Written by Dr Shane McKeown, Acute Internal Medicine (AIM).|Last Updated:Jun 17, 2021
Confusingly, terms like Cannabis oil, hemp oil and CBD oil are used interchangeably by the media and in online discussions. This really isn’t helpful as the proposed effects and benefits of each are quite different, you don’t want to purchase one thinking it is the other.
Are Hemp and Cannabis related?
The hemp and cannabis plants are the same species, with the same scientific name of Cannabis Sativa.
So why do people refer to the same shrub in different ways? Originally Hemp was the most widely grown form of Cannabis, otherwise known as industrial hemp. Alongside bamboo it is one of the fastest growing plants and has been used as a constructive fibre for over 50,000 years. A key point is that industrial hemp lacks the THC that gives you the psychoactive high. Rather it is used across industry in making textiles, clothing, rope, paper and food. The oil has been used in much the same way, oxidised into other forms so it can be used as a health food, the basis of paint as well as in skin moisturizers and plastics.