Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
de la historia
RAMOS ATANCE, J.A.; FERNNDEZ RUIZ, J.
Resumen Summary
La Cannabis Sativa ha sido utilizada con fines indus- Cannabis sativa has been used for industrial, medi-
triales, medicinales y/o recreativos desde la Anti- cal and/or recreational purposes since ancient times.
gedad. Sin embargo, la investigacin sobre sus prin- Nevertheless, research into its active beginnings is
cipios activos es relativamente reciente. Su uso fue relatively recent. It was known in China some five
conocido en China hace unos cinco mil aos. Fue uti- thousand years ago when it was used to obtain fibre
lizada para la obtencin de fibra y de aceite. Sus pro- and oil. Its curative properties can be seen in various
piedades curativas aparecen reflejadas en varios tra- medical treatises of great age. In India, it formed part
tados mdicos de una notable antigedad. En la India, of certain religious rites, and was used for its curative
formaba parte de algunos rituales religiosos y fue uti- properties, a practice which continued until very
lizado por sus propiedades curativas, prctica que se recently.
ha conservado hasta muy recientemente. It use by the Assyrians, the Scythians and the Per-
Tambin se ha descrito su utilizacin por los asi-
sians has also been described. There is debate on
rios, los escitas o los persas. Existe una controversia
whether or not it was known to the Jews and the
sobre si fue conocido por los judos y los egipcios.
Ancient Egyptians. Nor is it very clear if, apart from its
Tampoco esta muy claro el que su uso, salvo con
use for industrial purposes, it was very widespread
fines industriales, estuviera muy extendido entre los
among the Greeks and the Romans. At the beginning
griegos y los romanos. Al principio de la era cristiana,
of the Christian Era, Pliny the Elder, Discorides and
Plinio el viejo, Discorides y Galeno describieron sus
Galen described its possible medical applications. The
posibles aplicaciones mdicas. Los rabes lo utiliza-
Arabs used it medicinally and recreationally although
ron en medicina y a nivel recreativo. Sin embargo, su
popularidad no fue la misma en cada uno de los pa- its popularity was not the same in each of the Islamic
ses de cultura islmica, llegando incluso a estar prohi- countries, and it was even prohibited in certain speci-
bido en situaciones histricas concretas. fic circumstances throughout history.
Durante el siglo XIX, la presencia colonial inglesa During the 19th century, the British colonial pre-
en la India y la expedicin de Napolen a Egipto, sir- sence in India and Napoleons expedition to Egypt led
vi para la difusin por Europa, y posteriormente por to the spreading of its medical and therapeutical
los Estados Unidos, de las aplicaciones mdicas y applications in Europe and, subsequently, in the Uni-
ldicas del cannabis. Su uso en la practica medica fue ted States. Its use in medicine decreased over the
declinando a lo largo del siglo XX, ante la aparicin de 20th century in the face of the appearance of other
otros compuestos con mayor eficacia teraputica. compounds of greater therapeutic effectiveness.
Palabras clave: Cannabis sativa, usos medicinales, Key words: cannabis, marijuana, history, therapeutic
marihuana, hachs, historia. use.
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