Once upon a time,

Cannabis preparations were official drugs in the United States. And for a brief time, alcohol was illegal and Cannabis was available from pharmacists like my grandfather pictured above.

The Dispensatory of the United States and the Eclectic medical tradition mark the beginning of this era. The death of John Uri Lloyd, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, and the final publication of the Eclectic Medical Journal signify the end of this era.

Several Cannabis monographs from classic and official texts can be viewed, in PDF format, by clicking on the links to the right. Please note that “marijuana” had not been “invented” yet and therefore does not appear in these authoritative, pre-prohibition references.

Check this site often, as content will be added including the medical Cannabis articles from the entire run of Eclectic Medical Journals and much more.

Historical Medical Cannabis Documents

• Dispensatory of the United States, 12th rev. 1869
• King’s American Dispensatory 18th ed. 3rd rev. Felter & Lloyd 1898
• Dispensatory of the United States, 20th rev. 1918
• Ellingwood’s American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy, 11th ed. 1919
• Felter’s Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics 1922
• United States Pharmacopoeia, USP X Tenth Decennial Revision 1920, official 1926
• Culbreth’s A Manual of Materia Medica and Therapeutics 7th ed. 1927