![]() ![]() O’Shaughnessy looked at the contemporary medical literature in the West and found little about the medical properties of cannabis. Cannabis and other plants had been used medicinally and recreationally in the region for thousands of years. In India the therapeutic effects of cannabis became known to O’Shaughnessy from his interactions with indigenous people. During his second trip he conducted the work that saw him knighted by Queen Victoria. It was during his first trip that he researched the medicinal properties of a range of indigenous plants, including opium and cannabis. The first was between 18 and the second between 18. O’Shaughnessy spent two periods of his life in India. One estimate suggests that by 1860 around 30% of Trinity’s engineering graduates had emigrated to India for work. Like many individuals O’Shaughnessy was part of the ‘brain drain’ from England and Ireland which saw huge numbers seek work in India during this period. The notorious East India Company effectively ruled India with its private armies between 17. This began his lifetime interest in India. In 1833 O’Shaughnessy took a job with the East India Company to work in Calcutta as an assistant surgeon. During this period he also researched possible treatments for cholera and ways of detecting poison. His laboratory provided chemical analyses of urine, blood, and tissue for doctors, hospitals, and the courts. After his graduation O’Shaughnessy moved to London and established his own forensic toxicology laboratory after he was unable to find work. Some of cadavers O’Shaughnessy used when studying anatomy under Professor Robert Knox were likely supplied by the infamous grave robbers Burke and Hare. ![]() At the university he studied an array of topics like medicine, chemistry, forensic toxicology and anatomy. The University of Edinburgh was considered one of the best medical schools in the world and it was quite an achievement for O’Shaughnessy, who was barely 18 years old, to be accepted into it. He first studied medicine at Trinity in Dublin before transferring to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from where he graduated in 1829. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy was born in Limerick in 1809 and it is suggested that from a young age he showed the potential he would later fulfill. He also played a role in cementing British rule in India by establishing its expansive telegraph communications network and he was later knighted for this work. O’Shaughnessy also made significant contributions to various other fields of scientific study with many of his innovations still in use. Although now largely forgotten by history it was O’Shuaghnessy who undertook research in India and subsequently stimulated medical cannabis use and research throughout the West. William Brooke O’Shaughnessy helped introduced cannabis into Western medicine. Lesser known is that the Limerick born doctor Sir. This period roughly occurred between 1840 and the early 1900’s until prohibition begun to be enforced. Tinctures and other products were prescribed to treat various ailments. It is widely known that before prohibition was enacted cannabis was available from pharmacies for medicinal purposes. (Make sure to read about Michael Donovan who was inspired by O’Shaughnessy) (Please consider becoming a patron to support the creation of more unique content) William Brooke O’Shaughnessy (1809– 1889)
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