The widespread use of cannabis as a medicine can be traced back millennia, where early Chinese doctors, such as surgeon Hua Tuo (c. 140-208), used the plant as an anesthetic by reducing the plant powder and mixing it with wine for administration before surgery. In fact, the Chinese term for “anesthesia” (mázui 麻醉) literally means “cannabis intoxication.”
Dutch sinologist Frank Dikötter also wrote about the ancient use of cannabis as medicine in his book, Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs In China, where he highlighted how the root of the cannabis plant was used to remove blood clots, while the juice from the leaves could be ingested to combat tapeworm, and the seeds, once reduced to powder and mixed with rice wine, were used to fight several ailments including constipation and hair loss.
