The Chronicle of Cannabis

Through this interview, Salazar highlights cannabis's complex and evolving role throughout human history, reflecting shifting cultural, spiritual and practical values. He emphasizes how societal fears, politics and scientific discoveries have shaped its perception and regulation.

Throughout history, few plants have journeyed alongside the history of human civilization as intricately and controversially as Cannabis sativa. Its tale is a fascinating blend of utility, reverence and resistance, mirroring the evolution of cultural values across time. Tracing its journey is to uncover how societies have cherished its gifts while wrestling with its complexities.

Our adventure begins in ancient China, around 4000 BCE, where cannabis first took root. The legendary Emperor Shennong, often hailed as the father of agriculture, extolled its medicinal and material value. Hemp fibres clothed the population and produced paper, seeds served as a nutritious food source and the flowers were revered for their pain-relieving properties. Although the psychoactive effects were acknowledged, they were seldom highlighted—practical uses took precedence.

Travelling westward, we encounter cannabis in the Indus Valley, where it gained spiritual significance. Vedic texts, dating back over 3,000 years, celebrate bhang as a sacred offering to Shiva and a means of meditation. In Ayurvedic medicine, it emerges as a remedy for anxiety and pain. Intoxication is seen as a step toward transcendence rather than mere indulgence, a perspective that would later clash with stricter ideologies.

As trade flourished, cannabis spread through cultures far and wide. Scythian nomads used it in funerary rituals, inhaling its vapours to connect with the deceased. The Greek historian Herodotus documented these rituals, revealing his fascination and judgment, foreshadowing the moral ambivalence that followed cannabis through the ages.

During the Islamic Golden Age, Persian physicians prescribed cannabis to treat ailments such as migraines and melancholy. Sufi mystics, seeking deeper connections with the divine, used hashish to dissolve the ego. Yet even then, debates raged: was cannabis a conduit for spiritual growth or merely a dangerous distraction?

Just across the sea, Europe’s relationship with cannabis was rooted in pragmatism. Hemp-fueled exploration, its fibres woven into sails, ropes and even the Gutenberg Bible. Monarchs encouraged its cultivation to bolster naval prowess, but Europe largely overlooked its psychoactive potential, focusing instead on its practical applications. Occasional medicinal uses emerged, but remained isolated, often referenced in monastic tinctures.

Then came the 19th century, a period of renewed curiosity. Colonial adventures reintroduced cannabis to Western medicine through Indian and North African traditions. Enter the Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, who championed the plant's pain-relieving qualities while working in British India. By the mid-1800s, cannabis extracts found their way into pharmacies across Europe and America, with even Queen Victoria rumoured to partake. For a brief moment, science and tradition harmonized, until cultural anxieties disrupted this fragile equilibrium.

The 20th century, however, marked a stark departure. In the U.S., cannabis became entwined with xenophobia following the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The term “Marihuana” was branded with stigma, fueled by racialized fears and industrial interests that saw hemp as a threat to synthetic fibres. Campaigns like "Reefer Madness" painted users as menacing figures and leaders like Harry Anslinger orchestrated movements to criminalize this once-revered plant. For the first time, cannabis was portrayed not as a resource but as a menace.

Yet cannabis endured. The counterculture movement of the 1960s reclaimed it as a symbol of resistance and spiritual searching. Scientists began to delve into its mysteries: in 1964, Raphael Mechoulam isolated THC, revealing a biological network, our end cannabinoid system, essential to human health. Rather than an invasive force, cannabis emerged as a critical player in our biology. Yet, the tension between science and politics remains.

Today, we find ourselves in a world steeped in contradictions. Countries like Canada and Uruguay have legalized recreational use, while others, such as Japan, impose severe penalties. Israeli laboratories lead the way in cannabinoid therapies, even as U.S. federal law lags behind. Cannabidiol (CBD) has infiltrated luxury skincare, while communities of colour continue to bear the burdens of the War on Drugs legacy. Cannabis has become a mirror, reflecting our uneven journey toward justice and evidence-based policy.

What lessons can we learn from this complex relationship with cannabis? The way we view cannabis often reflects more about ourselves than about the plant itself. Each society’s perspective, whether it is reverent, cautious or fearful, reveals its core values and blind spots. As we look toward the future, it’s vital to shed out-dated beliefs and approach this ancient plant with humility, curiosity and clarity. Our collective future with cannabis depends not on whether we accept or reject it, but on how honestly we confront its history and, ultimately, our own.