OFFICIAL NAMES: Marijuana, hashish, hashish oil

STREET NAMES: There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana, including: A-bomb, Acapulco gold, ace, African black, Aunt Mary, bhang, blanche, boo, boom, bush, charas, chronic, dagga, dope, gangster, ganja, grass, hash, hash oil, herb, kef, kief, kif, marihuana, Mary Jane, nickel, oil, old man, pot, reefer, sinsemilla, sensi, skunk, smoke, tar, weed

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Schedule I, hallucinogen

Overview

Marijuana is derived from the Indian hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, a member of the Cannabaceae family and the Urticales (nettle) order. Some botanists claim that this genus contains as many as three other species: C. indica, C. ruderalis, and even Humulus lupulus, the hops plant. Other botanists insist that the differences between plants reflect simple variations, not different species.

Cannabis sativa is dioecious, which means that it produces both male and female plants. All types of cannabis strains—both...