How Was THC Discovered?
Photo by Ali Rizvi
Cannabis originated in China and eventually spread all over the world. It was of cultural importance to the Chinese people. It was also used as an anesthetic during surgery.
A Chinese Surgeon named Hua Tuo was the first person to use cannabis in this way! He used it like this sometime between the years 140-280. The anesthetic was ground up into a powder and mixed in with wine for patients to drink before beginning surgery.
Photo by Healthline.com
CULTURAL EFFECTS
As cannabis spread around the world via the Silk Road, it became more important to the various culture’s it arrived to. Through the silk road it spread throughout Asia, Europe and Africa.
In India, it became very culturally important.
“Bhang” is a drink made up of a mixture of tea, milk and cannabis. It is often consumed during Holi. Yogis also smoked cannabis resin or mixed cannabis and tobacco together while doing yoga to improve their meditative experiences. Indian poetry has also referred to cannabis as a sacre herb and as one that relieves anxiety.
Even before we officially discovered THC in the 1940’s and 60’s we were aware of the effects it had on us.
THE OFFICIAL DISCOVERY
In the 1940’s Roger Adams was able to discover what it was in the cannabis plant that brought on its effects. He was the first person to figure out what THC was! He was also studying THC’s relationship to CBD but due to the available technology at the time he was unable to isolate THC from the plant.
Roger Adams
Roger Adams
THE OFFICIAL DISCOVERY
In the 1940’s Roger Adams was able to discover what it was in the cannabis plant that brought on its effects. He was the first person to figure out what THC was! He was also studying THC’s relationship to CBD but due to the available technology at the time he was unable to isolate THC from the plant.
Raphael Mechoulam – Godfather of Cannabis
THC vs CBD
In the 1964 Raphael Mechoulam and his colleagues in Israel were able to finally isolate THC from the plant. In 1963 he was successful in isolating CBD. Him and his team completed their work at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science. Due to his important work that laid the groundwork for the field, Raphael Mechoulam is often referred to as “The Godfather of Cannabis”
