1839Peer-reviewed · 2 sourcesWell documented
O'Shaughnessy Brings Cannabis to Western Medicine
On the timeline · around 1839 ·
What happened
The Irish physician William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, working in Calcutta, studied Indian cannabis medicine and in 1839 introduced it to Western medicine, testing extracts on conditions from rheumatism to convulsions and cholera.
Why it matters
His work triggered a wave of Western interest: over the following decades cannabis tinctures became common remedies in Europe and America.
Sources
Related timelines
- Medicine → — Cannabis enters the Western pharmacopoeia