We understand how boring history can be.

Even so, next time you’re toking, vaping, or squishing that gummy between your teeth, it may interest you to know a brief history of what brought you to that moment.

So without further ado…

A Brief (We Promise) History of Marijuana

Marijuana has a rather storied past in the United States. We’ll take a look at some red-letter years in that story.

1911

Eleven years into the 20th century, sentiment for Prohibition was growing. There were people who were very serious about NOT drinking. And they didn’t want others to do so either.

Prohibition would be enacted in 1917, but Massachusetts decided to outlaw marijuana way before that in 1911. They were the first state to do so – though several states would follow.

1915

Four years later, Woodrow Wilson signed three U.S. House bills known collectively as the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.

It prohibited restricted doctors from prescribing narcotics, as well as the importation of opiates. Despite the focus being on opium, morphine and heroine, the bill hit the marijuana industry too.

1936

It would be twenty years before the film ‘Reefer Madness‘ made its debut.

In this ridiculously fictional story, a group of people under the influence of the devil’s weed are motivated to steal, rape, and even kill. Although the film was originally a morality tale created by a church group, when director  and producer Dwain Esper got his hands on it, he knew he could utilize fear to drive an audience.

He’d have had a brilliant career at certain news channels today.

1937

Franklin Delano Roosevelt generally gets good marks for his 12 year run as president. Even so, he was responsible for signing into law the Marihuana Tax Act, which banned cannabis.

The day after the act went into effect, 58-year-old Samuel R. Caldwell was arrested for cannabis possession. He served three years in prison, then died the year after he was released.

1944

You may only know LaGuardia as an airport in New York. Yet Fiorello LaGuardia – Mayor of New York City – had been a fierce opponent of the aforementioned 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. So in 1939, he appointed a commission to study the effects of marijuana.

The LaGuardia Report was published in 1944 and it contradicted claims made by the federal government about the dangers of marijuana. Imagine that.

1951

Despite LaGuardia’s findings, a mere seven year later, the Boggs Act introduced minimum sentencing of two to ten years for cannabis possession.

But wait. That’s not all. There were fines up to $20,000. In 1951, that would equate to more like $200,000.

1970

When Nixon decided to declare a war on drugs in 1970s, he said this: ”Public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive. I’ve asked the Congress to provide the legislative authority and the funds to fuel this kind of offensive.”

He also said, less eloquently, “By God, we are going to hit the marijuana thing, and I want to hit it right square in the puss…I want to hit it, against legalization and all that sort of thing.”

This was the point through the Controlled Substances Act when marijuana became categorized as a Schedule 1 substance – giving it the same sinister standing as heroin and LSD. (One could argue this was the true definition of reefer madness.)

1977

Things were looking up in 1977 when Jimmy Carter (39th President, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and dude building houses with Habitat for Humanity well into his 90s) advocated for decriminalization of marijuana.

Carter wrote a letter to Congress stating the following:

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use.”

As a result, eleven states decriminalized marijuana between 1973 and 1978.

1985

The first synthetic or chemical made form of cannabis, Marinol, was approved by the FDA in 1985 –  making it the first marijuana product to be approved by the agency. Marinol is highly effective in relieving nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatments.

1996

Though some states had decriminalized cannabis, California was the first state to fully legalize medical marijuana. In the four years that would follow, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado and Maine would all follow suit.

2012

Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Meanwhile, Massachusetts – the first state to prohibit cannabis – approved a ballot measure to legalize medical cannabis.

2018

The 2018 farm bill legalized low-THC hemp and hemp-derived products such CBD at the federal level. These products were also “descheduled” from the Controlled Substances Act, where they’d also kept company with heroin and LSD since 1970.

2021

There’s still a fight, to be sure. A South Dakota initiative to legalize recreational and medical use was recently ruled state-unconstitutional by a circuit court judge. But the Sturgis Motorcyle Rally continues to thrive. So, yeah.

Feeling Enlightened?

We hope this brief history of marijuana at least kept you awake for a few minutes. You may have even learned something.

And if you want further enlightenment, as it were, on all topics cannabis, keep checking back with our blog!

The post A Brief History of Marijuana appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

A farmer stares out over his land. He experiences an itch that never ceases. It’s not a metaphorical itch. It’s a very real itch.

He scratches at his collar and other unmentionable places as he surveys his land. It’s less amber waves of grain and more likely green fields of tobacco. But among his crops, there is hemp.

In the 1600s, Growing Hemp Was All the Rage

And nobody was hiding those cannabis plants in the back forty. In fact, in  1619, Virginia passed a law making it mandatory to grow hemp on every farm in the colony.

Of course, there was nothing suspect about this particular strain of cannabis plant. Hemp is not marijuana, after all. And in the 1600s, it was used to make everything from rope to paper to cloth. Hence the aforementioned farmer’s itchy shirt and trousers.

As such, hemp was an important product in the New World as the colonies were being established. It was actually considered a form of currency in Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania and Maryland – although it had no sinister street name.

Eventually, cotton and its lovely plush softness pushed hemp out of the way. It was just as versatile and didn’t leave people with unattractive rashes.

Then Cannabis All But Disappeared

Well, in the United States, that is.

Never mind that over in Central Asia and the Middle East, folks had been enjoying the effects of smoldering cannabis seeds/flowers or smoking hashish since ancient times. Like, back in 800AD. Even the Quran which forbade alcohol and other intoxicants did not prohibit cannabis. At least not specifically.

It wasn’t until 1000 years later that an Irish doctor studying in India made a very important discovery. The munchies. Yep. Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy found that cannabis extracts could help lessen stomach pain and vomiting in people suffering from cholera. And it was a big deal.

The Return of Cannabis to the U.S.

By the late 1800s, cannabis extracts containing THC were making their way from Europe across the pond to the U.S. where they were sold in pharmacies and doctors’ offices to treat stomach problems and other ailments. This new strain of cannabis plant called marijuana was becoming an increasingly popular ingredient in medications and tinctures.

Eventually, it would move from the medical community into the public. And by the early 1900s, Mexicans who had immigrated to the United States to flee the violence of the Mexican Revolution introduced the recreational practice of smoking marijuana to American culture. It was especially well received in the 1930s by the hepsters – i.e. the “hep cat” black jazz community. Cab Calloway even paid his tribute with the song “Reefer Man.”

A bunch of Mexican immigrants and black people using drugs!? This, of course, did not fly with the uptight bureaucrats resistant to any change. Fortunately for them, it was the Depression era and they were seeking a scapegoat for the deeply crippled country. Marijuana and the communities who used it fit the bill perfectly. So they got right to work demonizing them.

By 1931, twenty-nine states had outlawed marijuana. The Marijuana Tax Act was passed six years later in 1937, in essence making the plant illegal in the United States. Criminalizing marijuana had begun.

The 1950s – Leave It to Beaver vs. the Beatniks

Even though the squares got their way, many were still concerned that their children would be lured by the “devil’s weed.” So to further instill fear, Encyclopedia Britannica produced “Reefer Madness” to warn kids about the dangers. Although the production is now regarded as hilarious drivel, it is a haunting example of the blinding ignorance of the 1950s.

Meanwhile, the Beat Generation saw nothing great about an America shamelessly criminalizing a disproportionate number of non-white people. This sizable counter culture was all about eschewing such straight-laced ignorance in favor of openness, exploration and other more bohemian ideals. This included experimenting with drugs. Particularly marijuana. And by the 1960s, widespread use of recreational marijuana, though still illegal, was experiencing a serious awakening.

Marijuana – Post 1960s

The decades that followed the 1960s were a see-saw of stricter enforcement and the passing of mandatory sentencing laws, balanced by  repeals of some of those laws and efforts at legalization.

But we’re inching ever closer.

Today, nine states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana for recreational use for adults over the age of 21. And with the MANY now proven benefits of using cannabis for health reasons, medical marijuana is legal in 30 states, with Oklahoma getting on board this past June.

Best of all?

Support for marijuana reached a new high (pun intended) when a a recent Gallup poll in 2017 showed that 64% of Americans favor legalization. Finally, a majority. Even a majority of Republicans back it.

A great America would be a “woke” America. We’re not there yet. But where marijuana legalization is concerned, it sure seems like we’re finally moving in the right direction.

Let’s just hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.

The post A Somewhat Brief History of Cannabis in the U.S. appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.