The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is nothing new! History is laden with account after account of use of cannabis for hundreds of ailments. According to Chinese legend the Father of Chinese medicine, emperor Chen Nung, discovered the healing properties of marijuana in the circa 2700 BC.  The earliest written reference is found in the 15th century BC Chinese Pharmacopeia, the Rh-Ya.

While studying in India in the 1830s, an Irish doctor by the name of Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, found that cannabis extracts could help lessen stomach pain and vomiting in people suffering from cholera.  By the 19th Century, marijuana emerged as a mainstream medicine in the West.  Cannabis extracts were sold in pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout Europe and the United States to treat stomach problems and other ailments.  Scientists later discovered that THC was the source of marijuana’s medicinal properties.  

In recent years, scientific studies of marijuana have shown promising results in the treatment of a variety of ailments and illnesses, by helping to alleviate symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two drugs with THC that are prescribed in pill form, Marinol and Syndros, to treat nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and loss of appetite in AIDs patients.