Marijuana By jsdunaway 2700 BCE Chinese emperor Shen Nung discovered marijuana 1500 BCE The "Book of Exodus" references oil made from cannabis 1213 BCE Cannabis was used for glaucoma and enemas 1000 BCE A combination of milk and cannabis was used as an anesthetic 700 BCE Medical marijuana was used in "The Venidad", a Persian text 200 BCE Medical cannabis was used in Greece 30 BCE Jesus used oil containing cannabis 200 Cannabis used as an anesthetic 1600 Shakespeare might have smoked cannabis 1611 Settlers in Jamestown brought marijuana to North America 1745 George Washington grew cannabis, using it for medical reasons 1850 Marijuana was added to the US Pharmacopeia 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act required labeling of cannabis 1915 10 States passed laws prohibiting marijuana 1937 First Marijuana seller was convicted in the US 1973 The DEA was established 1976 Marijuana was decriminalized in the Netherlands 1989 DEA overrules that cannabis remain a Schedule 1 substance 1991 Medical marijuana initiative passed in San Francisco 1996 California legalizes medical marijuana 1998 3 more states legalize medical marijuana 2016 DEA opens door to research marijuana 2018 The FDA approved the first marijuana based drug called Epidiolex