Medical marijuana’s modern uses include the reduction of nausea and vomiting, stimulating hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients, lowering internal eye pressure, and relieving pain. Thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece and Rome, the application of medical marijuana was quite different – it was used, among other things, to reduce night-time ejaculations in teenagers – although its recreational uses were apparently recognized.

It’s worth mentioning that ancient sources are not always reliable. Some read more like fantasy novels: Herodotus’ gold-digging ants are infamous, while the first historical record of Alexander the Great’s conquests to reach medieval Europe includes tales of his descent to the bottom of the ocean in a diving bell, and how he locked up the monsters Gog and Magog behind a vast gate. Even on more mundane topics, it’s sometimes quite hard to determine fact. And, of course, the uses of medical marijuana in the classical world were based on contemporary medical beliefs, some as founded in fanciful fiction as parts of their histories – so you definitely shouldn’t follow the ancients’ advice! That disclaimer aside, here are some of the world’s earlier uses for medical marijuana.

Ancient Greece

The earliest Ancient Greek reference to medical marijuana is in Herodotus’ Histories (5th C BC), where hemp’s vapours are said to be the Scythians’ preferred bathing method:

"The Scythians then take the seed of this hemp and creep under the felt coverings, and then they throw the seed upon the stones which have been heated red-hot: and it burns like incense and produces a vapour so think that no vapour-bath in Hellas would surpass it: and the Scythians being delighted with the vapour-bath howl like wolves. This is to them instead of washing, for in fact they do not wash their bodies at all in water."

The Scythians also used hemp in funeral rites, as corroborated by archaeological evidence.

Other Greek writers refer to medical marijuana’s use in treating horses – dressing sores and wounds – and people. Dried leaves were used as a remedy for nosebleeds, while cannabis seeds helped expel tapeworms. The most frequently mentioned treatment using medical marijuana, however, involved steeping the green seeds in water or wine, then pressing out the liquid – this, when warmed, was instilled into the ear to help ease the inflammations and pains of blockage. Another use attested by several sources was the treatment of nocturnal ejaculations among teenage boys and girls.

Ancient Rome

Evidence of the use of medical marijuana by the Ancient Romans is under contention – they wrote about it, but may have merely copied information from Greek texts. Pliny (1st C AD), among others, echoed the Greek practice of using marijuana seeds’ oil to cure ear problems: "the juice of this seed will extract worms from the ears, or any insect which may have entered them" (for a widely held belief was that burrowing parasitic worms caused the common earache). He also reported that the seeds were beneficial in treating gout and other maladies.

The Roman physician Claudius Galen (2nd C AD) wrote of a not quite so medical marijuana usage in the form of a popular dessert. Given that it left the guests feeling warm and elated, it likely included the whole flowering tops of the plant. While medical usage has changed over the millennia, some things definitely haven’t.