Modern History of Medicinal Cannabis
Humanity is using cannabis as medicine since time immemorial, from archeological digs to ancient written text cannabis was used to alleviate humans suffering from a variety of ailments and illness. In ancient China written on the Shennong Bencaojing, a Chinese book on agricultural and medicinal plants written about 206 BC and 220 AD the oldest Chinese pharmacopeia "The use of Cannabis in medicine was probably a very early development. Since ancient humans used hemp seed as food, it was quite natural for them to also discover the medicinal properties of the plant." and Chinese surgeon Hua Tao (c. 140-208) is credited with being the first recorded person to use cannabis as an anesthetic. He reduced the plant to powder and mixed it with wine for administration prior to conducting surgery. Elizabeth Wayland Barber writes "Chinese evidence proves a knowledge of the narcotic properties of Cannabis at least from the 1st millennium B.C.". Even Dutch sinologist writes that;
"The medical uses were highlighted in a pharmacopeia of the Tang, which prescribed the root of the plant to remove a blood clot, while the juice from the leaves could be ingested to combat tapeworm. The seeds of cannabis, reduced to powder and mixed with rice wine, were recommended in various other materia medica against several ailments, ranging from constipation to hair loss. The Ming dynasty Mingyi bielu provided detailed instructions about the harvesting of the heads of the cannabis sativa plant (mafen, mabo), while the few authors who acknowledged hemp in various pharmacopoeias seemed to agree that the resinous female flowering heads were the source of dreams and revelations. After copious consumption, according to the ancient Shennong bencaojing, one could see demons and walk like a madman, even becoming 'in touch with the spirits' over time. Other medical writers warned that ghosts could be seen after ingesting a potion based on raw seeds blended with calamus and podophyllum (guijiu)".
In 2007 a late Neolithic grave attributed to the Beakers culture in Gelderland dating back to 2459-2203 BCE was found containing an unusually large concentration of pollen. After five years of careful investigation these pollen were concluded to be mostly cannabis along with a smaller amount of meadowsweet. Due to the fever-reducing properties of meadowsweet, the archeologists speculated that the person in the grave had likely been very ill, in which case the cannabis would have served as painkiller.
In ancient Egypt, the Ebers papyrus (c. 1550 BC), the Ramesseum III papyrus (13 BC), the Brugsch papyrus (1300 BC), the Chester Beatty Medical papyrus VI (1300 BC) describe using hemp (cannabis) in suppositories for relieving the pain of hemorrhoids, treat sore eyes. Even ancient Egyptian text dating back to the 18th century BCE there are reference to cannabis as plant medicine.
In India cannabis is a major component in religious and medicinal practice since ancient times incorporating cannabis in some form in their daily lives. Doctors of ancient India confirm that cannabis' psychoactive properties and use it for treating a variety of illnesses and ailments, these included insomnia, headaches, a whole host of gastrointestinal disorders, pain and cannabis was frequently used to relieve the pain of childbirth. An Indian philosopher even expressed his views on the nature and uses of bhang (a form of cannabis), which combined religious thought with medical practices.
Greek historian Heredotus in 5th century BC wrote that the Scythians of the Middle East used cannabis in steam baths, these baths drove the people to a frenzied state. The ancient Greeks used cannabis to dress wounds and sores on their horses. They use dried leaves of cannabis to treat nose bleeds on humans, and cannabis seeds were used to expel tapeworms. They frequently use steep green seeds of cannabis in either water or wine, later taking the seeds out and using the warm extract to treat inflammation and pain resulting from obstruction of the ear.
In the Islamic world from Northern Africa to Spain and Portugal Islamic physicians use of the diuretic, antiemetic, antiepileptic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties of Cannabis sativa during the Medieval times and used it extensively from 8th century up to 18th century.
Modern History
Medical interest in the use of cannabis began to grow in the West during the mid 19th century. Cannabis was one of the secret ingredients in several so-called patent medicines, there were more than 280 manufactures that were producing at 2,000 cannabis medicines prior to 1937 , the year Marihuana Tax Act was passed. Irish physician, William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, is credited for introducing the therapeutic use of cannabis to Western medicine in English-speaking countries, he conducted a cannabis experiment in the 1830s during his tenure as Assistant-Surgeon and Professor of Chemistry at the Medical College of Calcutta in India Administering is preparations first to animals then to humans to help treat muscle spasms, stomach cramps or general pain.
Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau (1804 – 1884), nicknamed "Moreau de Tours" used cannabis to to treat melancholia and migraines, and as a sleeping aid, analgesic and anticonvulsant. Even in the Scandinavia a maltose and cannabis-based drink Maltos-Cannabis was widely available in Denmark and Norway, It is even promoted as "an excellent lunch drink, especially for children and young people", it even won a prize at the Exposition Internationale d'Anvers in 1894. Later researchers investigating methods of detecting cannabis intoxication discovered that smoking the drug reduced intraocular pressure. Antibacterial effects were described at the Palacký University of Olomouc in the Czech republic in 1955. Dr. Albert Lockhart and Manley West began studying the health effects of traditional cannabis use in Jamaican communities. They discovered that Rastafarians had unusually low glaucoma rates and local fishermen were washing their eyes with cannabis extract in the belief that it would improve their sight in 1964. this led physician Tod H. Mikuriya reignited the debate concerning cannabis as medicine when he published "Marijuana Medical Papers" in 1973. High intraocular pressure causes blindness in glaucoma patients, so he hypothesized that using the drug could prevent blindness in patients.
Pharmaceutical companies tried to copy the effectiveness of THC by developing a synthetic version of it in the US but it didn't succeed, Marinol a capsule, to be swallowed as patients complained that the violent nausea associated with chemotherapy made swallowing capsules difficult and slower to take effect than smoking which took effect almost immediately. Smoking has remained the route of choice for many patients because its onset of action provides almost immediate relief from symptoms and because that fast onset greatly simplifies titration. For these reasons, and because of the difficulties arising from the way cannabinoids are metabolized after being ingested, oral dosing is probably the least satisfactory route for cannabis administration.
With the passing of many medical cannabis legislation in the US and recently Europe, cannabis is fast gaining it's lost heritage as a plant medicine, a source of relief for the people in ancient times and today.
Sources
Video:
Dr. Kaesi Opara MD, a University of Cambridge graduate of Medicine
Dr. Jay Joshi MD, Northwestern University and fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital
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