What is the History of Cannabis?
Cannabis, also known as hemp or marijuana, has been used by humans for fiber, medicine, and as a psychoactive for at least 4,500 years. Its biological name is Cannabis sativa, with a subspecies, Cannabis sativa indica, used most often for recreational or medicinal purposes. The earliest milestone in the history of cannabis are charred cannabis seeds dated to 2500 BCE found on a ritual brazier in Romania. In 2008, nearly two pounds of cannabis was found buried in the tomb of a Gushi shaman who lived about 700 BCE in the Gobi Desert, northern China. Genetic analysis of the plants found they were cultivated rather than from the wild.
