Weed History: Nova Scotia is the Birthplace of Cannabis in Canada

Article by Ross Andersen, Growth Op

If you have ever visited Nova Scotia, you would know about its rich history. It was ground zero for the largest man-made explosion prior to Hiroshima. It supplies the city of Boston with a Christmas tree every year. And you’re never more than 60 kilometres from the sea.

Here is something you won’t read in the history books: Nova Scotia is the birthplace of cannabis in Canada.

It’s something few people would expect given how Nova Scotia’s identity is anchored to the ocean, but this long connection with cannabis dates back 400 years. When European settlers colonized Canada they would first arrive on the east coast. Many of those settlers brought skills and trades such as farming and fishing. One of those trades was horticulture.

Nova Scotia’s relationship with weed dates back to 1606, when a French botanist named Louis Hebért planted cannabis crops in Nova Scotia. He is widely considered the first apothecary and the first person to ever farm in Canada. That is likely when Canada was first introduced to weed.

Cannabis was considered a commodity at the time. Not only was it used for its medicinal properties, but hemp sails and ropes carried European settlers to North America for hundreds of years.

Cannabis production in Canada peaked between the 1850s and 1900s, when a Nova Scotia physician by the name of F.W. Goodwin lectured about the benefits of the plant for migraines, poor appetite and depression. At the time, Dr. Goodwin was president of the Nova Scotia Medical Association, now known as Doctors Nova Scotia.

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