How a law-abiding plant has come into its own. Cannabis, or hemp (Cannabis sativa, C. indica), is an annual member of the Cannabinaceae family, which includes hops (Humulus lupulus), and is native to Asia. The authors of Is Marijuana the Right Medicine for You? define hemp as ‘marijuana’s nonpsychoactive cousin.’ While hemp has no psychoactive properties, like marijuana it is illegal to grow or possess raw hemp in the U.S.

Sixty years ago, the federal government outlawed hemp farming and brought to an abrupt end the cultivation of a plant that had been grown in Canada since the arrival of the earliest settlers. A much-employed member of the Cannabis genus, hemp’s only crime was that it closely resembled its mood-altering and lucrative cousin, marijuana.