AZ Medicinal Network

The AZ Medicinal Network provides state-wide medical marijuana services for Arizona MMJ patients, caregivers, compassion clubs, future dispensaries, and even you cannabiz! We operate a collective of patient oriented offices which process the state health department application for the AZMMJ Program. We assist patients in locating a doctor in their area and schedule an appropriate appointment after completing an interview process.

Patients also have the option of being matched with caregivers who can provide medication in the form of dried flowers, edibles and most any other form of medicinal marijuana sought by our patients.

The History of Medical Marijuana

One of the first crops ever to be cultivated by mankind, cannabis use is as old as agriculture. Although it was originally grown for its fibres, the ancient Chinese used it to make rope, cloth and even paper. The earliest references to its psychoactive properties appear in the Atharva-Veda, a sacred Indian text dating back four thousand years. The world’s first pharmacy book, published in China, recommends hemp as a remedy for just about everything – including, ironically, absent-mindedness.

The Greeks and the Romans cultivated hemp mainly for medicinal use, although there are a few references to its use as a social lubricant at banquets “to promote hilarity and enjoyment”. At this time, hemp fibre was imported from Gaul, for ropes and sails. Throughout the middle ages and into the Elizabethan era, hemp was grown in Europe and in Britain, where it fueled the massive demand from the British Navy.

Between the years of 1840-1900 cannabis was also used in medicinal practice throughout North America. During this time, more than one hundred papers were published in the Western medical literature recommending it for various illnesses and discomforts. The first physician to introduce cannabis to Western medicine was W.B. O’Shaunghnessy of Scotland. He introduced cannabis to Western medicine in 1841 after observing its use in India and performing experiments on animals to satisfy himself that it was safe for human use. Soon after its introduction to North America, physicians began to prescribe cannabis for a variety of physical conditions such as rabies, rheumatism, epilepsy, tetanus and as a muscle relaxant. Cannabis became so common in medicinal use that eventually, cannabis preparations were sold over the counter in drug stores.

In 1937, the U.S. passed the first federal law against cannabis, despite the objections