Yo, what’s up? My name’s Dan and I’m gonna tell you all about the history of cannabis – where it came from and how it’s been used throughout the ages. This is some interesting stuff, so get ready for a ride.
Let’s start with China, where they’ve been using cannabis for thousands of years. Emperor Fu Hsi mentioned it back in 2900 BC as a popular medicine with both yin and yang properties. Then Emperor Shen Nung used it for medicine in 2700 BC and is known as the Father of Chinese medicine. They even found remains in an ancient Chinese village that had small pots decorated with hemp over 10,000 years old. The hemp was used to make fishing nets, rope, clothes, and paper. The Chinese also used cannabis seeds for food and oil.
Moving on to Central Asia, the Scythians in Siberia were known for their use of marijuana back in the 7th century BC. They used it in religious rituals and smoked it for pleasure. As the plant spread across Asia and Europe, German tribes brought it to Germany and Anglo-Saxons brought it to Britain in the 1200s.
Marijuana made its way to America via Mexico during the Mexican Revolution in 1910 AD. It was mainly used for recreational purposes rather than medicinal use. In Brazil during the 1800s, marijuana was used by the poor for clothing, spice, and energy as well as for medicine. However, it was later banned in Rio de Janeiro.
In Jamaica during the mid-1800s, Indian laborers taught their knowledge of ganja or cannabis to the black working class. The Rastafarian movement began to take form in the early 1930s and ganja became a symbol for the movement. Today, many Rastafarians remain Ganja farmers.
In the United States, cannabis was regulated under the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. However, by 1915, Utah was the first state to make cannabis illegal for non-medical use. By 1941, 28 other states followed suit. The U.S. government also banned cannabis in 1928.
In the 1970s, evidence supported cannabis helping glaucoma sufferers and the Shafer Commission elected by America’s Nixon government encouraged re-legalization of cannabis. However, Proposition 19 in California did not receive majority vote. By the late 1970s, U.S. President Carter asserted decriminalizing cannabis for those caught with under an ounce of the drug.
President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act in opposition to what Carter had strived to achieve raising federal sanctions for possessing and selling drugs sending U.S into “war on drugs.” Morocco fought against cannabis cultivation by government there particularly in Rif Mountains by 1987.
In Canada, federal laws changed in support of medical cannabis and within three years from 2001 Canada was first country ever to approve medical marijuana across entire country while President G.W Bush was pushing “war on drugs.”
President Obama asserted that individual drug use is a public health issue rather than being a matter of US Justice Department leading many American states including Colorado State and Washington State legalizing recreational cannabis.
Overall, the history of cannabis has been long and complex with its uses varying from medicinal purposes to spiritual properties. While its use has been widely legalized across many American states today, it still remains a Schedule 1 drug according US Federal Government guidelines suggesting high risk of abuse and addiction without any safe level of use.