“Mota” is an informal name for cannabis or marijuana plant. Cannabis grows wild and sometimes hash plant, but its psychoactive variety produces marijuana, a controlled substance, and grow it is a federal crime. You can follow these steps to determine if a plant you’ve discovered is actually a marijuana plant. If so, contact the local authorities responsible for law enforcement and report it.

Instructions:

1. Examine your surroundings. Marijuana plants can survive in any condition, but the illegal nature of the plants makes it uncommon to find outdoors. If you’ve found a plant that you think could be marijuana growing in the garden of someone, probably not. It is more common to find this plant in abandoned fields or forest clearings.
2. Measure the height of the plant with a tape measure. Adult marijuana plants can reach up to 13 feet (3.96 meters) tall. If the plant you found is higher, probably not marijuana.
3. Examine the stem of the plant. Marijuana plants have fibrous or woody stems. They are thick and not hang. Pull the top of the plant to see if the stem breaks easily. The stem of a marijuana plant will not break if little pressure. Use gardening gloves to manipulate the plant.
4. Count the leaves of each branch. The branches of the marijuana plants complete with palm-shaped leaves, with five to seven fingers on each sheet. These are a vivid green color and the edges are shaped like a handsaw, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kansas.
5. Search buds or flowers. The flowers of the marijuana plants are no more than 1/4 inch (7.62 centimeters). If you found the plant has larger flowers, then it is not a marijuana plant.