Flowering cannabis plants growing in the summer sun.

Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis, but hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the Cannabis Sativa species. The difference between the two lies in the chemical profile of each plant. To be classified as hemp, the plant needs to have less than 0.3% THC (by dried weight), while anything over 0.3% THC is classified as marijuana. CBD can be derived from both hemp and marijuana plants.

Although they’re different varieties of the same plant, hemp and marijuana have different uses, and different amounts of CBD or THC. Hemp has provided many types of fiber, food uses, oil, and biofuel for many years. Hemp can even be used to produce plastics. Due to the lack of THC in any meaningful amount, hemp plants are legal throughout most of the world. Nobody is getting high off hemp, so government regulators have started to loosen restrictions on the plant in recent years. For this reason, most of the CBD products available on the market are made from hemp plants instead of marijuana. Marijuana has provided recreational use for thousands of years and is also associated with potential benefits for a variety of health conditions, which is why it has been adopted by various states in medical cannabis programs.

An outdoor hemp farm growing sativa plants that are nearing harvest.

The major similarity when growing hemp and marijuana is when growing for the cannabinoids. In hemp’s case, farmers grow for the CBD and other minor cannabinoids, but legally require less than 0.3% of the cannabinoid THC. As for marijuana, unless growing for a particular ratio of THC: CBD, growers want the highest concentrations of THC and CBD possible. Because these production schemes desire high concentrations of cannabinoids found in the floral material; the current growing conditions are similar. Just like a marijuana grower, a hemp farmer growing for high concentrations of CBD would want to remove the male plants from the field or facility before pollination. This allows for less seed and higher concentrations of phytocannabinoids in each plant. Under this growing condition, hemp grown for phytocannabinoids like CBD commonly resembles marijuana production patterns.

a farmer waters young cannabis plants outside in a field.

Because of the different uses for hemp and marijuana, their method of cultivation can differ. Marijuana requires careful cultivation. Growers breed marijuana to optimize certain characteristics in the budding flowers of the female plants. This requires that growers put a lot of time and energy into cultivating exactly what they want. Correct growing conditions, which include things like light, humidity, and temperature, are necessary to yield the results they are looking for when growing marijuana. The atmosphere must be highly controlled. By contrast, industrial fiber and grain hemp do not require much care or attention. The idea is to maximize the size and yield, and that’s it. As such, growers can cultivate grain and fiber hemp outdoors, giving it lots of space to flourish. Hemp can also thrive in versatile growing conditions and restore contaminated soil, which means that growers can repeatedly reuse the soil with minimal amendments.

Cannabis is one of humanity's oldest cultivated crops. Cannabis agriculture is a complex but rewarding process. One that takes insightful understanding to achieve successful results. For this reason, certain states have passed legislation for recreational and/or medical marijuana, as well as the legal production of industrial hemp.