// Definition
Robert Connell Clarke's botanical reclassification of cannabis into two true species. Cannabis sativa is European hemp — fibre and seed crops, never smoked. Cannabis indica encompasses all drug varieties, subdivided into Narrow Leaf Drug (NLD, what consumers call "sativa") and Broad Leaf Drug (BLD, what consumers call "indica"). The street labels are a misnomer: Linnaeus named sativa from European hemp; Lamarck named indica from Indian drug plants 20-30 years later. As Clarke puts it: "We wear sativas, we eat sativas. We don't smoke sativas."
// From the Episode
Episode 13 was a landmark for Hash Church — the first appearance of a major academic guest. Robert Connell Clarke, author of "Hashish" and "Marijuana Botany," laid out his two-species taxonomy and explained why the entire industry's use of "sativa" and "indica" is botanically backwards. NLD varieties (narrow leaves, tall, uplifting effects) originate from tropical Asia. BLD varieties (broad leaves, compact, sedative effects) originate from Afghanistan and arrived in Western breeding pools in the late 1970s-80s. Clarke also dismissed ruderalis as a valid species, suggesting autoflowering traits come from sativa-indica hybridisation rather than a third species. His presentation was framed with intellectual humility: "This hypothesis is just an idea, a model to work with."
// Source
Ep. 013 Hash Church XIII →