History
Medical cannabis (commonly known today as marijuana) has a long history, stretching across the globe. One of the earliest records is from China, when a renowned doctor mixed the crushed plant with wine to use as an anesthetic. Physicians in Islam used it extensively to treat an assortment of ailments, as did those in India. Other references of its use abound in Ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek histories. Medieval Europe chronicles the use of hemp for many ailments; sadly, much Western knowledge was lost at this time when countless healers were burned as witches.
The West was re-introduced to medicinal marijuana in 1842 when British surgeon Dr. W. O’Shaughnessy applied his knowledge gained while in India to creating a tincture that served to heal multiple aliments. (Read more about Dr. O’Shaughnessy here.) As a result of Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s work, cannabis became a common medicinal ingredient throughout the 19th century in North America and Europe. In 1923, Canada made it illegal to possess marijuana, and in 1937, the plant was declared an illegal substance in the United States. In 2001, Canada amended its laws to allow people suffering from severe pain due to debilitating or life-threatening illnesses to obtain and use cannabis, becoming one of the first countries in the world to conditionally legalize medical marijuana.
Use
Although the health benefits to suffering patients are indisputable, the safety of smoking marijuana is widely debated. Many users are concerned about the adverse effects of inhaling smoke. There are safer methods to obtain the pain relief offered by cannabis: using vaporizers and/or ingesting the plant, either cooked in food or steeped as tea or simply as hemp oil. There are many recipes available on the internet. A good introductory article on usage can be found here. For more information on vaporizers, click here. (Please note that we are not affiliated with nor do we necessarily endorse the above websites; we provide them here for information purposes only.)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_marijuana
http://antiquecannabisbook.com/chap1/History.htm |
