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2737 BCE
Ancient Times
The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates from 2737 BC, in the writings of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The focus was on its powers as a medication for rheumatism, gout, malaria, and oddly enough, absentmindedness.In India though it was clearly used recreationally. The Muslims too used it recreationally for alcohol consumption. It was the Muslims who introduced hashish, whose popularity spread quickly throughout 12th century Persia (Iran) and North Africa. -
History of Marijuana
The first sign of marijuana in north America
Hemp (Cannabis Savita) was first brought to North America by Puritans
Marijuana is the dried flower that come from Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis indica plants. Cannabis Sativa is usually used to produce hemp. it has longer fibers (than cannabis indica) that are preferred for the use of hemp. -
Virginia and Marijuana
The Virginia assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp.America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law “ordering” all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. -
George washington and marijuana
George Washington
The first president of the united states, cultivated Indian Hemp (Cannabis Savita Indica i.e Medical Cannabis) at his Mt. Vernon home in Virginia on his farm. No one really knows if he smoked weed. -
Early uses of marijuana
Cannabis (also referred to as marijuana) is legal in most states, as hemp to make items such as rope, sails, and clothes. Cannabis also became a common ingredient in medicine and was openly sold at pharmacies -
Introduction to recreational use
Mexican immigrants introduce recreational use of marijuana leaf. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexican immigrants flooded into the U.S., introducing to American culture the recreational use of marijuana. The drug became associated with the immigrants, and the fear and prejudice about the Spanish speaking newcomers became associated with marijuana. -
The Harrison Narcotic Act
This Act prohibited possession of narcotics unless properly prescribed by a physician, in the US.The act appears to be concerned about the marketing of opiates.However a clause applying to doctors allowed distribution "in the course of his professional practice only." This clause was interpreted after 1917 to mean that a doctor could not prescribe opiates to an addict, since addiction was not considered a disease. A number of doctors were arrested and some were imprisoned. -
International Opium Convention
Banned the use of Indian hemp (hashish) except for authorized medical and scientific purposes.was the first international drug control treaty -
Marijuana use regulated in every state
Fear of marijuana
During the Great Depression, massive unemployment increased public resentment and fear of Mexican immigrants, escalating public and governmental concern about the problem of marijuana.
This instigated a flurry of research which linked the use of marijuana with violence, crime and other socially deviant behaviors, primarily committed by racially inferior or underclass communities. By 1931, 29 states had outlawed marijuana -
Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN)
The FBN was established with a main focus of fighting opium and heroin smuggling. It is credited for criminalizing drugs such as cannabis with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, as well as strengthening the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914. -
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937
August 2, 1937 - Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
After a lurid national propaganda campaign against the evil weed, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. The statute effectively criminalized marijuana, restricting possession of the drug to individuals who paid an excise tax for certain authorized medical and industrial uses.This act made possession or transfer of cannabis illegal throughout the United States under federal law. -
Narcotics Control Act of 1956
Enactment of federal laws (Boggs Act, 1952; Narcotics Control Act, 1956) which set mandatory sentences for drug-related offenses, including marijuana. The acts made a first time cannabis possession offense a minimum of two to ten years with a fine up to $20,000; however, in 1970, the United States Congress repealed mandatory penalties for cannabis offenses. -
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
The principal objectives of the Convention are to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes and to address drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers. -
1970 - Controlled Substances Act
Law enacted that regulates the prescribing and dispensing of psychoactive drugs, including stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. The act lists five categories of restricted drugs, organized by their medical acceptance, abuse potential, and ability to produce dependence. The law classified cannabis as having high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. -
Creation of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Merger of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNND) and the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE). The DEA is tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the U.S. Not only is the DEA the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the drug policy of the United States (sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation), it also has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations abroad. -
Anti-Drug Abuse Act – Mandatory Sentences
President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act.The new law raised federal penalties for marijuana possession and dealing, basing the penalties on the amount of the drug involved. Possession of 100 marijuana plants received the same penalty as possession of 100 grams of heroin.A later amendment to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act established a three strikes and you’re out policy, requiring life sentences for repeat drug offenders, and providing for the death penalty for drug kingpins. -
Medical Use Legalized in California
California voters passed Proposition 215 allowing for the sale and medical use of marijuana for patients with AIDS, cancer, and other serious and painful diseases. This law stands in tension with federal laws prohibiting possession of marijuana. -
United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop
United States Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-drug laws do not permit an exception for medical cannabis and rejected the common-law medical necessity defense to crimes enacted under the Controlled Substances Act because Congress concluded cannabis has "no currently accepted medical use". This case would not have arisen without the passage of Proposition 215, California's Compassionate Use Act. The Act allowed patient to cultivate or possess marijuana on the advice of a physician. -
Gonzales v. Raich (previously Ashcroft v. Raich), 545 U.S. 1
United States Supreme Court ruled that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution allowed the federal government to ban the use of cannabis, including medical use. The court found the federal law valid, although the cannabis in question had been grown and consumed within a single state, and had never entered interstate commerce. Congress may ban the use of cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal purposes. -
Marijuana now
As of 2016, eight states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Colorado and Washington became the first states to do so in 2012. Adults also can light up without a doctor’s prescription in Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon
