A rural Estonia town whose name literally means "cannabis" has voted to adopt a marijuana leaf as its official logo, a local official said Thursday.

Located in southern Estonia, Kanepi's highly unusual name is rooted in a traditional cottage industry that sprang up around the processing of hemp into oil and fabric centuries ago.

Hemp is a type of cannabis used for industrial purposes with little or no psychoactive effect.

"Today the cannabis leaf is seen primarily as a recreational drug, but in fact, hemp-type cannabis has been used in practical ways for years and it has hundreds of uses," Kanepi council member Andrus Seeme told AFP, adding that he saw "nothing wrong" with the town's new logo.

"We have a few local businesses producing organic hemp oil and flour," Seeme said, adding that a local bakery also sells bread with hemp seeds while another business produces concrete using hemp.