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The hemp plant, Cannabis sativa has been used both recreationally and medicinally for thousands of years. The earliest written reference can be found in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the Pen Ts’ao (Hanrahan). Queen Victoria’s personal physician, J.R. Reynolds studied cannabis declaring it “by far the most useful of drug in treating painful maladies”. In the late 1830’s, Dr. William B. O’Shaughnessy, a British physician, learned of cannabis and began experimenting with various cannabis preparations. In 1939, O’Shaughnessy published his studies, marking the beginning of an intense period of study throughout Europe and America. Between 1840 and 1900, more than one hundred papers were published recommending marijuana for various illnesses and discomforts. “Federal authorities should rescind their prohibition of the medical use of marijuana for seriously ill patients and allow physicians to decide which patients to treat. The government should change marijuana’s status from that of a Schedule I (prohibited) drug… to that of a Schedule II drug… and regulate accordingly.” —Dr. Jerome Kassirer, editor, New England Journal of Medicine, January 30, 1997 Since 1937, marijuana has been considered a Schedule I dr