THE HISTORY OF MEDICAL CANNABIS
The cannabis plant, called Cannabis sativa, has been used for thousands of years, dating all the way back to ancient India. It has been cultivated for fibres since 4000 BC to make things like rope, clothing and building materials. Cannabis is also one of the oldest medicinal plants, utilized all across the globe alongside other plant-based and natural therapies. Its use as medicine can be traced back over 5,000 years to China. Traditional Chinese medicine used every part of the plant and prescribed it for health concerns including constipation, vomiting, menstrual issues, nervous disorders, wounds and hair loss. Cannabis was also used as an anaesthetic before surgery.
Around 1840, Dr. William O’Shaughnessy introduced cannabis toWestern medicine. He recommended cannabis for a variety of therapeutic uses, such as relieving pain, muscle spasms and convulsions — benefits that are still recognized today.
In the 1800s and 1900s, cannabis was a common component in patent medicines. It was used in tinctures, fluid extracts, powders and cough syrups. Originally manufactured and sold in local apothecaries, they were later produced as brand-name drugs by large pharmaceutical companies.
Canada was one of the first countries to ban cannabis, criminalizing it in 1923 with the Act to Prohibit the Improper Use of Opium and Other Drugs, though the reasons behind this are unclear. The United States followed suit the following decade.
Despite its illegality, people continued to use cannabis to treat a variety of health conditions. Anecdotal evidence of its benefits grew, and patients began demanding legal access to medical cannabis. Research into its therapeutic efficacy has been an active area of study for over 40 years, helping us to understand how cannabis can be used in medical practice.