The cannabis timeline
29 milestones across about 10,000 years, from the earliest dated cannabis remains to the law today. Reviewed October 19, 2026.
Summaries are written in our own words from the listed sources. Entries marked disputed have conflicting or incomplete evidence.
Ancient origins before 500 CE
c. 10,000–8000 BCE
Earliest dated cannabis remains and domestication
Cannabis fruits from a Japanese Early Jomon site date to about 10,000 years ago, and a 2021 genome study puts domestication in East Asia around 12,000 years ago.
The oldest remains and the place and date of domestication are still debated.
c. 1500–1000 BCE
The Atharva Veda names bhanga
An Indian hymn collection from the second millennium BCE lists bhanga, often translated as hemp, among its plants. Scholars debate whether it clearly means cannabis.
Whether bhanga means cannabis, and the date of the text, are both debated.
c. 800–700 BCE
Cannabis residue at the Tel Arad shrine
Chemical analysis of two altars at an 8th-century BCE shrine in Judah found cannabis compounds on one altar and frankincense on the other.
c. 500 BCE
Burned cannabis in Pamir mountain tombs
Wooden burners from tombs in the Pamir mountains carried chemical traces of cannabis burned in funeral rituals about 2,500 years ago.
c. 450 BCE
Herodotus describes Scythian hemp vapor
The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Scythians breathed the vapor of hemp seed thrown on heated stones, in place of washing with water.
c. 2nd century CE
A Chinese herbal classic lists cannabis
A Han-era Chinese herbal classic lists cannabis as a medicine and warns that heavy use brings strange visions.
The text's date is debated, from the Han era to a legendary much earlier origin.
Trade and empire 500 to 1800
c. 800–900 CE
Hashish appears in Islamic-world writings
Arabic scholars learned of cannabis medicine from translated Greek texts, and by the late 9th century some groups in Persia and Iraq used it as an intoxicant.
Sources differ on whether intoxicant use began in the 8th or the late 9th century.
1619–1633
Virginia pushes colonists to grow hemp
Virginia's first General Assembly urged householders with hemp seed to try growing it, and by 1633 the colony required every planter to sow hemp and flax.
The 1619 text urged trials only. The planting mandate dates to 1632–1633.
1753 and 1785
Linnaeus and Lamarck name the species
Linnaeus described one hemp species, Cannabis sativa, in 1753, and Lamarck added a second, Cannabis indica, from India in 1785.
Medicine and early law 1800 to 1936
1839
O'Shaughnessy publishes his Indian hemp experiments
An Irish physician in India published experiments with hemp preparations, reporting possible uses against convulsions and tetanus. His work helped start cannabis medicine in Britain.
1850
Cannabis enters the US Pharmacopoeia
Cannabis was first listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia in 1850, in an era when it was widely sold in patent medicines.
1911–1913
The first US state cannabis laws
Massachusetts passed one of the earliest state cannabis laws in 1911 or 1912, and California, Maine, Indiana and Wyoming followed in 1913.
Sources differ on the Massachusetts year and on whether it was a ban or a prescription rule.
1925
The Geneva Convention adds Indian hemp
An international opium treaty signed in Geneva added Indian hemp to its trade controls, requiring import certificates that state a medical or scientific need.
Prohibition and discovery 1937 to 1969
1937
The Marihuana Tax Act
Congress taxed marihuana dealers and transfers, creating the first federal restrictions on cannabis use and sale. The act was approved on August 2, 1937.
1942
Cannabis dropped from the US Pharmacopoeia
Cannabis was removed from the United States Pharmacopoeia, ending its standing as a recognized prescription medicine a few years after the 1937 federal tax law.
Only secondary sources give the year.
1961
The UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Adopted in New York on March 30, 1961 and in force from December 1964, this treaty placed the cannabis plant under international control.
1964
THC is isolated and its structure described
Chemists in Israel isolated delta-9-THC from hashish and described its structure in a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 1964.
Reform and science 1970 to 2026
1970
The Controlled Substances Act
Signed on October 27, 1970, the law listed marihuana in Schedule I, the strictest federal category, and took effect on May 1, 1971.
1973
Oregon decriminalizes small possession
Oregon became the first US state to stop treating possession of small amounts of marijuana as a crime, replacing jail time with a fine.
1976
The Netherlands separates soft and hard drugs
The Netherlands revised its Opium Act to treat cannabis as a soft drug apart from hard drugs, the basis for tolerated coffeeshop sales.
Formal coffeeshop tolerance criteria date to 1996.
1988–1992
The body's own cannabinoid system is found
Researchers reported a cannabinoid binding site in rat brain in 1988, and in 1992 a Hebrew University team isolated anandamide, a natural molecule that binds it.
1996
California approves medical cannabis
California voters approved Proposition 215, letting patients use and grow cannabis on a physician's recommendation. It became the best-known early state medical cannabis law.
Other early measures exist, including Arizona's in 1996, so 'first' is contested.
2012
Colorado and Washington approve adult use
Voters in Colorado and Washington approved the first US state laws legalizing adult recreational marijuana. Colorado's licensed stores opened on January 1, 2014.
Sources (2)
2013
Uruguay regulates cannabis nationally
Uruguay's Senate passed a law creating a state-regulated cannabis market, enacted in December 2013, and it is widely reported as the first national legalization.
'First country' comes from news and think-tank reporting, not an official source.
2018
The Farm Bill defines hemp
The farm bill signed on December 20 set hemp apart as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC and told USDA to build a national hemp program.
Sources (2)
2018
Canada legalizes cannabis nationally
Canada's Cannabis Act took effect on October 17, 2018, legalizing and regulating adult cannabis nationwide, with provinces and territories setting age limits and retail rules.
2018
The FDA approves Epidiolex
The FDA cleared Epidiolex, a purified-CBD prescription medicine for seizures in two rare epilepsy syndromes, the first approved drug made from a cannabis-plant ingredient.
Sources (2)
2024
Germany partly legalizes cannabis
From April 1, 2024, German adults may legally possess limited amounts of cannabis and grow up to three plants, and cultivation clubs were permitted from July.
2026
Medical marijuana moves to Schedule III
On April 23, 2026 the DOJ and DEA moved FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana products to Schedule III. A broader rescheduling hearing ended July 15, and since September 29 the case has been stayed while the judge considers pending motions, so the wider question of marijuana's schedule is not settled.
Legal status changes quickly. Check current sources before relying on this.
Where things stand today
24 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized adult recreational use. Federally, FDA-approved and state-licensed medical marijuana products are in Schedule III, and other marijuana remains in Schedule I while the broader rescheduling process continues.
As of October 19, 2026. Legal status changes quickly and differs by state and country. Not legal advice.
Written from the listed sources. Not legal or medical advice. Laws change often.