Cannabis indica
Encyclopedia
Cannabis indica is an annual plant in the Cannabaceae
Cannabaceae
Cannabaceae are a small family of flowering plants. As now circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including Cannabis , Humulus and Celtis...

 family. A putative species of the genus Cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...

, it is typically distinguished from Cannabis sativa
Cannabis sativa
Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous plant in the Cannabaceae family. Humans have cultivated this herb throughout recorded history as a source of industrial fibre, seed oil, food, recreation, spiritual enlightenment and medicine...

. Schultes described C. indica as relatively short, conical, and densely branched, whereas C. sativa was described as tall and laxly branched. Anderson described indica plants as having short, broad leaflets whereas those of the sativa species were characterized as relatively long and narrow. Cannabis indica plants conforming to Schultes's and Anderson's descriptions may have originated from the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...

 mountain range. Because of the often harsh and variable (extremely cold winters, and warm summers) climate of those parts, C. indica is well-suited for cultivation in temperate climates.
Broad-leafed Cannabis indica plants in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan are traditionally cultivated for the production of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...

. Pharmacologically, indica landrace
Landrace
A landrace is a local variety of a domesticated animal or plant species which has developed largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It differs from a formal breed which has been bred deliberately to conform to a particular standard...

s tend to have a higher cannabidiol
Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid found in Cannabis. It is a major constituent of the plant, representing up to 40% in its extracts.It has displayed sedative effects in animal tests...

 (CBD) content than sativa strains. Most commercially available indica strains have been selected for low levels of CBD (which is not psychoactive), with some users reporting more of a "stoned" feeling and less of a "high" from indica when compared to sativa. The cannabis indica high is often referred to as a "body buzz" and has beneficial properties such as pain relief in addition to being an effective treatment for insomnia
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....

 and an anxiolytic
Anxiolytic
An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...

, as opposed to sativas more common reports of a "spacey" and mental inebriation, and even, albeit rarely, comprising hallucinations. Differences in the terpenoid
Terpenoid
The terpenoids , sometimes called isoprenoids, are a large and diverse class of naturally occurring organic chemicals similar to terpenes, derived from five-carbon isoprene units assembled and modified in thousands of ways. Most are multicyclic structures that differ from one another not only in...

 content of the essential oil may account for some of these differences in effect. Common indica strains for recreational
Cannabis consumption
Among the variety of ways cannabis is consumed, most are some form of smoking or oral consumption.-Smoking:Cannabis can be vaporized or smoked with implements such as bongs and pipes. Many people can create a makeshift bong or pipe out of an apple or soda can...

 or medicinal
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...

 use include Kush and Northern Lights.

A recent genetic analysis included both the narrow-leaflet and wide-leaflet drug "biotypes" under C. indica, as well as southern and eastern Asian hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

(fiber/seed) landraces and wild Himalayan populations.

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