Cannabis entered Persia with the Aryan and Scythian tribes who migrated across the Iranian plateau, and it became deeply embedded in Persian culture over millennia. The very word 'hashish' derives from Arabic, but the culture of concentrated cannabis resin was refined in the Persian-speaking world.

The most famous legend in cannabis history is that of Hassan-i Sabbah — the 'Old Man of the Mountain' — who allegedly used hashish to control his feared Assassins (Hashishin) from his fortress at Alamut in the 11th century. While historians debate the accuracy of Marco Polo's account, the legend permanently linked hashish with Persian culture in the Western imagination.

Sufi mystics embraced cannabis as a tool for spiritual transcendence, using hashish to achieve states of divine ecstasy and communion with God. The Persian poet Rumi and other Sufi masters wrote of altered states that many scholars associate with cannabis use.

Persian physicians, building on Greek and Indian medical knowledge, developed sophisticated cannabis preparations. Avicenna (Ibn Sina), the great 11th-century physician, documented cannabis in his Canon of Medicine — the most influential medical text of the medieval world.

Cannabis grew abundantly across the Iranian plateau, from the Caspian coast to the Afghan border. The diverse microclimates of Persia produced a range of cannabis varieties.

Persian gardens — the original 'paradise gardens' (from the Persian word pairidaeza) — likely included cannabis among their medicinal and pleasure plants.

Persia refined the art of hashish production, developing techniques for collecting and pressing cannabis resin that spread throughout the Islamic world.

The Persian tradition of hashish consumption — in pipes, mixed with tobacco, or eaten in confections — influenced cannabis culture from Morocco to India.

Cannabis use in Persia fluctuated between tolerance and prohibition depending on the ruling dynasty. Some rulers embraced it; others attempted to suppress it.

Modern Iran has strict drug laws, with severe penalties for cannabis offenses — a stark contrast to its rich hashish heritage.