3.1 Introduction
Cannabis(Cannabis sativaL.) is an annual herb which has been dispersed and
cultivated by humans in almost all parts of the world from the tropics, to alpine
foothills. It is one of the oldest plant sources for seed oil, intoxicant resin, medicine
and textilefiber (Kriese et al. 2004 ; Zuardi 2006 ). Archaeological evidences indi-
cate that cultivation ofCannabiswas originated in China forfiber crop and sub-
sequently spread to the Middle East, Europe and South America during the early
16th Century (Nelson 1996 ; Schultes et al. 1974 ). It is difficult to pinpoint its
original geographical distribution since this species has been spread and modified
by humans for thousands of years. Hemp cultivation was introduced to North
America during 1606 through Port Royal, Canada (Small and Marcus 2002 ).
Cannabishas been used as a natural therapeutic herb throughout the history. The
early references ofCannabisbeing used in medical practices go as far back as the
6th century BCE, and it was introduced in Western Europe as a medicine in the
early 19th century to treat epilepsy, tetanus, rheumatism, migraine, asthma,
trigeminal neuralgia, fatigue, and insomnia. At present,Cannabisis considered as a
schedule 1 drug and its cultivation (drug type or hemp) is prohibited and highly
regulated in United States, under the federal law.
3.2 The PlantCannabisand Cannabinoids
Cannabisis the only genus of theCannabaceaefamily. The number of species in
the genusCannabisis a controversial subject and is a continuing matter of debate
with a number of reports proposing a polytypic (multiple-species) genus, whereas
others suggestCannabisas a single (monotypic), highly polymorphic species,C.
sativaL. (Emboden 1974 ; Hillig 2004 , 2005 ; Hillig and Mahlberg 2004 ; Small
1975a,b; Small and Cronquist 1976 ; Gilmore et al. 2003 ; Small 2015 ). The pioneer
modern taxonomist Swede Carl Linnaeus ( 1753 ) treatedCannabisas a single
species, whereas Lamarck ( 1785 ) described‘IndianCannabisstrain’taxonomically
different than‘European hemp’and gave it a specificname‘Cannabis indica’.
The taxonomic disagreement still revolves around how to assign scientific names
to differentCannabisstrains with different morphological and chemical profiles,
specifically the modern hybrid varieties. In recent reports, Hillig ( 2004 , 2005 ),
McPartland and Guy ( 2004 ) and Clarke and Merlin ( 2013 ) accept a two (or three)
species interpretation; while a report by Small ( 2015 ) suggests one species system
with different varieties.
On the other hand, in a recent discussion, cannabinoid and terpenoid profiling as
a basis of classification ofCannabis is suggested (Piomelli and Russo 2016 ,
Hazekamp et al. 2016 ). The taxonomic classification ofCannabis sativais as
follows:
80 S. Chandra et al.