Ancient and Pre-modern Use
6000 BCE - 1000 CE
900-1000
The use of cannabis spreads throughout the Middle East. Muslim scholars debate whether or not to ban it for religious reasons.
70 CE
The use of medical cannabis is recorded in Roman medical texts.
BCE 200
Ancient Greeks use cannabis for medical purposes, including for earache, edema, and inflammation
BCE 700
Use of medical cannabis is recorded in the Venidad, an ancient Persian religious text by Zoroaster
BCE 300-100
The use of hemp spreads around Europe to make food and textiles.
BCE 1200
The Atharvaveda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptural texts, references cannabis for spiritual purposes.
BCE 1213
Cannabis pollen appears on the mummy of Ramesses II, as cannabis prescriptions were used in ancient Egypt for glaucoma, inflammation, cooling the uterus, and as enemas.
BCE 1450
The Bible's book of Exodus references cannabis in the recipe for holy anointing oil.
BCE 2727
Chinese Emperor Shennong makes reference to medical marijuana as he prepares one of the world's first pharmacopoeias.
BCE 6000
Archaeological evidence of cannabis used as a source of food.
