Cannabis sativa, also known as marijuana or hemp, is an annual herb which belongs to Cannabinaceae family. It is often dioecious, originally produced in Central Asia and now is widely distributed in the world, wild or cultivated, with many varieties. As an ancient plant, C.sativa has been used for thousands of years, and its fiber has been used in many aspects, but it is also widely disputed because it contains tetrahydrocannabinol(THC), a psychoactive ingredient. It has been listed as one of the three major drugs by "United Nations Drug Convention", along with heroin and cocaine. Nowadays, with the deepening and comprehensive understanding of C.sativa, it has been widely studied because of its great economic value in the fields of textile, chemicals for daily use, medicine and so on. In this paper, the literature about the chemical compositios and species variation of C.sativa at home and abroad was reviewed in order to provide some reference for its researches.
Cannabis ; Dronabinol

No abstract available in English.
Anesthesia, Conduction* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Cannabis*

Phytocannabinoids are bioactive terpenoids that are exclusive to Cannabis sativa L. The main pharmacologically active phytocannabinoids are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, both target endogenous cannabinoid receptors. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol have extensive therapeutic potential due to their participation in many physiological and pathological processes in human body by activating the endocannabinoid system. At present, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and their analogues or combination preparations are used to treat epilepsy, vomiting in patients with cancer chemotherapy, spasticity in multiple sclerosis and relieve neuropathic pain and pain in patients with advanced cancer. With the further exploration of the application value of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol as well as the increasing demand for standardization of pharmaceutical preparations, it is imminent to achieve large-scale production of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in the pharmaceutical industry. In this article, pharmacological research progress of phytocannabinoids in recent years, biosynthetic pathways of phytocannabinoids and the mechanism of key enzymes as well as various product development strategies of cannabinoids in pharmaceutical industry are reviewed. By exploring the potential of synthetic biology as an alternative strategy for the source of phytocannabinoids, it will provide a theoretical basis for the research and development of microbial engineering for cannabinoids synthesis, and promote the large-scale production of medicinal cannabinoids.
Cannabidiol ; Cannabinoids/biosynthesis* ; Cannabis ; Humans ; Receptors, Cannabinoid

Objective To assess the feasibility of the rbcL sequence of chloroplast DNA as a genetic marker to identify Cannabis sativa L. Methods The rbcL sequences in 62 Cannabis sativa L. samples, 10 Humulus lupulus samples and 10 Humulus scandens DNA samples were detected, and 96 rbcL sequences of the Cannabaceae family were downloaded from Genbank. Sequence alignment was performed by MEGA X software, the intraspecific and interspecific Kimura-2-Parameter （K2P） genetic distances were calculated, and the system clustering tree was constructed. Results The rbcL sequence length acquired by sequencing of Cannabis sativa L. and Humulus scandens were 617 bp and 649 bp, respectively, and two haplotypes of Cannabis sativa L. were observed in the samples. The BLAST similarity search results showed that the highest similarity between the sequences acquired by sequencing and Cannabis sativa L. rbcL sequences available from Genbank was 100%. The genetic distance analysis showed that the maximum intraspecific genetic distance （0.004 9） of Cannabis sativa L. was less than the minimum interspecific genetic distance （0.012 9）. The results of median-joining network and system clustering tree analysis showed that Cannabis sativa L. and other members of the Cannabaceae family were located in different branches. Conclusion The rbcL sequence could be used as a DNA barcode for identifying Cannabis sativa L., and combined with comparative analysis of the rbcL sequence and system cluster analysis could be a reliable and effective detection method for Cannabis sativa L. identification in forensic investigation.
Cannabis/genetics* ; Genetic Markers ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

The shortage of new cannabis varieties with low THC and high CBD content and irregular planting techniques have become the bottleneck for he development of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis industry. Based on the cannabis germplasm resources,this paper proposes strategies for breeding high CBD content,seed-type and high-efficiency,dwarf non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis varieties through molecular marker development,assisted breeding,genetic engineering breeding and traditional breeding. According to the suitable ecological factors of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis,the CBD content and grain yield of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis can be improved by regulating the nutritional structure and illumination properties of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis,scientific harvesting and storage. At the same time,in order to further accelerate the application of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis,we can accelerate the selection of new varieties of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis by mining genetic information of cannabis,and strengthen the application of information technology and automation of modern agriculture in the production of non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis. Provide basis for the cultivation and wide application of new non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis varieties with high quality and high yield.
Agriculture ; Cannabidiol/analysis* ; Cannabis ; Medical Marijuana

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Data on the epidemiology and history of cannabis in PNG are presented. The adverse health consequences of cannabis smoking and treatment options for cannabis dependence are discussed. It is recommended that a range of strategies are urgently required in PNG to prevent adverse physical and mental health consequences associated with cannabis smoking.
Cannabis ; Papua New Guinea ; Smoking ; Study of epidemiology ; treatment options

Cannabinoid receptor type 2( CB2 R),a member of the G protein-coupled receptor( GPCR) superfamily,has a variety of biological activities,such as regulating pain response,resisting inflammation and fibrosis,and mediating bone metabolism. Some CB2 R regulators exhibit a good regulatory effect on bone metabolism. Cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa can cause psychoactive effects despite various pharmacological actions they exerted by targeting CB2 R. Therefore,it is of great significance to discover CB2 R regulators in non-Cannabis plants for finding new lead compounds without psychoactive effects and elucidating the action mechanism of plant drugs. The present study clarifies the discovery,structure,and physiological functions of CB2 R,especially its regulatory effects on bone metabolism,summarized CB2 R regulators extracted from non-Cannabis plants,and systematically analyzes the regulatory effects of CB2 R regulators on bone metabolism in animals,osteoblasts,and osteoclasts,to provide a scientific basis for the discovery of new CB2 R regulators and the development of anti-osteoporotic drugs.
Animals ; Cannabinoids/pharmacology* ; Cannabis ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Receptors, Cannabinoid

Cannabis sativa,with a long history of cultivation, is a traditional industrial crop widely used for food, textiles, and me-dicine. This study discussed industrial C. sativa and medicinal C. sativa. According to the characteristics of management policies of C. sativa in different periods, we divided the development stages of C. sativa into three stages and analyzed the changes in breeding and cultivation goals under the influence of policies. Meanwhile, a comprehensive analysis was carried out based on the breeding conditions of industrial C. sativa in China. Because of the vast territory of China, the differences in agricultural planting environment, economic development, and social development in the southern and northern areas result in different used parts of C. sativa. To be speci-fic, flowers and leaves are used in Yunnan, fiber in Heilongjiang, and seeds in Shanxi. The breeding of C. sativa varieties highlights fiber, seeds, or both of them. As the value of cannabidiol is explored, medicinal C. sativa has been approved in recent years. Based on the cultivation characteristics and value of industrial C. sativa, it is proposed that industrial C. sativa has a broad application prospect as an important industrial crop, and the existing products contain almost no tetrahydrocannabinol. The cultivation of C. sativa should be rationally guided to promote the development of the C. sativa industry. Moreover, it is recommended to actively apply advanced breeding techniques such as molecular breeding to overcome the problems of the uncertainty of the existing induced breeding and the excessively long hybrid breeding cycle, and develop high value-added applications such as medicinal products of C. sativa to enhance the exploitation of the economic value of C. sativa.
Cannabidiol/analysis* ; Cannabis/genetics* ; China ; Dronabinol ; Plant Breeding

The present study investigated the chemical constituents in the aerial part of Cannabis sativa. The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography and HPLC and identified according to their spectral data and physicochemical properties. Thirteen compounds were isolated from the acetic ether extract of C. sativa and identified as 3',5',4″,2-tetrahydroxy-4'-methoxy-3-methyl-3″-butenyl p-disubstituted benzene ethane(1), 16R-hydroxyoctadeca-9Z,12Z,14E-trienoic acid methyl ester(2),(1'R,2'R)-2'-(2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-5'-methyl-4-pentyl-1',2',3',4'-tetrahydro-(1,1'-biphenyl)-2,6-diol(3), β-sitosteryl-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6'-O-palmitate(4), 9S,12S,13S-trihydroxy-10-octadecenoate methyl ester(5), benzyloxy-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(6), phenylethyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(7), 3Z-enol glucoside(8), α-cannabispiranol-4'-O-β-D-glucopyranose(9), 9S,12S,13S-trihydroxyoctadeca-10E,15Z-dienoic acid(10), uracil(11), o-hydroxybenzoic acid(12), and 2'-O-methyladenosine(13). Compound 1 is a new compound, compound 3 is a new natural product, and compounds 2, 4-8, 10, and 13 were isolated from Cannabis plant for the first time.
Cannabis ; Biological Products ; Esters ; Dihydrostilbenoids ; Plant Components, Aerial

At present,China manages cannabis into industrial and medical types. Industrial cannabis( THC<0. 3%) is grown for fiber and seed,while medical cannabis( THC>0. 3%) is prohibited from being planted and used. In recent years,breakthroughs have been made in the applications for a variety of fields of CBD,a non-psychoactive cannabinoid of Cannabis. However,China made a minimal contribution to this international research hotspot,mainly due to the outdated way of classification on cannabis. Here we reviewed the medicinal use history of cannabis,achievements in the study of Cannabis germplasm,and first proposed the three-level classification of management: psychoactive medicinal cannabis( THC>0. 3%),non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis( THC<0. 3%,high CBD)and industrial cannabis( THC<0. 3%,for fiber and seed,low CBD). Based on summarizing the research progress of the non-psychoactive medicinal cannabis,four key research strategies of breeding,sex control,plant factory,and synthetic biology are proposed.
Analgesics ; Cannabis ; China ; Dronabinol ; Medical Marijuana ; Research Design