with other forms of the cannabis plant, such as “marijuana”, and were classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States.
