Hemp and marijuana both produce the cannabinoids that we’ve come to know and love. However, while these two are actually very similar in many ways, there are some important differences when it comes to hemp vs marijuana.
Hemp vs Marijuana: Differences
It’s commonly believed that hemp and marijuana are two different species of plant, but the truth is that both of them are technically the same species–Cannabis Sativa L. To keep things simple, you can pretty much just think of hemp as another strain of cannabis.
This means that, while hemp plants can look a little different than regular cannabis plants, they are still pretty close to the same thing. Physically, hemp plants are usually taller and skinnier, while marijuana is typically shorter and bushier. Hemp plants also possess fewer leaves near the bottom of the plant, and more near the top.
The big factor when it comes to hemp vs marijuanas difference is the cannabinoid content. While marijuana plants can reach monster THC levels of over 30%, hemp plants possess less than 0.3% THC content.
This is the important difference when it comes to the hemp vs marijuana difference in legality. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and rules about its use vary at the state level. Hemp, however, has long enjoyed legal status in several states since it doesn’t impart an intoxicating ‘high’ and it has many industrial uses.
Hemp vs Marijuana: Uses
Both hemp and marijuana have a rich history and have been used for thousands of years, albeit for different purposes. The different ways in which these two have been, and continue to be, used are some of the biggest hemp vs marijuanas differences.
The use of marijuana dates as far back as 2,500 years ago, and possibly even earlier. The marijuana variety of cannabis sativa L has long been prized for its psychoactive and therapeutic properties, since it contains both THC and CBD. Marijuana has been used as medicine, for fun, or for religious purposes, by a variety of cultures around the world.
Hemp, by comparison, has had a very different history—though it also contains CBD in abundance. Hemp has been cultivated for over 10,000 years mostly for practical purposes. Its tall shape and fibrous consistency make it useful for a variety of different industrial purposes and made it a crucial crop for many different civilizations. Over the years hemp has been used to make a wide variety of household products, including rope, textiles, shoes, clothing, paper, food, netting, ink, plastics, and more.
Hemp Oil vs Marijuana Oil
While you’re unlikely to ever find hemp flower at your local dispensary, you may come across hemp-based cannabis oils. The recent popularization of cannabis oils saw hemp enter the fold as a medicinal plant due to its CBD content. CBD can be extracted from both marijuana and hemp, leading many hemp producers to grow hemp for extraction purposes.
There’s really no practical difference between hemp oil and marijuana oil. Hemp oil can deliver the same amount of CBD as cannabis oil, and does it in the same way and through the same mechanisms.
When it comes to hemp oil vs marijuana oil, the only difference to be aware of is hemp’s status as a bioaccumulator. Bioaccumulator plants have a tendency to suck up compounds that exist in the soil they are grown in, including nasty ones such as toxins, chemicals, and heavy metals.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you should avoid products made with hemp instead of cannabis. It just means that you should make a point of buying hemp products that have been lab tested and that are sold by trustworthy producers–like the ones that we stock at our dispensary.
Drop by our Oklahoma dispensary today or check out our online menu right now to browse a wide selection of premium cannabis products, including fine lab-tested cannabis oils that you can trust to be clean, reliable, and effective.
