The scoop about marijuana over the ages
Early civilizations appropriated the marijuana plant recognizing its healing properties. Dating as far back to 2700 B.C. when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung concocted tea made from cannabis leaves; then utilized to treat gout and malaria. In India, it was administered as an anesthetic. In the 1830s, Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, an Irish doctor studying in India, found that cannabis extracts could help in the reduction of stomach discomfort and vomiting in people experiencing cholera.
By the late 1800s, cannabis extracts were available in pharmacies and doctors' offices throughout Europe and the United States to manage stomach problems and other ailments.
Scientists later determined that THC was the origin of marijuana's medicinal properties. As the psychoactive composite accountable for marijuana's mind-altering effects, THC also communicates with brain areas to lessen nausea and increase hunger.
In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two drugs with THC prescribed in pill form, Marinol and Syndros, to manage nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy and lack of appetite in AIDs patients.
Interestingly, it was not until the 1990s when scientists initially recognized cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids. As a society, we have nearly evolved in our acceptance of marijuana.
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