The Cannabis Presence

With so many miraculous uses, the hemp plant has been known to offer one of the most versatile fibers in the world. For thousands of years, hemp fibers have been used to make clothing, its seeds can be used for food and oils, but most importantly, its microscopic DNA gives the plant more healing properties than any other herb known to man. In the case of cannabis history, the evolution of civilization and its discovery of hemp has defined our future and the herb has become popularly known as a simple plant with extraordinary potential.

Ancient Herb

Beginning with the earliest known evidence, the discoveries of hemp plants are seen in some of the first fabrics, which were created from dried hemp fibers. This strong and adaptable material that’s indigenous to Central and South Asia, was used by humans dating as far back as 8000-7000 BCE[1]. During that time, humans were beginning to create settlements, develop methods of farming and practiced early pottery. As for the hemp plant, some of the earliest recorded proof of early civilizations utilizing its benefits have been found in China[2].

Hemp’s flexibility as a fiber allowed those evolving cultures to create rope, fabric, clothing and other linens. The oldest record of the fiber’s strength was discovered at an ancient Neolithic site in Taiwan, dating back to about 10,000 years ago, where a hemp cord was used to decorate and strengthen pottery[3]. One of the first documented uses of cannabis as a medicine wasn’t until 3,000 years later when the Emperor of China at the time, Shen Neng, records his use of the hemp plant as a medicine in tea[4]. Experimentations with hemp revealed numerous uses in food, clothing, more extensive practices with ancient medicine and even hemp paper[5]. Well after many millennia passed, the Scythians (a semi-nomadic equestrian tribe culture that traveled from Mongolia to Eastern Europe) begin to show great importance of cannabis by leaving seeds in unnamed royal tombs around 700 BCE[6][7].

The Traveling Plant

Soon enough, cannabis plant seeds were exchanged and traded, allowing the herb to naturally travel from its Asian origins into Europe and Northern Africa, where the plant’s medicinal effects began to surface[8]. Many civilizations still utilized the plant as a commonplace material but it was also revered as a material fit for royalty. The Frankish Queen Aregund was reportedly buried between 520 and 580 CE wearing a hemp shroud and surrounded by hemp cloth in her tomb[9].

From there on, many civilizations with more advanced doctors began to test with cannabis, reportedly using the herb for medicine as an anesthetic, a pain reliever for women in labor and scholars begin to take closer looks at the effects of the herb.

Hemp grew to become a powerful commodity and one with a strong presence in the British economy. The English ruler, King Henry VIII, created a law in 1533 that required all British farmers to set aside a piece of their land to dedicate to the growth and cultivation of hemp. If the farmers didn’t do so, they were fined for their defiance[10].

The importance of hemp in that time escalated quickly; one 16th century philosopher’s text mentions the British Empire’s high demand for hemp ship sails, the use of hemp rope for plows and carts, hemp nets for fisherman, and strong, bow-worthy strings for archers[11]. King Henry VIII’s law was later enforced by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, who eventually increased both the amount of hemp the farmer’s must harvest, as well as the price of the penalty for refusing to do so. Due to space limitations, many believe that this great demand for hemp created the need to travel to colonize the known world in search of vast stretches of land[12].

Therefore cannabis and hemp went on a journey, becoming more widely accepted as it traveled through countless countries and civilizations. The British further cultivated the herb in its colonial hubs at Port Royal (Jamaica), Plymouth, Massachusetts and Jamestown, Virginia in the early 18th century—and American cultivation of the herb had begun[13].

Following the American Revolution, the small nation’s first president, George Washington, wrote diaries proving that he grew hemp for its fibrous properties as well as for its medicinal value[14]. Due to the accepted importance of the crop, many other American Presidents grew the herb, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin[15].

The boom of cultivation of cannabis harvesting plantations began right after the American Revolutionary War—Kentucky was one of the first—followed by other Southern states like Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Nebraska and New York at the turn of the 19th century. Although the British no longer had control of its American colonies or its booming hemp cultivation, the herb was still used—especially for the British Queen Victoria (who reigned between 1837 and 1901) who reportedly used cannabis to ease menstrual cramps[16].

The Attack on Cannabis

The late 19th century brought great acceptance of cannabis as it was studied and tested with, but it was also a time of the first bans of the use of the plant, as well as the implementation of taxes which began to hinder the growth of the herb. In the age of cannabis prohibition, which first began in around 1913 in California[17], soon evolved into further bans on the herb Cannabis was even removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia in 1941, as was any recognition of its medical value, and possession of it was soon thereafter given penalty due to the 1951 Boggs Act and Narcotics Control Act[18].

Cannabis experienced decades of downfall due to taxes and government intervention, but it didn’t stop advocates from working to help the herb recover in the eye of the public. The 1970s were a fruitful, where cannabis users began to form groups like the U.S. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) to help bring the herb back from its long-banned status. However the push-and-pull between citizens and the government was a constant struggle for many years. While President Jimmy Carter made a plea to congress to request cannabis decriminalization in order to prevent patients from being penalized for carrying less than an ounce of the herb, and one presidential term later President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which raised penalties for possessing and distributing cannabis[19]. In the end, cannabis prevailed when decades later, California made a monumental comeback as the first state to legalize the herb for medical use in 1996[20]. The last 18 years or so has seen both a struggle and a success in the cannabis industry, but clearly cannabis is well on its way to making a comeback.