HISTORY OF CANNABIS

The use of Cannabis for medical purposes has been actively documented for more than 6000 years.¹

In fact, the earliest evidence of cannabis cultivation dates back to 4000 B.C in China, where cannabis was an important part of the diet.  It was even considered as one of “the 5 grains” together with rice, barley, millet, and soy beans.²

During the Han Dynasty in China (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) the world’s oldest pharmacopeia, Pen-ts’ao ching, was written based on oral traditions passed down to generations since 2.700 B.C. The pharmacopeia indicates that cannabis is useful for a range of diseases, here among, rheumatic pain, intestinal constipation, disorders of the female reproductive system or even malaria. On top of that, it has been used to anesthetize patients during surgery.³

The therapeutic use of cannabis was introduced to western medicine in 1839 by the Irish physician William O’Shaughnessy, the author of “On the preparations of Indian hemp or gunjah’’. His writings were based on his work experience in India, where he worked for the British East India Company. To gather the necessary knowledge, he reviewed existing literature about cannabis as well as conferred with elders and healers to understand the recreational and medical use of cannabis.

However, it was not before O’Shayghnessy’s own successful attempt in proving cannabis’s safety and its analgesic and sedative properties that the plant rapidly earned a central role in western medicine throughout Europe and North America.
The rapid adoption of cannabis’ benefits, resulted in the establishment of Committee on Cannabis Indica, of the Ohio State Medical Society, which in 1860 reported cannabis to be a base of successful treatment against gonorrhea, asthma, rheumatism, and intense stomach pain.

The increasing popularity led to the Cannabis status of an over-the-counter pharmaceutical known as “Piso’s cure” or “one-day cough cure”.

In 1924, with more than half a century’s use of cannabis, the Sajous’s Analytic Cyclopedia of Practical Medicine concluded that the plant was useful in the treatment of migraines, coughing and inflammation along with diseases such as tetanus, rabies and gonorrhea.¹

In the time between the prohibition of cannabis and the growing tolerance towards the plant’s medical benefits, a revolutionary study on why the cannabis plant possesses medical properties and how the plant interacts with human biology was conducted by professor Raphael Mechoulam and professor Yechiel Gaoni from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. They found that the active component of cannabis molecules named cannabinoids can act in the human brain by interfering with the intrinsic neuronal signaling system through imitating endocannabinoids.

Soon after, it was discovered that endocannabinoids were cannabinoids produced by human bodies that belonged to a – until then – unknown complex system in the human body.
The unknown system was named the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and it is the foundation for understanding cannabis interaction with human biology and chemistry.⁹

In 2018 WHO concluded that CBD, is safe and well-tolerated in humans (and animals) as it is not associated with any known negative public health effects and neither has any abuse potential. Furthermore, WHO reported that CBD has been found as an effective treatment for epilepsy as demonstrated in several clinical trials, whilst  preliminary evidence suggests that CBD may be beneficial in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other severe conditions.¹⁰