The History of Cannabis: 5,000 Years of Use

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants known to humanity. Archaeological finds, written sources and ethnobotanical research demonstrate that humans have maintained a close relationship with this versatile plant for at least 5,000 years. The history of cannabis is inseparably intertwined with the history of medicine, trade, religion and social policy. This article traces the plant's journey through the centuries – from the first documented uses in Central Asia through colonial dissemination to global prohibition and today's legalization movement.

## Botanical Basics: What Is Cannabis?

Before diving into the history, it is worth taking a brief look at the plant itself. Cannabis sativa L. is an annual herbaceous plant from the Cannabaceae family. It is dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants. The female plants produce the resin-rich flower clusters that contain the majority of psychoactive and medicinally active compounds. Depending on variety and environmental conditions, the plant can grow between 30 centimetres and over four metres tall.

The taxonomy of cannabis remains disputed to this day. Some botanists distinguish three species – Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis – while others consider all forms to be varieties of a single species (Cannabis sativa). For cultural history, this distinction is of secondary importance: humanity has used and cultivated cannabis in all its forms.

The chemical composition of cannabis is extraordinarily complex. Over 140 phytocannabinoids have been identified, including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as the primary psychoactive compound and cannabidiol (CBD) as a non-psychoactive cannabinoid with diverse pharmacological properties. In addition, there are over 200 terpenes, flavonoids and other secondary plant compounds that together determine the effect and flavour profile of a particular cannabis variety.

## Origins in Central Asia

According to current research, the botanical homeland of Cannabis sativa lies in the region of present-day Central Asia, presumably in eastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwestern China. Pollen finds and genetic analyses suggest that the plant spread from there along human trade routes in all directions. A 2019 study published in Science Advances located the probable origin of the domesticated cannabis plant in northwestern China and dated the earliest cultivation to approximately 12,000 years before our era – making cannabis one of the oldest cultivated plants of all.

The earliest archaeological evidence for psychoactive use comes from the Pamir Mountains in present-day Tajikistan. There, archaeologists found wooden incense burners in burial sites from the 5th century BCE containing residues of cannabis with elevated THC content. These finds suggest that cannabis was used not only as a fibre source but also deliberately for its intoxicating effect in prehistoric times – possibly in the context of religious or shamanistic rituals.

## Ancient China: Medicine and Fibre Production

China is the earliest civilization to document systematic cannabis use. The Shennong Bencaojing, a compendium of Chinese herbal medicine traditionally attributed to the mythical Emperor Shennong and probably compiled around the 1st or 2nd century CE, lists cannabis (ma) as one of 365 remedies. It was recommended for gout, rheumatism, malaria, constipation and absent-mindedness. The seeds were considered nutritious and used as food.

Equally significant was the use of hemp fibre. Chinese farmers cultivated cannabis for producing textiles, ropes and paper. The oldest surviving paper in the world, dated to approximately 100 BCE and found in a Han Dynasty tomb, consists of hemp fibres. The strategic importance of hemp ropes and fabrics for the Chinese military is also well documented. Cannabis was thus an economically and militarily significant raw material.

## India: Sacred Plant and Ayurvedic Medicine

In India, cannabis holds a unique cultural and religious position that resonates to this day. The Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas dated to approximately 1500–1000 BCE, mentions cannabis (Bhang) as one of five sacred plants that alleviate fear and suffering. In Hindu mythology, cannabis is associated with the god Shiva, who is revered as the Lord of Bhang. To this day, devotees drink Bhang Lassi – a beverage made from ground cannabis leaves, milk and spices – during the Holi festival and other religious celebrations.

Ayurvedic medicine used cannabis for centuries as a remedy for pain, insomnia, loss of appetite and nervous complaints. Cannabis also found application in Unani medicine, the Islamic healing tradition of India. The British colonial administration commissioned the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission in 1893 to conduct a comprehensive study of cannabis use in India. The 3,281-page final report concluded that moderate cannabis use was practically harmless and that a ban was neither justified nor enforceable – a remarkably progressive assessment that remained without consequences for decades.

## Ancient Egypt and the Near East

Cannabis was also known in ancient Egypt, though the source material is thinner than for China or India. The Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical documents in the world from the 16th century BCE, probably contains references to cannabis as a remedy, although the identification of individual plant names remains disputed among Egyptologists. Archaeological finds are more definitive: pollen traces of cannabis were detected in the tomb of Ramesses II.

In the Near East, cannabis probably spread via trade routes from Central Asia. Assyrian cuneiform tablets from the 9th century BCE mention a plant called qunnabu – linguistically a direct precursor of the word cannabis. In the Islamic cultural sphere, the use of hashish developed from the Middle Ages onward, particularly in Egypt, Persia and North Africa. Since the Quran prohibits alcohol consumption but does not explicitly mention cannabis, hashish was regarded as a tolerated intoxicant in some Islamic societies – though there were also periodic prohibitions.

## Cannabis in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

In Europe, cannabis was initially known primarily as industrial hemp. The Romans cultivated hemp for ropes and sailcloth, and hemp cultivation was widespread across much of Europe in the Middle Ages. The word "canvas" derives etymologically from cannabis. Monasteries such as that of Hildegard von Bingen in the 12th century also documented medical applications of hemp – for headaches, nausea and stomach complaints.

The psychoactive use of cannabis played a minor role in Europe for a long time, probably due to the cultivated varieties having low THC content. This changed with colonial connections to India and the Orient. In the 19th century, European scientists and travellers brought knowledge of the intoxicating effect back to Europe. The Irish physician William Brooke O'Shaughnessy introduced cannabis into Western medicine in the 1840s after studying its therapeutic effects in India. His publications triggered broad scientific interest, and cannabis was included in numerous European and American pharmacopoeias.

## The Club des Hashischins and the Bohème

In Paris, psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Moreau founded the famous Club des Hashischins in the 1840s, whose members included writers such as Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire. At their monthly meetings in the Hôtel Pimodan on the Île Saint-Louis, members consumed dawamesk – a hashish-infused confection – and discussed its effects on perception and creativity. Baudelaire dedicated an extensive chapter to hashish in his work Les Paradis artificiels (1860). This intellectual engagement significantly contributed to making cannabis known among the European educated classes, while simultaneously shaping the image of the drug as a substance of bohemian and marginal circles.

## Colonial Spread and Economic Importance

European colonial powers spread hemp cultivation around the world. Spanish conquistadors brought cannabis to Central and South America in the 16th century; English settlers brought it to North America. In the North American colonies, hemp cultivation was at times legally mandated – George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp on their plantations. The British Navy depended on hemp ropes and sails, making hemp a strategic raw material.

In Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean, cannabis spread through Indian indentured labourers deployed by colonial powers as plantation workers. They brought the tradition of ganja smoking, which took deep root in societies like Jamaica and would later shape the Rastafari movement and global reggae culture.

## The Beginning of Prohibition: From Medicine to Ban

The turning point came in the early 20th century. Several factors converged to transform cannabis from a widely used medicinal plant into a stigmatized drug. In the United States, Harry J. Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), played a key role. From 1930 onward, he conducted an aggressive campaign against cannabis that drew heavily on racial prejudice. Anslinger systematically linked cannabis use to Mexican immigrants and African-American jazz musicians, stoking fears of an alleged threat to white society.

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 made cannabis effectively illegal in the US by imposing prohibitively high taxes on possession and trade. The law was passed over the explicit objections of the American Medical Association, which feared the loss of a valuable medicine. The propaganda of this era – exemplified by the notorious film Reefer Madness (1936) – painted a grotesque picture of cannabis as a trigger for madness, violence and moral decay.

## International Prohibition: The UN Conventions

American prohibition policy was internationalized through the United Nations. The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs classified cannabis in the strictest control category and obligated signatory states to criminalize possession and trade. This classification was based less on scientific evidence than on political pressure from the United States.

The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs further tightened the international prohibition framework. For decades, these conventions formed the legal basis for the criminalization of cannabis in virtually every country in the world.

Only in 2020 did the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, following a recommendation from the World Health Organization, remove cannabis from the strictest control category (Schedule IV) of the Single Convention – a symbolically important step acknowledging the growing scientific evidence for the medical benefits of cannabis.

## Cannabis in the New World: America Before Prohibition

The history of cannabis in America begins long before prohibition. Spanish colonizers brought hemp to Mexico and South America in the 16th century, where it was initially cultivated as a fibre source for the navy and textile industry. In North America, hemp was one of the most important crops from the earliest colonial times. Virginia, Kentucky and other southern states produced large quantities of hemp for rope manufacture.

Medical use of cannabis spread in the US from the mid-19th century onward. Cannabis tinctures were freely available in pharmacies and used for a wide range of complaints – from migraine through menstrual pain to insomnia. Among the most prominent advocates was Sir William Osler, one of the founders of modern clinical medicine, who in 1913 called cannabis the best medicine for migraine.

Only with the Mexican immigration wave following the 1910 revolution did the image begin to shift. The American press adopted the Mexican-Spanish term marijuana – a deliberate linguistic device separating the familiar medicinal plant cannabis from the threatening-sounding marijuana and evoking racial associations.

## The Counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s

Prohibition policy could not eliminate cannabis use – quite the contrary. In the 1960s and 1970s, cannabis became a symbol of the counterculture in the US and Europe. The hippie movement, anti-Vietnam War protests and the general questioning of social norms accompanied a massive increase in cannabis consumption. Woodstock, the Summer of Love in San Francisco and student movements in Europe shaped a generation for whom cannabis became an expression of freedom and nonconformism.

The political response was the War on Drugs, declared by US President Richard Nixon in 1971. Nixon's domestic policy adviser John Ehrlichman admitted decades later that drug policy was deliberately deployed against political opponents: the anti-war movement and the African-American population. The War on Drugs led to massive criminalization that disproportionately affected minorities and caused the US prison population to swell dramatically.

## Dutch Tolerance Policy

The Netherlands assumed a special position in cannabis policy. As early as 1976, the country introduced a distinction between hard and soft drugs and tolerated the sale of small quantities of cannabis in so-called coffeeshops. This gedoogbeleid (tolerance policy) made the Netherlands an international symbol of liberal drug policy but also attracted criticism: production and wholesale remained illegal (the so-called back-door problem), which did not eliminate the black market but merely shifted it.

## The Modern Legalization Movement

The turn toward modern legalization began in the 21st century. Uruguay became the first country in the world in 2013 to legalize the entire cannabis market – from production through sales to consumption. Beginning in 2012, US states such as Colorado and Washington legalized cannabis for recreational use through ballot initiatives. By 2026, more than 20 US states have fully legalized cannabis, although it remains illegal at the federal level – a legal anomaly under increasing pressure.

Canada followed in 2018 as the first G7 country with nationwide adult-use legalization. The Canadian model with government-regulated retail outlets and strict quality controls serves as a reference for many countries. In Europe, Malta took a pioneering role in 2021, becoming the first EU country to legalize private possession and home cultivation.

Germany joined this progression in 2024 with the Cannabis Consumption Act (KCanG). The law permits possession, home cultivation and collective production in Cannabis Social Clubs but forgoes a commercial market – a compromise resulting from both domestic political and EU legal considerations.

## The Impact of Prohibition: A Balance Sheet

The global cannabis prohibition spanning more than half a century has left deep societal scars. The balance sheet is sobering: cannabis use was not eliminated but rose continuously worldwide. According to the 2024 United Nations World Drug Report, an estimated 209 million people worldwide use cannabis – a historic high that impressively demonstrates the ineffectiveness of prohibition.

The social costs of prohibition were enormous. In the United States, over 15 million cannabis-related arrests were made between 2001 and 2020 – more than for all violent crimes combined. The racist dimension of this prosecution is statistically clear: African Americans were arrested three to four times more frequently than whites despite comparable consumption rates. In Germany, prohibition led to approximately 200,000 cannabis-related criminal proceedings annually, the vast majority of which were discontinued – an enormous expenditure of police and judicial resources without measurable benefit.

## Current Global Situation

Global cannabis policy is undergoing profound change. The economic dimensions of the legal cannabis industry are impressive. In the US, the legal cannabis market generated revenue exceeding 30 billion dollars in 2024 and employed approximately 400,000 people. In Canada, legalization has generated billions in tax revenue and created thousands of legal jobs.

In addition to the countries already mentioned, Thailand (2022), Luxembourg and the Czech Republic have implemented gradual liberalizations. In Latin America, Colombia and Mexico are experimenting with reforms. On the African continent, South Africa, Morocco and Lesotho have liberalized cultivation for medical or industrial purposes.

At the same time, cannabis remains illegal in large parts of the world, particularly in many Asian and Middle Eastern states where draconian penalties up to and including the death penalty apply. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia pursue an uncompromising prohibition policy. Even within the EU there are significant differences: while Germany and Malta act liberally, France, Sweden and most Eastern European states maintain strict criminalization.

## Cannabis as an Industrial Raw Material: The Forgotten Dimension

Beyond psychoactive and medicinal use, cannabis has a history as an industrial raw material that is often overlooked. Hemp fibres are among the strongest natural fibres in existence and were used for millennia for textiles, ropes, sailcloth and paper. The first Gutenberg Bible was printed on hemp paper, and the United States Declaration of Independence was initially drafted on hemp paper.

In the 19th century, industrialization made cotton the dominant textile fibre, and in the 20th century, synthetic fibres like nylon definitively displaced hemp from the mass market. Prohibition accelerated this decline, as many countries also banned or severely restricted the cultivation of low-THC industrial hemp.

Since the 1990s, industrial hemp has experienced a renaissance. In the EU, the cultivation of hemp varieties with a THC content below 0.3 percent is legal. Hemp fibres are now used in the automotive industry (as composite materials for interior panels), the construction industry (hempcrete, insulation materials), the textile industry (sustainable fashion) and the paper industry. Hemp seeds are recognized as a superfood containing all essential amino acids and an optimal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

The ecological advantages of hemp are remarkable: the plant requires little water, no pesticides, improves soil structure and captures significant quantities of CO2 during growth. Given the climate crisis, industrial hemp could play a significant role as a sustainable alternative to cotton, plastics and concrete.

## The Role of Science: From Mechoulam to Genomics

The scientific investigation of cannabis has been instrumental in moving the plant from the realm of taboo into evidence-based medicine. Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam first isolated THC in its pure form in 1964, laying the foundation for modern cannabis research. Mechoulam, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 92, is often referred to as the father of cannabis research.

The discovery of the endocannabinoid system in the 1990s revolutionized the understanding of how cannabis works. The realization that the human body produces its own cannabinoid-like substances fundamentally changed the perspective: cannabis does not act as a foreign substance but interacts with the body's own regulatory system.

Genomic research has more recently contributed to decoding the cannabis genome, enabling targeted breeding of varieties with defined active compound profiles. The distinction between indica and sativa strains, which long dominated popular classification, is increasingly being replaced by science with a chemotype-based classification based on actual cannabinoid and terpene profiles.

## Conclusion: A Plant Caught Between Eras

The history of cannabis is a history of contradictions. The same plant revered in ancient cultures as a healing agent and spiritual companion became a projection screen for racist politics and moral panic in the 20th century. The current legalization movement is less a revolution than a return to a normalized relationship with a plant that has accompanied humanity for millennia. The challenge of the present is to learn from the mistakes of prohibition and create a regulatory framework that considers both individual freedom and public health and youth protection.