Most medical marijuana users know that the treatment dates back
thousands of years, but do you know just how far? Most sources date the
historical use of medical
marijuana
back tens of thousands of years.
Throughout that time, cannabis has been a valuable plant used to treat
medical conditions throughout the world. Read on to learn more:
2900 B.C
Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi is credited
with establishing Chinese civilization, and is well-known to have made
references to a substance called "Ma," which historians now know is
cannabis.
Emperor Fu Hsi believed the plant could be used to treat a variety of
medical conditions due to the fact that it contained both yin and yang
energies.
1450 B.C.
In the Bible’s Exodus
30:22-23,
there is a mention of "holy anointing oil," which botanists,
etymologists and anthropologists now agree was a mixture of cannabis
extract mixed
with olive oil and other fragrant herbs. Thousands of years later, in 30
AD, Jesus himself is said to have been anointed with holy cannabis oil.
1213 B.C.
When archaeologists examined the mummy of Ramesses
II, who passed away in 1213
B.C., they were not surprised to find cannabis pollen in large amounts.
In ancient Egypt, medical marijuana was used to treat many
conditions,
ranging from glaucoma to postpartum injuries
1000 B.C.
The *Venidad,*an ancient Persian religious text, lists cannabis as the
single most
important
of the 10,000 available medicinal plants.
200 B.C.
The ancient Greeks used cannabis to treat many
ailments,
ranging from earaches, edema and inflammatory issues.
1 A.D.
The Pen Ts’ao
Ching is an
exhaustive compilation of drug recipes dating back to ancient Chinese
masters. Within it, marijuana is depicted in drawings that show the
plants drying in sheds. The text goes on to recommend cannabis treatment
for gout, malaria and rheumatism.
200 A.D.
When it came time to preform surgery, Chinese surgeon Hua T’o used a
mixture of cannabis resin and wine to anesthetize his
patients.
1621 A.D.
In The Anatomy of
Melencholy,
a popular medical text book written by Robert Burton, medical marijuana
is recommended as a treatment for depression.
1840
Cannabis made its way to the royals when Queen Victoria charged Dr.
William O’Shaughnessy to bring her some to help resolve her crippling
menstrual
cramps.
1930
American Pharmaceutical firm’s began selling medical marijuana
extracts
as sedatives, asthma treatments and analgesics, paving the way for later
medical marijuana use.
1996
California becomes the first state to legalize
marijuana
for medical use.
Although the medical uses of marijuana have been varied, it is clear
that cannabis has had an important role throughout history as a form of
medication.
