The History of Cannabis

Throughout the annals of history Cannabis has been grown for its litany of uses, from industrial to medicinal to recreational. Ancient civilizations began growing this plant around the same time that the agricultural revolution first occurred, meaning this crop was important enough that it was one of the first to be grown by humanity. Some even argue that Cannabis was THE first crop to be grown, as it is nutritiously very dense while still being highly useful to make clothes and rope and housing for a burgeoning society. With this being said, it is interesting that today Cannabis is looked at in a completely different light. Despite its importance throughout most of history, the past century has seen it turned into an illicit narcotic. But, today the popular opinion is shifting back to legalization of this very important plant.

“To Know where your going you must know where you are coming from”

 Cannabis first began coming into the picture about 12,000 BC in Southern Asia as a cultivated crop. The Yangshao culture of China around 5-3,000 BC in the Yellow River valley used this crop in just about every wake of life from medicinal to clothing to industrial, in fact their entire economy was driven around this plant. Unsurprisingly researchers have discovered this is most likely where Cannabis began to evolve, the Central Asian regions, and was spread by humans from thereon. The emperor Shen Nung was the first to document to the written record about the plants effectiveness in treating rheumatism and gout, he saw the crop as a boon to his people. Just about every part of the Cannabis plant was used by these cultures. Cannabis was prevalent here both for psychoactive uses and as a tool. It was held in such high regard that tombs were filled with Cannabis for use in the afterlife.

The spread of the plant eastwards throughout Europe began in about 2000 BC as coastal farmers in China took Cannabis to Korea. Here it spread throughout that region and reached India sometimes about the Aryan invasions, about 1500 BC. Cannabis here was called Bhang and was used rigorously in religious rituals as well as the clothing and medicines of previous cultures. The Ancient Egyptians, as well, had a similar affiliation with Cannabis. It was used to lift spirits and provide relief to those suffering from cataracts, much like we do today. Cannabis pollen has been found in almost every important Egyptian royal tomb. During this time the Greeks were also using Cannabis as a medicine for earaches, edema, and inflammation as well as a thinking tool that may be responsible for some of the important philosophies that came about in this region.

It wasn’t until the 5th century that was have evidence of Cannabis arriving in Britain, during their Anglo-Saxon invasions. It had successfully traveled from one coast of Europe to the other and held a deep impact for almost every culture it touched. Cannabis was used mostly as hemp for the British, making ropes for their ships out of the plant. The next big leap for Cannabis came in the mid-1500s from the Spanish who began cultivating the crop in South America; the British followed suit in 1611 when Cannabis was brought to Jamestown. Cannabis was found to be a major boon for the growing country of  the US, so much so that anyone who had land was made to grow Cannabis. It became the second biggest cash crop of the new country, next to tobacco, even the founding fathers were avid growers of the plant. Evidence shows that Washington even experimented with high THC strains of the plant.

medical During the 19th century Cannabis was widely available, like many other drugs that are banned today, at drug stores as a refined liquid known as Hashish and in hemp form as well. It was common in most medicines to help a variety of ailments. Strangely, Cannabis was never seen as a recreation substance, this is a new term invented during the 20th century. Yes, it was known to lift spirits and make one feel better, but there was never the negative stigma seen with drugs such as alcohol or the opiums.

Actually smoking the Cannabis bud was not commonplace until the turn of the 20th century where Mexican immigrants first brought the practice over. This was part of the issue that led the banning of the substance, as the public held bigotry towards these people and anything to do with them. This put Cannabis in a bad light for the first time in recorded history. Cannabis began to be associated with anything bad immigrant were responsible for. Between 1914-1925 twenty-six states passed laws banning the plant with little public outcry or debate.

Capitalizing on the rabid bigotry of this time certain newspapers began running stories showing horrendous crimes being committed by minorities and blamed Cannabis partially for these wrong-doings. It was depicted as a drug that caused the corruption of youth in the US. This public scare campaign led the nation’s top narcotics officials to jump onto this case. They produced terrible images depicting suicide, rape, robbery, murders—all of which were allegedly committed by users of Cannabis.  Some tried to argue back against these untruths, but were silenced by the media.

This trend continues until very recently, with new laws being passed pushing jail time on anyone who was caught with this plant. The very act of having the plant on your person is capable of landing one heavy prison time because of these horrific propaganda campaigns. Luckily, the counter-culture still exists. Many use this plant for a variety of uses, despite the risks, and the public conscious is quickly turning to a rational sense once again. States in the US are following suit and allowing Medical Cannabis to be used with a prescription, and certain areas even allow recreational use. As the US lessens its clutches on controlling what the populous can and cannot intake into their bodies, the rest of the world will hopefully follow suit and look to the success in countries such as the Netherlands who never push for prohibition and the prosperity in the states of the US that allow for recreational use and the tax money it has given them.