Cannabis: 12,000 years of experiences and prejudices

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cannabis Sativa has been part of human evolution and has been used by different populations for different purposes. By reviewing the history and main advances in cannabinoid medicine, the aim of this study was to identify the major discoveries in recent years, which have prompted the publication of articles. CONTENTS:The following topics were searched: "history of cannabis", "history of hashish", "history of marijuana" and "main advances in endocannabinoid medicine"; in SCIELO, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Medline (Capes platform) databases. CONCLUSION: There has been an increase in the number of publications following major discoveries about the endocannabinoid system, including receptors and endocannabinoids, but prejudice and the difficulty of accessing this therapeutic tool prevent further development.