Cannabis arrived in South America with colonial and later global movements, and though not indigenous, it put down roots in ways that spawned unique landrace varieties. Initially, the Spanish and Portuguese introduced Cannabis sativa (hemp) to South America in the 1500s for rope and fiber. Chile, for instance, was growing hemp for ship rigging by 1545 under orders from the Spanish crown. But it was the introduction of psychoactive cannabis via the African slave trade and possibly via Brazil that truly naturalized the plant in South American cultures. Enslaved Africans in Brazil (starting in the 16th century) planted the cannabis seeds they brought from Africa and used the herb recreationally and medicinally. Portuguese colonists tolerated or even encouraged its growth for a time; in colonial Brazil, cannabis (called maconha from an African word) became common among Afro-Brazilian communities, though elites later stigmatized it. From these early beginnings, cannabis spread throughout Brazil’s interior and into neighboring lands.
By the 19th and early 20th centuries, cannabis could be found in various parts of South America, often grown by marginalized groups (e.g., Afro-descendant communities, indigenous people, or poor rural farmers). The plant adapted to climates ranging from Amazonian tropics to Andean highlands. Landraces thus developed under different conditions. Two countries especially known for their cannabis landraces are Colombia and Brazil (with Paraguay also notable, though less famous abroad).
Colombia produced some of the most celebrated landrace cannabis of the 20th century. In the 1960s and ’70s, as demand for marijuana surged in the United States, Colombia became a major exporter due to its ideal climate and established smuggling routes. Growers in the Caribbean coastal ranges and the Andean foothills of Colombia cultivated vast fields of local landraces. The most famous of these were dubbed Colombian Gold and Colombian Red (often further specified by region, like Santa Marta Gold or Punto Rojo from the Santa Marta Mountains). Colombian Gold refers to a sativa landrace from the Santa Marta Sierra Nevada area that had golden-tinged buds and a balanced, mellow high. Punto Rojo (meaning “red point”) is the name given to highland Colombian strains with red-hued pistils and a soaring, intense effect. These Colombian strains grew tall and took many weeks to mature, much like their African ancestors (indeed, some speculate that Colombian red strains had genetic input from the Angolan/Mozambican seeds planted by slaves centuries before). Colombian landraces became legendary among American hippies, synonymous with quality marijuana in the pre-sinsemilla era.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, the landraces were largely derived from the African introductions and possibly some from the Indian subcontinent via indentured labor or other migration. Brazilian cannabis (locally termed diamba or maconha) has acclimatized in places like the Northeast (Bahia, Pernambuco) and the Amazon basin. A known Brazilian landrace is Manga Rosa, which translates to “Pink Mango.” It reportedly got its name either from a pinkish color or a sweet aroma; it was grown in northeastern Brazil and became a parent in some modern Brazilian hybrid strains. Brazil’s vast size means multiple phenotypes existed, but because Brazil wasn’t a major exporter in the marijuana trade (compared to Colombia or Paraguay, whose brick weed often supplied Brazil), the international community heard less about specific Brazilian landraces until recently.
Other South American countries had their local varieties, too. In Paraguay, large-scale illicit cultivation in the 1970s–2000s produced the infamous “Paraguayan pressed” marijuana that circulated in Latin America. This was generally of lower quality due to being seeded and bricked, but it descended from hardy landraces adapted to the Paraguayan Chaco climate (semi-arid). Peru and Bolivia likely had cannabis introduced later and on smaller scales; their climates in the Andes are less suited, though lowland areas could support it. Chile, interestingly, had the oldest continuous hemp tradition in South America from the 1500s up to the 20th century. Some Chilean wild or feral hemp populations may exist, but the drug-type cannabis was not widely embraced in Chile until more modern times.
Human influence on South American cannabis was often indirect. Because cannabis was illegal or frowned upon by authorities for much of the 20th century, professional breeding was nonexistent. Instead, natural selection and the demands of the black market shaped the landraces. In Colombia, for example, farmers began to adopt the practice of sinsemilla (growing seedless female plants) in the 1970s to increase potency, under guidance from American buyers. Over time, the traditional landraces might have been “fine-tuned” by such practices, but they remained essentially heirloom strains. The illicit nature also meant landraces didn’t get formally catalogued; names were often coined by consumers or traffickers rather than the farmers. “Limon Verde” (green lemon) and “Wacky Weed” are examples of colloquial names that popped up for certain South American varieties, but details are murky.
The co-evolution aspect in South America took a poignant turn when, in the late 20th century, many of the landraces were supplanted by imported hybrids. As Colombia cracked down on marijuana in the 1980s and major smuggling operations shifted to cocaine, local cannabis farming declined, and some farmers later started growing faster, higher-THC hybrid seeds from the Netherlands or North America for the domestic market. This has put some classic landraces at risk of dilution. Fortunately, seed conservationists have collected genetics like Colombian Gold and Punta Roja, preserving them in seed banks.
In summary, all cannabis in South America ultimately descended from Old World stock—whether via the hemp of colonists, the seeds of enslaved Africans, or later importation by intrepid travelers. The landrace strains that did develop (e.g., Colombian, Brazilian, Paraguayan varieties) did so in a few hundred years, a much shorter timeframe than in Asia or Africa. This rapid adaptation was driven by a combination of natural tropical conditions and the selective pressures of illegal cultivation (where potency and yield were rewarded). South American landraces thus stand as a testament to cannabis’s ability to quickly adjust and flourish when introduced to new lands by human hands.
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