A Brief History of Marijuana Usage

Intro:

As most people already know, marijuana has a long and complicated human history.

But just how long has that history been?

Most people know that marijuana is a very ancient plant.

Most people also know that it has been used for literally thousands of years, if not more, by humans.

However, a lot of people don’t know the detailed history of where marijuana came from and how it came to be the plant it is today.

As Veriheal very accurately says:

“Cannabis. It’s an amazing little plant. With huge potential.”

So in this blog post, you’re going to learn a brief history of marijuana usage among humans.

Obviously, to keep the story somewhat brief, this is going to be more of a bullet-pointed version.

It would take volumes and volumes of books to fill out the entire history of this incredible, controversial, and beloved human plant.

Let’s dive into it.

Where Did Marijuana Come From?

Originally, the cannabis plant evolved in Central Asia.

This is where it grew originally, before people began digging it up and introducing it to the continents of Africa, Europe, and eventually the Americas.

Back in those days, hemp fiber was in high demand.

It was used to make clothing, sails, rope, paper, and even food.

Part of the reason for why it was so valuable was because it grew relatively quickly in comparison to other plants.

It was also easy to cultivate, and could be used for a wide variety of different things.

When marijuana came to America, it was widely grown throughout the colonial world.

It was especially popular in the Southwest, in States like Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Early Hemp And THC

Back in those earlier days, the hemp plants had very low levels of THC.

In fact, the levels were low enough that the THC component of the plants wouldn’t have even been that potent.

There’s some evidence in the history of some cultures that leads us to believe that some of those cultures may have cultivated varieties of hemp that had higher levels of THC, which they potentially used in religious ceremonies.

However, the truth about ancient cultures and their THC use remains a bit of a mystery.

With that being said, here are some things that we do know about how the ancient humans on planet Earth used cannabis for the benefit of its THC properties.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus once wrote about the Scythians—a group of Iranian nomadic people from Central Asia who inhaled the smoke from cannabis seeds and flowers to enjoy a euphoric high.

We also know that hashish, which is a purified form of cannabis that’s often smoked with a pipe, was widely used throughout different parts of Asia in the Middle East around 800 AD.

One interesting note is that the rise of hashish use in the Middle East corresponded with the spread of Islam, as the Quran forbade the use of alcohol while not specifically forbidding cannabis.

As far as modern times are concerned, marijuana didn’t see widespread recreational use in the United States until the 1900s.

It was said that immigrants from Mexico, displaced by the tumultuous Mexican Revolution, introduced the practice of smoking recreational marijuana to American culture.

The History Of Medical Marijuana

Marijuana also has a rich history of being used as a medicinal plant.

In fact, in some ancient graves, shamans have been found with collections of burned cannabis seeds—which shows that they may have been used during religious or medicinal ceremonies.

However, modern medicinal cannabis use really began in the 1830s.

An Irish doctor named Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy discovered that the extracts from cannabis helped cholera patients who were suffering from stomach pain and vomiting.

Later on, cannabis extracts were sold in pharmacies and used in doctor’s offices throughout the United States and Europe to treat not only stomach pain, but also other medical ailments.

Nowadays, The Legal Landscape For Marijuana Is Changing

By the year 1931, 29 States in the U.S. had outlawed marijuana.

And by 1937, the Federal government had criminalized marijuana nationwide.

With that being said, recent history has seen a return to legal marijuana. And as of the beginning of 2023, 21 states have legalized recreational marijuana for the first time in close to 100 years.

Marijuana has a long and complicated history— but from the looks of it, a whole new generation of people are going to get to experiment with how big of an impact it could have on daily life in the modern world.

And that’s actually pretty exciting.

Conclusion

There you have it.

A brief history of marijuana use among humans in history.

We hope you’ve found it as interesting as we have!

History is truly a fascinating thing to study.