*: These authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered joint first authors
^: for correspondence: susanne.schilling [at] udc.ie; rainer.melzer[at]ucd.ie
Keywords: building materials, Cannabis sativa, cannabinoids, crop breeding, flower development, flowering time, hemp, marijuana, sex determination, sustainability

1. Introduction – Cannabis in a nutshell

Cannabis sativa is a highly versatile crop with dozens of different uses (Figure 1). There are a multitude of medical applications for Cannabis secondary compounds, which have been shown to reduce pain, nausea and neurological conditions like seizures (Whiting et al., 2015), and research on effects on inflammation, depression and cancer is also being conducted (Atalay et al., 2019; Fraguas-Sánchez and Torres-Suárez, 2018; Poleszak et al., 2018; Śledziński et al., 2018, Russo, 2011). Beyond that, fibre varieties of Cannabis have high carbon sequestering potential because of their rapid growth. They are therefore utilized for carbon storage in building materials or as biofuel (Finnan and Styles, 2013). For those different reasons, the Cannabis industry is gaining more traction and the need for specialized varieties, adapted to local climatic conditions, or suited for specific applications, is steadily increasing.