Cannabis in Ancient History: Courage, Conflict, and Greed

Introduction: Cannabis as an Ancient Cultivated Plant

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history, having been grown in many different geographic locations across thousands of years. It has not always required much courage to do so, as only in the last hundred years has the plant been stigmatized and criminalized. The earliest known examples of cultivated cannabis appear in the bio-archaeological records of Eastern Europe, China, and Central Asia. References to cannabis cultivation begin to appear in Greece and ancient Rome by the first millennium BCE. Cannabis was initially grown as a utility plant, not necessarily used as a medicine or sacrament. By about 3000 BCE, however, cannabis was being used both medicinally and religiously.

The cannabis plant itself has changed somewhat, with modern horticultural techniques making it possible to isolate desirable compounds and traits. Some varieties yield tough, fibrous materials ideal for fabrics, ropes, and paper; others possess more psychoactive properties and are better suited for medicinal use. Only recently has cannabis taken on political overtones, having come under scrutiny and been mislabeled as a narcotic. The prohibition on drugs appears to be rapidly coming to an end, as the United States has been liberalizing its drug policies on a state-by-state basis and several countries around the world have begun opening cannabis up to research once more. It is requiring great courage to overcome the biases against what is, in essence, a simple but versatile weed.

Hemp and Cannabis in Ancient China

The "earliest probable extant evidence of hemp use" has been located in prehistoric dwellings unearthed in what is now the Czech Republic, dating from 25,000 BCE (Head 1). Hemp was also being cultivated in ancient Taiwan and China by about the tenth millennium BCE, with the bulk of evidence pointing to its use for rope and clothing (Gumbiner). Most hemp varieties derive from the male cannabis plant and do not typically possess psychoactive properties. Hemp has long been valued for its utility in rope, cloth, and other fibrous materials. It has been described as the first known "war crop," given the use of hemp in stringing bows that were definitively employed in warfare in ancient China (Gumbiner). Ancient Chinese records also detail the use of hemp in the earliest known forms of paper manufacturing.

Chinese herbalists and historians began documenting the psychoactive properties of female varieties of cannabis several thousands of years later. Shen-Nung, the Father of Chinese Medicine, wrote about cannabis in major medical texts such as the Pen Ts'ao (Gumbiner; Head). Cannabis was therefore listed in the Chinese pharmacopeia as a plant capable of treating a wide variety of ailments, from pain relief to the treatment of absent-mindedness (Gumbiner). Both the male and female plants offered an extensive range of uses, including oil derived from the seeds ("Marijuana Since the Beginning of Time" 1). Within the next thousand years, trade with the Chinese meant that both hemp and cannabis became relatively widespread throughout the region. Chinese doctors appear to have been aware of the potential psychoactive properties of cannabis but remained primarily focused on its application for physical rather than mental ailments — noting, for instance, that it "if taken in excess, will produce hallucinations" ("Marijuana Since the Beginning of Time" 1).

Cannabis Spreads to India and Egypt

Although Chinese doctors used cannabis to treat ailments, there is no evidence that the herb was used as a religious sacrament until cannabis spread to India. There is written evidence that hemp and cannabis were both used in ancient Egypt, but only medicinally rather than as a mind-altering substance. The ancient Egyptian Ramesseum Papyri, for example, mention hemp preparations to treat ailments ranging from eye problems to menstrual cramps (Head 1). In India, by contrast, "entire systems of medicine were being built up around" the use of cannabis preparations (Turner). Because the herb had psychoactive properties, it was valued and respected there. Cannabis was "prescribed for a variety of ailments, including dandruff, headaches, mania, insomnia, venereal disease, leprosy, whooping cough and tuberculosis" (Turner 1998).

By the time cannabis cultivation and use spread to India, it was increasingly being employed for religious and psychedelic functions. Exploring the often intense and nearly hallucinogenic states that cannabis might induce undoubtedly required courage. "It wasn't until India came upon cannabis that it became a widespread religious and medicinal intoxicant," (Gumbiner 1). The most important Indian texts, the Vedas, mention cannabis as a religious sacrament. The Atharva-Veda, one of the four ancient Hindu Vedas, refers to hemp as a "sacred herb" in Book XI, 6:15–16 (cited in Head 1). The term "ganja," now a common colloquial name for cannabis, is itself a Sanskrit word (Head). Preparations known as bhang continue to be commonplace in India, where cannabis is used both medicinally and for its psychoactive properties. Cannabis was being used for standard medical needs but also as a religious sacrament and psychoactive substance employed by shamans (Head). As one source notes, "Most cultures viewed marijuana as a gift, or treasure, from the Divine Spirit, to be used during ceremonials, at which time it was either burned as incense, [or] ingested for deep meditative and heightened awareness" ("Marijuana Since the Beginning of Time" 1). Such explorations of the mind required genuine spiritual courage.

Conclusion: The Courage to Re-Educate

In the United States, a "war on drugs" political campaign beginning with President Nixon in the 1970s has persisted as determined drug policy. Only within the past few years has common sense begun to prevail, with the gradual dismantling of prohibition on a state-by-state and country-by-country basis. Some areas have completely decriminalized cannabis; others have permitted its medicinal use. The courage to re-educate the public requires the elimination of disinformation, which will eventually result in the de-escalation of conflict and the easing of a greed-based approach to cannabis cultivation and policy.

The cannabis plant, which had been cultivated for roughly 10,000 years across diverse cultures and continents — valued first for its utility, then its medicine, then its spiritual dimensions — deserves to be understood in full historical context. From the prehistoric dwellings of the Czech Republic and the ancient fields of Taiwan to the pharmacies of Victorian England and the dispensaries of modern America, cannabis has accompanied human civilization at virtually every stage. Reclaiming that history honestly, and allowing science to guide policy rather than fear and profit, is the challenge that now confronts the present generation.