Is CBD Male or Female?

While it may sound weird, this is a question that many cannabis lovers have debated. Some say it's a gender-neutral plant, while others argue that it's male. This time, it’s our turn to answer the question: is CBD male or female?

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp. Unlike THC, another compound in marijuana that causes intoxication, CBD doesn’t produce a high. The compound has been used medically since the 1980s to treat epilepsy and other disorders. It was later discovered to have anti-inflammatory properties that could help with chronic pain management — particularly when combined with THC or other cannabinoids. Nowadays, you can buy CBD as flower, edibles, tinctures, oils, and more.

How Does CBD Work?

Although CBD doesn't get you high as THC does, it does interact with your body in several ways: CB1 receptors are located throughout your body, but they're mainly concentrated in the brain and central nervous system. When CBD binds to these receptors, it can affect pain perception and inflammation. The CB2 receptors are mostly found on white blood cells and the immune system. When CBD binds to these receptors, it can help fight chronic conditions like autoimmune diseases and cancer by reducing inflammation.

The Difference between Male and Female Weed Plants

The reason that hemp-derived CBD is male and marijuana-derived CBD is female has to do with how each plant reproduces. The hemp plant flowers, but it does not produce THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. The difference between these two plants goes beyond their gender — they also differ in their growth patterns and chemical makeup. Hemp has a low THC concentration compared to marijuana and is grown for its oils or fibers rather than its flowers or leaves. Meanwhile, marijuana contains higher levels of THC and is grown for its psychoactive properties and medical uses, such as pain relief and nausea management.

Male Marijuana Plants

Male cannabis plants produce pollen sacs on the tips of their stamens (the male parts). These sacs contain pollen grains which burst open when they're ready to fertilize other plants' pistils (the female parts). This process allows female marijuana plants to produce seeds instead of flowers, which makes them ideal for breeding purposes. The seeds produced by these pollinated flowers can be used to create new strains of weed with specific traits (like high THC content or resistance to pests).

Female Marijuana Plants

Female marijuana plants produce pistils on their buds instead of pollen sacs or stamens. When they're ready for pollination, these pistils will swell up into little white hairs called "pistil hairs" and curl back. They can be red, orange, or yellow in color, but they're usually white. You'll see these pistils when you're looking at a bud and wondering if it's male or female.

How to Tell between Male and Female Weed Plants

There's no foolproof way to tell just by looking at a plant, but there are some signs that can help give you an idea of whether or not your plant is male or female. Here are some tips on how to tell the difference between male and female marijuana plants.

Look for Pistils

Male cannabis plants have pollen sacks on the ends of their stamens (little hair-like growths coming out of the flowers). As they mature, these pollen sacks become more visible and eventually turn into what look like little white balls. Female cannabis plants have sticky stigmas at their reproductive parts (known as pistils in botanical terms). These sticky stigmas will appear white or brown and usually look like little hairs sticking out from the flower clusters.

Look for Preflowers

If you want to determine whether or not your plant is male or female, you can do a few things. One simple way to tell if your plant is male is by looking for pre-flowers on it. Preflowers are tiny, budding leaves that appear at the nodes before actual flowers do. Female plants usually have three sets of preflowers per node (one on each side and one in the middle), while male plants will only have two sets per node — one on either side of the stem. If you find this type of leaf on your plant, the chances are good that it's female!

Look at the Leaves

The leaves on a marijuana plant can also help you determine if it’s male or female. Male plants tend to have smaller leaves than female ones, making them easier to spot in crowded pots. This difference is especially apparent when looking at younger plants since the males often die off before they reach maturity. On male plants, you will see that their leaves start to turn yellow and wither away. Female cannabis plants will keep their green color throughout their lives.

Look at the Shape of the Buds

Male cannabis plants tend to have more "lollipop" shaped buds, while female marijuana plants have larger and more rounded buds.

Look for Pollen Sacks

Male cannabis plants have pollen sacks on the ends of their stamens (little hair-like growths coming out of the flowers). As they mature, these pollen sacks become more visible and eventually turn into what look like little white balls. Female cannabis plants have sticky stigmas at their reproductive parts (known as pistils in botanical terms). These sticky stigmas will appear white or brown and usually look like little hairs sticking out from the flower clusters.

Look for Stamens

Stamens are what produce pollen in male cannabis plants. They look like little white hairs on the top of the flowers, though some strains have purple stamens instead of white ones (Purple Kush and Lavender). If you see these, then it's likely that your plant is male and needs to be pollinated by another one.

Is CBD Male or Female?

Most CBD products are extracted from the hemp plant, the male plant of cannabis sativa. It does not contain any psychoactive compounds and can be used as an extract for medicinal purposes.

Does the Gender of a Hemp Plant Affect the Amount of CBD?

The short answer is yes. The gender of a hemp plant can affect the amount of CBD. Cannabis is an annual plant, meaning that it grows from seed to harvest in one growing season. The time from planting to harvest varies by strain and growing environment, but it can take anywhere between 8-12 weeks for many strains. Most female plants produce buds (flowers) that produce seeds. Male plants produce pollen but do not produce buds. It is important to know the sex of your plants because only female cannabis plants produce cannabinoids like CBD and THC. Because male cannabis plants do not contain cannabinoids, a grower will want to separate them from their female counterparts as soon as they can determine which plants are male and which are female. If both male and female plants are allowed to grow side-by-side, they will pollinate each other and create seeds that may be difficult or impossible to germinate. Male cannabis flowers will look different from female flowers because they have pollen sacs at their base instead of pistils (which look like white hairs). If you have ever seen a dandelion flower, you have seen what a male cannabis flower looks like. The easiest way to tell if a plant is male or female is to wait until it reaches maturity (usually around four weeks after sprouting). At this point, males will show signs of budding.

Extracting Hemp for Concentrates & Extracts

Hemp extract is a highly concentrated form of hemp oil created through a solvent extraction process. It's made by dissolving the cannabinoids and terpenes in a solvent like ethanol or CO2, then evaporating the solvents to leave behind the extract. Concentrates are typically consumed using vaporizers or dab rigs, but they can also be added to food and drinks. Hemp extract can be used as an ingredient in many other products, such as tinctures and capsules. At Botany Farms, you can find them in the form of CBD gummies, made with 100% organic ingredients, including premium whole-plant hemp extract, and they're non-GMO and gluten-free!