|
|
|
6000 B.C. |
Cannabis seeds used for food in China |
|
4000 B.C. |
Textiles made of hemp are used in China. Remains have been found
of hemp fibers from this period and from Turkestan a century later.
|
|
2727 B.C. |
First recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese
pharmacopoeia. In every part of the world humankind has used
cannabis for a wide variety of health problems. |
|
1500 B.C.
|
Cannabis cultivated in China for food and fiber
|
|
1500 B.C.
|
Scythians cultivate cannabis and use it to weave fine hemp
cloth. (Sumach 1975) |
|
1200 - 800 BCE
|
Bhang (dried cannabis leaves, seeds and stems) is mentioned in
the Hindu sacred text Atharva veda (Science of Charms) as "Sacred
Grass", one of the five sacred plants of India. It is used by
medicinally and ritually as an offering to Shiva. |
|
700 - 600 BCE
|
The Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta, an ancient Persian religious text
of several hundred volumes, and said to have been written by
Zarathustra (Zoroaster), refers to bhang as Zoroaster's "good
narcotic" (Vendidad or The Law Against Demons) |
|
700 - 300 BCE
|
Scythian tribes leave Cannabis seeds as offerings in royal
tombs. |
|
500 B.C. |
Scythian couple die and are buried with two small tents covering
censers. Attached to one tent stick was a decorated leather pouch
containing wild Cannabis seeds. This closely matches the stories
told by Herodotus. The gravesite, discovered in the late 1940s, was
in Pazryk, northwest of the Tien Shan Mountains in modern-day
Khazakstan. |
|
500 B.C. |
Hemp is introduced into Northern Europe by the Scythians. An urn
containing leaves and seeds of the Cannabis plant, unearthed near
Berlin, is dated to about this time. |
|
500 - 100 BCE |
Hemp spreads throughout northern Europe.
|
|
430 B.C. |
Herodotus reports on both ritual and recreation use of Cannabis
by the Scythians (Herodotus The Histories |
|
100 - 0 BCE
|
The psychotropic properties of Cannabis are mentioned in the
newly compiled herbal Pen Ts'ao Ching which is attributed to an
emperor c. 2700 B.C. |
|
0 - 100 A.D.
|
Construction of Samartian gold and glass paste stash box for
storing hashish, coriander, or salt, buried in Siberian tomb. |
|
70 |
Dioscorides mentions the use of Cannabis as a Roman medicament.
|
|
170 |
Galen (Roman) alludes to the psychoactivity of Cannabis seed
confections. |
|
500 - 600 |
The Jewish Talmud mentions the euphoriant properties of
Cannabis. (Abel 1980) |
|
900 - 1000 |
Scholars debate the pros and cons of eating hashish. Use spreads
throughout Arabia. |
|
1090 - 1256
|
In Khorasan, Persia, Hasan ibn al-Sabbah, the Old Man of the
Mountain, recruits followers to commit assassinations...legends
develop around their supposed use of hashish. These legends are some
of the earliest written tales of the discovery of the inebriating
powers of Cannabis and the supposed use of Hashish. |
|
1256 |
Alamut falls
Early 12th Century Hashish smoking very popular throughout the
Middle East.
12th Century Cannabis is introduced in Egypt during the reign of the
Ayyubid dynasty on the occasion of the flooding of Egypt by mystic
devotees coming from Syria. (M.K. Hussein 1957 - Soueif 1972) |
|
1155 - 1221
|
Persian legend of the Sufi master Sheik Haidar's of Khorasan's
personal discovery of Cannabis and it's subsequent spread to Iraq,
Bahrain, Egypt and Syria. Another of the ealiest written narratives
of the use of Cannabis as an inebriant. |
|
13th Century |
The oldest monograph on hashish, Zahr al-'arish fi tahrim
al-hashish, was written. It has since been lost. |
|
13th Century
|
Ibn al-Baytar of Spain provides a description of psychaoctive
Cannabis. |
|
13th Century
|
Arab traders bring Cannabis to the Mozambique coast of Africa.
|
|
1231 |
Hashish introduced to Iraq in the reign of Caliph Mustansir
(Rosenthal 1971) |
|
1271 - 1295
|
Journeys of Marco Polo in which he gives second-hand reports of
the story of Hasan ibn al-Sabbah and his "assassins" using hashish.
First time reports of Cannabis have been brought to the attention of
Europe. |
|
1378 |
Ottoman Emir Soudoun Scheikhouni issues one of the first edicts
against the eating of hashish. |
|
1526 |
Babur Nama, first emperor and founder of Mughal Empire learned
of hashish in Afghanistan. |
|
1549 |
Angolan slaves brought cannabis with them to the sugar
plantations of northeastern Brazil. They were permitted to plant
their cannabis between rows of cane, and to smoke it between
harvests. |
|
mid 16th Century
|
The epic poem, Benk u Bode, by the poet Mohammed Ebn Soleiman
Foruli of Baghdad, deals allegorically with a dialectical battle
between wine and hashish. |
|
17th Century
|
Use of hashish, alcohol, and opium spreads among the population
of occupied Constantinople
1606-1632 French and British cultivate Cannabis for hemp at their
colonies in Port Royal (1606), Virginia (1611), and Plymouth (1632).
|
|
Late 17th Century
|
Hashish becomes a major trade item between Central Asia and
South Asia. |
|
1798 |
Napoleon discovers that much of the Egyptian lower class
habitually uses hashish (Kimmens 1977). He declares a total
prohibition. Soldiers returning to France bring the tradition with
them. |
|
19th Century
|
Hashish production expands from Russian Turkestan into Yarkand
in Chinese Turkestan. |
|
1809 |
Antoine Sylvestre de Sacy, a leading Arabist, reveals the
etymology of the words "assassin" and "hashishin"
|
|
1840 |
In America, medicinal preparations with a Cannabis base are
available. Hashish available in Persian pharmacies. |
|
1843 |
Le Club des Hachichins, or Hashish Eater's Club, is established
in Paris.
after 1850 Hashish appears in Greece. |
|
1856 |
British tax ganja and charas trade in India
|
|
1870 - 1880
|
First reports of hashish smoking on Greek mainland
|
|
c. 1875
|
Cultivation for hashish introduced to Greece
|
|
1877 |
Kerr reports on Indian ganja and charas trade.
|
|
1890 |
Greek Department of Interior prohibits importance, cultivation
and use of hashish. |
|
1890 |
Hashish made illegal in Turkey
|
|
1893 - 1894
|
The India Hemp Drugs Commission Report is issued.
|
|
1893 - 1894
|
70,000 to 80,000 kg of hashish legally imported into India from
Central Asia each year. |
|
1906 |
Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the labelling of
products containing Alcohol, Opiates, Cocaine, and Cannabis, among
others. The law went into effect Jan 1, 1907 4 [Details] |
|
Early 20th Century
|
Hashish smoking very popular throughout the Middle East.
|
|
1915 - 1927
|
Cannabis begins to be prohibited for nonmedical use in the U.S.,
especially in SW states...California (1915), Texas (1919), Louisiana
(1924), and New York (1927). |
|
1920 |
Metaxus dictators in Greece crack down on hashish smoking.
|
|
1920s |
Hashish smuggled into Egypt from Greece, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey,
and Central Asia |
|
1926 |
Lebanese hashish production peaks after World War I until
prohibited in 1926. |
|
1928 |
Recrational use of Cannabis is banned in Britain.
|
|
1920s - 1930s
|
High-quality hashish produced in Turkey near Greek border. |
|
1930 |
Yarkand region of Chinese Turkestan exports 91,471 kg of hashish
legally into the Northwest Frontier and Punjab regions of India
|
|
1930s |
Legal taxed imports of hashish continue into India from Central
Asia. |
|
1934 - 1935
|
Chinese government moves to end all Cannabis cultivation in
Yarkand and charas traffic from Yarkand. Both licit and illicit
hashish production become illegal in Chinese Turkestan. |
|
1936 |
Propaganda film "Reefer Madness" made to scare American youth
away from using Cannabis. |
|
1937 |
Cannabis made federally illegal in the U.S. with the passage of
the Marihuana Tax Act. |
|
1938 |
Supply of hashish from chinese Turkestan nearly ceases.
|
|
1940s |
Greek hashish smoking tradition fades.
|
|
1941 |
Indian government considers cultivation in Kashmir to fill void
of hashish from Chinese Turkestan. |
|
1941 - 1942
|
Hand-rubbed charas from Nepal is choicest hashish in India
during World War II. |
|
1945 |
Legal hashish consumption continues in India
|
|
1945 - 1955
|
Hashish use in Greece flourishes again
|
|
1950s |
Hashish still smuggled into India from Chinese Central Asia
|
|
1950s |
Moroccan government tacitly allows kif cultivation in Rif
Mountains. |
|
1962 |
First hashish made in Morocco.
|
|
1963 |
Turkish police seize 2.5 tons of hashish
|
|
1965 |
First reports of C. afghanica use for hashish production in
northern Afghanistan |
|
1965 |
Mustafa comes to Ketama in Morocco to make hashish from local
kif. |
|
1966 |
The Moroccan government attempts to purge kif growers from Rif
Mountains. |
|
1967 |
"Smash", the first hashish oil appears. Red Lebanese reaches
California. |
|
Late 1960s - 1970s
|
The Brotherhood popularizes Afghani hashish.
|
|
1970 - 1973
|
Huge fields of Cannabis cultivated for hashish production in
Afghanistan. Last years that truly great afghani hashish is
available |
|
1972 |
The Nixon-appointed Shafer Commission urged use of cannabis be
re-legalized, but their recommendation was ignored. Medical research
continues. |
|
Early 1970s
|
Lebanese red and blonde hashish of very high-quality exported.
The highest quality Turkish hashish from Gaziantep near Syria
appears in western Europe. |
|
Early 1970s
|
Afghani hashish varieties introduced to North America for
sinsemilla production. Westerners bring metal sieve cloths to
Afghanistan. Law enforcement efforts against hashish begin in
Afghanistan. |
|
1973 |
Nepal bans the Cannabis shops and charas (hand-rolled hash)
export. |
|
1973 |
Afghan government makes hashish production and sales illegal.
Afghani harvest is pitifully small. |
|
1975 |
FDA establishes Compassionate Use program for medical marijuana.
|
|
1976 - 1977
|
Quality of Lebanese hashish reaches zenith.
|
|
1978 |
Westerners make sieved hashish in Nepal from wild Cannabis.
|
|
Late 1970s
|
Increasing manufacture of "modern" Afghani hashish. Cannabis
varieties from Afghanistan imported into Kashmir for sieved hashish
production. |
|
1980s |
Morocco becomes one of, if not the largest, hashish producing
and exporting nations. |
|
1980s |
"Border" hashish produced in northwestern Pakistan along the
Afghan border to avoid Soviet-Afghan war. |
|
Early 1980s
|
Quality of Lebanese hashish declines. |
|
1983 - 1984
|
Small amounts of the last high-quality Turkish hashish appear.
|
|
1985 |
Hashish still produced by Muslims of Kashgar and Yarkland (NW
China). |
|
1986 |
Most private stashes of pre-war Afghani hashish in Amsterdam,
Goa, and America are nearly finished. |
|
May 13, 1986
|
Dronabinol is placed into Schedule II by the DEA.
|
|
1987 |
Moroccan government cracks down upon Cannabis cultivation in
lower eleations of Rif Mountains. |
|
1988 |
DEA administrative law Judge Francis Young finds after thorough
hearings that marijuana has clearly established medical use and
should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug. His recommendation is
ignored. |
|
1993 |
Cannabis eradication efforts resume in Morocco.
|
|
1994 |
Heavy fighting between rival Muslim clans continues to upset
hashish trade in Afghanistan |
|
1994 |
Border hashish still produced in Pakistan.
|
|
1995 |
Introduction of hashish-making equipment and appearance of
locally produced hashish in Amsterdam coffee shops. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
