10,000 BCE

First evidence of hemp used in industrial processes for manufacturing rope, tools, and pottery found in archaeological sites in Taiwan and China

2700 BCE

The Pen Ts’ao Ching (Shennong’s Materia Medica) was an important herbal document that circulated in China. Therein Cannabis is listed as a medicinal plant which treats constipation, malaria, rheumatic pain, and menstrual issues. Shennong also described differential applications for seeds and flower respectively, with early records acknowledging the psychoactive properties of the botanical through accounts of people "seeing ghosts and running frenetically."

2000 BCE

The Atharva Veda, another impactful medical text from antiquity, lists cannabis as one of the five sacred plants. It is referred to as a source of joy, liberation, and healing- indicating that the people of India were aware of the psychoactive applications of cannabis. The Atharva Veda notes that cannabis can treat insomnia, digestive issues, headaches, and more, with detailed instructions on how to prepare bhang (a drink), charas (resin) and ganja (flower tops) for medicinal use.

1000 BCE - 500 BCE

China, India, and Tibetan civilizations further developed traditional medical systems including cannabis as a potent botanical. In China, Cannabis was mentioned in Taoist alchemical texts. It is believed that Taoist shamans may have used cannabis in incense to achieve spiritual visions. In Indian Ayurvedic and religious practices, especially associated with Lord Shiva and yogic traditions, cannabis was used. Tibet is thought to have been introduced to cannabis as an early medicine codified in the Gyud Zhi (an eighth century medical book based on even earlier sources).

500 BCE - 100 CE

In China, Hua Tuo, a Chinese surgeon, reportedly used a cannabis based anesthetic called "mafeisan" for surgeries, confirming both the analgesic and sedative properties of the plant were understood at the time. In Ayurvedic India, cannabis became part of classical formulations like "Majja Basti" and "Shiroroga Chikitsa" which were used in treating nervous system and head related conditions. By this time, the medicinal practices in Ayurveda required that these mixtures be prescribed by trained practitioners and integrated into therapeutic regimens.

100 CE – 500 CE

Widespread herbal use across Asia can be traced back through various texts in China, India, and Central Asia. In later editions of Materia Medica, a Taoist text in China, cannabis is now referenced as a treatment for abscesses, wounds, malaria, and hair loss. Some records note its ability to "release the spirit and light the body," suggesting that the people of this period were aware of the psychoactive effects of cannabis. India & Central Asia was influenced predominantly by the Ayurvedic cannabis practices, as well as potentially Unani medicine (which entered India with Persian influence by the 500s). At this time, Cannabis was spreading westward via the Silk Road routes, reaching Persia and the Middle East

500 CE

By 500 CE, cannabis had established itself in Asian medical systems as a legitimate herbal remedy for non-physical ailments. Ancient texts like Shennong Ben Cao Jing (Chinese) lists medicinal effects in conjunction with the psychoactivity, Ayurvedic Treatises (Indian) like Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita list cannabis under treatments for pain, stress, and appetite. Records of Taoist texts and alchemical manuals mention cannabis as an ingredient in spiritual practices. In this period, we see cannabis seeds, fibers, and residues discovered in tombs (for example the Yanghai Tombs in Xinjiang, China, which includes a 2700-year-old cannabis cache). We also see that the people of this period were processing their cannabis much in the same way that we do, using tools for grinding their flower. Cannabis remained part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda all the way into modernity.

500 – 1000 CE

This is the period in which Hashish was invented. We see evidence of this concentrated cannabis resin appearing around 9th century CE. Hashish is likely to have originated in Persia or Egypt. It was used both recreationally and spiritually, especially among Sufi Mystics, who used it to reach altered states of consciousness during prayer and meditation. In the Middle East and North Africa, under which Islam was now a growing religion, cannabis was documented with pharmacological uses. The Al-Razi (Rhazes) and the Ibn Sina (Avicenna) list cannabis as a treatment for headaches, digestive issues, inflammation, pain, and even epilepsy. Simultaneously, India continued to use Bhang, Charas, and Ganja in Ayurvedic and religious traditions. Cannabis remained an integral part of Hindu rituals, primarily those associated with Shiva. It was also consumed during events like Holi during this period.

1000 – 1300 CE

Islamic trade routes, including the Trans-Saharan and Silk Road networks, spread cannabis further into Egypt, Morocco, and East Africa both medicinally and for its psychoactive properties. It is believed that Hashish was very widely used across Islamic society, but it is noteworthy that some Islamic scholars and caliphates condemned hashish use for moral or religious reasons (for example, Mamluk Egypt banned it in the 14th century), but it persisted widely among the Islamic populace. In China, Cannabis appears less frequently in mainstream medical literature but continued to be used in folk medicine. At this point, cannabis was occasionally cited in Taoist texts for spiritual purposes but overshadowed by other herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In Tibet and Mongolia, Cannabis was integrated into Tibetan Medicine, influenced by both Indian Ayurveda and Chinese TCM. Cannabis was widely utilized for rituals and shamanistic healing in Siberian and Central Asian nomadic cultures, marking cannabis’ movement closer to Europe.

1300 - 1500 CE

During this period, cannabis hemp was cultivated for fiber (sails, rope, cloth), especially as seafaring expanded. In medieval herbals like the Hortus Sanitatis (made in 1491), cannabis is mentioned as a remedy for tumors, the cough, jaundice, and gout. Although there was medicinal awareness for cannabis’ analgesic and psychoactive properties, Europe does not see widespread use of recreational cannabis. However, in India and the Middle East, Cannabis-infused drinks and edibles are used both medicinally and recreationally. Unani medicine, brought to India by Persians and Arabs) incorporates cannabis as a treatment.

1500 – 1606 CE

This period marks the era of colonial expansion. The Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch begin their navigations to new waters, inadvertently encountering India, the Middle East, and Africa with various routes of trade. Reports from European sailors at this time report bhang and hashish use in India and the Middle East. It is likely because of these encounters that we see cannabis begin to be referenced in European medical texts with greater frequency. The Indian peninsula, now under the Mughal Empire, was still widespread and normalized for religious and social classes. The Mughal medical system still includes bhang and charas in treatments. We are also seeing cannabis being spread further south and east into Africa by Arab traders and Bantu migrations. Used in traditional healing, particularly for childbirth, fever, and snake bites.

1606 – 1632 CE

During this time in Europe, Industrial Hemp was grown and used as a strategic material. It was widely cultivated in England, France, the Netherlands, and Russia for naval use (ropes, sails, rigging, nets). Because maritime dominance was an essential part of military strategy, naval powers needed hemp. In some parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, cannabis was still being used medicinally and ritually, especially in folk medicine, but this was less documented than its industrial use in the west. In the Middle East and South Asia, cannabis in the form of hashish and bhang remained culturally and medicinally embedded. In India under the Mughal Empire, cannabis was used in Unani and Ayurvedic medicine and consumed during social/religious festivals. We still see Hashish trade routes linking Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and India. Over in North America, Hemp cultivation was expanding much in the same way that it was in Europe. Following Jamestown’s mandate in 1619, hemp was actually required to be grown by all farmers in Virginia. By the 1630’s, hemp became a key cash crop in Virginia, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and Port Royal (in the Caribbean). While it saw cultivation because of its realized utility in making rope, sailcloth, clothing, sacks, paper, and fishing nets, there’s no strong evidence that cannabis was used for psychoactive or medicinal purposes like in Asia. In the colonies, it was not yet smoked or ingested for intoxication – the focus was mostly on fiber making.

1619

The Virginia Assembly mandates hemp cultivation; accepted as legal tender in PA, VA, and MD. The massive quantities of hemp were utilized in rope and rigging, sails and tarpaulins, fishing nets and bags. At this point in colonial America, Russia and Eastern Europe were the primary sources of hemp, but these were foreign and often unreliable. To reduce dependencies on imports, the English Crown pushed for domestic and colonial hemp production. At the same time, the Virginia House of Burgesses – the first representative legislative body in the American colonies – passed a law requiring every landowner to cultivate hemp. This was one of the first agricultural mandates in American law, it was meant to ensure self-sufficiency and fulfill quotas to send fiber back to England, and it marked the beginning of Hemp as both a civic duty and economic necessity in the colonies. In twine with legislative attitudes dedicated to cultivating hemp, because the colonies lacked standardized currency at the time, hemp because utilized as commodity money. In large part due to the durability, inherent value by virtue of industrial use, and widespread use globally, at this time in PA, VA, and MD all the way through to the 1700s, hemp was used like a minted dollar in exchange for items of value. This was done to encourage production by attaching direct economic benefits, stabilize trade in cash-poor agricultural economies, and create incentives for farmers to prioritize hemp over tobacco or food crops to sustain a burgeoning colonial naval empire. This priority comes from the expectation that the colonies would produce raw goods for the Crown, who specifically wanted high value, non-perishable exports. Hemp fit perfectly; it was labor intensive, versatile, and exportable.

1745 –1775 CE

Hemp remains a strategic resource and military commodity, especially in European powers like Britain, France, Russia, and the Netherlands. This perceived value was operationalized in the colonies. In fact, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were growing hemp at their respective estates throughout this entire duration. They used his hemp in sailing ships (rigging, sails, caulking), military uniforms (canvas and coarse cloth), and for paper (for documents and maps). It was a colonial cash crop heavily cultivated for export to Britain and domestic rope/textile use. It was also still used like currency in some colonies. Russia dominated the global hemp production, supplying 80-90% of Europe’s Hemp, especially to Britain, which relied on imports through the Baltic sea. Thus, England had a tight hand and enforced steadily a push to manufacture cannabis, but with their permission. The colonists began resenting the economic dependence on Britain especially as hemp exports increased but profits didn’t trickle down. Britain’s Navigation Acts and trade restrictions limited colonial processing, keeping them in a raw-goods role. Colonists couldn’t build independent processing industries (like ropewalks or textile mills) without British approval, leading to an economic bottleneck resulting in Revolutionary sentiment in the colonies.

Colonists started promoting domestic industry (including hemp rope production) as part of early self sufficiency efforts. In New England, small-scale ropewalks and hemp mills emerged, producing materials for local shipping, whaling fleets, and military uses during early revolutionary skirmishes by militia. By the mid-1770s, hemp production was framed as a patriotic act. It symbolized independence from British imports and support for the local war effort. Revolutionary leaders like George Washington emphasized agriculture like hemp as critical to the survival of the colonies.

The Enlightenment was a large component weighing the British to mandate hemp production. It also brought a lot of mercurial botanists and agriculturalists that began studying cultivation techniques and textile innovations to Europe. Early industrialization efforts in Europe started using hemp for industrial fabrics and proto-machinery belts. Medicinal cannabis seems to occur, but was rarely discussed in mainstream records in this period, far overshadowed by its industrial value. Meanwhile, in Asia, cannabis was still seeing medicinal and recreational use primarily through bhang and charas in India and the Islamic world. These uses were largely ignored by colonial powers at the time, but they sustained deep cultural and spiritual roots in their countries of origin.

Late 1700s – Early 1800s CE

This is a pivotal time for the cannabis-human interaction in our history because of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Britain, France, and Russia remained dominant users of hemp for their naval power (sails, ropes, caulking). Russia continued exporting massive amounts of hemp through the Baltic, mainly to Britain, despite political tensions. The Napoleonic Wars between 1803 and 1815 boosted hemp demand. Britain depended on hemp to maintain its naval blockade. France, blocked from Baltic hemp, tried to encourage domestic hemp production (with limited success). The hemp supply was so crucial that Britain continued important Russian hemp even during diplomatic hostilities. Cotton is brought to the forefront of British and Western European industry due to its compatibility with mechanized spinning. Hemp’s rougher fibers were less suitable for mechanized looms. This means that flax, jute, and cotton began to pinch in on the textile market that hemp value derived from, leading a decline to its commercial textile value. It remained critical for ropes, canvas, and industrial fabric, which is why it was still used in early U.S. documents and flags before 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

After the American Revolution (1775-1783) hemp was promoted as a key crop for economic independence. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson continued advocating its cultivation. Several states offered bounties and land incentives for hemp farming. In a 1790 letter, Washington wrote about separating male and female hemp plants, a sign of advancements in cultivation techniques, though likely still for the purpose of fiber. Hemp was processed into rope, sailcloth, canvas, wagon coverings, and paper. Kentucky emerged as a major hemp producer by the early 1800’s. Early American ropewalks, especially in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, grew rapidly. Boston’s Ropewalks became large-scale hemp processing facilities by 1804.

Hemp remained a legal tender and taxable commodity in some states. The U.S. Navy and early merchant shipping heavily depended on domestic hemp for rigging and sails. Import tariffs were used to protect domestic hemp from cheaper Russian or Canadian imports. However, the former colonial cash crop became increasingly specialized (used mainly for ropes and coarse textiles) and lost broader market appeal due to the cotton gin (invented in 1793). The gin revolutionized American cotton production, which led to cotton replacing hemp in the textile market due to a softer texture, compatibility with mechanized looms, and the southern plantation economies shifting toward slave-driven cotton empires.

In India, Persia, and the Arab world, bhang, charas, and hashish continued to see medicinal and recreational use. European travelers, educated with Enlightenment ideals, began observing these uses. Reports from colonial administrators and explorers noted its psychoactive and medical properties. These accounts would lay the foundation for Western medical cannabis experiments later in the 1800’s.

1800’s - 1830 CE

At this point, the industrial uses for textile hemp were waning – strained by the economic giant of the southern cotton industry. Thus, Hemp production only persisted throughout Europe in regions where naval travel or traditional uses remained important, namely Russia, parts of France, and Italy). Though South Asia and the Middle East had seen cannabis use through bhang and charas in India, and Hashish in Egypt and Persia for some time now, Western colonial observers (especially British and French) began recording medicinal and psychoactive uses for the first time. This sparked early pharmacological interest that would blossom by the mid-1800's. Irish physician Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy studied cannabis for treating ailments and released this data to the public, and in India British officials began documenting Indian cannabis practices of Bhang and Charas. Medical officers such as in the Bengal Medical Service noted the plants psychoactive effects and started testing its uses. This documentation laid the groundwork for the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report (1894), but the seeds of that report were planted here in the early 1800s. After French soldiers returned from their occupation of Egypt, they brought hashish back to France with them. This is one of the earliest European exposures to psychoactive cannabis (not just hemp). This exposure influenced early French writers and scientists interested in altered states, leading eventually to the Club des Hashischins in the 1840s.

Simultaneously, Kentucky solidified itself as the hemp capital of America by the 1810’s. It had the perfect soil/climate for strong fiber yield. Slavery and tenant labor used for large-scale production. Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri also followed suit, but none compared to the $1 million annual hemp yield of Kentucky at that time. Hemp was processed up and down the colonies, in ropewalks (long narrow buildings for twisting fiber into rope) serving Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans’ Merchant Shipping and Navy Needs. Hemp mills appeared but were very limited due to lack of suitable machinery for hemp’s tough stalks.

Some states encouraged hemp as a cash crop, some taxed it, and others still allowed it to be used as a legal tender like currency. The U.S. maintained it’s hemp tariffs to protect the hemp industry from cheaper Russian imports with an 1816 tariff on imported hemp. Debate grew in the colonies over free trade vs domestic agriculture, with hemp often cited as an example crop worth protecting.

In Egypt, hashish smoking spread among the lower classes, Sufi mystics, and soldiers. French occupation (1798-1801) brought hashish to Napolean’s soldiers, some of whom brought the habit back to France. After the French left, the Ottoman authorities banned hashish, but it continued underground. This is one of the first instances in our history of any legislation prohibiting a hemp-derived product. It was now considered a "social drug" among peasants and artisans – comparable to alcohol in Europe.

In Persia and Central Asia, cannabis (especially hashish) was widely used in Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, and Turkestan. It was consumed orally or smoked by Sufis, laborers, and in healing practices. Cannabis had a spiritual and recreational significance, and travelers’ accounts from this era describe its integration into daily life and traditional medicine.

While cannabis had ancient roots in Chinese medicine, by the Qing Dynasty (12644-1912), its use declined sharply. More attention was being paid to opium, which became the dominant drug issue in China during this period, inevitably developing into the Opium Wars in the 1830-40s. Cannabis faded in importance in China, even as it persisted in other parts of the world.

1800’s - 1850’s CE

This was a crucial transition period where medical interest, colonial documentation, and industrial use expanded significantly. Ayruvedic and Unani medical practices were first documented in European texts, and early British medical journals began recording cannabis as an anti-convulsant, analgesic, and appetite stimulant. This period laid the foundation for later British medical acceptance of cannabis in the West.

Inspired by Napolean’s soldiers returning from Egypt, cannabis gained popularity in elite circles like Le Club des Hashischins (founded ~1844). Le Club des Hashischins featured members like Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Charles Baudelaire. They explored altered states through hashish (often mixed in edibles like dawamesk). This was the beginning of western literary and bohemian cannabis use.

In Egypt, Hashish was still officially banned by Ottoman rulers but remained widely used, especially among the working class and Sufi mystics. Trade persisted in secret markets, including smuggling across the Mediterranean.

Cannabis was largely ignored or forgotten in favor of the rising Opium epidemic. The First Opium War (1839-1842) dominated drug policy and international trade conflicts. Hemp was still being used in textiles, ropes, and paper.

In Persia and Central Asia, Hashish use was widespread in Persia, Afghanistan, and surrounding regions. Cannabis was used recreationally, often in social settings or spiritual rituals (especially among Sufi sects).

British doctors working in India began introducing cannabis to European pharmacology, like through William Brooke O’Shaughnessy. By the end of his career, William published research showing effectiveness in treating muscle spasms, rheumatism, epilepsy, and pain. His research contributions were considered great enough that he is acknowledged as one of the fathers of Western medical cannabis. His publications led to cannabis extracts being sold in pharmacies in U.S. and Europe to treat stomach issues and more.

In America, Hemp remained an essential crop for rope, sailcloth, and textiles – especially important in naval and agricultural economies. It was grown widely in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri, often with the help of people who were enslaved in these southern states. By the 1840’s, hemp’s uses expanded beyond textile and mercantilist functions due to British texts acknowledging cannabis extracts and tinctures, influenced by studies of Indian culture. Going into the 50’s, the U.S. Pharmacopeia recognized cannabis as a treatment for pain relief, sedation, and muscle spasms. It was not yet psychoactively popular in America, it was a prescription medication.

1848 CE

Gold was found at Sutter’s Mill, kicking off the California Gold Rush. The promise of wealth and the modern industrial age technologies brought news of this to placed as far as China. By 1852, over 300,000 people had arrived in California – not just from the eastern US & China, but also from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Australia, Europe (especially France and Germany). This great exchange of culture included the introduction of new recreational drug options to the U.S. The First Opium War (1839-1842) had forced China to allow foreign opium trade. This devastated Chinese communities to major migration waves across the pacific and into California during the Gold Rush. Miny Chinese laborers brought with them cultural traditions of opium smoking, but also cannabis use (especially hemp and hashish variants) that were used for medicine and relaxation.

This period formed the racial and poltiical dynamics that would lead to criminalization decades later. Chinese immigrants were targeted for opium use, helping solidify early American ideas that certain "foreign" races brought in dangerous drugs. Cannabis was loosely associated with other immigrant groups, particularly Mexicans, but it flew under the radar in the 1840’s. However, the associations between race, labor competition, and drug use planted seeds of xenophobia-based drug policy.

The influx of immigrants brought diverse plant-based medicines, including cannabis tinctures and preparations. While there was no cannabis-specific regulation, it was often included in apothecaries alongside opium, coca, and laudanum. American doctors (influenced by British-Indian research) began experimenting with cannabis medicinally by the early 1850’s.

1850 - 1881 CE

In 1850's British India, bhang, charas, and ganja were all widely used both recreationally and medicinally. At the time, British medical journals document cannabis as a treatment for dysentery, rheumatism, epilepsy, and pain. The British studies into Indian cannabis consumption and the reported wellness impacts influenced American medical organizations. This led to the United States Dispensatory, one of the primary reference texts for pharmacists at that time, recognizing cannabis for medicinal use. This highlights that the colonial administrators were far more concerned with revenue than regulation, supporting taxes rather than bans. In contrast to cannabis, opium saw much more regulatory effort during this period, the first of which from the west coast.

Chinese immigrants sought the prosperity of the Gold Rush period, unknowing that by 1855, most of the easily accessible gold in the state would already be extracted. With less opportunity for fortune collecting gold, foreigners competed with American workers for much worse compensation. The conflation between the reality of hardworking Chinese immigrant communities trying to make their American dreams a reality and the perception of a low income, poverty stricken, community ripe with opium dens was extremely strong, with racial prejudices pertaining to drug use appearing in legal documents. We know now that opiates are known to be some of the most addictive substances on the planet, but at the time and in the eyes of American-Californian settlers, this was not considered. It was rather the character of the Chinese immigrant themselves that was associated with this immoral drug practice, which was an objectively harm to society by virtue of the health risks associated with these environments.

This led to a creeping and permeating hostility and xenophobia that still permeates to this day within American culture: the belief that groups of people (be it Chinese, Mexican, or otherwise) are transporting dangerous drugs into an otherwise drug free country. This narrative was never the case; American industry was built on the backs of companies which manufactured products derived from inebriating substances that are now controlled. Regardless, the association between under resourced, low income Chinese families and California opium dens persisted and diffused throughout the American states.

In 1856, French Egyptologist and explorer Emile Prisse D'Avennes documented hashish use in Egypt and North Africa. The Sufi devout and working-class Egyptians of that region still utilized hashish, be it for ceremony or relaxation. Westerners viewed hashish with a mix of Orientalist fascination and moral caution. France had banned hashish among its troops its Egypt in the 1830s.

America held it's first Cannabis conference at a formal conference from the Ohio State Medical Society. They discussed findings that cannabis was recommended for treating, neuralgia, gout, epilepsy, convulsions, and hysteria. The understanding of the applications of hemp had now segued from an important industrial cash crop sustaining textile industries and Navy's into the medicinally, recreationally, and spiritually utilized plant it is predominantly understood to be today. In particular, cannabis tinctures were becoming very mainstream in the American pharmacopoeia.

In the next decade, the American Civil War began. For the cannabis plant, this meant a return to industrial manufacturing as ropes, canvas, and uniforms became important for the war effort all throughout the country. Cannabis was also administered in the form of medicinal tinctures that were included in field kits used by Union and Confederate armies to treat pain and dysentery. The frequency and attitudes evident in historical and archaeological evidence suggests cannabis tinctures were used with a great deal of respect for its medicinal properties. Unlike opium, cannabis received little to no public moral panic around this period.

We saw an expansion of positive attitudes regarding the value of cannabis in treating various ailments throughout the late 1860's. British Physician Dr. J. Russell Reynolds published more research in support of cannabis as a treatment for epilepsy and other nervous system conditions. He would later become Queen Victoria's personal physician and prescribe her cannabis for menstrual cramps. The legitimacy provided to cannabis as a medicinal opportunity can't be understated. This reinforced the plant's medicinal properties across Europe and the U.S.

After receiving the royal stamp of approval by Queen Victoria, cannabis was considered standard in American pharmacological references, including the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (1850-1942). American companies like Parke Davis & Co. & Eli Lilly began marketing cannabis extracts in the late 1870's. Cannabis tinctures were often labeled as treatments for "female problems," migraines, and stomach pain. Especially among white middle and upper class women, medicinal cannabis was normalized and used daily, though dosage inconsistencies were common.

1889 CE

Throughout the early 1880s, cannabis remained legal and commonly available throughout pharmacies in the U.S. and across Europe. American pharmaceutical companies like Parke, Davis & Co. and Squibb produced cannabis tinctures, standardized pills, and fluid extracts for medicinal use. Cannabis was seen no differently than other medications that treated daily ailments. The U.S. Pharmacopeia and National Formulary still included cannabis as an official medicine. By the end of this decade, these attitudes would begin to shift indicating the early seeds of stigmatized cannabis use globally.

We still see American and British doctors continue experimenting with cannabis extracts, but the medical community in both Europe and the States was beginning to express concerns overdosing inconsistency, not about addiction or social harm. Some physicians preferred prescribing opium or morphine for pain because they were more predictable than a patient's response to cannabis. This is noteworthy many states had already stigmatized opium use by this point, namely in California. The rise of stronger pharmaceuticals (like morphine and heroin) began to overshadow cannabis' medical reputation, even though it is an objectively safer substance for human consumption, especially regular human consumption.

While industrial hemp was still cultivated in states like Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri for rope, canvas, and paper, the U.S government did not distinguish between hemp and marijuana yet. Doctor preferences between opium and cannabis derived products influenced consumer trends, and while there was no criminalization and very little existent stigma, by the late 1880s, cannabis began to be mentioned in newspapers in association with insanity – borrowing from European cases. Such newspapers carried cautionary tales about cannabis use in British India and Middle Eastern hashish smokers. These sentiments, regardless of truth, introduced early moral panic language, but it had not reached policy-making levels quite yet in America.

In British Columbia, cannabis remained legal and was regulated for tax purpose rather than criminalized. The British colonial government began compiling more formal reports on cannabis consumption (ganja, bhang, and charas). Preparations for the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (launched in 1893) began in the late 1880s, prompted by concerns over insanity in asylum reports. These reports linked cannabis to mental illnesses based off of weak or anecdotal evidence, but they gained traction among colonial officials.

Over in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, hashish continued to be popular among the lower classes and Sufi sects. Though not outlawed, Ottoman authorities taxed or limited it's trade. In Egypt, hashish was increasingly associated with laziness and criminality, especially by European observers. Orientalist writings of the time often linked hashish with decadence, sloth, and moral weakness.

The United Kingdom had much debate over whether to continue the practice of administering cannabis to patients. British doctors explored cannabis as a treatment, but with growing concerns over its unpredictability. Cannabis still appears in the British Pharmacopeia and available in chemist shops, but now the press and medical literature began increasingly referencing hashish in colonial moralistic tones when referencing Indian and Egyptian practices. The legitimacy garnered by centuries of medicinal cannabis applications distending across time and human culture was beginning to decline in favor of the more potent and reliable opium. Among the U.S.' white and upper/middle classes, the U.S.' Medical Establishments, and European scientific elite, cannabis was beginning to transition into more taboo attitudes. Colonial elites and observers visiting India, Egypt, and the Middle East, criticized local normalization of this historical practice.

This period marks the first American law outright prohibiting cannabis and one of the first instances of the term Marijuana being utilized in American policy. Missouri passed the first anti-marijuana law including a hashish smoking ban. This made it a misdemeanor to "maintain any house, room, or place for the purpose of smoking opium, hashish or any other deadly drug." In other words, public facilities where cannabis (notably hashish) was smoked were targeted, but private possession, cultivation, and use were not criminalized under this statute. It is important to note the connection between the first prohibition of opium dens and the "oriental-style hashish parlors", often frequented by the middle and upper classes in New York, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans. Though enforcement records from the era itself are rare, the law stood for decades targeting smoking dens until December 2022 when Missouri legalized recreational cannabis, striking the old ban.

1890's CE

After decades now of British allegations citing asylum records as evidence of cannabis induced insanity, the House of Commons urged a thorough investigation into hemp drugs in India. Seven members, chaired by W. Mackworth Young, conducted field investigations across 30 cities, visited asylums, spoke with over 1,190 witnesses- including doctors, cultivators, and religious figures – and analyzed administrative practices. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission documented that the moderate use of hemp (bhang, ganja, charas) was found to have "no moral injury whatsoever," with excess use posing potential harm (not unique to cannabis). This contradicted the rising belief caused by sensational asylum claims; there was no data proving the causal link between moderate hemp use and mental illness. The commission recommended a policy of regulated taxation and licensing – not outright prohibition – citing cultural importance and practical considerations, likely for British people of Indian descent, who were still regularly utilizing cannabis recreationally and spiritually with great normalcy.

The impact of these studies was far reaching in Britain and it's colonial states, but none more than Indian provinces like Assam, that moved towards a regulated cannabis market by implementing excise systems and licensing schemes. Contrary to American policy, it seemed that the British and Provincial Indian governments were more resistant to fearmongering efforts to malign drug use deemed foreign or exotic by virtue of their empirical industrious societies and cultural connection to cultivating cannabis. Cannabis remained legal in the U.S. even after Missouri's "hashish dens" law, with no state or federal prohibitions on personal use or commerce. It remained listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia and was widely used in tinctures and patent medicines through the early 20th century. That being said, the groundwork for statewide criminalization had been already laid.

Early 1900s – 1930 CE

This is the beginning of our understanding of cannabis use less so as a medicinal treatment, but more so as a recreational vice. It isn't too apparent that attitudes towards cannabis were shifting in such a negative direction at this time, however.

For instance, many successful pharmaceutical companies made their money off the backs of cannabis "cigarettes" marketed as treatment for asthma. In America, the Pure Food and Drug Act passed, the first federal drug regulation including cannabis in US Pharmacopeia. It did not ban cannabis, but required proper labeling of medicines containing inebriating substances like cannabis, alcohol, morphine, and cocaine. Specifically for cannabis, manufacturers must disclose the content of cannabis in patent medicines. This market the beginning of the federal regulation period. The Goal in this era was to protect consumers from deceptive and dangerous drug content. Cannabis was still largely seen as medicinal and did not have the immoral attribution attached to it yet.

The UK was still allowing cannabis for medical use, available in pharmacies as tinctures and extracts. It was still listed in the Pharmacopeia and prescribed for pain, spasms, and other ailments. The British Empire was beginning to engage in international talks on drug control, mostly focused on opium, but cannabis would soon be included.

Following the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report in 1894. The British Raj continued to tax and regulate cannabis products like bhang ganja and charas. It was normal for controlled consumption of cannabis to occur at religious events or for medicinal purposes, but recreationally as well. As such, cannabis remained legal and culturally embedded. Other drugs were beginning to see more scrutiny, namely opium derived products, both within India and globally as international drug control movements were rising to power.

For the Egyptian working-class and Sufi Mystics, Hashish smoking was common. European colonial authorities and modernizing elites increasingly stigmatized hashish, associating it with laziness, insanity, and criminality. The Egyptian government banned hashish imports (often from India and Syria), but local use remained common and hard to police.

France had seen regular hashish use since the Napoleonic era in literary and bohemian circle like Club des Hashischins, around the mid 19th century. French colonial authorities like in Algeria opposes local hashish use, viewing it as a marker of native degeneracy. We are beginning to see a difference not just in attitudes about cannabis, but a difference in attitudes about who is allowed to use cannabis. In this case, white French imperialists were socially allowed to imbibe without scrutiny, but the same was not true of the people of Africa France governed.

A growing international push for narcotics control between 1906-1909 led by the U.S., Britain, and France culminated in the Shanghai Opium Commission in 1909. The focus of the conference and narcotics control more generally was mostly regulating the transportation of opium and morphine, but cannabis was increasingly mentioned in colonial discussions. This was not because cannabis was seen as equally dangerous as opium, but rather that it was associated with nonwhite, colonized populations, and because colonial administrators were under pressure to regulate public health and social control. It is no wonder that we do not see the same stigmatization and prohibition efforts present in the histories of mainland empirical sovereignties (France, Britain, or U.S.), there were much fewer 'foreigners' to regulate. This is why we see the attitudes of Frenchman partaking in the mainland as bohemian but Algerian's partaking is degenerate. Each of these three countries continued to recognize cannabis' beneficial properties medicinally well into the international drug regulation effort. In China, where the Commission was held, cannabis was not a large cultural concern—that was opium. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) had used cannabis seeds (huo ma ren) for constipation and other ailments. While cannabis was spoken of in this conference, it wasn't until The Hague International Opium Convention of 1912 where it was explicitly mentioned, albeit briefly. Globally, cannabis was not a great priority yet, but it was entering the frame through the aforementioned colonial reports and asylum studies.

In 1906, the American Pure Food and Drug Act passed and acknowledged Cannabis in its Pharmacopeia as a medicinal treatment. Simultaneously on a global scale, cannabis became more of a focus in colonial discussions as cannabis use (bhang, ganja, hashish) was deeply embedded in the spiritual and social life of colonized peoples. British and French colonial attitudes about cannabis became increasingly negative, seeing recreational and spiritual use as a sign of "native backwardness," "moral weakness," or "uncivilized behavior." This is exemplary of the western tradition of patronizing representations and assumptions about "Eastern" societies like India, China, and the Middle East, which paint these cultures as exotic, backward, irrational, or inferior to the rational, modern, and industrious west. This type of bigotry is typically called Orientalism. This is exactly the behavior we see from British and French colonial authorities, and it highlights how storied cultural practices that have been around for centuries within a region were pathologized or turned into signs of "Degeneracy" or "Primitive Spirituality." Often privileged groups in a society will utilize social violence in this way to retain superiority and control over greater populations of subordinate workers. In colonial powers like Britain, a more applicable term might be colonial gaze- which describes how colonial powers viewed colonized peoples through a lens of dominance, often distorting cultural practices to fit imperial narratives. For instance, viewing cannabis use in India not as spiritual or medical, but as evidence of laziness, lack of moral discipline, or "native vice." Colonial gaze was informed by movements like "The White Man's Burden" and "The Civilizing Mission" which believes that western empires were obligated to "uplift" inferior peoples by erasing their customs and replacing them with western norms. This maps well onto the escalating moral panic around cannabis, especially in America; the cultural response to cannabis was exaggerated, unsupported by contemporary scientific literature, and irrational, but by no stretch of the imagination was this panic truly attributed to the cannabis plant. Rather, the true panic was to the perceived threat of western social norms or values, which notably do not include partaking in recreational or spiritual drug use and instead focused on the industrious properties of hemp.

Leading into 1910, xenophobic attitudes about the immigration of Chinese workers into the west coast was already rising in relation with dwindling gold rush wealth. Like opium being associated with the Chinese American immigrant, Mexican laborers and immigrants following the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1920 were associated with Marihuana- a term deliberately used by U.S. Newspapers to foreignize the drug and connect it to immigrant criminality and violence, despite the same drug being available in the Pharmacopeia under the name of cannabis. Just in the same way that opium saw recreational use among Chinese laborers, Mexican workers would smoke cannabis recreationally after long days of labor constructing agriculture and railroads. Authorities claimed that cannabis made [them] "violent," "insolent," or "insane" stoking the public fear and moral panic caused by the circular argument that cannabis causes insanity. Despite many experts at that time recognized that cannabis was significantly less dangerous than opium or morphine, they also recognized that cannabis was being utilized by an increasingly marginalized demographic of nonwhites much in the same way that opium and morphine were, and public officials had plenty of motivation to criminalize or regulate it, providing but another tool of colonial discipline and social management. This pressure to clamp down on cannabis was furthered by global drug treaties, which swept cannabis in with more dangerous drugs of abuse even though it was decided that it posed less actual public health threat.

Missouri set the precedent for prohibiting cannabis use and many states followed suit. By 1911, Massachusetts mandated prescriptions for "Indian Hemp-" verbatim the same exact phrasing as founding father Thomas Jefferson who by contrast stated that we should make the most of "Indian Hemp."

1910s - 1920 CE

While cannabis-based medicines were still commonly sold by pharmaceutical companies, including as asthma cigarettes, there was a great push towards further regulation. The intellectual curiosities surrounding the measure of the effects of cannabis with procedural methods had dissipated greatly. Before this period, cannabis had long been known in the U.S. as a pharmaceutical ingredient – listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia and sold in tinctures and extracts by companies like Parke-Davis. The term "Marihuana" was unfamiliar to most English speaking Americans- and the foreign nature of the word- invented by anti-cannabis westerners- was circulated in the News cycle with frequency. Policymakers, journalists, and police departments began to associate the Spanish word "marihuana" with immigrant criminality regardless of the fact that the same plant was used in white-dominated pharmacies with no scrutiny. By called it "marihuana" rather than cannabis, authorities racialized and exoticized it and made it seem dangerous and foreign, which became more tangible through the warranted fear of drug addiction borne of the opium crisis, which had substantive impacts on public health. This linguistic shift was created with purpose to justify targeting Mexican Americans without acknowledging that white Americans also used the same plant, effectively othering nonwhite demographics as criminals, degenerates, or backwards for extremely similar applications of the exact same plant.

Mexican laborers often employed in agriculture and railroad construction used cannabis to relax after long workdays. Many white landowners and authorities saw this as a challenge to labor discipline and social hierarchy, particularly when Mexican workers became less deferential or asserted independence while under the influence. Authorities began to claim that cannabis "caused violent outbursts, made 'dark-skinned' men forget their place, led to sexual aggression (particularly against white women), and produced insanity or psychosis." These claims had no evidential basis and had even been disproven in decades prior by the Indian Hemp Commission's findings that cannabis was no more dangerous than alcohol. Yet, this intense social discrimination persisted until modernity.

The first known municipal ordinance banning cannabis in the U.S. was passed in El Paso in 1914. It was explicitly designed to target Mexican immigrants rather than white users of pharmaceutical cannabis by making it illegal to possess or use "marihuana" with assigned punishments. Note that cannabis was not included. While publicly framed as a matter of public health and crime prevention, It was understood locally to control and deport Mexican laborers. Newspaper headlines in Texas began linking Marihuana to knife fights, murder, and madness – always in the context of hostile associations with the Mexican American identity. Despite the justification being to restrict an inebriant marihuana, newspaper headlines did not seem to demonize its use necessarily, but instead took to demonizing "Mexican fiends" or "foreign lunatics."

Likely seeing the efficacy of criminalizing a drug of cultural importance, the seeds of moral panic connecting cannabis to Black jazz musicians were planted in this decade. In New Orleans, a major hub of both Mexican migration and Black musical innovation, cannabis began circulating in jazz clubs and social scenes. Some early jazz usicians, including Buddy Bolden and Sidney Bechet, were rumored to use "muggles" slang for cannabis cigarettes to enhance creativity and relaxation. In these early years, cannabis wasn't seen by Black musicians as deviant, but as a creative tool much like other vices, namely alcohol and tobacco. Authorities, seeing this pattern of use and recognizing that the jazz community was unique and unforgiving in claiming its cultural space in America, saw this cultural space as dangerous- especially as Black musicians gained social influence and attracted mixed-race crowds including white people.

1909 CE

Opium Exclusion Act bans opium use and import, affecting attitudes toward cannabis

1910 CE

Mexican Revolution leads to immigration and cannabis enters U.S. recreational culture

1911 – 1912 CE

International opium conference and 1912 Opium Convention lay groundwork for global drug control

1914 CE

Harrison Narcotics Tax Act passed, with racialized enforcement of drug regulation

1915 CE

Utah, Vermont, and California begin prohibiting cannabis sale and possession

1920s-1927

In the 1920s, during global opium conferences, Egypt and others pressured for hemp restrictions. Britain cited its Indian Hemp Drug Commission's research to advocate for export controls rather than domestic cannabis bans. New York includes cannabis in narcotics law, foreshadowing federal prohibition

1929 CE

Great Depression begins; social scapegoating of immigrants and drug users increases

1930 CE

Federal Bureau of Narcotics created, led by Harry J. Anslinger, who launches anti-cannabis crusade

1932 CE

Uniform Narcotic Act expands state powers over drug regulation

1937 CE

Marijuana Tax Act passed, criminalizing cannabis at federal level and removing it from pharmacopeia

1943 CE

Anslinger's Gore Files blame violent crimes on cannabis use, fueling public fear

1944 CE

La Guardia Report finds marijuana not addictive or linked to major crimes, counters propaganda

1951 CE

Boggs Act sets harsh mandatory minimums for marijuana possession

1956 CE

Narcotics Control Act increases penalties and introduces death penalty for drug offenses

1961 CE

UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs includes cannabis as Schedule 1 substance

1965 CE

Timothy Leary arrested under Marihuana Tax Act for cannabis possession

1969 CE

Supreme Court overturns Marihuana Tax Act; Operation Intercept launched

1970 CE

Controlled Substances Act classifies cannabis as Schedule 1 with no medical value

1972 CE

Schafer Commission recommends cannabis decriminalization; Nixon rejects findings

1973 CE

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) created

1978 CE

New Mexico passes Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, allowing cannabis research

1981 CE

HIV/AIDS crisis begins; activists use cannabis to alleviate patient symptoms

1985 CE

Jack Herer publishes "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," exposing cannabis prohibition fallacies

1989 CE

Office of National Drug Control Policy established, increasing drug education and enforcement

1996 CE

California legalizes medical marijuana with Proposition 215

2012 CE

Colorado becomes first state to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis

2020 CE

Cannabis deemed essential for the first time during COVID-19 pandemic

2024 CE

More than half of U.S. states have legalized cannabis for adult use