Marijuana has been used down through the centuries as both a medicine and a recreational drug.
The earliest known documentation was in 3727 BC, in China, which is also, as far as can be traced, the country of origin. Marijuana was recognized as an intoxicating drug, but it was widely used for its medicinal properties, particularly in the treatment of malaria, rheumatism, gout, and absent-mindedness.
However, once marijuana made its way to India, it was used almost exclusively as a recreational drug. Marijuana was a great favorite for recreational use also among the muslims, as alcohol use was banned by the Koran. And it was the muslims, in the twelth century or so, who discovered the means for making hashish. Hash products became extremely popular, as the knowledge of hash making spread across Iran and into North Africa.
The progression of the marijuana plant crossed the continents gradually, from China to India, to North Africa, to Europe, arriving there approximately around 500 AD.
The Spanish carried marijuana aboard ship to the New World in 1545. By 1611, it had become a staple crop in Jamestown<>United States.
In the 1990`s, medical marijuana usage gained a foothold, becoming widely popular – and widely effective – for treating the symptoms of various diseases, including cancer, hepatitis, and glaucoma, along with irritable bowel syndrome and depression.
By the turn into the 21st century, individual states had begun to recognize marijuana as an effective medicine, and they began to decriminalize and or legalize marijuana usage for certain medical patients, for these particular medical conditions.
By 2005, many states had also changed the guidelines of the laws on possession, usage, and cultivation, so that many previous felony charges are now misdemeanors. And the laws continue to change, daily.
