Origins of Cannabis
Cannabis as a plant has been grown and cultivated for over four to six millennia and its plant family arose when dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period (Industrial Hemp, 2019). Cannabis’s survival and utility for humanity demonstrate its adaptability and many properties that can be exploited. Scientists debate over the origins of cannabis but there appears to be consensus surrounding three points of origin for Cannabis. The large-seeded and broad-leaved Cannabis sativa grown for fiber originated from China; the narrow-leaved Cannabis indica grown for “narcotic purposes” arose from India and Pakistan, and a similar type designated as Cannabis indica cultivated for seed originated in Central Asia and the Tian Shan Mountains (Industrial Hemp, 2019, p. 3). Humanities first harvest of cannabis took place 8,500 years ago in the steppes of Central Asia, where it would quickly migrate around the globe for industrial cultivation (Fike, 2016).
Cannabis throughout History
As we can see, cannabis has created a permanent position in our history and has been utilized for thousands of years. In ancient China, cannabis was used in Daoist religious ceremonies but fell in favor with the rise of Confucianism, which rejected the role of spirituality in humans (Industrial Hemp, 2019). As nations expanded into the seas, demand for hemp fibers used in ropes and fabric increased significantly to support developing navies and advancing sailing technologies (Industrial Hemp, 2019). Spain brought hemp to the New World in 1645 where it quickly became an important crop alongside flax for rope in Colonial America; Presidents Washington and Jefferson were strong advocates of hemp cultivation and grew the plant themselves despite making no profit (Fike, 2016). In an 1862 article from the then Manhattan-based Vanity Fair, “hashish candy” is advertised as a treatment for nervousness and melancholy, referring to the drug as a “pleasurable and harmless stimulant” (Siff, 2014). Later as the United States became embroiled in World Wars, Kentucky became the leading state in Cannabis sativa cultivation and production at the encouragement of the U.S. government; the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a patriotic promotional video in 1942 encouraging farmers to grow hemp (Quarles, 2020).
Criminalization of Cannabis
Cannabis shared a long history with American society but was not smoked in leaf form until the introduction by Mexican immigrants in the first couple of decades of the 20th century, which generated a reaction intertwined with xenophobia (Siff, 2014). Between 1914 and 1925, twenty-six states prohibited cannabis without any legislative pushback or public outcry. Cannabis became widely prohibited and criminalized in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which placed all Cannabis culture under the regulation of the U.S. Treasury Department, requiring the registration and licensing of all hemp growers with the Federal Government in an attempt to restrict production of psychoactive varieties (Economic Research Service, 2000).
And a fun fact, during the congressional hearing for the passing of this act the only oppositionist was a member of the American Medical Association whom congressman accused of obstructionism and misrepresentation; these same congressmen referred to cannabis as a “narcotic of some kind”, indicating they didn’t have much education pertaining the plant they were prohibiting (Siff, 2014). When Nixon took office in 1968 he promised to fight a war against drug abuse; this resulted in Congress passing the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in 1970, scheduling cannabis in the most restrictive drug category with no permissible medical practice (Siff, 2014). Decades of prohibition and criminalization of cannabis would go by before legislative efforts pushing against the federal scheduling would surface.
Legalization of Cannabis Renewed
After decades of prohibition of cannabis, it has been renewed for industrial, medical, and recreational purposes. In 1996, California citizens passed the ballot initiative labeled the Compassionate Use Act, becoming the first state to legalize medicinal cannabis (Siff, 2014). Nearly two decades later, the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill permitted the growing and processing of industrial hemp by institutions of higher education or state agriculture departments for research (Industrial Hemp, 2019).
Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational cannabis in the same year (Siff, 2014) and since doing so, twenty-three other states have legalized recreational cannabis; this means that over half of the United States lives in a state that permits recreational use. Then the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp as a controlled substance, and redefined the differences between hemp and marijuana as hemp being a cannabis plant containing no more than 0.03% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Industrial Hemp, 2019), leaving us with the current legal landscape we see today. We have a long road of legislative processes ahead of us, but big strides toward federal legalization have been made since the prohibition against cannabis began.
Sources:
Economic Research Service. (2000, January). Industrial hemp in the United States: Status and market potential. AGES 0001E. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=41757
Fike, J. (2016) Industrial hemp: Renewed opportunities for an ancient crop. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 35(5-6), 406-424. DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2016.1257842
Siff, S. (2014, May). The illegalization of marijuana: A brief history. Origins Ohio State University. https://origins.osu.edu/article/illegalization-marijuana-brief-history?language_content_entity=en
Quarles, Ryan. (2020). Hemp, Kentucky, and the Law. Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural
Resources Law: Vol. 12(2), 310-324. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kjeanrl/vol12/iss2/4
Williams, D. W. (Ed.). (2019). Industrial hemp as a modern commodity crop. American Society of Agronomy. DOI: 10.2134/industrialhemp
