Ancient Natural Painkillers

Cannabis

As far back as 2900 BC, Chinese Emperor Fu observed that cannabis was known to be a pain reliever. The herb was among the entries in the Rh-Ya, a 15th-century BC Chinese pharmacopoeia that was essentially an encyclopedia of drugs. From China, the practice of using cannabis to alleviate pain spread to other regions of the world. About 1000 BC, Indians began to mix cannabis with milk to create a painkiller known as Bhang. Later, cannabis was used to alleviate pain associated with earache, swelling, and inflammation. By AD 200, Hua To, a Chinese doctor, prepared an anesthetic by mixing cannabis with resin and wine, making the abdominal, loin, and chest surgeries he performed almost painless.By AD 800, Arabic physicians used cannabis to relieve the pain of migraine headaches.