1200: Botanist Ibn al-Bayṭār describes the cultivation of “Konnab Indi” (Cannabis indica)

1200: Botanist Ibn al-Bayṭār describes the cultivation of “Konnab Indi” (Cannabis indica).

Reporting on his trip to Egypt, 13th-century Spanish botanist Ibn al-Bayṭār describes the cultivation of “Konnab Indi” (Cannabis indica), which was called hashish by the local population.

He noted that eating hashish, primarily by the Sufis for their religious devotions, produced intoxication, jocularity, and a dream-like state.

Ibn al-Bayṭār’s largest and most widely read book is his Compendium on Simple Medicaments and Foods. It is a pharmacopeia (pharmaceutical encyclopedia) listing 1400 plants, foods, drugs, and their uses.

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