Cannabis has been emerging with human civilization for over 5,000 years. Now, with the global cannabis market riding high at $31 billion in 2023 and over 50 countries now legalizing cannabis in some form, it makes sense to understand this cannabis historical event timeline.
From Ancient China to Colonial America
The historical account of cannabis begins in ancient China, with Emperor Shen Nung, who first documented cannabis in the world’s earliest pharmacopeia around 2900 BCE. Chinese texts highlight cannabis as one of the “superior” herbs.
- 500 BCE – Greek historian Herodotus documented cannabis ceremonies with the Scythian tribes. He provided the first account of recreational use from a Western perspective.
- 70 CE – Roman physician Dioscorides included cannabis in De Materia Medica, the medical standard for the next 1,500 years.
- 1000 CE – Islamic physicians like Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī (Al-Razi) continued the development of cannabis in medicine, treating epilepsy and using it for pain relief.
- 1619 – The Virginia colony required farmers to grow hemp. This historic agricultural mandate was the first agricultural requirement for the new nation.
The Medical Golden Age
Year | Milestone | Significance |
1839 | Dr. O’Shaughnessy introduces cannabis to British medicine | Legitimacy for western medicine |
1850 | Cannabis enters U.S. Pharmacopeia | Official American medicine |
1890 | Cannabis medicines available in U.S. pharmacies | Peak acceptance era |
Queen Victoria took tinctures of cannabis for menstrual cramps, as prescribed by her royal physician.
The Dark Ages: Prohibition Is Established (1937-1996) and the Modern Renaissance Begins
Cannabis history took a sharp turn in 1937. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 effectively ban cannabis in America.
Things spiraled and got worse with the U.S. Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Cannabis was classified as Schedule I – the same as heroin – based on zero evidence of scientific merit and research. This global classification morphed into the dark ages for cannabis history, lasting almost sixty years.
Cannabis started to exit the dark ages when California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing medical cannabis to be legal and federal authorities could not stop them.
The cannabis history bubble reached international proportions in 2018 when Canada became the first G7 country to fully legalize cannabis in its entirety nationally.
In 2024, Germany did the unthinkable and legalized recreational cannabis, making it the largest European country thus far to follow in the wake of full cannabis reform.
The Future of Cannabis
So here we are at this point in cannabis history, witnessing ourselves being drawn through national and international regulatory landscapes, as legalization continues to evolve with cannabis acceptance growing at exponential rates. Experts predict federal-level legalization could occur within five years.