2900 BC: Chinese Cannabis

Cannabis use dates back over thousands of years. The earliest known use of cannabis for its medicinal properties can be traced back to ancient China. Fu Hsi, a Chinese Emperor credited for bringing civilization to China, stated cannabis was a popular medicine with yin and yang properties. Emperor Fu Hsi referenced “Ma” (the Chinese word for cannabis) as a medicine dating back to 2900 B.C.

http://library.law.wfu.edu
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org

1213 BC: Egyptian Cannabis

Egyptians used cannabis for numerous medicinal reasons. Cannabis pollen was found on the mummy of Ramesses II, who died in 1213 B.C. Numerous ancient texts from Egypt reference medical cannabis. The ancient Egyptians used cannabis for hemorrhoid pain relief, sore eyes, enemas, as well as other conditions. Cannabis pollen has been found on other mummies and in ancient Egyptian soil as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: https://cosmowenman.wordpress.com

1000 BC: Indian Cannabis

India drinks Cannabis infused milk called “Bhang” as a medicine. Cannabis was used for medical and religious reasons in ancient India. Ancient texts from India state that the psychoactive properties of the plant were recognized, but doctors still used the plant to help treat a range of ailments. Some of the conditions that cannabis was used for include aches or pains, insomnia, as well as many gastrointestinal disorders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Photo: http://www.lamarihuana.com

 

200 BC: Greek Cannabis

Ancient Grecians also used cannabis as medicine. When the horses of the ancient Greeks would get injured, Greeks would use cannabis to dress the horses’ wounds. For medical purposes, the Greeks used cannabis seeds to get rid of tapeworms, and even used dried cannabis leaves to treat nosebleeds. The main form of use was to drench the cannabis seeds in either water or wine and then use the extract to treat inflammation and pain of earaches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/
Photo: http://www.rubylane.com

 

1300-1400 African Cannabis

Cannabis in the African continent can be traced back to 14th century Ethiopia. It is believed that the tribes eventually possessed the plant after trading and bartering with their Arab neighbors. The tribes chewed the cannabis leaves until they realized they could smoke it. This led to pipe making which would alter African cultures in many ways.

http://www.examiner.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Photo: https://www.pinterest.com

 

1492-1619: Jamestown Cannabis

Supposedly, Christopher Columbus brought cannabis in the form of hemp rope to America in 1492. However, most credit the Jamestown settlers for bringing marijuana to America in 1611. Hemp was very important to the Jamestown settlers, as it was a major fiber export. All of the settlers in the Jamestown colony were actually required by law to grow cannabis in 1619.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
http://leg.mt.gov
Picture: http://ushistoryimages.com

 

1745-1775: Presidential Cannabis

George Washington indicates in his diary that he had his own hemp farm at his home in Mount Vernon for about 30 years. He was interested in the medicinal uses but he also grew cannabis with high levels of THC. Washington also stated in 1794, “Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.” The state of Virginia, where Washington lived, actually imposed penalties on those who did not produce hemp.

http://library.law.wfu.edu
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://www.history.com

 

1798: French Cannabis

Napoleon invaded Egypt. He noticed many people in the Egyptian lower class were regularly using cannabis, and decided to bring some back to France with him. Once the plant arrived back in France, it was investigated for its pain-relieving effects and started to become more widely accepted in Western medicine.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Photo: http://www.nouvelordremondial.cc

 

1906:  The Pure Food and Drug Act

The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed which required certain drugs (cannabis included) to be labeled accurately. This meant listing exactly what was used in the product. Before this, many medicines or drugs had “secret ingredient” labels or no labels at all. January 1, 1907 is when the Act went into effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org
http://library.law.wfu.edu
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://antiquecannabisbook.com

 

1910: Marijuana and the Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution ended, bringing with it an influx of Mexican culture into the United States. This introduced the American culture to recreational cannabis as well as the term “marijuana.” Prior to this time, America had been calling the plant “cannabis.” However, after the Mexican Revolution ended, the term “marijuana” became more popular. As the term and plant became more widely used, “marijuana” started to become viewed in a negative light.

http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.npr.org
http://www.pbs.org
Photo: http://www.tokeofthetown.com

 

1911-1914: First State to Outlaw Cannabis

State legislatures were facing many moral issues on the ballot and therefore cannabis took a backseat to issues like racetrack gambling, liquor, and prostitution. As a result, Massachusetts becomes the first state to outlaw Cannabis in 1911. It was followed by New York and Maine in 1914.

http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/
Photo: http://www.tokeofthetown.com

 

1913-1918: Pharmaceutical Cannabis Farms

In 1913, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry proclaimed it had successfully grown their own cannabis equal to the kinds they used to import from India. This was necessary because of WWI interrupting foreign imports/exports. By 1918, 60,000 pounds of cannabis was being produced by pharmaceutical farms, all of which were east of the Mississippi River.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons

 

1930: Harry Jacob Anslinger

The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created in 1930. Its purpose was to outlaw the use of recreational drugs (including cannabis) in America. This operation was headed by Harry Jacob Anslinger, who claimed cannabis made people act violent, irrational, and over sexual.

McWilliams, John C. (1990).The Protectors: Harry J. Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 1930-1962Newark: University of Delaware Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-87413-352-3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia

 

1931: The Great Depression

29 states outlawed marijuana. This was mainly due to the Great Depression, where unemployment was the highest it had ever been. Many Americans were now in competition with Mexican immigrants for agricultural jobs. Around this time, the medicinal and industrial practices for cannabis took a backseat because of the negative stereotypes associated with marijuana and Mexicans.

http://cannabisnowmagazine.com/cannabis
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline
Photo: http://media.cleveland.com/remembers/photo

 

1936: Reefer Madness

The film Reefer Madness was produced which shined a negative light on cannabis use. The film was intended to scare anyone who watched it about the dangers of marijuana. The original title of the film was Tell Your Children. The Motion Picture Association of America did not allow the depiction of drug use. By not showing cannabis on film, even the subject matter of talking about cannabis seemed inappropriate at the time.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
http://mic.com/articles/78685/a-brief-history-of-how-marijuana-became-illegal-in-the-u-s
Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e2/ReeferMadnessPoster.jpg

 

1937: Marijuana Tax Act

Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. This basically criminalized marijuana for possession under federal law except for growers, sellers, and buyers who were authorized to use it, while being taxed for it. Once the law was enacted, prescription cannabis sales went down due to physicians not wanting to do the extra work involved with this new law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/
Photo: http://www.herbmuseum.ca/

 

1940’s: Hemp for Victory

Hemp played a critical role for the U.S. in World War II as part of its “Hemp for Victory” program. This program rewarded farmers who grew hemp for the war. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would give out seeds and grant draft deferments to those who would grow hemp for the war.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline
Photo: http://www.420magazine.com

 

1944: LaGuardia Report

The New York Academy of Medicine issued an extensive report, commonly known as the “LaGuardia Report,” which concluded that numerous claims about how dangerous marijuana is were exaggerated or untrue. This was the first time a study of the effects of smoking cannabis had been done in America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Guardia_Committee
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html
Photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?

 

1951: The Boggs Act

Congress passed the Boggs Act in 1951. This act was the first time cannabis was labeled as a narcotic substance. The act also enforced mandatory prison time for simply possessing marijuana. First time offenders would see 2 to 5 years in prison. The act did not differentiate between cannabis users and sellers for the purpose of their sentencing.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page3
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Photo: http://ethicalalliance.org/daily-news

 

1956: The Narcotics Control Act

The Daniel Act was created which enforced stricter sentencing laws on marijuana possession. Your first offense for possession gave you a minimum prison sentence of 2 to 10 years with a fine of up to $20,000. At this time, the state of Virginia actually had harsher penalties for marijuana users (minimum 20 years) than murderers (minimum 15 years) or rapists (minimum 10 years). Sales of marijuana in Virginia carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years.

http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline
Photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thcfinder.com

 

1960’s: Counterculture

Cannabis use did not lead to more harmful drugs or violence according to reports commissioned by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Their was a shift in the white upper class which led to widespread usage of the plant. The views of cannabis were suddenly becoming more lenient.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline
Photo: http://www.hightimes.com/read/11-us-presidents-who-smoked-marijuana

 

1964: THC

A professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was the first to identify delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is the main psychoactive component in marijuana. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam was also the first to synthesize THC as well.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://thejointblog.com

 

1970: Controlled Substances Act

The Controlled Substances Act is passed in 1970. This law created five schedules or categories to organize certain drugs under. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule 1 drug which are drugs classified as having a high potential for abuse, no current accepted medical use, and a lack of safety for use under medical supervision. Marijuana is still listed as a Schedule 1 drug to this day.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://azmarijuana.com/wp-content/

 

1973: 1st State to Decriminalize

Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize marijuana. Possession of one ounce or less would be a violation and not a crime. The punishment for this violation was a fine between $500 and $1,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Oregon
Photo: https://cache.whereisweed.com

 

1986: Anti-Drug Abuse Act

The anti-drug abuse act was passed by President Reagan which instituted mandatory sentences for drug related crimes. This new law increased the federal penalties for marijuana possession and dealing and based the harshness of the penalty on the amount of cannabis involved. The 3 strikes rule would be added on later which would give life sentences to repeat offenders of this new law.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Photo: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/

 

1991: San Francisco

On November 5, Proposition P passed with a 79% approval. This was the first medical marijuana initiative in the country. Proposition P asked the state of California and the California Medical Association to restore hemp medical preparations on the list of available medicines in the state and to not penalize physicians for prescribing hemp for medical purposes.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Photo: http://www.lifefoc.com/photos/

 

1996: 1st State to Legalize Medical Cannabis

Proposition 215 was approved on November 6th, 1996 by 56% of voters in California. This initiative allowed for patients and their primary caregivers to possess and cultivate marijuana as long as the patients have a physicians recommendation.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Photo: http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/2012californiamarijuana.jpg

 

2003: U.S. Government Patent

On October 7th, the United States Department of Health and Human Services received a patent for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant properties found in the cannabis plant.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia

 

2012: Washington State

Initiative 502 passed by a 56% to %44 margin in November of 2012. This initiative compiled  an 81% voter turnout which was the highest in the nation. On December 9th of 2012, legal possession and DUI limits went into effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Initiative_502
Photo: http://cdn.theweedblog.com/wp-content/uploads//WashingtonMarijuana.jpg

 

2014: Washington D.C.

Initiative 71 was approved by Washington D.C. voters on November 4th, 2014 and went into effect on February 26, 2015. This initiative allowed for the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and the possession and cultivation of up to three plants.

http://ballotpedia.org/Washington_D.C._Marijuana_Legalization
Photo: http://washington.org/

 

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Summary
30 Influential Moments For Cannabis
Article Name
30 Influential Moments For Cannabis
Description
Cannabis use dates back over thousands of years. The earliest known use of cannabis for its medicinal properties can be traced back to ancient China.
Author
Kush Tourism