medical use, and the plant and its medicinal preparations fell into disgrace.
Nevertheless, towards the end of the twentieth century there was considerable
unauthorized dispensing of marijuana to gravely ill people by so-called“compas-
sion clubs”(Feldman and Mandel 1998 ), in addition to widespread self-medication
using illegal street marijuana. In 1996, voters approved Proposition 215, making
California thefirst American state to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis. In
2001, Canada became thefirst country in the world to adopt a federal system
regulating the use of herbal marijuana for“medicinal purposes” (Fisher and
Johnston 2002 ).
Currently, medical marijuana has been authorized in several jurisdictions, and its
use is rapidly expanding in Western countries. In the last several decades, there
have been great advances in the scientific understanding of how cannabis affects
human physiology, and new therapeutic products and technologies are either under
development, being tested, or in some cases already accepted as useful.
1.6.4.5 Architecture and Anatomy
The most fundamental way that plants domesticated for high-THC production differ
from wildC. sativaand from plants domesticated for eitherfiber in the stem or
oilseed production is simply in gene (allelic) frequencies favoring THC rather than
CBD biosynthesis. Such differences are of course cryptic (not evident by appear-
ance). However, there seems to have been selection for concentration and distri-
bution of the secretory glands, with very large densities of the glands and larger
glands present on thefloral bracts of some strains. Small and Naraine (2016b) found
that a sample of currently marketed elite medical strains was distinguishable by
appearance: they possessed much larger trichome secretory gland heads in the
inflorescence, with over four times the volume of gland heads compared to wild
biotypes and industrial hemp cultivars. Another feature often found in high-THC
strains is congested female inflorescences, an obvious response to selection for
production of numerous, well-formed“buds,”which are increasingly demanded in
the marijuana trade.
Ironically, law enforcement pressure in recent decades has had the unintended
effects of (1) driving marijuana production indoors where it is harder to locate, and
(2) increasing potency. Cannabis quality and yield efficiency have been greatly
improved by breeders and cultivators, especially in the Netherlands and North
America, since the early 1970s. Breeding has generated strains that are more potent,
more productive, faster maturing, hardier and more attractive to consumers. Yields
have also been increased dramatically by improved cultivation techniques. The
cultivation of elite female clones and the use of indoor production techniques that
hide plants from the authorities (typically in bedrooms, basements, attics, closets,
garages or sheds) have become common. Some growers are able to harvest up to six
crops annually, with much greater or faster growth in smaller spaces than achieved
previously.
1 Classification ofCannabis sativaL. in Relation... 27