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The Roots of Medicine: Part 1 — A Forgotten Root

🌱 The Roots of Medicine: Part 1 — A Forgotten Root

The Roots Of Medicine Series

“Before there were pills, there were plants. Before the lab coat, there was the healer’s robe. And woven through it all… was cannabis.” — TennCanna

Long before Big Pharma, before lab coats, before federal scheduling, the human story of medicine was rooted in the natural world. Across civilizations, healers, herbalists, and physicians turned to plants to soothe pain, calm the mind, and restore balance. Among them, one plant quietly threaded its way through the tapestry of ancient medicine: cannabis.

From Mesopotamia to Egypt, India to China, Greece to Rome, cannabis was prescribed for pain, inflammation, insomnia, digestive issues, seizures, and more. It was trusted, respected, and widely documented in medical texts for centuries. It wasn’t fringe — it was mainstream.

⚡ “Cannabis, known as ‘bhang’ in India and mentioned in the Chinese Pen Ts’ao, has been used for millennia to relieve pain, aid sleep, and restore balance to the body.” — Historical Medical Records

📜 Cannabis in Medicine — A Timeline

🌿 ~2737 BCE – China: Shen Nung lists cannabis among his 50 fundamental herbs.

⚡ ~2000 BCE – Mesopotamia: Assyrian medical tablets describe cannabis for pain and inflammation.

🌿 ~1550 BCE – Egypt: Ebers Papyrus records cannabis for inflammation and childbirth pain.

🌿 1000 BCE – India: Ayurveda prescribes bhang for digestion, anxiety, and spiritual practice.

⚡ 1st Century CE – Greece & Rome: Dioscorides and Galen mention cannabis for earaches, pain, and digestion.

🌿 9th–12th Century – Islamic Golden Age: Surgeons use cannabis tinctures for pain and seizures.

⚡ 1850–1942 – United States: Cannabis listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia for pain, insomnia, rheumatism, and more.

🌿 “We didn’t invent cannabis as medicine — we rediscovered what history already knew.”

💬 Join the Conversation

Has cannabis helped you, a friend, or a loved one? Share your story below — your voice becomes part of the chorus that breaks through ingrained resistance.

Are you skeptical or opposed to cannabis? Share your perspective. What drives your concerns? Honest dialogue is how we all learn — whether we’re seeing the plant as medicine for the first time, or questioning long-held beliefs.

🔎 Coming Up: Part 2 — Mesopotamia to Egypt

Journey with us as we explore how cannabis threaded its way through the earliest civilizations — from the first documented prescriptions in Mesopotamian tablets to its role in Egyptian healing practices. Discover how ancient knowledge laid the foundation for centuries of medical use — and why that wisdom was almost lost.

🌿 Stay tuned… the roots run deep.

Read Part 2 →

🌿 This post is part of itthe The Roots of Medicine series. Explore the full series →

🌿 The roots of medicine run deep. It’s time we let them grow again.

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