Beginning of the Christian Era to the 18th century
In this period, the medical use of cannabis remained very intense in India and was then spread to the Middle East and Africa. In Arabia, well-known physicians mentioned cannabis in their medical compendiums, as Avicena, in the year 1000 A.D.8 Muslim texts mention the use of cannabis as a diuretic, digestive, anti-flatulent, 'to clean the brain', and to soothe pain of the ears. In 1464, Ibn al-Badri reported that the epileptic son of the caliph's chamberlain was treated with the plant's resin, and stated: it (cannabis) cured him completely, but he became an addict who could not for a moment be without the drug'.7
Cannabis is known in Africa at least since the 15th century, and its use was, possibly, introduced by Arab traders, somehow connected to India. This is evidenced by the similarity of the terms used for preparing the plant in Africa and India. In Africa, the plant was used for snake bite, to facilitate childbirth, malaria, fever, blood poisoning, anthrax, asthma, and dysentery.9
In the Americas, the use of cannabis probably began in South America. In the 16th century, the plant's seeds reached Brazil; brought by African slaves, especially those from Angola, and its use was considerably common among Blacks in the Northeastern rural area. Most synonyms for cannabis in Brazil (maconha, diamba, liamba, and others) have their origin in the Angolan language. There are reports of the use of cannabis in that region's popular religious rituals, especially the 'Catimbó', which includes cult to African deities and presumes the value of the plant for magical practice and treatment of diseases. In the rural environment, there are reports of the use of cannabis for toothache and menstrual cramps.10
In Europe, during this period, cannabis was cultivated exclusively for fibers. Muslims introduced the manufacture ofpaper from cannabis, in 1150, first in Spain then in Italy.7Cannabis descriptions are found in many books about plants written in this period, which clearly state, since the mid 18th century, the distinction between male and female plants (previously described in a Chinese ideogram in the beginning of the Christian Era).7 References to the medical use of cannabis are scarce. Europeans may have known about the plant's medical use in the Middle East and Africa, but they confused it with opium.7
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