The debate regarding the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana continues. In the United States, this controversial drug is considered by some to be a major drug of abuse; indeed, some allege that sale of marijuana constitutes the third largest" industry" in the United States. Why, then, would academic laboratories, governmental institutions, and the pharн maceutical industry place such a major emphasis on developing marijuana as a therapeutic agent? The reason is that useful therapeutic agents may someday be derived from Cannabis sativa, the plant from which marijuana is derived, or from synthetic cannabinoids, which are closely related strucн turally to active constituents of marijuana. There are already a variety of major drugs in the physician's armamentarium that are of botanical origin-morphine from Papaver somniferum (opium), digitalis from Digitalis purpurea (foxglove), ergots from infected rye grain, ephedrine from Ma Huang, atropine from Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentina (Indian snakeroot), and curare from Chondoн dendron tomentosum, to cite a few.

Usage of marijuana for medical purposes can be traced back 5000years. In 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung published a monograph describing the use of cannabis in treating several diseases, including asthma, migraine, and certain gynecologic disorders. In 1842, O'Shaughnessy (1), an army physician in India, published an extensive treatise on the use of cannabis in various medical conditions, and drew attention to its hypnotic, anticonvulsive, analgesic, antianxiety, and antitussive effects. Partly as a 151