History of Cannabis Use and Hemp Cultivation in Europe

Civilizations and peoples of Europe have used cannabis for economic, medicinal, spiritual, and recreational purposes since ancient times. In fact, until the mid-20th century, cannabis was one of the most widespread industrial crops in the world, until the global community, led by the United States and the United Nations, classified it as a narcotic and strictly limited its cultivation.

After half a century of strict criminalization, industrial hemp has begun to make a strong comeback in European fields. In addition, many countries around the world have started developing commercial cultivation of cannabis to supply the medical and recreational needs of their populations. What was once a forbidden fruit can now be found in a wide variety of products, from food supplements and cosmetics to building materials and pharmaceuticals.

Hemp: A Faithful Companion of Ancient Eurasian Civilizations

As one of the first plants domesticated by humans, the exact history of cannabis cultivation and use is unknown. According to recent archaeological findings, Eurasian peoples began using cannabis fibers (Cannabis Sativa) to make textiles at least 10,000 years BCE. Fabrics made from cannabis fibers are among the oldest craft artifacts of human civilization. The earliest known civilization to use cannabis textiles was Mesopotamia, as evidenced by clothing remnants found in Iraq and Iran dating back to around 8,000 BCE.

Genomic analysis of various cannabis subspecies suggests that Cannabis originated in eastern or central Asia, where it emerged at the end of the last Ice Age, thriving as a weed adaptable to almost any environment. Thanks to this adaptability and its usefulness to early human tribes, cannabis seeds spread worldwide within a few thousand years. It’s hard to say which property of cannabis first attracted humans, or who was the first to “discover” it, but it’s clear that both settled and nomadic Eurasian civilizations actively cultivated cannabis for various purposes long before the Common Era.

Cannabis and the Yamnaya Archaeological Culture

The Yamnaya culture, named for its distinctive burial mounds, existed between the Carpathian Mountains and the Ural River, bordering the Black Sea and the Caucasus, from about 3,300 to 2,600 BCE. Archaeological evidence shows that this civilization, which arrived in Europe from the Asian steppes at the transition from the Copper to the Bronze Age, is the ancestor of most modern European languages. The Yamnaya left behind the oldest artifacts indicating the active and purposeful cultivation of cannabis imported from Asia, primarily for fiber used in textiles and ropes. Traces of large cannabis fields and processing workshops have been found near major population centers along river valleys.

Cannabis Processing as a Driver of Civilization

• Cannabis fibers can be used to make any type of fabric, from clothing material to strong ropes and canvas.

Today, many people take the craft of textile production for granted. However, weaving remains a cornerstone of modern civilization—after all, people always need clothing for various occasions and needs. The history of using cannabis and flax fibers dates back to early Paleolithic tribal cultures, when Eurasian populations first began using wild plants to make baskets, textiles, and fishing or hunting gear.

By the Bronze Age, the strength and durability of cannabis fiber textiles made the plant a key resource for the first seafaring civilizations, which relied on large-scale cultivation and selective breeding of cannabis for reliable ropes and sails. As trade developed, so did the art of making hemp textiles, which were used not only for sacks and work clothes but also for luxurious garments. Interestingly, archaeological evidence from several such civilizations indicates that women were primarily responsible for gathering, cultivating, and processing cannabis.

Some ancient cultures of the Eurasian steppe and central Europe produced pottery with similar designs and techniques, decorated with impressions of hemp ropes, indicating that cannabis was used not only for practical purposes but also for decorative art.

Evidence of Recreational Cannabis Use in Ancient Eurasian Cultures

The earliest documented mention of recreational cannabis use is found in “Histories” by the ancient Greek traveler and historian Herodotus. While modern critics have noted that Herodotus sometimes embellished or distorted facts, most experts agree that he accurately described the Scythian nomads’ practice of inhaling cannabis vapors for mild intoxication. According to Herodotus, the Scythians, nomads from north of the Caspian Sea who came from southern Siberia, would heat cannabis flowers or seeds on hot stones and inhale the resulting vapors.

Herodotus himself looked down on this “barbaric” practice, preferring the noble wine favored by his fellow Greeks. Although the Greeks cultivated cannabis for practical purposes, they apparently did not use it recreationally. However, the writings of Democritus mention a recipe for an intoxicating mixture called “Potamaugis,” made from cannabis, wine, and myrrh, which could cause hallucinations and confusion for up to a day, followed by severe dry mouth and headache.

Medical Use of Cannabis in Ancient Times

The first documented use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes comes from ancient Greece. Dioscorides mentions cannabis as a versatile medicine in his work “De Materia Medica.” He recommends cannabis and its infusions for reducing soft tissue inflammation, relieving pain and numbness in muscles, treating skin diseases like eczema, and reducing joint swelling. Dioscorides also claims that eating cannabis seeds helps women conceive, while cannabis extract can reduce tinnitus, though this latter claim is not supported by modern science.

Although Dioscorides’ work may seem more like a botanist’s diary by today’s standards, it was widely known in the ancient world and served as the standard medical botanical encyclopedia in Europe until at least the 15th century.

Hemp Cultivation in the Middle Ages

• Scandinavians helped spread cannabis throughout Europe and beyond. Vikings cultivated cannabis for sails and ropes essential to their ships.

Despite the social and economic upheavals of the Middle Ages, cannabis remained an important agricultural resource. It was especially popular among Scandinavian peoples, who valued its hardiness and resilience. Recent archaeological finds in southern Norway show that Vikings had dedicated farms for large-scale cannabis cultivation and breeding, as well as processing it into textiles for clothing, sails, and ropes.

There is no evidence that Scandinavian peoples were aware of the plant’s psychoactive properties, nor that cannabis was used in alcoholic beverages, shamanic rituals, or by berserker warriors. In contrast, medieval Muslim regions of Europe, such as Andalusia, already used cannabis recreationally, consuming both the flowers and hashish. Sufi mystics also began using cannabis in various rituals and practices during this period.

Throughout the Middle Ages, cannabis was cultivated in every European country and kingdom, which is unsurprising given its importance for maritime transport. Medieval empires sowed their lands with hemp, laying the foundation for the plant’s global spread in the following era.

Hemp Cultivation in the Modern Era and Colonial Period

With the rise of global trading empires, cannabis slowly but surely spread to every corner of the world except Antarctica. Several factors contributed to its widespread cultivation in England and, by extension, its vast colonial empire. In 1533, King Henry VIII issued a decree requiring every landowner to dedicate a quarter acre of every 60 acres to hemp cultivation. Noncompliance was punished with increasing fines and other sanctions. The king, recognizing the need for a strong military and trading fleet, wanted to ensure his young empire had all the resources it needed, including strong hemp fabric for sails and ropes.

Thirty years later, his daughter and successor, Elizabeth I, signed a new law in 1563 expanding the land allocated for hemp cultivation for the navy. As the empire and its territories grew, so did the need for new commercial hemp plantations in newly acquired lands. By 1613, the English had established active hemp cultivation in the New World, where the plants grew taller and stronger than in Europe or England. Written sources indicate that the Spanish Empire first brought hemp to the New World in 1545, providing seeds to local colonists and indigenous peoples. Some experts believe that cannabis may have reached the Americas even earlier, possibly spread by birds or brought by Vikings.

Hemp Cultivation and Cannabis Use in Modern History

At the end of the 18th century, Europe learned about Middle Eastern traditions of recreational cannabis use in the form of hashish, which quickly spread throughout the region. This was triggered by Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign in Egypt in 1798. Deprived of alcohol in the Muslim country, Napoleon’s soldiers eagerly adopted hashish as a substitute. Although Napoleon’s forces were eventually defeated, the culture of hashish consumption and knowledge of its production returned to Europe with the soldiers. In the 1830s and 1840s, after France annexed Algeria, Europe experienced its first widespread “hashish mania.”

A testament to the era’s fascination with hashish is the story of the famous Parisian “Club des Hashischins,” a group of writers, intellectuals, and artists founded in a bohemian Paris café in 1844. Notable members included Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas. While such clubs were not uncommon, the Hashischins gained a reputation as an exclusive circle of thinkers who used hashish in spiritual and mystical sessions, foreshadowing the experiments with human perception conducted a century later by America’s “Merry Pranksters” and Dr. Timothy Leary.

Hemp Cultivation in the Modern World

• One of the main products of the “new hemp industry”: CBD extracts, widely used as natural painkillers and anti-epileptic agents.

Unfortunately, by the end of the 19th century, under pressure from powerful governments, cannabis began to be banned to varying degrees. Nevertheless, until the 1940s, the plant was still widely cultivated for industrial purposes in Europe and elsewhere, and its extracts continued to be used in medicine and as ingredients. However, the rise of strict criminalization in the United States—driven largely by racism against African Americans and Latinos, who were accused of using cannabis recreationally—and the growing influence of the U.S. government on the world stage led to the destruction of the historic industry under the banner of the “War on Drugs.”

Fortunately, after more than 50 years of strict criminalization, reform began in the very region where prohibition started. Today, in countries across the Americas—from Canada to Argentina—and in the European Union, the forgotten industry is being revived. Industrial hemp fields are appearing on every continent, and the area under cultivation is growing each year. Hemp fibers are now used not only for textiles but also as raw materials for building materials, composites, chemicals, and even eco-friendly biofuels. At the same time, the medical and recreational cannabis markets are developing rapidly and are expected to become even more profitable than traditional production within a decade.

Despite half a century of persecution, cannabis now faces a bright future. Thanks to new information and its widespread dissemination, the stigma surrounding cannabis use and cultivation is rapidly disappearing. Legalization has sparked a business boom in regions and countries that have embraced reform, as high demand for cannabis products makes cultivation and processing highly profitable. Given the pace of changing public attitudes and the economic and social benefits of reform, it’s possible that within a couple of generations, legalization will once again become a global phenomenon, as it was a few hundred years ago. In any case, it’s encouraging to imagine a future where humanity forgets that cannabis was ever globally prohibited.