Partial Schedule III order published
AG Order No. 6754-2026 (91 FR 22714) places FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana under a state medical license in Schedule III. Every other form of marijuana remains in Schedule I.
LegalHigh confidence
An interactive course in eight chapters
The History of Cannabis
28 million years, one plant
Follow the plant from the Tibetan Plateau to the voting booth. Every claim carries its evidence and our confidence, and every myth gets corrected in place.
The whole story in two minutes
Cannabis is older than people, and its story is longer than its laws. The plant split from hops about 28 million years ago, and people have farmed it for fiber, seed, and oil for roughly 10,000 to 12,000 years. About 2,500 years ago, mourners in the Pamir mountains burned it in wooden braziers, and the Greek historian Herodotus described Scythians breathing hemp vapor in felt tents. In the centuries after, hemp rope and sails powered empires, hashish spread through the Islamic world, and 19th-century doctors put cannabis tinctures on pharmacy shelves.
Where does cannabis come from?
Cannabis most likely began on or near the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, where fossil pollen points. A molecular clock puts its split from hops about 27.8 million years ago. People first domesticated it in East Asia in the early Neolithic, about 12,000 years ago (Ren et al., 2021). Chapter 1 follows the full evidence.
When did cannabis become illegal in the US?
Cannabis became illegal in the United States one state at a time, starting with Massachusetts in 1911. The federal Marihuana Tax Act, signed on August 2, 1937, took effect on October 1, 1937. It taxed and registered the plant rather than banning it outright, but in practice it worked as a ban.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 then placed marijuana in Schedule I. California's medical law of 1996 began the turn back. As of November 2026, 24 states plus DC allow adult use. Since April 28, 2026, marijuana in FDA-approved drugs and state-licensed medical marijuana is in Schedule III, and all other marijuana stays in Schedule I.
The chapters below tell each step with its sources.
How the plant spread
Press play to watch finds and routes appear from 12,000 BCE to today. The full list is on the timeline page.
8 stops
All events on the globe, as a list
- c. 28 million years ago (estimates run from 16 to 29), Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (hypothesized). Cannabis splits from hops.
- 1.8 to 1.2 million years ago, Upper Volga River basin, Russia (approximate). Cannabis-type pollen reaches Europe.
- Last Glacial Maximum, about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago, Europe between about 45 and 56 degrees north. A belt of steppe plants below the ice.
- about 12,000 years ago (95% range 15,728 to 6,458), East Asia (broad region; no single site). The doorstep of domestication.
- c. 12,000 years ago (estimate; 95% interval 6,458 to 15,728 years), East Asia (exact place unknown). Genomes point to East Asia as the first farm.
- c. 8000 BCE (about 10,000 calibrated years ago), Okinoshima site, Tateyama, Chiba, Japan. Cannabis fruits in earliest Jomon mud.
- 1650 to 400 BCE, Haimenkou, Jianchuan County, Yunnan, China. 800 grains show a crop starting to split.
- c. 750–715 BCE, Tel Arad, kingdom of Judah (southern Israel). Two altars, two burnt offerings.
- c. 700–500 BCE (papers say 2,500 and 2,700 years old), Yanghai Tombs, Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, China. A shaman's grave holds a cannabis cache.
- c. 500 BCE (cemetery used 2,400–2,600 years ago), Jirzankal Cemetery, Pamir Mountains, Xinjiang, China. Cannabis burned in wooden braziers at funerals.
- 5th century BCE (Histories 4.73–75), Scythian lands north of the Black Sea, as Herodotus describes them. Herodotus describes the Scythian hemp vapor bath.
- Late 800s, Eastern edge of the caliphate (Persia and Iraq). Hashish surfaces as an intoxicant in the Muslim world.
- By 1125, Syria and Egypt (Arabic texts). 'Hashishiyya' is used as an insult for the Nizari Ismailis.
- After 1296 (late 1200s), Europe (Marco Polo's account). Marco Polo's 'garden of paradise' fixes the hashish legend.
- Radiocarbon 1320, plus or minus 80, Lalibela Cave, Begemder Province, Ethiopia (site approximate; not Lalibela town). Ethiopian pipe bowls test positive for cannabis.
- April 10, 1563, Goa, Portuguese India. Garcia de Orta describes 'bangue' in Goa.
- 1500s to 1800s, Brazil, linked to Angola. Cannabis reaches Brazil with enslaved Africans as 'fumo de Angola'.
- August 2-4, 1619, Virginia colony (James City area). Virginia's first Assembly orders a hemp trial.
- 8 October 1800, Cairo, French-occupied Egypt. General Menou bans hashish in Egypt.
- 2 October 1839 (paper read; printed 1839), Medical College, Calcutta. O'Shaughnessy reports his Indian hemp trials.
- 10 May 1845, Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica. Indian contract workers land in Jamaica.
- 1845 to 1849, Hôtel Pimodan (Hôtel de Lauzun), Île Saint-Louis, Paris. Hashish sessions at the Hôtel Pimodan.
- 1850 (printed 1851), Washington, DC (convention); Philadelphia (printing). Extract of hemp enters the US Pharmacopoeia.
- 22 March 1890, London, England. Reynolds writes on Indian hemp in The Lancet.
- 1894, British India. The Commission rejects a total ban.
- February 19, 1925 (in force September 25, 1928), Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva opium treaty gives Indian hemp its own chapter.
- June 14, 1930, Washington, DC. Congress creates the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.
- August 2, 1937 (in force October 1, 1937), Washington, DC. The Marihuana Tax Act is signed.
- May 4, 1937, Washington, DC. The AMA's counsel tells Congress the evidence is missing.
- March 30, 1961 (in force December 13, 1964), New York City. The Single Convention lists cannabis in its strictest schedules.
- 1964, Jerusalem, Israel. Gaoni and Mechoulam isolate THC and assign its structure.
- October 27, 1970, Washington, DC. Congress lists marihuana in Schedule I.
- March 22–24, 1972, Washington, DC. Shafer Commission recommends ending penalties for personal use.
- July 16, 1973, Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal revokes all cannabis licenses.
- 1976, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dutch Opium Act splits drugs into two lists.
- 1983, Humboldt County, California. California launches CAMP.
- November 1988, St. Louis, Missouri. A cannabinoid receptor is found in rat brain.
- September 6, 1988, Washington, DC. DEA judge finds marijuana among the safest active substances.
- December 1992, Jerusalem, Israel. Anandamide, the body's own cannabinoid, is identified.
- Nov 5, 1996, California. California passes Proposition 215.
- Nov 6, 2012, Denver, Colorado, and Olympia, Washington. Colorado and Washington vote for adult-use markets.
- Dec 20, 2013, Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguay regulates cannabis nationally.
- Jan 1 and Jul 8, 2014, Denver, Colorado, and Washington State. The first licensed adult-use stores open.
- Dec 20, 2018, Washington, D.C.. The 2018 Farm Bill redefines hemp.
- Apr 1, 2024, Berlin, Germany. Germany legalizes personal use and clubs.
- Nov 12 and Dec 11, 2026, Washington, D.C.. Hemp redefinition takes effect in two steps.
- Apr 28, 2026, Washington, D.C.. Partial Schedule III order published.
The eight chapters
Read in order or jump in anywhere. Your stamps and quiz scores are on your transcript.
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Chapter 1 · 12 min
Before People: Where Cannabis Came From
28 million years ago – 10,000 BCE
The plant is older than people. Follow its family tree and its pollen across Asia and Europe.
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Chapter 2 · 12 min
First Farmers: Hemp in the Neolithic
10,000 – 2000 BCE
People turn a wild plant into cord, cloth, food and oil, and a pot in Japan keeps the proof.
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Chapter 3 · 12 min
Smoke and Spirit: Cannabis in the Ancient World
2000 BCE – 500 CE
Braziers in the Pamirs, a shrine at Tel Arad and a Greek historian who tells a tall tale.
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Chapter 4 · 12 min
Hashish and Hemp: Trade, Faith and Empire
500 – 1800
Hashish in the Islamic world, hemp rope on the ships of empires and a plant that crosses the Atlantic.
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Chapter 5 · 12 min
The Medicine Cabinet: The 1800s
1800 – 1900
Doctors, poets and a tincture bottle on every pharmacy shelf.
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Chapter 6 · 12 min
Prohibition: How Cannabis Became Illegal
1900 – 1961
From the pharmacy to the criminal code, one state ban and one treaty at a time.
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Chapter 7 · 12 min
Underground: Counterculture, Science and the War on Drugs
1961 – 1995
THC is isolated, 4:20 is born and the war on drugs begins.
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Chapter 8 · 13 min
The Great Reversal: Medical, Legal and Now
1996 – November 2026
Voters, courts and parliaments redraw the map, and federal law is still unsettled.
Myth vs evidence
Flip a card to see the verdict.
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Disputed
“People carried cannabis to Europe. Before farmers arrived, it did not grow there.”
Pollen studies suggest wild-type cannabis grew in Europe long before farming, even before Homo sapiens. But the method reads neighboring plants as clues, and one research group produced most of this work. "Native to Europe" is a strong hypothesis, not a settled fact.
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False
“Cannabis evolved THC to get people high.”
No evidence supports this. The plant's reason for making cannabinoids is unknown. Leading ideas are defense against insects, grazers, microbes, and sunlight. The cannabis lineage split from hops 16 to 29 million years ago. The earliest find we could date with confidence is about 10,000 years old, and older pottery-linked claims are disputed.
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True, but
“Cannabis that grows by itself along roads is wild.”
It grows without help, but DNA shows the plants studied descend from escaped crops. They are feral, not original wild plants. Escaped plants regain a wild look in as few as 50 generations. Truly wild ancestors may be extinct, though outside experts note sampling gaps.
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Disputed
“Cord-marked pottery from Taiwan proves people used hemp 10,000 years ago.”
Cord marks do not name a plant, so they cannot show hemp use at any date. Dapenkeng cord-marked pottery dates to the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. Ren et al. 2021 cite cord-impressed pottery from South China and Taiwan at about 12,000 years before present, unchecked here. We found no source tying any Taiwan pottery date to hemp.
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Exaggerated
“Hemp was always one of China's five grains.”
Some classical lists name hemp. A note on the Rites of Zhou does, and Dal Martello's team counts hemp among the five. Zhao Qi's note on Mencius lists rice instead. The five grains was never one fixed list.
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Disputed
“Cloth impressions on Neolithic Chinese pots prove early hemp weaving.”
Hui-Lin Li (1974) reports that Andersson believed some cloth impressions on Chinese pots were hemp. A 2023 review calls hemp-textile claims based on fabric impressions on ceramics disputed. A securely identified woven roll comes from Gaocheng Taixi, about 1600 to 1046 BCE.
The claim
People carried cannabis to Europe. Before farmers arrived, it did not grow there.
Disputed
Pollen studies suggest wild-type cannabis grew in Europe long before farming, even before Homo sapiens. But the method reads neighboring plants as clues, and one research group produced most of this work. "Native to Europe" is a strong hypothesis, not a settled fact.
The claim
Cannabis evolved THC to get people high.
False
No evidence supports this. The plant's reason for making cannabinoids is unknown. Leading ideas are defense against insects, grazers, microbes, and sunlight. The cannabis lineage split from hops 16 to 29 million years ago. The earliest find we could date with confidence is about 10,000 years old, and older pottery-linked claims are disputed.
The claim
Cannabis that grows by itself along roads is wild.
True, but
It grows without help, but DNA shows the plants studied descend from escaped crops. They are feral, not original wild plants. Escaped plants regain a wild look in as few as 50 generations. Truly wild ancestors may be extinct, though outside experts note sampling gaps.
The claim
Cord-marked pottery from Taiwan proves people used hemp 10,000 years ago.
Disputed
Cord marks do not name a plant, so they cannot show hemp use at any date. Dapenkeng cord-marked pottery dates to the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. Ren et al. 2021 cite cord-impressed pottery from South China and Taiwan at about 12,000 years before present, unchecked here. We found no source tying any Taiwan pottery date to hemp.
The claim
Hemp was always one of China's five grains.
Exaggerated
Some classical lists name hemp. A note on the Rites of Zhou does, and Dal Martello's team counts hemp among the five. Zhao Qi's note on Mencius lists rice instead. The five grains was never one fixed list.
Sources (3)
- Zhou li zhushu, Zheng Xuan's note and Jia Gongyan's subcommentary on the physician's passage (zdic Classics)
- Mencius zhushu, Zhao Qi's note on Teng Wen Gong I (Wikisource)
- Dal Martello et al. 2023, Morphometric approaches to Cannabis evolution and differentiation from archaeological sites: interpreting the archaeobotanical evidence from bronze age Haimenkou, Yunnan. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 33(4): 503-518
The claim
Cloth impressions on Neolithic Chinese pots prove early hemp weaving.
Disputed
Hui-Lin Li (1974) reports that Andersson believed some cloth impressions on Chinese pots were hemp. A 2023 review calls hemp-textile claims based on fabric impressions on ceramics disputed. A securely identified woven roll comes from Gaocheng Taixi, about 1600 to 1046 BCE.
Sources (3)
- Li 1974, An Archaeological and Historical Account of Cannabis in China, Economic Botany 28(4)
- Dal Martello et al. 2023, Morphometric approaches to Cannabis evolution and differentiation from archaeological sites: interpreting the archaeobotanical evidence from bronze age Haimenkou, Yunnan. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 33(4): 503-518
- McPartland and Hegman 2018, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 27: 627-634 (ranks pottery impressions as less robust)
As of November 9, 2026
Where it stands today
Cannabis is partly rescheduled in the US, legal for adults in 24 states plus DC, and legal nationally in a handful of countries.
United States
- Federal law
- Since April 28, 2026 (91 FR 22714), marijuana in an FDA-approved drug product and marijuana under a state medical license is Schedule III. Every other form of marijuana remains Schedule I. DEA's broader hearing closed briefing on Nov 5, 2026; the judge's recommendation is pending.
- States
- 24 states plus DC allow adult use. 41 states plus DC run comprehensive medical programs.
- Hemp
- Public Law 119-103 (Sept 2, 2026) applies the 2025 hemp rewrite in two steps: Nov 12, 2026 for products with cannabinoids the plant cannot make, and Dec 11, 2026 for the 0.3% total-THC and 0.4 mg-per-container rules, unless Congress acts.
Around the world
- Portugal
- Personal possession decriminalized since July 1, 2001. Sales are illegal.
- Uruguay
- State-regulated adult-use system since Law 19.172 (Dec 2013). Buyers register; citizens and permanent residents only.
- Canada
- National adult-use legalization since Oct 17, 2018.
- South Africa
- Constitutional Court (Sept 18, 2018) protects private adult use, possession and cultivation. Sales are not covered.
- Mexico
- Supreme Court (June 28, 2021) removed the bar on authorizing recreational self-use. The ruling allows no import, trade or supply, and there is no retail market.
- United Nations
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted 27 to 25 (one abstention) on Dec 2, 2020 to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention. It stays in Schedule I.
- Malta
- Act LXVI of 2021 on the responsible use of cannabis was published Dec 18, 2021. Its limits and association rules are not verified here.
- Luxembourg
- Home growing of up to four plants per household since July 21, 2023. No sales.
- Germany
- Since Apr 1, 2024: 25 g in public, 50 g at home, three plants, non-profit clubs from July 1, 2024. No shops. Evaluation reports due Oct 1, 2025 and Apr 1, 2026.
- Thailand
- Removed from the narcotics list on June 9, 2022. Since June 26, 2025, retail purchases need a prescription. The Nation reported (July 12, 2026) that buds may be sold only against a prescription of 30 days or less.
- Czechia
- Since Jan 1, 2026: adults 21 and older may grow three plants and hold 100 g at home. No legal sales.
- Switzerland
- Pilot trials under an ordinance in force since May 15, 2021. Participants must already use cannabis and live in the trial canton. No national legalization.
Sources for this section (37)
- saflii.org
- app.leg.wa.gov
- cdpsdocs.state.co.us
- diariodarepublica.pt
- elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov
- english.radio.cz
- gazette.gc.ca
- gov.georgia.gov
- ircca.gub.uy
- lcb.wa.gov
- legislation.mt
- news.un.org
- norml.org
- santesecu.public.lu
- webserver.rilegislature.gov
- bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- congress.gov
- congress.gov
- congress.gov
- congress.gov
- dea.gov
- expats.cz
- federalregister.gov
- fedlex.admin.ch
- governor.virginia.gov
- internet2.scjn.gob.mx
- legiscan.com
- lgl.bayern.de
- marijuanamoment.net
- mpp.org
- nationthailand.com
- ncsl.org
- reuters.com
- reuters.com
- statnews.com
- tni.org
- zakonyprolidi.cz
Every event on one page
The full timeline lists 154 events from 28 million years ago to now. Filter by region, kind of evidence, or how sure we are.
Open the timelineDeep-dive library
Longer reads from High School that zoom in on one moment.
- Chapter 2 Landrace Strains: Original Cannabis Genetics That Started It All Explore landrace cannabis strains—the ancient genetics from Afghanistan to Thailand that shaped every modern hybrid you love today.
- Chapter 3 Cannabis in World Religions: What the Evidence Shows A careful survey of cannabis in Hinduism, Rastafari, Sikhism, Buddhism and the ancient Near East — including what the evidence does not support.
- Chapter 3 The History of the Bong: From Ancient Pipes to Borosilicate Art Glass Golden Scythian bongs, medieval Ethiopian water pipes, a Thai loanword, and a Deadhead with a torch. The real object history, myths removed.
- Chapter 4 A Global History of Hash: From Hand-Rubbed Charas to Modern Rosin Hash is one 800-year-old idea: separate the resin. Trace it from Himalayan charas through Moroccan sift and Afghan press to ice water and live rosin.
- Chapter 4 Did Shakespeare Smoke Weed? What the Stratford Pipe Study Found No one has shown Shakespeare smoked weed. The Stratford pipe study called its cannabis signal suggested but not proven, and never tied a pipe to him.
- Chapter 4 Did George Washington Grow Weed? What His Hemp Diaries Say Did George Washington grow weed? He grew hemp for rope, canvas and nets, and no record we opened shows he grew it to get high. Here is the diary evidence.
- Chapter 6 Marihuana Tax Act of 1937: Taxes, Stamps and Repeal The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act used two taxes, order forms and criminal penalties. Learn what it required, what Leary changed and when repeal took effect.
- Chapter 6 Hemp for Victory: Why the USDA Asked Farmers to Grow Hemp in WWII Hemp for Victory began when Japan cut off Manila rope fiber. The US asked for 300,000 acres of hemp, farmers still registered, and about half got harvested.
- Chapter 6 From Reefer Madness to The Dude: Cannabis in Cinema Explore how American cannabis films changed their leading characters, from Reefer Madness to The Dude, with verified dates and a closer look at the myths.
- Chapter 6 Cannabis Science History: What Was Actually Discovered? Cannabis science history has several discovery dates. See how THC isolation, synthesis, receptor binding and anandamide answered different questions.
- Chapter 6 Cannabis in Music History: Jazz, Reggae, Hip-Hop and Metal Cannabis in music history appears as slang, protest, identity and fantasy. Follow documented recordings, and separate artist accounts from familiar myths.
- Chapter 7 The 1970 Controlled Substances Act: Why Cannabis Had No Automatic Exit The 1970 Controlled Substances Act put cannabis in Schedule I. A study recommendation was not an expiry date. Here is what the law and commission said.
- Chapter 7 Cannabis and the Counterculture: From Use to Public Protest Cannabis became a counterculture cause through essays, press statements and rallies. Original records separate public protest from festival myths.
- Chapter 7 420 Origins: From a Meeting Time to April 20 420 origins trace a meeting time into cannabis slang and an April 20 holiday. Follow the Waldos' account, surviving records and later print promotion.
- Chapter 7 Reagan's War on Drugs: What Changed for Cannabis? Reagan's war on drugs changed cannabis penalties as well as public messaging. See what the 1986 and 1988 laws did, and what old DARE evaluations found.
- Chapter 7 Cannabis in Rastafari: What Makes Ganja a Sacrament? Cannabis in Rastafari has a religious and historical setting. Named voices explain the sacrament, community differences and what reggae imagery leaves out.
- Chapter 7 Alice B. Toklas Brownies: The 1954 Recipe Was Never a Brownie Alice B. Toklas brownies were never brownies. The 1954 recipe was a no-chocolate hashish fudge Brion Gysin sent her. Here is what was in it.
- Chapter 8 Germany's Cannabis Law: What 2026 Looks Like Two Years In Two years after the CanG law passed, Germany's bold cannabis experiment reveals surprising data, a medical market boom, and a tense political standoff.
- Chapter 8 Can a President Legalize Marijuana? Three Levers, One Wall No. A president can push rescheduling, set enforcement priorities and pardon federal possession, but no order can end the federal marijuana ban. Here is why.
How we rate evidence
History mixes strong records with legends. Each placard shows what kind of evidence backs a claim and how sure we are. Evidence that people used a plant is not evidence that it worked, and we never treat it that way.
Confidence
- High (3 of 3)
Several strong sources agree, or a primary record states it.
- Medium (2 of 3)
A solid source supports the core claim, but dates, places or readings are debated.
- Low (1 of 3)
One weak source, a disputed reading, or a claim that rests on inference.
- Myth (no credible source)
The claim has no credible source, or a legend is told as fact.
Kinds of evidence
- Archaeological
- Plant remains
- Genetic
- Written record
- Law or court record
- Scientific study
- Press report
- Legend
We prefer peer-reviewed papers, government and treaty texts, and museum or university pages. We do not cite seed banks, dispensaries, or advocacy blogs. Read our full editorial standards.
