History of Marijuana

Marijuana has been used both recreationally and medicinally for centuries. There are numerous accounts of its medicinal qualities in multiple historical artifacts. Its use dates back to 2737 B.C. when the
Chinese emperor, Shen Nung, used it for medicinal purposes including malaria, gout, poor memory, rheumatism, and analgesia (Carter et. al.,
2003). Eastern Indian documents, in the Atharvaveda, dating back to
2000 B.C. also refer to its medicinal use. The Jamestown settlers cultivated hemp produced by the marijuana plant. They used these fibers to make clothing, rope, and canvas because of its quality and durability. Physicians in the 19th century were prescribing cannabis as a pain reliever, an anticonvulsant, and for migraine headaches
(Doweiko, 2002). Following his work in India in the 1840's William
O'Shaughnessy introduced medicinal marijuana to the United Kingdom.
Queen Victoria used marijuana for dysmenorrhoea during the same time period (Carter et. al., 2003).

Smoking marijuana recreationally began to spread in the United
States in the 1920's. It began to spread from Mexico and New Orleans up the Mississippi river. Jazz musicians, labor workers, and river boatmen were quickly taking to its euphoric effects (Gettman, 1995).
Smoking marijuana also became more popular during Prohibition when more people began cultivation of the plant and importing it into the U.S. to replace alcohol (Doweiko, 2002). In 1942, marijuana was removed from the United States Pharacopoeia and the Federal Government began to criminalize non-medicinal marijuana possession and use (Carter et al.,
2003). Marijuana became extremely popular in the 1960's and, today, is considered the most widely used illicit drug in the world, Canada, and the United States (Gettman, 1995).

Pharmacology and Chemistry of