Michelle

5 Facts about Cannabis history

Updated: May 17

History behind Weed is vast

For thousands of years, humans have used cannabis. Cannabis covers the entire globe except for Antarctica. Our ancestors have used it for

medicine
food
clothing
Spiritual uses
And so much more

The use of the plant is far-reaching and has the potential to change your perspective on the world around you. All you need is an open mind. And one question we all need to start asking: Why do we humans continue to make the same choices for our world - hoping for a different outcome?

And what does cannabis history have to do with any of this? Well, keep reading to get a taste of how cannabis was used prior to prohibition. There is so much rich and deep history around cannabis I can't even begin to scratch the surface in this one post.

So, I tried to highlight what I consider to be key important information for any user or supporter of the cannabis plant to know. Up until prohibition in the 1920's. With the following expectations: cannabis in the music & movies industry, cannabis in black history, & cannabis in women's history. Why? Because I love music and movies (but I'm not a walking encyclopedia).I'm a parent to a biracial young man who also consumes. And I'm a woman - a strongly opinionated, weed-smoking, and now shroom-consuming woman on a mission.

I believe as users and supporters of the weed plant - we need to know our history. I like to focus on the good. Not because I'm naive, stupid, or blind but because if we want to have any kind of change - we need to start making different choices, have open minds and learn to compromise.

History may be boring for some, but it's usually a great way to help envoke bigger change. And history tells me - we need to focus on the good. And learn to mind our business.

7 cool, interesting facts around weed, or cannabis

1 - Farmers grew hemp in the US of A

Believe it or not, there was a time when the US Government told farmers to grow hemp! yes, it was during the 1600s. Back then it was an important fiber crop in states like Virginia and Maryland, plus many more from around the 1600s up until Cannabis Prohibition.

2 - Cannabis tinctures were sold on pharmacy shelves

How cool is that?!? It's often an overlooked fact in cannabis history. Cannabis tinctures were common for ailments such as headaches, cramps, and stomach issues.

Pharmacies in the US and Europe had cannabis tinctures available for sale on the shelves. And cannabis was listed in the US Pharmacopeia book in 1850 as a possible treatment.

3 - Golden Age of Medicinal Cannabis

There is a time period in history marked as the "Cannabis Golden Year". From 1837 to 1937 is described as the Golden Age of Medicinal Cannabis, a time when there was research, it was prescribed, and it was used responsibly. It was the second most used ingredient during those times. Pretty interesting, huh?

4 - Musicians wrote and sang about weed

Musicians like Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald all famously have songs about the wonders of weed. Check out this post with the top 10 weed songs from women artists. They are all great!

5 - China was the first to grow and cultivate weed

China was the first country to grow and cultivate cannabis for food, clothes, medicine, and spiritual uses. But they weren't the only ones - all major civilizations knew about cannabis and how to use it. China is also believed to invented hemp paper.

6 - Cleopatra is believed to use cannabis for skincare

Hemp oil is believed to be part of Cleopatra's skincare and beauty regime. The juicy part is that because of how Egyptians used cannabis during that time - Cleopatra's use of the plant was more and may have been a mentor to Julius Ceaser using cannabis. Check out the interesting story here.

7 - The 1972 report

Yes, this is outside of topics I like to study, but if you do any research on cannabis history - it will come up. It's important because, going back to how I started this article - history can help evoke the right change. This report is pivotal, it's a starting point to teach us how to undo what we have done and let innocent humans out of jail over a plant. It's the acknowledgment the government already has that this plant is harmless when used correctly.