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1621: English clergyman Robert Burton suggested cannabis for the treatment of depression.
1800s: Doctors literally understood the benefits of cannabis better than contemporary physicians, publishing more than 100 papers on the topic. Dentists used it as a topical anesthetic.
1854: Cannabis was listed in the United States Dispensatory (an unofficial listing of medical drugs) and commercial remedies based on cannabis were readily available in drugstores and pharmacies in every community.
1890:British physician J.R. Reynolds published his 30 years of experience with cannabis, recommending it for multiple conditions. For insomnia, he said, “I have found nothing comparable in utility to a moderate dose of Indian hemp [cannabis].” … Like many contemporary doctors 125 years later—believed that cannabis was useful for treating migraine headaches, epilepsy, asthma, depression, and painful cramps. In his position as the court physician to Queen Victoria, he infamously prescribed a cannabis tea for her menstrual cramps.
1891: American doctor and author J.B. Mattison reported that cannabis prevented migraine attacks and blocked the pain of existing migraine headaches. Mattison’s results were later supported by Canadian physician William Osler (one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital), who wrote that marijuana was “probably the most satisfactory remedy” for migraines