A Short & Sweet History of Cannabis
Cannabis has been flowering our world for centuries and has shaped different cultures and laws; its human usage dates to the Neolithic period based on archeological evidence. Cannabis has multiple uses but it's most famous for its psychoactive effects and turbulent relationship with society.
Ancient Uses and Its Trip Around the Globe
The cultivation of cannabis was a popular choice in Ancient Japan, China, Korea, Syria, and many countries. The plant served multiple purposes as a food source to clothing. China used the fibers for pottery imprints, shoes, ropes, and paper. Also, the plant’s pharmaceutical benefits during Ancient China are like today’s uses; it alleviates inflammation, treats symptoms of depression, brings back appetite, arthritis, and plenty of others.
- South Asia called Cannabis “ganja” and used it as an aromatic to induce a trance-like state
- Ancient Greece would utilize the plant for ritual and recreational pleasure.
- Ancient Hindus believed medicinal benefits pleased the gods, especially the god Shiva whose favorite food was the plant.
- In 1841, William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish physician, introduced the cannabis plant to Western medicine after a brief stint in India; he raved about its therapeutic benefits and how it stops spasm attacks in children. With O’Shaughnessy bringing the plant to the West, it started its adventure of embracing, hating, and loving again.
Wild Ride with the Law
Reefer Madness, directed by Louis J. Gasnier, was released in 1936, and is an American propaganda film about the exaggeration of cannabis effects on teenagers during the time. The movie pushes the idea that drug dealers prey on and lure them into trying cannabis. Trying it will lead to addiction, manslaughter, hallucination, insanity, and numerous conditions. The film caused domino effects of the fear of cannabis and those who appreciate and fought for decades to legalize its benefits. The 1970s was known for its hippie love affair with the plant, but it also marked the inception of the Control Substance Act, which says cannabis has no acceptable medical use and is highly addictive.
A Happy Medium
Nearly 25 years later, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, which sparked other states to legalize it by 2016; Washington and Colorado became legal for recreational use in 2012. This legalization allowed some research to be done on different components of cannabis, bringing forth CBD and Delta-8; both are legally federalized and sold nationwide. There are still more congressional discussions and plenty of lobbying for the federal legalization of cannabis, but as a country, it has made progress in lessening the repercussions of criminalization.
From ancient to modern times, Cannabis has a long, glamorous, and even infamous history but will always be a favorite flower loved by many!