The use of hemp dates back to ancient times, with the oldest archaeological record of its use found in China twelve thousand years ago. It is believed to have been one of the first agricultural crops, with hemp cords used in ceramics and records showing that hemp seeds and oil were used as food in China. In Europe, the medicinal and psychoactive properties of cannabis were rediscovered by translating Arab books and manuscripts by scholars such as Sylvestre de Sacy, followed by scientific observations by doctors from the era of European colonial adventures. The Scythians are believed to have been the first to use hemp ceremonially, between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC.
C., which confirms Herodotus's previous historical reports. This discovery opened the door to many of the subsequent advances in the field of endocannabinoid system (ECS) research. In addition, samples of hemp cloth dating back to 3000 BC have been discovered in ancient Korea. In 1964, Professor Raphael Mechoulam made a groundbreaking discovery that Δ9-THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
This discovery prompted the exploration of a new receptor system, the endocannabinoid system (ECS). Because of him, it has been claimed that the discovery of medical cannabis dates back to two millennia before Christ. The discovery of the healing virtues of plants is attributed to Shén Nong (), a mythical emperor whose name means the Divine Farmer (c. 2000 BC).
C.). Mechoulam's historic discovery and subsequent clarification of the ECS opened the door to a new era in the history of cannabis. Unfortunately, due to the discovery of other sedative and analgesic drugs such as aspirin, cannabis was displaced in several medical indications. In 1942, during World War II, the US government released a film called “Hemp for Victory” which encouraged farmers to grow hemp for war efforts. However, this film was suppressed until hemp advocates rediscovered it.
Nowadays, a new infrastructure is being created to help farmers harvest and process their crops, while more people are discovering hemp and CBD every day.