2737 BC: first reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent
1450 BC: The Book of Exodus refers to holy anointing oil made from cannabis. The oil contained kaneh-bosem, a substance identified by researchers as cannabis. Six pounds of the substance were put into about 6 quarts of olive oil.

1000 BC: Bhang, a drink of cannabis and milk, was used in India as an anesthetic and anti-phlegmatic.

79 AD: Pliny the Elder wrote about the medicinal properties of cannabis: "The roots boiled in water ease cramped joints, gout too, and similar violent pain."

1545: Spanish brought marijuana to the New World

1611: Marijuana became a major commercial crop alongside tobacco in Jamestown where it was grown as a source of fiber
1753: Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus gives the plant it's full nomenclature "Cannabis sativa"
1850: Marijuana was included in the United States Pharmacopeia, which listed it as a treatment for numerous afflictions.

1890: Marijuana replaced cotton as a major cash crop in southern states
1889: An article in The Lancet outlined the application of cannabis for the treatment of opium and chloral hydrate withdrawal symptoms.

1906: The Pure Food and Drug Act (also known as the Wiley Act) required the labeling of medicine, including cannabis.

1911: Amid a general wave of prohibitionist sentiment in the US, Massachusetts banned cannabis. Other states followed.

1920's: Recreational use grew
1930: At least 2 American companies-Parke-Davis and Eli Lily--were selling standardized extracts of marijuana for use as an analgesic, an antispasmodic, and a sedative.

1936: all 48 states had enacted laws to regulate marijuana. Its decline was hastened by the development of aspirin, morphine, and other opium-derived drugs to treat pain and other medical conditions.
1937: Congress enacted the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The act imposed registration and reporting requirements and a tax on the growers, sellers, and buyers of marijuana.

1942: Marijuana was removed from the United States Pharmacopeia.

1951: The Boggs Act imposed a 2-5 year minimum sentence for first drug offenses. The act made no distinction between drug users and drug traffickers for purposes of sentencing.

1964: THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, was identified and synthesized.

1970: The Controlled Substances Act placed marijuana in Schedule 1, drugs "classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."

1972: The bipartisan Shafer Commission [National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse] appointed by President Nixon recommended that personal use of marijuana be decriminalized. Nixon rejected the recommendation, but during the 1970s 11 states decriminalized marijuana.

1985: The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, for nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.

1990's: Recreational use became an upward trend especially among teenagers

1996: California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana.

2009: The American Medical Association urged that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule 1 controlled substance be reviewed.

2017: West Virginia became the 29th state to legalize medical marijuana.

“Marijuana History.” Narconon International, Narconon International, www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-history.html.
Booth, Martin. Cannabis A History. Paw Prints, 2008.

Loria, Keith. "A Growing Interest in Medical Marijuana." PT in Motion, Feb. 2018, p. 16+. Health & Wellness Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527621334/HWRC?u=lom_inac&sid=HWRC&xid=6ce3d648. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

“Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World.” Edited by Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 2018, www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/marijuana/short-and-long-term-effects.html.

“Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World.” Edited by Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 2018, www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/marijuana/short-and-long-term-effects.html.