Hemp In History, The Pioneers: W. B. O’Shaughnessy

By A.J.
Source: cannasos.com

Of all the people who dabbled in cannabis in modern times, be they researchers, physicians, scientists, William Brooke O’Shaughnessy is the most influential of them all. He is regarded as the founding father of medical cannabis by everyone with even a passing knowledge of the history of cannabis. This despite the fact that his name was totally forgotten in history and his illustrious work is almost overlooked. A hundred years or so ago, it was a normal thing to walk into a drugstore and order a bottle of medicinal cannabis for your gout or your sore throat and you didn’t even need a prescription for it. These were the good old days and it was all thanks to O’Shaugnessy who studied the plant in the Orient and convinced of its many medicinal benefits, he introduced it to Europe and the New World.

The Physician From Limerick

William Brooke O’Shaughnessy was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1908 to a family of clergymen. Young William broke from the family tradition and opted to study medicine instead. He got his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh and immediately immersed himself in studying the cholera virus. His work analyzing the blood of cholera patients was so groundbreaking it led to the establishment of a new method of therapy for the deadly disease that involved intravenous fluid and electrolyte replacement. He was only 22 at the time. After he got married, he couldn’t get a teaching job in the University of London so he joined the British East India Company instead. O’Shaughnessy took his wife to the Orient where he got many positions as a chemist, a surgeon and even as an assistant to the Opium Agent. After a few years he got the job he’s been dreaming of as professor of chemistry at the medical college in Calcutta.

 

 

Cannabis Research

While his interests and scientific research covered a lot of ground in Calcutta, from chemistry and botanical pharmacology to electricity and underwater conduction, O’Shaughnessy invariably turned his attention to cannabis and the uses the locals had for such an exotic plant. In order to get first-hand knowledge of the various extracts of cannabis, the Irish professor got in contact with several locals including a man named Ameer who was the owner of an establishment that offered various strains of Cannabis Sativa to the “hemp devotees” in the city.

This meticulous research is apparent in his books which are filled with various recipes that the locals favored. He described Bang as a drink made by soaking cannabis in water and preferred by the upper classes. Sidhee on the other hand was a mixture of ground cannabis and black pepper added to cold water was the vice of the commoners. A third type called Gunjah was the cheapest way to get high as it was mixed with tobacco and smoked. O’Shaughnessy also mentioned an edible called Majoon which was made from hemp with sugar, flour, butter and milk and was a hit with the general public.

 

 

Introduction Of Cannabis To The West

Having observed enough, O’Shaughnessy set out to experiment on animals and later on humans. He came to the conclusion that cannabis had medicinal benefits far beyond what the locals were using it for. His notes from that period are filled with new discoveries of the healing properties of cannabis for several ailments that had so far gone unnoticed such as rheumatism, hydrophobia, and cholera.

In 1839, after 6 years of studying and researching cannabis, O’Shaughnessy finally felt he could introduce this healing plant to Western medicine. He made a presentation, attended by British scholars in Calcutta, where he made recommendations for cannabis to be used to treat or alleviate the symptoms of diseases such as tetanus and rabies. In one telling case study, he introduced a newborn baby with convulsions whom he used cannabis to treat his symptoms. Shortly after this presentation, O’Shaughnessy returned to England in 1841 where he published his groundbreaking publication titled, "On the preparations of the Indian hemp, or Gunjah, (Cannabis Indica)".

O’Shaughnessy’s work helped spread the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes between the second half of the 19th century and early years of the twentieth. Though he didn’t succeed in using cannabis to cure such diseases as rabies and rheumatism, he nevertheless found the plant helpful in healing symptoms such as spasms and convulsions.