The Cannabis Spread throughout the Continents and its Therapeutic Use in History.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis sativa L. (C. sativa) is a plant whose use as a therapeutic agent shares its origins with the first Far East's human societies. Cannabis has been used not only for recreational purposes but as food to obtain textile fibers, to produce hemp paper, to treat many physical and mental disorders. AIM: This review aims to provide a complete assessment of the deep knowledge of the cannabis psychoactive effects and medicinal properties in the course of history covering i.) The empirical use of the seeds and the inflorescences to treat many physical ailments by the ancient Oriental physicians' ii.) The current use of cannabis as a therapeutic agent after the discovery of its key psychoactive constituent and the human endogenous endocannabinoid system. METHODS: This study was performed through a detailed analysis of the studies on the historical significance and medical applications of Cannabis sativa by using international scientific databases, historical and medical books, ancient Greek and Chinese manuscripts translations, library and statistical data from government reports and texts from the National Library of Greece (Stavros Niarchos Foundation), from the School of Health Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece). We selected papers and texts focusing on a historical point of view about the medical importance of the plant and its applications for a therapeutic purpose in the past. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Through a detailed analysis of the available resources about the origins of C. sativa, we found that its use by ancient civilizations as a source of food and textile fibers dates back over 10,000 years, while its therapeutic applications have been improved over the centuries, from the ancient East medicine of the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C. to the more recent introduction in the Western world after the 1st century A.D. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Cannabis and its derivatives have been considered as a menace and banned throughout the world, but nowadays, they are still the most widely consumed illicit drugs all over the world. Its legalization in some jurisdictions has been accompanied by new lines of research to investigate its possible applications for medical and therapeutic purposes.

Trends in Single, Dual, and Poly Use of Alcohol, Cigarettes, and Marijuana Among US High-School Students: 1991-2017.

Objectives. To evaluate trends in patterns (single, dual, or poly) of current use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana (ACM) among youths in the United States. Methods. I used data from the 1991-2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (n = 203 663) to report average annual percentage change (AAPC) and linear trends of single, dual, and poly use of ACM among youths. Results. From 1991 to 2017, the prevalence of marijuana-only use increased from 0.6% to 6.3% (AAPC = 7.4) while the prevalence of use of alcohol only or cigarettes only significantly declined. Dual use of alcohol and marijuana increased from 3.6% to 7.6% (AAPC = 2.4), while dual use of alcohol and cigarettes declined from 11.8% to 1.7% (AAPC = -7.5). The prevalence of poly use of ACM declined from 9.4% to 4.4%. There is an enlarged disparity in use of marijuana only by race/ethnicity with an increase of 11.5% among non-Hispanic Blacks and an increase of 8.1% among Hispanics, compared with an increase of 3.4% among non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions. The use patterns of ACM among youths have changed with a surge in use of marijuana only, especially among racial/ethnic minorities.

The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs.

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants in East Asia, grown for grain and fiber as well as for recreational, medical, and ritual purposes. It is one of the most widely used psychoactive drugs in the world today, but little is known about its early psychoactive use or when plants under cultivation evolved the phenotypical trait of increased specialized compound production. The archaeological evidence for ritualized consumption of cannabis is limited and contentious. Here, we present some of the earliest directly dated and scientifically verified evidence for ritual cannabis smoking. This phytochemical analysis indicates that cannabis plants were burned in wooden braziers during mortuary ceremonies at the Jirzankal Cemetery (ca. 500 BCE) in the eastern Pamirs region. This suggests cannabis was smoked as part of ritual and/or religious activities in western China by at least 2500 years ago and that the cannabis plants produced high levels of psychoactive compounds.

Breve historia sobre la marihuana en Occidente / A brief history of marijuana in the western world

La marihuana es una sustancia con una extensa y controvertida historia. A lo largo del tiempo, esta planta, y desde hace más de 5.000 años, ha sido utilizada para diferentes fines, que van desde el uso lúdico y recreativo, pasando por un medio de relajación y meditación, hasta su uso en el tratamiento de varias enfermedades o el alivio de procesos vinculados a cierto tipo de malestares. Aunque se supuso que la marihuana tenía su origen en Mesoamérica, ahora se sabe que es sólo una leyenda urbana de poca credibilidad y que sus orígenes los podemos registrar en referencias médicas chinas datadas alrededor del año 2737 a. de C. Si bien esta planta no tiene un origen mesoamericano, sí ha generado interés en el mundo, y sobre todo en México. Es en este país donde el uso del cannabis ha ido desde intereses textiles y medicinales hasta el consumo lúdico, pasando por su venta libre, la prohibición por presiones políticas y sociales, su tolerancia y, recientemente, su despenalización para uso lúdico y medicinal. Desgraciadamente existen pocas referencias de la historia de esta planta en México, por lo que ha sido de nuestro interés presentar algunos datos sobre las generalidades de la marihuana, una breve historia en el mundo, el desarrollo de la despenalización en Norteamérica, sus usos medicinales y su paso por México hasta nuestros días

Marijuana is a substance with a long and controversial history. At different times in its history, which goes back over 5,000 years, this plant has been used for different purposes, ranging from recreational and leisure to its use in the treatment of several diseases or to offer relief in processes that entail a certain type of malaise, and including its consideration as a means of relaxation and meditation. Although it was supposed that the roots of marijuana lay in Central America, it is now known that this is but an urban legend with little credibility and that its origins can be found recorded in Chinese medical references dating back to the year 2737 BC. Although this plant was not originally from Central America, it has aroused interest around the world, and above all in Mexico. It is in this country where the use of cannabis has gone from applications in textiles and medicine to its free sale, the bans on its use due to political and social pressures, its tolerance and, recently, its decriminalisation for recreational and medicinal use. Unfortunately there are few references on the history of this plant in Mexico, and thus we have considered it interesting to present some data about the generalities of marijuana, a brief history in the world, the development of decriminalisation in North America, its medicinal uses and its course through Mexico to the present day

The Consul and the Beatnik: The Establishment, Youth Culture and the Beginnings of the Hippy Trail (1966-8).

This paper analyses the attitudes expressed by consular and embassy officials to a new type of traveller they encountered in the mid-1960s. Their observations are contextualised within wider debates concerning 'youth' in the late 1950s and 1960s. Officials distinguished sharply between 'overlanders' (who could be tolerated or accommodated) and 'beatniks' whose behaviour was characterized as illegal and/or unacceptable. Smoking cannabis was identified as a key marker of beatnik behaviour. Officials' observations are contrasted with four accounts by new travellers from the period. The paper concludes with a proposal for an 'anti-nominian' approach to the study of youth cultures: researchers should be more sensitive to the constructed nature of the labels used to identify the various strands of youth identity.

Evidence-based policy? The re-medicalization of cannabis and the role of expert committees in the UK, 1972-1982.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis was introduced to the UK as a medical product in the nineteenth century. However, with questions over its safety, efficacy, and possible harms its medical role diminished and by the 1950s it was viewed as a drug of misuse. Nonetheless, scientific and lay knowledge around cannabis expanded from the 1960s and cannabis re-appeared in different therapeutic forms. In re-medicalizing cannabis, science-policy transfer proved important and was enabled by the developing mechanism of expert committees, most notably the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). METHODS: This article draws upon previously unknown archival material on the ACMD held at the National Archives and covers the period 1972-1982. It considers how expert groups were established, their membership, and the evolving discussion over therapeutic cannabis within the broader drug policy debate. RESULTS: Three distinct periods emerged: 1972-1976 with the creation of the Working Group on Cannabis; 1977-1979 when the Working Group focused on potential amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act and recommended downgrading cannabis from Class B to Class C; 1980-1982 when the Expert Group on the Effects of Cannabis recommended downgrading cannabis and encouraged research into cannabis as a medicine. Sources reveal that driven by drug control imperatives the ACMD stimulated research on cannabis leading to increased research on medical applications. CONCLUSION: Expert advice was critical in the process of re-medicalization. Initially, discourse occurred in the closed expert committees of the ACMD. The drug problem had been framed under the criminal justice system but as the limitations of this were revealed, and there was continuing uncertainty over cannabis' impact, new approaches to cannabis were sought. It was this combination of more relaxed attitudes towards cannabis, research incentives, as well as a developing desire to draw medical needs away from discussion of drug control that was to allow re-medicalization to develop.

Hashish in Morocco and Lebanon: A comparative study.

BACKGROUND: In the 1960s and the 1970s, Morocco and Lebanon became major producers of hashish for export to markets in West and Central Europe, Africa and the Middle East. By using a comparative approach, this paper aims to evaluate changes in production in the traditional areas of cannabis cultivation in the Rif (Morocco) and the Beqaa (Lebanon) and to better understand the role that these countries play in current trends in the global cultivation and consumption of cannabis. METHODS: The comparative approach takes in account the historical and institutionnal context, and the perception of cannabis in those two country. We rely on primary field research done in the Rif (from 2002) and in the Beqaa (from 1995) in the form of interviews and observations with farmers and intermediaries. Acreage and production estimates of hashish for both countries have been triangulated from different sources. RESULTS: Maghreb and Middle East have a long history of consumption, production and marketing of cannabis. Over the past 12 centuries, migration, trade and different spiritual practices and trends have led to the expansion of cannabis markets. This long period is marked by stages and rifts caused by foreign interference, a worldwide prohibition of cannabis at the beginning of the 20th century and increased global demand in the 1960s and the 1970s. Morocco and Lebanon are among the most important producers of hashish to be exported for trade for the last fifty years. The global prohibition of cannabis and the global sustained demand have created opportunities for poor farmers in the Rif and the Beqaa regions to survive and get wealthy. It is difficult to understand the reasons why areas producing cannabis are steadily increasing. If the Rif and the Beqaa share some features (such are marginalized areas of production, repressive legislation, huge international demand, range of comparable tasks and Mediterranean climate suitable for growing cannabis, etc.) then a comparison between the two countries makes it more easy to notice differences in contexts, in local and international markets (Stability in Morocco, instability in Lebanon; traditional market in Morocco, absence of local market in Lebanon, etc.) In Morocco, the stability and specialized skills among Moroccan growers of hashish have enhanced a competitive economy with various production areas, products and qualities, but also prices and strategies due to competition between Moroccan and European producers. Moreover, Morocco produces cannabis for its significant local market. CONCLUSION: As shown by comparing Morocco and Lebanon, allows us to examine their perverse effects caused by a global prohibition. The criminalization of growers has only increased their marginalized situation. The enforced eradication of cannabis has limited the cultivation for a short time but not in any sustainable way (resumption of cannabis cultivation in a time of conflict in Lebanon; replacement of local variety by hybrids in Morocco). The cultural heritage of cannabis and its social functions should not be ignored. In the light of the new global changes in the cannabis cultivation (Import substitution, technical progress in developed countries, etc.), hashish producers in the south countries are likely to face uncertain future.

Weeding Out the Truth: Adolescents and Cannabis.

The use of cannabis for both legal (similar to alcohol) and medical purposes is becoming more common. Although cannabis remains an illegal Schedule 1 drug federally, as of November 2015, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized "medical" cannabis, and 4 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of cannabis for adults aged 21 years and older. It is very likely that more and more states will sooner rather than later allow cannabis for both medical and legal purposes. This review article will focus on a variety of issues relevant to the current debate about cannabis, and will address the following.

Steppingstone and gateway ideas: a discussion of origins, research challenges, and promising lines of research for the future.

In this discussion of contributed papers for the special issue of DAD, the author draws attention to early American laws concerning cannabis and to statements made about the epidemiology of cannabis smoking and other drug use between 1858 and the contemporary scene, with coverage of opium, heroin, tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, kava, and other drugs. He discusses these steppingstone and gateway processes in relation to political environment and in relation to scientific challenges such as uncontrolled confounding. He provides a critique of between-individual research designs, including co-twin and co-sib designs of behavior genetics, as well as imaging research, where uncontrolled confounding often exists. He highlights the epidemiologic case-crossover design and prevention research experiments as potentially valuable approaches in new directions for research on the steppingstone and gateway processes.

[Cannabis, hemp and hashish: always returning]. / Cannabis, chanvre et haschich: l'éternel retour.

Cannabis has a long story, the story of an endless return through ages and countries, all over the world. There is no mention of an "hedonist" use of cannabis in Ancient Greek or Roman sources but cannabism is largely attested in Orient as early as in the Middle Ages, even if many tales about Haschishins and Crusaders remain highly controversial. The "come back" of cannabism can be traced back in Europe at the end of XVIIIth century after the Egyptian campaigns of Bonaparte. Thus was launched an increasing vogue of orientalism, soonly after followed by the emergence of cannabism in Paris or London and, half a century later, the United States. After a brief armistice, cannabis rises up again with force at the end of XXth century, all over the world. In our times cannabis remains in the centre of all discussions about hallucinogen substances and many ethical, moral or medical questions are still unanswered. Our final comments will go to the everlasting "come back" of cannabism: search of exotism, attempt to escape from reality or as suggested by recent physiologic studies, close inter-relations between sensorial paths and the upper brainstem centers.

A vingança do quilombo / The revenge of the "quilombo"

Mostra como a repressäo à maconha começou por conta da associaçäo de seu uso aos negros e às camadas mais pobres da populaçäo.(AU)

Legalization of marijuana: potential impact on youth.

This technical report provides historical perspectives and comparisons of various approaches to the legal status of marijuana to aid in forming public policy. Information on the impact that decriminalization and legalization of marijuana could have on adolescents, in addition to concerns surrounding medicinal use of marijuana, are also addressed in this report. Recommendations are included in the accompanying policy statement.

Uso de los cannabinoides a través de la historia / Cannabinoids use through history

La Cannabis Sativa ha sido utilizada con fines industriales, medicinales y/o recreativos desde la Antigüedad. Sin embargo, la investigación sobre sus principios activos es relativamente reciente. Su uso fue conocido en China hace unos cinco mil años. Fue utilizada para la obtención de fibra y de aceite. Sus propiedades curativas aparecen reflejadas en varios tratados médicos de una notable antigüedad. En la India, formaba parte de algunos rituales religiosos y fue utilizado por sus propiedades curativas, práctica que se ha conservado hasta muy recientemente. También se ha descrito su utilización por los asirios, los escitas o los persas. Existe una controversia sobre si fue conocido por los judíos y los egipcios. Tampoco está muy claro el que su uso, salvo con fines industriales, estuviera muy extendido entre los griegos y los romanos. Al principio de la era cristiana, Plinio “el viejo”, Discorides y Galeno describieron sus posibles aplicaciones médicas. Los árabes lo utilizaron en medicina y a nivel recreativo. Sin embargo, su popularidad no fue la misma en cada uno de los países de cultura islámica, llegando incluso a estar prohibido en situaciones históricas concretas. Durante el siglo XIX, la presencia colonial inglesa en la India y la expedición de Napoleón a Egipto, sirvió para la difusión por Europa, y posteriormente por los Estados Unidos, de las aplicaciones médicas y lúdicas del cannabis. Su uso en la práctica médica fue declinando a lo largo del siglo XX, ante la aparición de otros compuestos con mayor eficacia terapéutica (AU)

Cannabis sativa has been used for industrial, medical and/or recreational purposes since ancient times. Nevertheless, research into its active beginnings is relatively recent. It was known in China some five thousand years ago when it was used to obtain fibre and oil. Its curative properties can be seen in various medical treatises of great age. In India, it formed part of certain religious rites, and was used for its curative properties, a practice which continued until very recently. It use by the Assyrians, the Scythians and the Persians has also been described. There is debate on whether or not it was known to the Jews and the Ancient Egyptians. Nor is it very clear if, apart from its use for industrial purposes, it was very widespread among the Greeks and the Romans. At the beginning of the Christian Era, Pliny the Elder, Discorides and Galen described its possible medical applications. The Arabs used it medicinally and recreationally although its popularity was not the same in each of the Islamic countries, and it was even prohibited in certain specific circumstances throughout history. During the 19th century, the British colonial presence in India and Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt led to the spreading of its medical and therapeutical applications in Europe and, subsequently, in the United States. Its use in medicine decreased over the 20th century in the face of the appearance of other compounds of greater therapeutic effectiveness (AU)