Abstract
Cannabis has been used by humans both for recreational and therapeutic purposes since ancient times. Among 113 different cannabinoids from Cannabis, D9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (D9THCs) is primarily hallucinogenic and cannabidiol (CBD) is therapeutic. The growing interest in therapeutic uses of Cannabis has created interest in several other plants which are non-cannabinoid and have secondary metabolites similar to CBD known as cannabimimetic plants. The cannabimimetic plants are currently gaining attention and can be the potential alternative to Cannabis because of certain secondary metabolites with a similar mechanism of action binding with cannabinoid receptors. For example, phytoextracts from liverworts Radula marginata, amorfrutin in Amorpha fruticose and several Rhododendron species have been reported to have cannabinoid-like properties. This chapter is providing a complete review of cannabimimetic plants focusing on botanical, biochemical, and potential therapeutic aspects.