In the first century CE, the Indian medical text the 'Susruta Samhita' described specific grades of cannabis, including bhang (brewed into tea for the lowest classes), ganja (smoked by the middle classes), and charas (the most potent grade). This classification, originating in ancient India, demonstrates the sophisticated understanding of cannabis and its social stratification in early South Asian society.

The Susruta's detailed classification of cannabis grades reflects a deep cultural integration of the plant into Indian life, a theme that would appear in Sanskrit poetry and later in the works of the British Romantic poets. The exoticism of Indian cannabis practices would inspire writers like Rudyard Kipling and the Beat poets, who sought spiritual enlightenment through the drug.