Cannabis has been used for about 4,000 years for medical purposes.In Taiwan about 10,000 years ago the people of that country used marijuana for fiber. In the 3rd century Hua Tuo was the first person to use marijuana as an anesthetic. It was known even back then that marijuana could be used in the help of treating vomiting.In ancient Egypt the Egyptians used hemp for suppositories to treat hemorrhoids. India used marijuana to help in the treatment of insomnia, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, and pain.In Greece the Greeks helped their horses by using cannabis on their wounds.They also used the dry marijuana leaves to help to stop nosebleeds.The seeds of the plant were used to help expel tapeworms.

In the 1830’s William Brooke O’Shaughnessy MD, was one of the first to show people the uses for medical marijuana at the Medical University of Calcutta. In the 19th century marijuana was used as a pain reliever until aspirin was invented. In the late 1970’s Marinol was invented which is the synthetic version of THC that stems from Cannabis.The pill was abandoned at this time and people continued smoking instead. The 1970’s and 1980’s was an important time in the research of medical marijuana which in turn made eight states get behind medical marijuana.During 1996 and 1999 physicians began giving prescriptions for the drug. In 2003 a patent was awarded to the US Department of Health and Human Services for their work with Cannabinoids.