In the beginning... a brief history lesson....

Cannabis is one of the oldest medicines known.

Ancient civilizations utilized the plant for its medicinal properties. The earliest records date back to about 2700 B.C., when the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, is said to have discovered marijuana’s medicinal value. A tea made from cannabis leaves was used to treat conditions like gout and malaria. The Egyptian’s used cannabis for glaucoma. Pliny the Elder, ( a Roman) writes of its medicinal properties for violent pain and gout. In India, it was used as an anesthetic.

During the middle ages,

“hemp was central to any herbalist’s medicine cabinet.” Martin Booth Cannabis: A History, 2005 William Shakespear is thought to have used it. In 1611, the Jamestown settelers brought Hemp to North America. It was actually required for farmers to grow. George Washington, himself, grew hemp on his plantation. In Europe, Napolean brings marijuana back to France from Egypt. In the 1840’s, “ marijuana emerged as a mainstream medicine in the West.” Richard Glen Boire, JD and Kevin Fenney,JD Medical Marijuana Law, 2007

And in 1850, Marijuana is Added to US Pharmacopeia….
In the 1930’s, pharmacies were prescribing marijuana extractes as medicine. In 1942 Marijuana is removed from the pharmacopiea and the prohibition of marijuana has begun. By 1970 Congress passed Controlled Substance Act and classified Marijuana to have “no applied medicinal use.” In 1971 Nixon declared War on Drugs and in 1973 The DEA is established classifying maijuana as a class 1 controlled substance.
Since 1972 NORML has been petitioning to reschedule as a class 2, so Dr’s can prescribe once again.

Interestingly it was not until the 1990’s that scientists first discovered cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoid. This brings us to our current day, we have come full circle, almost. Surprisingly, the prohibition of alcohol lasted only 13 years, while the prohibition of marijuana is 60 years and counting…