Plants used as medical treatments for is a practice that transcends since the beginning of time. Ancient civilizations, such as the first with written records, indicate their use of plants and herbs for their healing properties. Indian and African cultures are widely known for their use of plants for medicinal purposes. Actually the use of plants to cure and treat diseases and illnesses is far less common in industrialized civilizations, such as North America. This is not to say that the America's did not have their fair share of plant based medicinal practices. In fact the Native Americans that once greatly populated this land have been using plants and herbs for generations. In fact all civilizations can date back to a time where plants were used for medicine. The branch of science, ethnobotany, is the study of the relationship between plants and people. This branch is not as commonly studied as others however, the topic of the relevance of people to plant life is still important today, because all humans benefit from the medicinal properties of plants today. .
Marijuana, an example of a plant that has it is accredited with having many health benefits. A lab set out to put arrest to the rumors surrounding whether marijuana would truly be effective as a treatment. "They performed a systematic review of medical marijuana to address treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and movement disorders. The results of this study show marijuana's ability to improve the health of a patient and also show little psychological effect"W2, 2014). However, even with these findings there are many opposing views on the use of this plant, because a decade ago the use, distribution, and sale of this plant was illegal due to the plant being labeled a narcotic. There are still other plans that are not illegal in the United States that are being used in modern medicine. Many plants are being explored in laboratories.
