Do you know what the difference is between Hemp vs Marijuana?
These words get thrown around:
- Ganja
- Hemp
- Cannabis
- Marijuana
- Weed
- Pot
- Dope
- Grass
- Herb
- Mary Jane
- Hash
- Hashish
- Reefer
- Joint, etc.
Without the correct definition in mind, it makes all of us confused.
Do all of these workd mean the same thing? Isn’t weed the “green stuff” and hashish is that “sticky brown stuff”?
Let me give you an example of how using the wrong term will make you confused:
Rick Simpson is the guy who reinvented cannabis extract. He used it to deal with his skin cancer. He uses the term “Hemp Oil”. You will even see these letters “RSHO” in articles and videos referring to the “Rick Simpson Hemp Oil”. But is that correct? Was Rick Simpson using Hemp to make the oil or was it Marijuana?
Hemp vs Marijuana
First of all Hemp and Marijuana are both cannabis no matter what the “experts” say. They usually say that Hemp is Hemp and cannabis is something completely different. No, no, no, this is all the same plant. And the plant is called cannabis.
So what is the difference between Hemp and Marijuana?
It’s very simple:
- Hemp is a cannabis plant that has less than 0.3% THC
- Marijuana is a cannabis plant that has more than 0.3% THC > usually between 15 and 25%
Hemp is a cannabis plant that was bred and grown for industrial purposes – to make cloth, rope, rubber, oil, fuel and a ton of other products. The first American car was made from Hemp. First paper was made from Hemp.
Marijuana was grown for the purpose of smoking and YES “getting high”.
Science has come a long way with both, Marijuana and Hemp. Today it’s really no longer Hemp vs Marijuana. Both are used for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is known for THC – the compound in cannabis that is medicinal but also gets you high. Hemp is known for CBD of cannabidiol – the compound in cannabis that is proven to be very medicinal but does not get you high.
What works better – Hemp or Marijuana?
That depends on what you aim to treat. Some health problems seem to respond better to higher THC, some to higher CBD amounts.
Considering CBD products are everywhere today and also in December 2018, a new Farm Bill was signed by President Trump making the whole plant federally legal it’s probably gonna be a lot easier to start with CBD products.
However, it’s worth mentioning that whatever cannabis medicine you are going to use, make sure it is the so-called “Full Spectrum”. That simply means that the product includes all the components the cannabis plant has to offer. So all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other components of the plant. Why? Because all of these components work in synergy to help your body heal. This synergistic effect is called the Entourage effect.
If you do your research and browse through the cannabis success stories you’ll quickly find that Full Spectrum seems to be the best choice. Some of the stories even show people had zero change in terms of dealing with their health issues when they were only taking isolate CBD products. The worse thing here is if this happens to you, you’ll probably give up on CBD altogether. Thinking CBD does not work for you. When in fact Full Spectrum CBD might work fast and very effective.
The confusion between Hemp vs Marijuana comes from a misuse of the words.
Back to the Rick Simpson example:
He too thought about what word to use when naming his cannabis extract: Hemp vs Marijuana
He uses the word Hemp but he is making his extract from THC rich cannabis strains so the correct term to use in his case would be Marijuana and not Hemp. I think Rick is saying Hemp because it sounds less “junkie” like. When someone says Marijuana or Ganja or Pot, we tend to think “drugs”. So he wanted to sound less “threatening” if that makes sense.
Again to wrap it up and to be clear, Cannabis is a broader term and Hemp and Marijuana are both cannabis.
About the Author


Matt Hrovatt
Matt is an inventor. He loves to create new products and loves to help people looking to help themselves. He's always working to improve and grow. Together with Ally, he's also a family man and a proud father of Nik, Naj, Tristan, and Rubi. Matt is a filmmaker by heart so he's always shooting videos with his kids. He's also very passionate about natural health.