INTERNATIONAL: It’s one of the world’s most popular recreational drugs and is being legalized in more and more countries around the world, but scientists have long wondered where marijuana first came from. It was long thought to be somewhere in Southern Asia, but that’s not what a new study has found.

The “Science Advances” journal says cannabis was one of the first plants to be domesticated by humans, and has a long history of being used in textiles, food, and fuel, but its history has been difficult to research for legal reasons, at least, until now.

Researchers have found that cannabis was being widely used as a recreational drug, as far back as 12,000 years ago and likely emerged from northern China. After its domestication, it slowly spread across Europe and the Middle East in the Bronze Age, travelling to Africa in the 13th century, before arriving in North America at the beginning of the 20th century.

With decriminalization in many parts of the world has come commercialization. The Cannabis market in the US alone is expected to be worth over $30-billion by the end of next year. While there has been some talk of decriminalizing marijuana in Cambodia, the drug remains illegal in the kingdom.