There’s sometimes confusion about the differences between cannabis and its related terminology—like marijuana, THC, CBD and hemp.
However, cannabis is “a general term referring to the plant at large,” says Dave Rabin, M.D. and Ph.D., a neuroscientist and psychiatrist who’s also the executive director of The Board of Medicine, a nonprofit focused on establishing evidence-based clinical guidelines for currently unregulated medicines and practices.
We dive into all things cannabis: what it is, health benefits and risks—including whether it’s addictive—and expert advice for people interested in using it.
What Is Cannabis?
Cannabis sativa is a plant that contains hundreds of different chemical substances, including compounds called cannabinoids. While there are over 100 cannabinoids, THC and CBD are two of the most popular.
Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): A compound found in cannabis that’s responsible for causing a psychoactive “high.”
Cannabidiol (CBD): A compound in cannabis that doesn’t have a psychoactive effect but may have anxiety-reducing, neuroprotective, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, among other benefits.
You can further categorize cannabis depending on how much THC it contains.
Marijuana: The parts of the cannabis plant with more than 0.3% THC on a dry weight basis.
Hemp: The part of the cannabis plant with 0.3% or less THC on a dry weight basis.
Health Benefits of Cannabis
Most research into cannabis has relied on moderate-sized trials of short duration, so the quality of current evidence is low to moderate, says Raphael Cuomo, Ph.D., a professor and scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “There is a pressing need for larger, longer studies with standardized cannabinoid products,” he notes.
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