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Vikings and Weed

Vikings and Weed.

Hello out there. Been a while, the following article is a bit of a roller coaster in that it’s awesome at one point then a bit of a bummer, so I guess it’s more of a slide. I include the bit that’s kind of a bummer as a cautionary tale about making sure you look into PRIMARY SOURCES.   

I decided to look into whether or not Vikings used marijuana. There is some fairly concrete evidence that cannabis seeds were used by some Norse people in Norway. There is some truly inconclusive evidence: there might, maybe, but probably not; have been cannabis pollen in a Norse base camp in America. 

So let’s start with the cool bit.  In 2007 cannabis seeds were discovered in the leather purse of a Viking burial boat! The ship itself was discovered in 1903 in Oseberg and had been studied for over a century. The occupants of the boat itself were women, one about age 25-40, one about age 50- 70. At least one of the women was probably of a high social standing (a queen or Völva(priestess)); based on the type of burial and the presence of a lot of meat instead of a lot of fish in their stomachs. Based on context: it’s assumed the seeds were for psychoactive cannabis. No hemp was used in any of the ropes or fibers on the rest of the ship; the older of the two women also had cancer. The conclusion drawn: the seeds may have been used ritually, or as painkillers for the woman with cancer.  the boat is pictured below:

 The next bit about Norsemen using Cannabis in America is the bit of a bummer part.  I love weed and always approach my projects hoping that there is a lot of evidence that the people I am researching used marijuana and a lot of it all the time. I found a whole bunch of articles by pretty reputable sources about this discovery of cannabis pollen at a Viking settlement in America. These articles were written by smart people who are good at their jobs. The articles themselves are pretty balanced, they just overlook one important detail.

When you read the study written by Paul Ledger who made the discovery: 

“The pollen content is notable for tree, shrub, and heath percentages (in particular, Myrica), which are high in respect to the aspect of the site and previous studies at [L’Anse aux Meadows] (1, 9). Apophytes (e.g., Rumex sp. Achillea millefolium type) are elevated at ca. 10% total land pollen (TLP), while exotics such as Juglans (Walnut) and Humulus type (hops or cannabis) are also present. Sporormiella-type fungi, exclusively associated with the dung of grazing herbivores (caribou in the case of Newfoundland), were also found in 7 of 12 samples.”

In context, the “cannabis pollen” discovered was actually only classified under a group of plants called Humulus type that could have been cannabis but could also have been hops.  Ledger himself states that this study really raises more questions than it gives answers. So no there is no evidence (yet) that Vikings blew down in America. 

So it appears Norse people probably did use cannabis either as a medicine or ritually, but we don’t have a super ton of evidence to tell us which one it was. There is no real evidence that Norsemen in America used cannabis or traded it with Native Americans.  Overall, I’m calling this one mostly a win for the “most people throughout history used cannabis in some way shape or form” camp!

Bibliography

Holk, Per. “The Oseberg Ship Burial, Norway: New Thoughts On the Skeletons From the Grave Mound”. August 2006; European Journal of Archeology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237968995_The_Oseberg_Ship_Burial_Norway_New_Thoughts_On_the_Skeletons_From_the_Grave_Mound. Website.

 Brady, M. Michael. “Viking ship cannabis conundrum”. JANUARY 29, 2016, The Norwegian American. https://www.norwegianamerican.com/viking-ship-cannabis-conundrum/#:~:text=This%20suggests%20that%20the%20cannabis,moored%20to%20a%20large%20stone. Website. 

 Avery , Daniel; Wallace, Jacob. “Did Ancient Vikings Smoke Pot in North America?”. Newsweek, July22, 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/did-ancient-vikings-smoke-pot-north-america-1449984. Website.

 Ashley Cowie. “Dispute Over Evidence Of Cannabis Use By Vikings In North America” “https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/vikings-north-america-0012308. Ancient Origins,  July 16, 2020. Website 

Forbes, Véronique; Girdland-Flink, Linus; Ledger, Paul M. Edited by Piperno, Dolores R.. “New horizons at L’Anse aux Meadows” Introduction. PNAS July 30, 2019 116 (31) 15341-15343; first published July 15, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/31/15341 . website.

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Cannabis and Native American culture

When you watch a lot of stoner tv and movies, you begin to notice a common theme. Jokes implying that Marijuana was a part of Native American culture. The one coming to mind right now is from the movie Sausage Party: the character Firewater is styled after a cartoony native American and that character is smoking weed out of a "peace-pipe". It got me wondering, was smoking Marijuana a part of Native American Culture.

The short answer is no, not really in the way that we might think. It's a tale that reminds us, even things we love can be used for evil.

When trying to research this article, the first hits on google related to the recent controversy with the Native American Church. Some guy tried to start a church under the protection of the official Native American Church. The man in question wanted his people to be able to legally use marijuana as a part of religious ceremonies. The official position of the Native American Church is: Marijuana was never a sacred herb and this man has nothing to do with their church or any tribe they have on record.

The facts back the statement of the Church up. Smoking Marijuana was introduced to Native Americans by the British and the Spanish and the other colonial nations that came to get a piece of the New World. No tribe that I have looked at so far has any record of Marijuana being used in ceremonies or for religious practices. Archaeologists were able to scan some ancient pipes, there was evidence of Tobacco, none of Marijuana.

Marijuana was used to oppress native people and slaves all across the Americas. Marijuana helped perpetuate slavery. Cannabis was imported to the Americas on slave vessels. Some slaves cultivated it along with hemp crops that were used for fiber. Weed was cheap to grow; it made you sleepy and didn't make you sick. Slave masters would allow their slaves to grow and use Pot because it kept their slaves happy, docile, and most importantly, able to work.

Europeans also shared their Cannabis with the non enslaved native people they traded with. Along with alcohol, smallpox, and colonialism, marijuana did on some level destroy some colonial Native American culture.

Now I LOVE Marijuana, in a lot of ways it has saved my life and the lives of so many others. But all this research showed me that it's important to consider that the thing you love can and has some evil roots. Much like how penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, electricity etc. all have some pretty dark origins but the world would be a much, much worse place without them.

Bibliography

1. Benjamin, DIanne. Did Native Americans Smoke Weed? The Tale of How Cannabis Made it to America. 2019 Wikileaf. September 18, 2021 https://www.wikileaf.com/thestash/did-native-americans-smoke-weed/

2. Cannabis History: How Cannabis Came to America. Sensi Seeds. https://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/cannabis-history-how-cannabis-came-to-america/

3. BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. https://www.potawatomiheritage.com/encyclopedia/battle-of-tippecanoe/

4. Hearons, Kathleen. Giving Thanks: A History of Native Americans and Cannabis. Head Magazine. September 18,2021. https://headmagazine.com/giving-thanks-a-history-of-native-americans-and-cannabis/

5. Recent Articles Concerning Oklevueha. 2015 Oklevueha Native American Church. Retrieved September 18, 2021. https://nativeamericanchurches.org/recent-articles-concerning-oklevueha/

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Cannabis in Ancient Greece

It is well established, ancient Greeks used Cannabis as a medicine; it is up for debate whether they used Cannabis spiritually or recreationally. Classical scholars will do much to present the past as a sober, drug free place; that is not the case.  However it’s not fair to say the entirety of the past was rampant with recreational drug use. The truth lies, as it usually does, somewhere in the middle. 

Author DCA Hillman Writes:

��Recreational drugs had a significant impact on ancient society, but they are still—and probably always will be — the ugly duckling of Classical studies. Drugs are an academic hot potato. Few Classicists ever choose to study this scandalous topic, and far fewer will ever choose to admit the prevalence of drugs in ancient society.”

While it really isn’t up for debate whether ancient Greeks used cannabis (they did ); there are still some questions about how, and for what purpose. Some academic literature asserts that Grecians only used Marijuana medicinally, with no evidence that it was used as a psychoactive substance. Others assert; there is overwhelming evidence that it was used both medicinally, spiritually, and possibly just to get high.

Let’s start with what we know for certain: the ancient Greeks did use Cannabis as a medicine.  Brunner asserts in his paper “MARIJUANA IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME? THE LITERARY EVIDENCE”: it is very likely that Cannabis was used as a medicine in Greek culture, but not as an intoxicant.  According to this article; there is a lot of mention of cannabis seeds being used (juiced, as a salve, mixed with water) as medicine, and hemp being used to make things. He does not conclude that there was enough evidence to suggest Ancient Grecians used Cannabis religiously or recreationally. Brunner does provide ample evidence that cannabis was used as medicine. He quotes the Roman author Pilney:

“[cannabis’s] seed is said to make the genitals impotent. The juice from it drives out of the ears the worms and any other creature that has entered them, but at the cost of a headache: so potent is its nature that when poured into water it is said to make it coagulate. And so, drunk in their water, it regulates the bowels of beasts of burden. The root boiled in water eases cramped joints, gout too and similar violent pains. It is applied raw to burns, but is often changed before it gets dry.”

This makes it very clear that some sort of Cannabis Extract came from these seeds. The effects on the stomach are similar to the effects of THCa juiced from the plant without curing it or heating it. 

 More recent scholars have come to the conclusion that Cannabis was in fact used for religious purposes by ancient Greeks. To these academics, it makes little sense to assume that Cannabis wasn’t used by ancient Greeks considering the surrounding cultures (Scythians, Thracians, and Persians) are all confirmed Marijuana using cultures.  When considering how reliant these societies were on trade, the Greeks had to at least have come in contact with psychoactive Marijuana users. 

It is very hard to ignore the use of Cannabis as an intoxicant, since there was literally a phrase in Ancient Greek (cannabeizein)  that means: to smoke cannabis. The use of psychoactive cannabis is mentioned as being used for religious purposes (maybe for fun, conclusions tbd).  In particular oracles, most famously Orpheus, would inhale vapors of dried herbs that would cause euphoria, ecstasy, and other side effects sounded a lot like the effects of marijuana. The picture below is of Orpheus sitting below what could be a tree or, a cannabis plant. To me at least, the leafy bits at the base say “marijuana stalks” rather than twigs or branches screaming “this is a tree” but that could be wishful thinking.

All the available evidence drives me to the final conclusion that the ancient Greeks did use cannabis not only as a medicine or fiber, but as an intoxicant used, at least, for religious purposes. 

Afterward:

I noticed something throughout my research of various ancient cultures; there is just a ton of mention of the “burning of cannabis seeds” to produce psychoactive effects. The accounts (which go from early americas to ancient china)  all seem to be pretty true. The effects they describe are most similar to smoking or vaporizing buds of marijuana. 

If anyone else has tried to burn seeds, you know that weed simply doesn’t work like that, you need the THC producing bud, not the seed, not the leaf, the bud.

 It might be a leap, but from my perspective, the references to “seeds” being thrown on fires are actually talking about the buds, rather than just straight up seeds. 

In the post above; you see a description of the medicinal uses of the cannabis “seed”; the resin, and oil described in that statement cannot come from the actual seed of the plant, but does for sure come from the bud. There is one more quote in particular that Brunner uses from the Roman author Pilney:

“Hemp is sown when the spring west wind sets in; the closer it grows the thinner its stalks are. Its seed when ripe and stripped off after the autumn equinox and dried in the sun or wind or by the smoke of fire.”

This pretty well describes a basic curing process that one would use to dry buds rather than just seeds. 

That leads me to think that ancient cultures did actually experience the psychoactive effects of marijuana, and they used the buds both recreationally and spiritually.

Bibliography

Bennet C. (2010). Cannabis in Ancient Rome. Cannabis and the Soma Solution. Retrieved August 16, 2021. https://thedelphiguide.com/cannabis-in-ancient-greece/  

 BRUNNER, T. (1973). MARIJUANA IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME? THE LITERARY EVIDENCE. <i>Bulletin of the History of Medicine,</i> <i>47</i>(4), 344-355. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44451345 

Hillman D.C.A. (2008). The Chemical Muse Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization. St. Martin's Press. Retrieved August 16, 2021.https://thedelphiguide.com/cannabis-in-ancient-greece/  

 Emboden W. (1972) Narcotic Plants. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. April 4, 1972. Retrieved August 16,2021 https://thedelphiguide.com/cannabis-in-ancient-greece/ 

 Sumler A. (2018). Cannabis in the Ancient Greek and Roman World. Lexington Books. August 16, 2021. https://books.google.com/books?id=pkIxEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Cannabis Use in Ancient Egypt??

Ancient Egypt was home to some of the best medicine in the late BCE’s and Early CE’s. Egyptian physicians-- fun fact some of them were women-- had an amazing understanding of the human body and how it worked.  Their practices were more in line with our modern scientific method than most cultures at the time. According to Homer's The Odyssey: “[In Egypt] every man is a physician, wise above human kind.” Some historians claim; the drug Helen of Troy used in the Odyssey, which was given to her by an egyptian woman, was cannabis (though most believe that it was opium). The debate over whether Helen used cannabis as a drug is demonstrative of a very interesting debate that rages on: whether cannabis was a staple in Ancient Egyptian medicine. In about 1500 BCE, there was a papyrus text “The Ramesseum Papyri” which references an herb known as shemshet. Many historians believe that shemshet was cannabis. If you decide that the evidence is not strong enough to support that assumption, that is completely valid. For the purposes of this article we will assume that shemshet is in fact Marijuana. Operating under this assumption opens up a lot of evidence that cannabis was used throughout Ancient Egypt; both medicinally, and ceremonially. shemshet was used mostly to treat pain conditions; most prominently glaucoma, and inflammation. A salve was applied to the affected area (including right on the eyes) and it provided relief. Shemshet was also used to relieve pain in childbirth and cramps. For the purpose of medicine; shemshet was administered orally, vaginally, and rectally. As far as hard scientific evidence goes: from around 3500 - 3000 bce there are trace particles of cannabis pollen found in the tombs of ancient emperors like Ramses. Additionally, some of these mummies were found with unusually high concentrations of THC in their body’s it is speculated, they were buried after consuming some form of cannabis. One of the more intact and testable mummies actually had very high concentrations of THC, nicotine, and cocaine in their lungs. This lends some credibility to the assertion: cannabis was used ceremonially in Ancient Egyptian burial rights. Additionally the goddess Sheshat is often depicted with a seven pointed “star” that to me at least looks a lot like a pot leaf(picture below, you decide). As a pro cannabis advocate I would love to write an article that definitely states: everyone used weed since the beginning of time, because duh. As a historian, I cannot make that claim. The evidence is strong in favor of my assertion: cannabis was used both medicinally and ceremonially in Ancient Egypt, but only if you make the assumption that shemshet was cannabis.  I don’t have the same access to the papyri or the ability to read hieroglyphs right now so I may amend this later, but for now I choose to live in a world where Ramses the Great blew down before he died.

Bibliography Emily Ledger. Cannabis Use in the Ancient World: Ancient Egypt. January 5, 2021. Canex. Website. https://canex.co.uk/cannabis-use-in-ancient-world-ancient-egypt/ Shanti. Evidence Discovered of Medicinal Marijuana in Ancient Egypt. April 19, 2021. JuicyNetwork. Website. https://juicy-network.com/evidence-discovered-of-medicinal-marijuana-in-ancient-egypt/ Thomas Wrona. Ancient Egypt’s rich history of medical cannabis. September 15,2019. The Cannigma. Website. https://cannigma.com/history/egypt-has-a-rich-medical-cannabis-history-discover-why/ Robert Clarke, Mark Merlin. Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany. June 28, 2016. University of California Press; First edition. Website. https://books.google.com/books?id=poenY6QMq8UC&pg=PA234#v=onepage&q=egypt&f=false Homer. The Odyssey, Book 4, lines 219-235.

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Cannabis Cough Syrup

Alcohol 4%

Chloroform 3 minums per Oz

Cannabis 6 grains per Oz

“YES, Medical Cannabis is good stuff, and yes it should make its way BACK INTO COUGH SYRUPS.   If anyone needs any proof of that just look at what cough manufacturers used to replace Cannabis right after the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 — C-O-D-E-I-N-E (which sounds a lot like Cocaine, but is actually made out of Opium).   Yuck! And that stuff is still on the market (over the counter even) today.”

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HEMP FOR VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“The U.S. Government distributed 400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers in 1942 to aid the war effort”

—

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“Forest Fears Slump If Marihuana Banned,” Windsor Star. February 26, 1938. Page 08. — Industry, Introduced by Canadian Flax King, Employs Scores in Supply of Fibres for Hemp —- Special to The Windsor Star FOREST, Feb. 26 - If the House of Commons amends the Opium and Narcotics Drugs Act to prohibit the growing of the marihuana plant in Canada, scores of laborers will lose their employment and thousands of dollars worth of machinery will be rendered useless in the Forest district. The House is pondering a ban on the weed due to the growing importation from the United States of marihuana cigarets, known as ‘reefers, the assassins of youth,�� due to their heavy narcotic content.

SOLD FOR HEMP Growing of the plant for legitimate commercial purposes was introduced in this district over 20 years ago by Howard Fraleigh, former M.L.A., the Canadian flax king. Since ten the production has increased extensively until Mr. Fraleigh anually grows 50 acrs, which require 2,200 pounds of seed. The stock of the plant is sold to make hemp and smaller necessities.

For raising and harvesting the plant, farmers in this district have purchased special reapers, spreaders, drills, and scutching machinery, which will be rendered useless if production is banned. In the last few years, this area has gained fame as a centre of the industry and has attracted growers from other parts of the world to inspect the latest methods in marihuana farming.

The marihuana is an annual (cannabis sativa) grown from seed, which grows to a stalk attaining a height varying from three to twelve feet. When marihuana is planted at a distance, the stalk will grow to a thickness of from one to inches with a rough bark at the base. When the plants are crowded together - as for fibre production - the stalks seldom grow thicker than three-quarters of an inch and are devoid of leaves or branches except at the top. CAN PLUCK LEAVES The leaves are opposite, except near the top of the stalk or on the shorter branches, and are palmately compound, composed of four to 11 leaflets. The leaflets are dark green in color, pointed at each end, two to six inches in length and one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in width. The leaves can be plucked and plant will continue to grow.

Smoking or infusion of the leaves is reputed to cause insanity in humans.

Since the introduction of the plant in this district the crop has always been of good quality and heavy yield. Only the stocks were harvested and sold to hemp manufacturing firms in Canada. Originally, the harvesting was effected by specially constructed knives, attached to long sloping handles. Spreading was done by and and turning by long piles. NEW MACHINES Later a machine for cutting and spreading in one operation was introduced by a Chicago implement company, which cultivated 10,000 acres of marihuana in Illinois. A lifting device also was perfected to lift the stocks from the ground, bind and pule them in bundles for shipment to the mill.

Mr. Fraleigh has developed a mill process, which has revolutionized the industry in Canada. Workmen butt the bundles and process them through rollers and breakers, known as a scutching machine.

The planting seasn starts as soon as the ground can be cultivated and the plant requires little attention during the growing season. The harvesting season, usually the first two weeks in September, starts as soon as the pollen starts to blow off the male plant. NUMEROUS USES History relates that the marihuana plant was grown or used by the early Chinese, Eyptians, and Greeks. A history of the Sung dynasty reveals that in 2,800 BC Emperor Shan Hung taught his people to cultivate marihuana to make cloth. While primarily used for fibre in China, the plant later was grown for seed, which was utilized as food and oil, and the stalk was burned as fuel.

Some historians contend the plant first was used as a drug in India and later in other sections of Asia. During the last century, it is established that marihuana has been grown extensively in Asia, Russia, Italy, France, Mexico, United States, and Canada. Opinion is divided as to whether the plant reached North America through the Puritans, who landed in New England, or Spaniards in Mexico.

Canada is now following the lead of the United States in endeavouring to control the growth of the plant. The Canadian bill to amend the Opium and Narcotics Drugs Act provides stiff penalties for production of the plant without a license. To cultivate, produce or have marihuana in one’s possession, a person would be liable for a penalty of seven years in prison and lashes, under the terms of the amendments. — HERE’S A JUNGLE OF POTENTIAL ‘REEFERS’ — ‘I know a place where the marihuana grows,’ these men are saying. And boy it grows! This picture was taken at the farm of Howard Fraleigh, former M.L.A., who is known as the flax king of Canada. Second from the right in the above picture, it would appear that he is also the Monarch of Marihuana. He grows the weed strictly for its legitimate use in manufacturing fibre, however. (By Staff Photographer.)

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venyason

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Hehehehehhehehehehehhehehhehhheheeehehehhe

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Legends in Ancient Chinese Marijuana History

China has a long and interesting history with Cannabis. Emperor Shennong, is probably the most widespread mythological figure in Chinese Marijuana history (at least from the American perspective). He was an ancient Chinese emperor who literally wrote the book on medical Marijuana. I'm sure we've all heard stories about how, thousands of years ago, he wrote a book about Marijuana and its medicinal effects. There is evidence that Emperor Shennong was in fact a real person, but the stories of the Red Emperor were probably exaggerated.

According to legend, long before Emperor Shennong, Emperor Lu Chi-Nu discovered Marijuana as a medicinal cure. The story goes: Lui Chi-Nu was a farmer who was tending a field of hemp; one day he shot a snake and it slithered away. The next day he came across two young boys in his field making a salve out of the female hemp plant, the boys said that they were making the salve for their master (the snake). Lu Chi-Nu scared them off and took the salve; later on he was injured, and applied the salve to his wound, the wound was cured. Lui Chi-Nu spread the news; the female Cannabis plant could be used as a medicine.

In most of the world 10,000 years ago, medical practices centered around the expulsion of demons. In China, Cannabis stalks were used to dispel certain demons, the priests would carve snakes into the stalks and beat the bed around the afflicted.

Emperor Shennong was the man / bull who allegedly taught the Chinese how to cultivate the land and developed the first pharmacopoeia. Shennong is widely known as the first emperor to use Marijuana as medicine, because he was the one to introduce medicine in the way we think of it, as ingredients used to heal wounds and afflictions, not exercise demons. According to an article in Psychology today:

“The ancient emperor, Shen-Nung (c.2700 B.C.), is known as the Father of Chinese Medicine. Because he was a good farmer and concerned about his suffering subjects, he looked to plants for cures. According to legend, Shen-Nung tried poisons and their antidotes on himself and then compiled the medical encyclopedia called, Pen Ts'ao. The Pen Ts'ao list hundreds of drugs derived from vegetable, animal and mineral sources. Among these drugs is the plant Cannabis, "ma."

Shen-Nung is a really interesting legend to study. As the legend goes: Yan Di was born with the head of a bull, was able to speak after 3 days, and plowed a field when he was 3 years old. The usage of Cannabis as a medicine is credited to Shennong because he is reputed to have created the first chinese pharmacopeia. Yan Di was able to create this pharmacopeia by tasting all the herbs and poisons in China, he would eat a poison in the morning and try to find the antidote before he died. He was able to see how these herbs reacted in his body because he had a transparent stomach.

All of this is documented to the best of historians’ abilities, however with such ancient stories, a lot of the hard evidence to support these claims is unavailable. There is a lot more evidence from around the second century AD. There is a hard copy of a pharmacopoeia developed by several doctors and herbalists at the time, several surgeons would use Cannabis as an anesthesia during painful surgeries with a lot of success.

Bibliography

Alun Buffry. WHY NOT GROW WEED? (April 11, 2013). Norml UK. Website. https://norml-uk.org/2013/04/why-not-grow-weed/

Ernest L. Abel. Marijuana - The First Twelve Thousand Years. (1980). Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Website. https://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/history/first12000/abel.htm

Jann Gumbiner Ph.D. History of Cannabis in Ancient China. (May 10, 2011). Psychology Today. Website. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201105/history-cannabis-in-ancient-china

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Shennong: Chinese mythological emperor. Encyclopedia Britannica. Website. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shennong

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Who Was Dr. H James and Why Should You Care?

Dr. H James is one of the most famous charlatans in the history of the United States cannabis industry.  Invented by Oliver P. Brown in the mid-1800s; Dr. H James and his cannabis tincture became a medical sensation across the US.  The claim was: this incredible miracle drug cured Consumption (tuberculosis), fever, cough, asthma, bronchitis, etc. This was a lie, the actual product contained some common cough suppressants, but no actual Cannabis. People using this tincture over other medicines may have cost lives. For this reason, Oliver P Brown should not be admired. However, the myth of Dr. H James popularized the idea of Cannabis as a cure-all to the American media. Oliver P. Brown knew absolutely nothing about medicine. His profession was actually printing, but he was failing and needed to pivot.  Oliver changed his career to snake oil salesman. This man made a tincture using common cough suppressants, labeled it a Cannabis Indica tincture, and invented the character: Dr. H James. The man known as Dr. H James was an actor hired by Mr. Brown to more effectively sell the lie of a miracle cure.  He worked for a company called: Craddock & Co..  The story goes: Dr. H James was working with British doctors in the West Indies, his daughter then fell ill with consumption, the good doctor used his expertise to develop a tincture that, with a few treatments, could cure all lung-related maladies.

The first mentions of this product are also some of the first mentions of cannabis, not hemp, in American newspapers. Around 1856; advertisements for Dr. H James Cannabis Indica Tincture started popping up here and there, eventually, everywhere across the US. Following the release of this advertisement, stories popped up recounting how this tincture cured people miraculously. Then other stories about how cannabis or “indian hash” as it was known at the time; started popping up too. There is a correlation between the spread of Dr. H James advertisements and the presence of articles and personal accounts about cannabis in the newspapers from the 1800s-1900s.  This indicates that the conscious idea of cannabis as a medicine or even as a recreational substance was influenced in a positive direction by the myth of Dr. H James. At this time: cannabis use was common, it was used in any number of medicines that you could pick up at a pharmacy, but there was little to no mention of it in popular media at the time. Dr. H James is what brought the idea of cannabis as a cure-all to the minds of Americans. So yes, Oliver P Brown did a bad thing,  and the bad medicine he produced gave a lot of very sick people false hope. But, as far as US perception of Cannabis he actually did kind of a good thing.

Bibliography 1. A Physician. The Unseen Monster. The Cambria freeman. (Ebensburg, Pa.). Website. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress 03 Aug. 1871. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83032041/1871-08-03/ed-1/seq-1/. 2. THE ANTIQUE CANNABIS BOOK. Website. Updated Jan 2018. http://antiquecannabisbook.com/chap15/QDrJamesSmokingGun.htm. 3. They All Get Drunk. The Means are Many But The End Is One, A Long Step from Alcoholic Jamaican Ginger to Hasheesh, Slaves to Drugs that Lead to Insanity and Death. The evening world. (New York, N.Y.), Website. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  28 Jan. 1889.<https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1889-01-28/ed-1/seq-2/> 4. The Permanent Cure for Consumption. New-York daily tribune.  Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Website. (New-York [N.Y.]).13 Sept. 1856. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1856-09-13/ed-1/seq-4/> 5. The Retired Physician Who’s Sands of Life Have Nearly Run Out. Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago Illinois) 1858. http://antiquecannabisbook.com/chap15/QDrJamesSmokingGun.htm    

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Customer Service as a Career

What is Customer Service????

Customer service is: professionally ensuring a positive customer experience.  Being a great assistant is much like being a customer service representative, with extra technical skills. In both cases, soft skills: social skills that relate to how you operate in your workplace, are the core of success in your chosen line of work.  According to the article: What Are Soft Skills “soft skills include interpersonal (people) skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, and empathy...Adaptability Communication, Creative thinking, Dependability, Work ethic, Teamwork, Positivity, Time management, Motivation, Problem-solving, Critical thinking, [and] Conflict resolution.” They are some of the hardest skills to master: to put it simply, there is no hard science or measurable metric to determine how good you are at things like; work ethic, and networking. There is no real way to gauge how good you are at empathizing, how much every single customer likes you, or who comes back to the business because of how much you understood their issue.  Yet, there is an undeniable correlation between the improvement of business and the development of soft skills; that lets us know they have a major impact.

1. Soft Skills

Soft skills are notoriously difficult to learn and practice intentionally. But, it is possible, the trick is: you truly have to learn from experience and honestly evaluate your behavior. Working in any position requires at least some of these soft skills.  Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, claimed that soft skills, like understanding that people like to be greeted in the morning, are the key to a successful career.  He cites people like Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, and himself; all great leaders who went very far in their careers.  All of these men had much less technical knowledge than a lot of the people working under them, what made them such effective leaders were soft skills.

2. Positive Attitude

Working in any customer service environment requires a genuinely positive attitude and conflict resolution skills.  All of these skills are important to master in any workplace; at some point or another, you will have to use each one.  Honest reflection is the best way to master soft skills; ultimately discussing how you can improve with peers, and supervisors will yield the best results. Just make sure to make suggestions on how you think you can improve, rather than asking how others think you can improve.

3. Sincerity

One of the reasons that soft skills are so difficult to master is because they have to come from a place of sincerity.  People trust other people when they can tell that person is being sincere and making their best effort. People do not trust people who insincerely flatter them, cave to them, or hide behind company policies they don’t believe in. To be sincere you must actually seek to understand your customer. Find something interesting about everyone; there is something interesting or relatable about every single person. It may take several tries to find that point of common interest, but you will find some way to relate to your customer eventually.  Actively listening to your customer or coworker you can gauge their interest in whatever you’re trying to talk about, if you’re not interested: your expression, tone, or even the words you choose to say will give it away. Ways to show your interest in your customer can include: commenting on their hair, noticing they’re upset, asking about some of their favorite products and services they offer.  Whatever it is, make sure you’re interested in the topics you're pursuing; it will be a lot easier to ask follow-up questions and respond enthusiastically. If you’re just trying to keep the conversation going: you’ll give your customer or coworker subtle signs and should they choose to continue buying from your company, it will not be because of your contribution to the customer experience; which as a customer service representative is your job.

4. Empathy

Empathy is the number one skill in customer service, no matter what environment you’re in it will be the heart of the job. There is a big difference between having empathy for another person’s situation and treating other people the way you want to be treated. The key to empathy is: treat other people the way they want to be treated. Everyone has different expectations of how they should be treated; no two people want to be treated the same way. Some will want to engage with you, and some people legitimately want to be left alone or don’t want to make eye contact, and that’s fine.  What is really important to keep in mind: make an effort to relate to the customer, sometimes relating to the customer means: leaving them alone. When you treat people in the way that they want to be treated they are more likely to return to your business because you’re giving them the experience they want.

Think about the last time you called into a call center or went into a store: did you spend any time thinking about how the customer service representative wanted to be treated? Probably not, you most likely went into the store or called in expecting to be treated a certain way and if that expectation is not met, then you probably won’t patronize that business frequently if at all. It is when the customer’s, or supervisor’s needs are met that the job is well done. 

5. Listen

Active listening is the best skill you can develop to understand how your customer expects to be treated; it is the act of listening to the customer and responding to the customer in a way that shows you understand what they really want from your interaction. When communicating with a customer: always greet them with a positive attitude, and gauge their response, but don’t expect that act to brighten their day. Some customers will merely say hello, some want to talk until well after your business or transaction is complete, and some want to ask questions but are too nervous to initiate that line of conversation. To figure out what the customer wants: try to start a small conversation with them, avoid just asking: “how are you?” most people will just respond “good” and leave you nothing to work with. Instead, find something else to ask them, that has to do with them, ask them about previous orders, see if they have any questions about your service or products. The simple act of showing sincere interest in them, makes the customer feel special and important. No matter who you are; everyone wants to feel special and important like people care about them. Customers will come back to your business if they get that feeling from your interactions.

 Making people feel special and important is a skill that is a lot harder to develop than what you might think; when you’ve been sitting in a call center or at your desk, or standing at a register all day, no matter how much you're being paid, active listening can exhaust the brain, it will only develop with practical experience and a legitimate will to understand people. 

6. Understand Your Market

Understanding the statistics of market behavior is immensely helpful to any customer service representative.  “Studying consumer behavior is important because it helps marketers understand what influences consumers’ buying decisions.”  To expand on that, to effectively communicate with others, often the key to coworker and customer relations, you must be able to: understand what other people think and how they feel, what influences people to make the choices they make, one’s environment outside the workplace or customer interaction area influences their behavior. When you understand this kind of general information, you can more quickly find ways to bond with your customer.

7. Remember: it’s not the customer’s job to care about your day.

No one is contacting a customer service representative because they care about your day, but it is a customer service representative’s job to care about the customer.  At the end of the day, the representative is being paid to be there, the customer is paying for a service or product the company is providing. This statement may be blunt, but it’s not quite as cold as it sounds; people do not want to go out of their way to be considerate of others.  Most of the time customers do not think about the cashier they’re buying from, or the banking representative taking their call.  This is important to keep in mind when communicating in any environment, if you want to work effectively or provide a good experience for another person you must communicate on their terms, speaking to them about how you can help them, not necessarily what would be easy or convenient for you.

8. Treat People the Way They Want to be Treated

It’s important to remember that, no matter how empathetic and sincere you are: a portion of the people you’re interacting with will not be in a good mood, will not want to communicate, and will respond with negativity over positivity. It is your job as a customer representative to remember that these people are not mad at you personally, and still deserve your respect and empathy. If they only want their problem resolved, resolve the problem and leave at that, if they want to talk there is nothing wrong with taking an extra minute to be someone’s sounding board.  In the office environment: you will have to interact with people every day eventually you’re going to have to find a way to work together.  Most people who come into a conversation with a negative attitude toward your business, have a point in the heart of their complaint. Only the occasional person is trying to scam the system and get ahead.  Use your empathy skills to get to the heart of their ranting and raving. To confirm that you understand what the issue is, and what the customer wants simply: restate the issue and what you think the customer wants out of the interaction, and ask them if that is what they're trying to say, then resolve it as best you can.

For example a customer calls a store, they are up in arms and ready to curse you out and report your store to the corporate because; they read their receipt, and they believe they did not receive their senior discount.  The website does say that the store offers a senior discount, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the page that explains: discounts don’t get stacked.  The items the customer purchased were on sale.  In this instance, it is your job as a customer service representative to resolve this situation, ideally, without losing the customer’s business or having to involve a supervisor. It is tempting to do one of two things in response to a belligerent customer: get defensive, condescend to the customer and stand behind company policy, saying there was a disclaimer on the website that discounts do not stack; or cave and give the customer their extra money back. 

9. Respect the Customer

The customer is not necessarily always right but they do always deserve kindness and respect. Even when you’re denying a person what they want, because; you’re unable to give the customer more money off. Neither of the above outcomes is ideal: using empathy, understanding your customer, and putting their needs at the forefront; will usually yield better results. 

To respond to the above scenario: start by empathizing with your customer; put yourself in your customer’s shoes, you came into a store expecting to pay a certain amount of money, and now you have to spend more.  In the heart of the anger and cursing, this person, on some level, has a point. When you understand your customer, relating to them becomes a lot easier.  Express your understanding that the website is a little unclear: even though the information is there, it is not prominent.  It can be frustrating having to spend more than planned.  Before you explain to them: your company doesn't stack discounts, think about your tone and your wording. One method to take is: express to the customer; the company doesn’t allow you to stack the discounts, but you, the representative, did the math and gave them the best deal you could within the rules of your job. Stating that you understand the customer’s frustration, and letting them know that you’ve done the best job you can, humanizes you to the customer.  Oftentimes, the customer appreciates the acknowledgment that they are not an idiot and the representatives of the company recognize (within reason) that there is room for improvement. 

10. Why You Should Care

Most of the time, using empathy and recognizing the customer’s frustration will end with repeat business, without having to give away extra money.  While the customer may still be frustrated with the situation, they will on some level understand. Most customers will appreciate that at least, you as an individual, have done the best you were able to to make right the frustrating situation. More often than not; responding with empathy and making a little effort for your customer will result in repeat business, at the end of the day people want to feel important and be taken seriously.

11. Work Ethic

One of the, not so obvious, keys to a positive resolution to the scenario is strong work ethic. When a customer has a complaint, it is easy to dismiss them, or just apologize and throw a refund or discount at them.  If you have a strong work ethic, it means you not only do your job, you make it a point to go the extra mile. While giving away money usually makes the customer happy, in the moment, it alone will not form the more personal relationships that lead to repeat business. Do the bonus work every time, even when it’s difficult and inconvenient. Going the extra mile: actually bothering to listen and understand the customer goes a long way to most people, and as a customer service representative, you need to go the extra mile at every opportunity. The same goes for any work environment, you will be noticed if you become known for going the extra mile.

12. Know Your Business

One of the best ways to go the extra mile is to become knowledgeable about the business or industry you’re in. When you understand other aspects of the business that you don’t necessarily work in; you can better assist both the customers and your coworkers. Understanding this can help you perform your job more efficiently.  Developing your own processes to adapt to the changing responsibilities of a working environment.  When you know how your boss organizes their time, and what is expected of them; you can better prioritize the tasks that you are assigned. 

Knowing the laws and policies of the company you work for can help you to solve problems more easily on your own, without the assistance of coworkers or supervisors. That way, the fewest number of people’s days are inconvenienced by the little hiccups that happen every day in every workplace.  Understanding other people’s jobs will allow you to assist them more effectively. For example: if you’re a secretary, and you need to generally support office staff; knowing how other people’s jobs work will help you prioritize when to complete each task.  When you understand the business you’re a part of; you can make suggestions and help to improve the system. This both serves to make everyone around you’s life easier And makes you an asset to your work environment.

13. Time Management

Time management is paramount to the success of every single assistant or customer service representative.  There is only so much time in one day or one shift. As an adult, whether you’re someone’s assistant, a waitress, a salesman, or a secretary: you’re going to spend a lot of your time at work; alone and in charge of how you’re spending that time. Planning out your day, and knowing how long tasks typically take, will help you do the best job you can do.

In the service industry: entry-level sales positions, and wait staff are usually responsible for most of the cleaning, and general building maintenance.  To keep the entire staff from having to stay late to finish tasks assigned earlier: a lot of things are left undone so that everyone can get out on time.  One needs excellent time management skills to schedule your time in a way that allows for every task to be completed. If it’s a busy day, you can multitask on simple projects.  For instance, if you’re on hold trying to make an appointment, get some filing done, just be prepared when whoever you’re calling picks up. If you do not manage your time well: your fellow staff members and supervisors will have to work overtime to cover what you’re not doing, or the cleanliness and (actually very important) side work is neglected.  

When planning out how to manage your time on a given day: you should keep a few important tips in mind.  Nothing is going to take the exact amount of time expected.  From day to day, any task can vary in the time it consumes.  People can eat for hours; and clients can call into your office, seemingly, just to talk your ear off; printers jam; etc. your schedule always needs to be adaptable and organized. Give yourself deadlines, tell yourself that you need to have a certain portion of the work done by a certain time. Try to overestimate how long something will take; it’s tempting to estimate how long something will take based on the quickest you’ve ever completed the task. This is a trap, don’t fall in

Little disasters happen all day long, you need to work time into your schedule to fix those disasters.  Adaptability, in conjunction with effective time management, will be the keys to dealing with issues throughout the workday.  Overestimate slightly, how long each task is going to take you, there will always be something that goes wrong in your day.  But the tasks you finish early will wind up giving you extra time to fix those disasters, or this time can be used to go the extra mile, and show you actually care. It will give you the opportunity to get extra tasks done that you normally can’t get to.

14. Make Yourself Indispensable

Make yourself as much an asset as possible to the workplace, there is nothing that makes one shine in customer service, like being indispensable; find something no one else is taking care of regularly, and take care of that task -- it can be a cleaning task, or proofreading all the paperwork before it’s submitted-- whatever isn’t getting done, just do it.  

15. This is A lot, Why Bother?

In the end, what makes a successful assistant, or customer service representative are: the soft skills that we all possess but few bother to try and master.  Being able to communicate effectively is the key to any good representative.  Strong empathy for, and understanding of: the people you deal with is paramount to that communication.  Going the extra mile every time you’re able is what makes the difference, you can’t just do extra things for people who are nice to you. A strong work ethic will push you to do things like: learning every aspect of the business you're in, and that will grow your understanding of how to best perform your job.  If you put in the effort to manage your time properly: you can save yourself time, and avoid the consequences of a lack of time management skills.

A career working with people is one of the most rewarding a person can experience. You can be working the call center for a fast food company, and still somehow manage to make someone’s week. Some of the best leaders in the world have made a point to practice empathy, understanding, work ethic and time management.  When those people were reflecting on their lives; many of them were more proud of the issues they solved with empathy and understanding; than the fights they won being belligerent, or even violent. These soft skills will help you understand people better and many report that practicing them actually improves their lives outside of work.