History of Cannabis
There are records of cannabis being used as far back as 12,000 years ago. In Assyria they have records of using cannabis in ointments for inflammation. They used the "fumes" for arthritis, and baths, drinks, and food for depression and impotence. They also thought it helped with "The Hand of the Ghost" which is believed to have been epilepsy or seizures. In 1,700 BCE Egypt has records of using it for glaucoma, by infusing it with liquids and washing their eyes with it. They used it as a suppository in the vaginal canal for childbirth. They also mixed it with food or drink for pain relief. In Egypt it was called Shemshemet.
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India used a system of Ayurveda which bridged spirituality with medicine. In the 3rd Century BCE, they used cannabis for diarrhea, phlegm, and catarrh (inflammation of mucus membranes in one of the airways or cavities in the body). In 1500 BCE religious texts Arthavada listed it as 1 in 5 sacred herbs for anxiety. It was listed as an aphrodisiac during their Tantric Period 7th Century CE. During the 11th-12th Century CE it was used as an appetite stimulator, for digestion, happiness and narcotic effects. Later centuries it is used for many things from leprosy, gonorrhea, cough and consumption, and mental or nervous dysfunctions. They refer to it as ganja.
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China published their first pharmacopeia that included cannabis during the 1st or 2nd Century CE. They called it Ma. It was called Ben Cao Jing/Pen Ts'ao Ching or Classic of Materia/Herbal Medicine. It was written from the oral teachings of Shen Nung, an emperor around 2800 BCE. They used it for rheumatism, gout, malaria, movement inhibition, beriberi & absentmindedness. It was served with wine as a pain killer. In the 6th-7th Century they figured out how to extract the "juices" and it was used for extreme pain. In 12th Century CE they used it with datura flower for anesthesia and slumber.
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It started to become more popular in Western Europe when in the 18th Century Napolean Bonaparte brought back hashish and water pipes from India, and a lot of people loved it. In 1839 William Brooke O'Shaughnessy brought it to Western medicine. He lived in India for a while and brought back Indian Cannabis with him back to Ireland. In 1843 he conducted a study where he gave dogs 1300mg of resin. He observed utter and helpless drunkenness, difficulty of movement, & not the least indication of pain. Confirmed side effects harmless and started clinical trials. He gave ethanol tinctures with 130mg for rheumatism, and they were “discharged quite cured in 3 days”. He gave people with rabies large doses which gave them significant symptom relief until they passed. He gave it to Cholera patients, and it helped with their vomiting. He also gave it to Tetanus patients (back then tetanus usually caused death), reduced convulsions and improved prognosis in many patients. In 1845 O'Shaughnessy's findings were confirmed and in 1850 it was published in the USP (United States Pharmacopia) as the Extract of Hemp.
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In 1854 pharmaceutical companies like Squibb, Tildens & Parke Davis patented hemp tinctures with 60 mg. It was marketed for insomnia, pain, headache, arthritis, gonorrhea and other conditions. 1860 a report from Ohio State Medical Committee on Cannabis Indica gave positive light on cannabis helping with epilepsy, bronchitis, and all pathologies involving the nervous system. At that time powdered hemp capsules introduced. and soon became the top prescription for over 100 conditions.
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In 1883 James Oliver published that cannabis had either no effect or caused dysphoric symptoms such as muscle spasms, persistent pain, irrational need to move, and vision dimness. But cannabis remained a popular treatment. In 1892, William Osler (co-founder of John Hopkins University) wrote The Principles and Practices of Medicine which recommended cannabis as a primary treatment for migraines.
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In 1906 the US passed the Food and Drug Act. Accurate labeling was then required for drugs with cannabis indica in them. With that several states prohibited recreational cannabis. In 1914, NY passed Boylan Act which required written prescriptions along with phone call verification with the physician in order for the patient to receive it. But, a spike in the black market happened and the law was dissolved within a few years.
In 1910 the Mexican Revolution began. Recreational cannabis was brought over by the Mexicans. The Mexicans were blamed for many violent crimes. Using racism, the people in power were able to tie the fear and intolerance to the Mexicans and cannabis. They killed thousands of Mexicans at the border. The Flexner Report wanted to make medicine more like Germany’s rational tradition of medicine. Called all other alternative forms of medicine like chiropractic and herbal remedies charlatanism. The Great Depression worsened the situation.
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In 1918 the pharmaceutical companies tried fighting to keep cannabis from being lumped up with opioids and cocaine. The US still produced 60,000 lbs per year for pharmacies at that time. Alcohol Prohibition had a hand in increased popularity to cannabis. Companies patented and marketed cannabis cigarettes. Herbacious Mixtures were made for treating asthma, and tinctures were very common too.
In 1930 – Harry Anslinger was appointed as commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN).. He stated most marijuana smokers were Negros, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. He said cannabis causes white women to seek out Negroes for sex. He even made a film called Reefer Madness which told about the downfalls of people that like jazz music and cannabis. In 1934 the New York Times published article that stated, “Marihuana perhaps now the most insidious of our narcotics, is a direct by product of unrestricted Mexican immigration…Mexican peddlers have been caught distributing sample marihuana cigarettes to school children”.
In 1937 The Marihuana Tax Act was enacted. Growers needed to register and pay a fee to be able to cultivate or manufacture hemp. The American Medical Association was opposed to the law due to the many benefits it has and lack of evidence regarding the dangers. Even though the medical industry was still fighting for it, in 1942 it was removed from the USP. Some think Dupont possibly had a hand in it too when they realized that hemp product would cut into their market after they developed synthetic fibers.
Since then, researchers, physicians and advocates for cannabis medicines have been fighting to bring it back and put it in a better light again. A lot more research has been done since then regarding cannabis and the effects on different medical conditions. In 1947, Davis and Ramses tested delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) isomers on children with epilepsy. All the children responded well. One child’s seizures stopped completely. Raphael Mechoulam was able to isolate the THC from hashish and provide details on the chemical structure and synthesis in 1964.
In 1969 the Supreme Court abolished the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. This act required growers to register with the government and pay a fee to be able to marijuana. This only lasted about one year when Nixon created the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). It has 5 scheduled levels of drugs. Schedule 1 is for drugs that have no medicinal uses and a higher chance of abuse. They put drugs like heroin, cocaine and cannabis on this list. The drugs on the schedule 1 list could not be used for any medical purposes or in any medicine. Shortly after, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was created to enforce this new law and start the war on drugs. In 1974 – National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) was able to grow 6.5 acres of cannabis per year to supply researchers to prove the dangers of cannabis but was never able to prove this.
In 1978 The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program (IND) was created. This was due to Bob Randall, who had glaucoma, and a few other patients that required cannabis for treatment. They could receive free medicinal cannabis of they could get a physician testimony along with a lot of bureaucracy. It had to be shut down after facing a flood of requests from AIDS patients. However, in 1985 the FDA approved Marinol (synthetic THC in pill form) for anorexia, Aids and cancer.
In the 1980’s research studies were released. One stating mothers to who smoked cannabis while pregnant improved school performance and development in the children. Researchers from St Louis discovered that the body and brain have unique receptors for cannabinoids. The cannabinoids from hemp generate therapeutic benefits by interacting with the body’s natural ECS (endocannabinoid system). In 1988 a Chief Administrative Law Judge determined that cannabis is “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man”. He tried to get it on to schedule 3 but was overruled by DEA Administer John Law.
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In 1996 California legalized medical marijuana. This sparked more conversations about the medical uses of cannabis. By the next year UK House of Lords recommended medical cannabis to be studied for multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. GW Pharmaceuticals developed Sativex – oromuscosol spray with THC and CBD to treat MS spasticity. In 2003 the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA) or Senate Bill 420 went through. It clarified the provisions of Proposition 215. They also wanted to protect the users and their caregivers from any prosecution or arrests, so a voluntary patient registry was created. This allowed them to provide identification cards to the patients. It also formalized the use of medical marijuana. This laid the groundwork for regulated dispensaries. Patients would testify on the therapeutic benefits they get from medicinal cannabis. People were looking at cannabis from a different angle. All this was instrumental in changing the perception of cannabis and the continuation of research. Since then, over half of the states have legalized medicinal marijuana and some have legalized the recreational use of it too.