CBD is having its pop culture moment. It’s everywhere. In drinks, oils, gummies, capsules, and in a variety of places. That’s because people are realizing the many health benefits it provides including deeper sleep, better relaxation, quicker recovery, and so much more.
The 2018 Farm Bill—which removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and made CBD legal (with no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis) in all 50 states—is a big reason more and more people are benefitting from CBD.
While it might seem like it was a long road to CBD getting its due, it’s been used by people for more than 4,000 years.
Let’s take a look at a few key dates in the history of CBD.
2737 BC: China
Emperor Cheng Neng of China successfully brewed the first CBD cup of tea to treat malaria, rheumatism, and gout. It was said that people who drank this tea also experience improved brain function and memory.
This marked the first recorded use of the cannabis plant for therapeutic purposes.
1800s: England
Although the cannabis and hemp plants would pop up in history here and there, let’s flash-forward to the mid 1800s when Queen Victoria reigned in England.
It was rumored that Queen Victoria used the cannabis plant to alleviate menstrual cramps. Her private doctor Sir J. Russell Reynolds, even wrote in 1890 that “when pure and administered carefully, [cannabis] is one of the most valuable medicines we possess.”
1837: Ireland
Sir William O’Shaughnessy, a famous Irish physician, did research on the medicinal importance of CBD. He presented the plant as an anesthetic, but also outlined the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis extracts like CBD.
At the time, his cannabis work wasn’t widely recognized. It would take another century for that to happen.
1939: America
Two years after marijuana was banned by Congress, American chemist Roger Adams received a special license to work with cannabis oil. By 1942, he would win a patent for his method of isolating CBD. He also developed the “Adams Scale” that measures the potency of cannabinoids, which is still used today.
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These are just a few of the key dates in the history of CBD. There are far more that could be included, but it’s easy to see that the road to easily accessible CBD was a long one.
Thankfully, people can enjoy the many health benefits of CBD today very easily.