I was listening to a talk by Robert Wilson where he casually claims Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake for smoking cannabis, which caused her to have her visions. The only information I could find about it elsewhere were from clickbait and stoner forums claiming that the ‘witching herbs’ she had access to were actually psychedelic and, potentially, cannabis.
As this seems like a bit of a stretch, I was wondering if it has any grounding at all? Also, how accessible and widespread (if at all) was cannabis or psychoactive drugs in medieval Europe?
Almost certainly not. Although the earliest references to the medicinal usage of hemp or, more precisely, a plant thought to be hemp come from Egyptian documents dated to 24th century BCE and the plant is commonly referenced in younger Egyptian sources as well as in e.g. Indian medical book Suśruta written in 6th century BCE, it was relatively unknown in the northern part of the Mediterranean region. References in Graeco-Roman world are scarce and those that are known, point to the central European regions, such as or Herodotus' notice about Massagetae burning hemp in bathhouses or mention of Thracians consuming hemp seeds by Pomponius Mela in 1st century CE. Archaeological findings place hemp collection as early as 12 millennium BCE in the Tarim Basin, while in the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE it has been cultivated in the Middle East as well as in Don Basin, finding its way into central Europe around 10th century BCE and further west in 4th-5th century BC in the wake of the Great Migrations.
Medical usage of cannabis in Europe and North Africa became more common only after 8th century CE, with Muslim medics were familiar with the plant, Issac Judaeus and Maimonides mention the hemp oil as a useful topical remedy for earache and inflammation, while Yusuf Al-Kindi mentions the muscle relaxation and psychological disinhibition (described as 'senseless talk') among the effects of the hemp.
Garcia de Orta, a physician in the service of the Portugese crown published a book Coloquios dos simples e drogas he cousas medicinas da India in 1563, where he mentions that after consuming a cannabis preparation 'Those of my servants who took it, unknown to me, said that it made them so as not to feel work, to be very happy, and to have a craving for food'. Likewise, Prospero Alpini also mentions soporific action of the hemp products in his book De medicina Aegytiorum, published in 1591, where he states that hemp is used for various purposes, including elicitation of sleep, alleviating insomnia and anxiety moderation. Then we have the passage in the 1613 herbary of Szymon Syreński who, in the chapter dedicated to hemp (most likely cannabis sativa, as he separately describes 'wild (sylvan) hemp', most likely cannabis ruderalis) included the following note: 'Turkish maslok: Dust of dry hemp leaves, ground thoroughly and mixed with any drink causes inebriation, but by itself it does not cause inebriation [...] As its vapor permeates the brain in strong yet subtle manner, one Who takes the hemp flower, adopts queer humours or has his vapours stirred by heat so that one does not know what one does as he is left without a shred or reason and awareness. [...] Hemp oil, when used in excess, cause heaviness of the the head'. Theatrum Botanicum published in 1640 mentions that the crushed hemp root used as a cataplasm 'eases the pain of gout, hard tumours, knots of the joints (likely arthritis), painful and shrinking sinews and other pains, like that of the hips'. Simlarly, Mardandier's Traité du Chanvre published in 1778 states that poultice made of crushed hemp seeds and leaves is beneficial when applied to 'painful tumours'. It should be noted that 'tumours' might in this context mean any topical change, e.g. abscess, edema or ulcer.
Smoking of plant material is dated only after the introduction of tobacco to Europe in early 16th century, making it very unlikely for anyone to smoke any king of plants a century earlier. We do not have any account of such form of administration, even though usage of smoke for ritual purposes was attested at the time, both in folk-lore (fumigation) and ecclesiastical practices (incense burning). Furthermore, inhalation as a method of administration was known to at least some medieval medical practitioners, as it has been present in the medical books since at least 11th century, usually associated with the sponges infused with various plant-based analgesics and soporifics and then dried. Shortly before administration, they were soaked and pressed against the patient's nose. Specific ingredients used varied between periods and places, but the early recipes mention the usage of opium, mandrake, henbane and hemlock, known for their strong psychoactive properties. The practice seems to exist throughout the high-to-late Middle Ages, as it is mentioned in the books of Constantinus Africanus (1015–1087), Practica chirurgiae by Roger Frugardi, written in 1170, Cyrurgia by Theodoric of Bologna, published around 1264, Guy de Chauliac's Chirurgia magna from 1363 and Antidotary by Nicolas Prepositus, written in 1471. In other words, burning various substances and using vapours for medicinal effect was known, yet we have no accounts of actiive inhalation of smoke for any reason, especially recreation, before the introduction of tobacco.
Thus, medicinal usage of hemp has been practiced in North Africa since at least 9th century CE and although primarily used in Muslim lands, it was relatively well known across Europe since 16th century. However, virtually all mentions of the medicinal usage of the plant suggest that it seeds, leaves and oils has been ingested rather than inhaled, what would strongly limit any psychoactive effect that was already quite low due to the low-cannabinol strains dominant in Europe. Furthermore, recreational usage of the European varieties of hemp would have been significantly limited, as they were largely cultivated for the fibers used to make ropes of rough cloth, commonly used to make sacks and sails, and the highly fibrous varieties tend to be characterized with relatively high canabidiol content but low concentration of cannabinols, meaning that although it could have been quite effectively used as relaxants or analgesics, its psychoactive, intoxicating properties would have been scarce, unless copious amounts of smoke was inhaled. Ingestion of leaves was really unlikely, and the consumption of seeds, quite common in Europe in modern era, did not cause any noticeable intoxicating effects.
The link between cannabis and possible hallucinations is also a pretty tenuous one. Although the actual effect are strongly dependent on the individual traits, dosage and chemical composition of the material, hallucinogenic effects of cannabis are very weak and would have most likely be non-existent in the case of oral administration compounded with low-cannabinol strains present in Western Europe. In other words, even if Joan of Arc ingested substantial amounts of cannabis, she would have most likely experienced moderate analgesic and tonizing effect, a far cry from any acute euphoric state typical to the inhalation of cannabis smoke, not to mention aural or visual hallucinations. Hallucinatory effects after cannabis administration are largely linked to large doses of either pure THC (cannabidiols naturally present in plant material tend to ameliorate influence of cannabinols) or synthetic cannabinoids, especially full CB1 agonists and even then the doses exceed 20 mg, what between low content of cannabinols in hemp that could have existed in 15th century (modern industrial chemovarietals do not exceed 0.2%) and somewhat limited bioavailability even during inhalation, it would have required smoking several dozen grams of the plant material at once. A feat extremely implausible in times when recreational inhalation was generally unknown.
What about other psychoactive substances? They were readily available to anyone knowledgeable enough to look for them in the wilderness, what would have, however, limited this possibility to a relatively small group of healers and educated people with an access to herbaries. Some of the European plants possess very strong psychoactive properties, including the ability to elicit dissociative states, complete with distortion of perception and various forms of hallucinations. The most common of these would be henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) or nightshade (Atropa belladonna), with the second one being most likely brought only in 16th century from the Americas. The problem is that psychoactive substances in these plants, chiefly scopolamine, atropine and hioscyamine are very toxic, highly lethal and dangerous even to people having full knowledge of dosages and potential results. Somatic effects of poisoning are also very unpleasant, what would have most likely been associated with poisoning, leading to general avoidance of such plants.