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May 7, 1578
Chinese Medical Text Describes Medical Uses for Marijuana
"A Chinese medical text (1578 AD) [Bencao Gangmu Materia Medica, by Li Shizhen] describes the use of marijuana to treat vomiting, parasitic infections, and hemorrhage. Marijuana continues to be used in China as a folk remedy for diarrhea and dysentery and to stimulate to appetite." -
Jamestown Settlers Bring Marijuana to North America
"The Jamestown settlers brought the marijuana plant, commonly known as hemp, to North America in 1611, and throughout the colonial period, hemp fiber was an important export. Indeed, in 1762, 'Virginia awarded bounties for hemp culture and manufacture, and imposed penalties on those who did not produce it.'" -
George Washington Grows Hemp
"[George] Washington's diary entries indicate that he grew hemp at Mount Vernon, his plantation, for about 30 years [approximately 1745-1775]. According to his agricultural ledgers, he had a particular interest in the medicinal use of Cannabis, and several of his diary entries indicate that he indeed was growing Cannabis with a high Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content - marijuana." -
Marijuana Added to US Pharmacopeia
"By 1850, marijuana had made its way into the United States Pharmacopeia [an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the counter medicines], which listed marijuana as treatment for numerous afflictions, including: neuralgia, tetanus, typhus, cholera, rabies, dysentery, alcoholism, opiate addiction, anthrax, leprosy, incontinence, gout, convulsive disorders, tonsillitis, insanity, excessive menstrual bleeding, and uterine bleeding, among others. Patented marijuan -
Commonwealth of Massachusetts becomes first state to ban cannabis in the United States of America
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President Wilson Signs Harrison Act, the Model for Future Drug Regulation Legislation
"Representative Francis B. Harrison (D-NY) introduced three bills in 1913 to remedy the [drug] problem by controlling the domestic manufacture of opium and by regulating the international opium trade. According to his bills, opium could be imported or exported only for medicinal purposes. Harrison also proposed that the government '...impose a special tax upon all persons who... sell, distribute or give away opium or coca leaves...'
President Woodrow Wilson signed all three of Harrison's measur -
American Pharmaceutical Firms Sell Extracts of Marijuana as Medicines
"As demand for marijuana-based medications accelerated, pharmaceutical firms attempted to produce consistently potent and reliable drugs from hemp. By the 1930s at least two American companies – Parke-Davis and Eli Lily – were selling standardized extracts of marijuana for use as an analgesic, an antispasmodic and sedative. Another manufacturer, Grimault & Company, marketed marijuana cigarettes as a remedy for asthma." -
Bureau of Narcotics Urges Federal Action to Control Marijuana
"It is difficuly to know precisely the extent of marihuana use in the 1930s. The Narcotics Bureau itself never provided any official estimate. The Bureau spoke only of 'widespread use...' [Commissioner Harry] Anslinger maintained that all drug use was a plot of 'civic corruption,' a public enemy seeking to destroy the community...
During 1936 the Bureau headlined the marihuana danger in its report ["Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs," 1936]. For the first time it urged federal cont -
Reefer Madness Film Cautions Against Marijuana
"Reefer Madness is a morality tale of how Reefer Addiction ruins the life of its young protagonist and gets a lot of other people killed, sexually compromised and committed to lunatic asylums...
Reefer Madness began its cinematic life as a 1936 cautionary film entitled Tell Your Children. It was financed by a small church group, and was intended to scare the living bejeezus out of every parent who viewed it. Soon after the film was shot, however, it was purchased by the notorious exploitation f -
President Franklin Roosevelt signed federal legislation that banned cannabis use, production and sales; including for industrial hemp
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First Marijuana Seller Convicted under US Federal Law Is Arrested
"On the day the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted -- Oct. 2, 1937 -- the FBI and Denver, Colo., police raided the Lexington Hotel and arrested Samuel R. Caldwell, 58, an unemployed labourer and Moses Baca, 26. On Oct. 5, Caldwell went into the history trivia books as the first marijuana seller convicted under U.S. federal law. His customer, Baca, was found guilty of possession...
Caldwell was sentenced to four years of hard labour in Leavenworth Penitentiary, plus a $1,000 fine. Baca received -
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Controlled Substances Act, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Shafer Commission created
Appellate court challenges to the 1937 ‘Reefer Madness’ anti-cannabis laws force the federal government to create a Controlled Substances Act and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1970. President Richard Nixon creates blue ribbon commission to review cannabis laws, historically known as the Shafer Commission. -
University of Mississippi Becomes Official Grower of Marijuana for Federal Government
"Since about 1968 the University of Mississippi has held a registration from the DEA or its predecessor agency to cultivate marijuana for government use and research activities... [as] the only DEA-registered cultivator of marijuana. The University of Mississippi... supplies marijuana to researchers for studies ranging from chemical research to preclinical toxicology in animals to clinical work on humans." -
Oregon becomes the first state to pass cannabis decriminalization legislation
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San Francisco become the first city to pass an ordinance—with a 79% support rate— in favor of medical patients having access to cannabis.
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Proposition 215
California citizens place on the ballot and champion to victory Proposition 215 which sought to ‘legalize’ medical cannabis use, possession and cultivation. After numerous federal legal challenges, the basic law and right of doctors to recommend cannabis were affirmed. -
Nevada and Colorado voters approved medical cannabis initiatives.Hawaii legislature passed medical cannabis legislation
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Montana voters approved a medical cannabis initiative.Vermont’s legislature passed medical cannabis legislation
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Arizona voters approve medical cannabis initiative for the third time since 1996.
Arizona voters approve medical cannabis initiative for the third time since 1996.
District of Columbia City Council passed medical cannabis legislation.
New Jersey legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
Voters in California narrowly defeat a cannabis legalization initiative, 53%-47%. -
Delaware legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.Connecticut legislature passed cannabis decriminalization legislation
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LA City Council Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Unanimous Vote
"[T]he [Los Angeles] City Counted voted 14-0 Tuesday [July 24, 2012] to ban pot shops.
Under the ban, each of the 762 dispensaries that have registered with the city will be sent a letter ordering them to shut down immediately. Those that don’t comply may face legal action from the city...
In a seemingly contradictory move, the council also voted to instruct city staff to draw up an ordinance that would allow a group of about 170 dispensaries that registered with the city several years ago to -
US Appeals Court Denies Medical Marijuana Reclassification Challenge
"The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling today [Jan. 22, 2013] in the medical marijuana reclassification case, Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration (370 KB). In a 2-1 decision, the Court granted standing in the case -- the right to bring a claim against the federal government -- but denied the legal challenge on the merits, agreeing with the government's assertion that 'adequate and well-controlled studies' on the medical efficacy of marij
