The Evolution Of Cannabis Prohibition In The United States

Marijuana has a deep history in America, being in the Americas since 1545 when the Spanish brought it over with them. Later, it was again brought over with the English colonists to Jamestown. Here it was used as a large cash crop similar to tobacco and was used as a major source of fiber. Later in the 1890s, a similar plant, hemp, became another large cash crop in the southern half of the US even replacing cotton. Around this time marijuana was also used in medications, although it was not on the scale of cocaine and opium, being used to treat everything from labor pains to rheumatism, “any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness” (The Definition of Rheumatism). Further on, in the 1920s marijuana became increasingly more popular with jazz musicians and even special cafes/clubs opening for its use. It was not until the 1930s when a campaign conducted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics whom labeled marijuana as the harmful “gateway drug” it is seen as today. Though

In modern society marijuana has always been considered a sort of taboo subject in the United States due mainly to the fact that it is illegal. Many people don’t realize however that considering the history of our country, marijuana has only been illegal for a relatively short time span. Several of our founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, grew marijuana for hemp (the material derived from the plant) regularly and there is even speculation Washington smoked the plant occasionally. Back in those days marijuana did not have the sinister reputation it has today but instead was a vital part of colonial life, with the hemp material having a number of uses including rope, clothing, and paper (West, 1998). It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the public opinion regarding marijuana began to shift and restrictive laws were put in place that would eventually lead to illegalization.

First, from 1900 to 1940, marijuana, including opium and cocaine were considered part of everyday drugs. As time went on, the U.S. cracked down on crack and opium, eventually outlawing them, but continued to be very “loose” with the use of marijuana. Hoxter a weed smuggler explains how he began in the 1960’s trying weed and years later saw himself unloading four hundred pounds of pot in Vancouver. The story of this man ends in his isolation and argument of why he couldn’t smoke weed even if he stopped selling? He asked a parole officer and she didn’t know what to respond. It is true what Hoxter states, fifty years ago alcohol was illegal and now it’s not, was it bad then? Will weed be legalized? And will the conflicts have been in vain? (Schou 8). Around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, scientific studies started to produce jaw-dropping results. Scientists started to discover that marijuana can significantly help people who have become ill. Medical Marijuana has been tested to help people with cataracts, cancer and severe depression (Zeese 1999). With this new worldwide discovery, the argument about medical marijuana ignited. States wanted to only make medical marijuana legal so it may help sick people, but the government did not want any form of marijuana legal. The law that was known throughout the United States was any form of marijuana was illegal. But now with this new discovery, doctors in states across the country want the

The legalization of marijuana has been a debated subject in America since the 1970's. The pro-marijuana society in America has made claims as to how marijuana can help cure or lessen the effect of some diseases and that by legalizing the drug; the use of pot will actually decline. The fact of the matter is that marijuana is a drug that can be placed into a similar category as cocaine or heroine. Like these other drugs, pot (marijuana) smoking carries with it serious side effects that can effect the user forever, and sometimes-even cause death. Marijuana was first cultivated in America during the colonial time period and was used as a fiber for rope and even clothing. The plant was not used for its psychoactive properties until 1910,

“The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper” (Cannabis + Coca). Marijuana used to be listed in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed for numerous conditions such as labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. Increased use of pot as an

Marijuana was in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed to patients for various conditions including labor pains, nausea and rheumatism. During the 1850’s up to the 1930’s it was a very popular intoxicant. A movement conducted in the 1930’s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (presently the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) fought to make marijuana appear to be an Addicting and powerful substance that would lead

Cannabis began being outlawed all across the U.S. during the 1900’s and has remained illegal ever since, until recent years when states began legalizing it (huffpost.com). Although many people believe that the reason behind the prohibition of cannabis was based on genuine concern for the possible consequences it may have on the well-being of people if it remained accessible to all, the truth is that the drive behind the U.S.’s prohibition of cannabis was founded on racism. During the early 1900’s cannabis was considered an “ethnic drug” due to the fact that many Mexican immigrants smoked the plant (huffpost.com). With the tension in Western states regarding the migration of Mexicans into the states, laws concerning the use regulation of

While marijuana was not actually outlawed until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 it was a part of the country and society since before the arrival of its current transplanted inhabitants. Hemp is the name of a species of Cannabis that has been used throughout history for many things including rope, clothing, medicine, oils and other such novelties. Marijuana and hemp are both of the species Cannabis Sativa and occur naturally along with a score of other variations of the plant. Marijuana is simply a form of hemp that is higher in delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s naturally occurring psychoactive chemical. Today we hear many nicknames for marijuana including: weed, pot, budda, grass, and bud to name a few. Marijuana has long been used by the indigenous peoples of North and South America for many things, from medical to religious purposes. Of course a select few Europeans exploited narcotics and different types of marijuana. However, in Europe it was not a widespread phenomenon, and neither was it from the time of colonization or even industrialization in America. It was not until the era of the 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution, known as prohibition, that marijuana became a widely used substance in the U.S..

Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While

One of the first things about marijuana history that the American public still doesn 't understand is that cannabis, was once very legal to grow in the United States. In fact, up until 1883 it was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world, including America.(The Union) But it wasn’t grown for the psychoactive plant cannabis sativa. Cannabis hemp, which carries a fraction of the amount of THC, (the compound in marijuana that attributes to the high feeling) was and is used all over the world, producing the overall majority of Earth’s fiber, fabric, paper, and medicines.(Herer,20) Hemp has a deep American History as well, from the gardens of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to the 8,327 American hemp plantations counted in the 1850 census.(Herer,15) Yet the Federal government now recognizes cannabis as a Schedule I drug with no medical value, and 23 States have legalized cannabis for medicinal use. (The Union) Even though some western states such as Oregon and Colorado are making legal changes to marijuana policy at the state level, the most beneficial marijuana law we could pass is and always has been the Nationwide legalization of industrial Cannabis Hemp.

The fight to legalize marijuana has been waged for decades and it’s about time that we find a resolution. I’m not a supporter of marijuana, I detest the culture associated with the drug and have no interest in consumption of the drug. But the effects of enforcing laws outlawing marijuana have done more harm than good in the US. The United States imprisons too many minorities due to minor drug infractions, the costs of enforcing these laws are too high, and the government is missing out on tax opportunities due to the current drug laws.

Marijuana became a problem in America from 1913 to the late 1930s. California was the first state to ban marijuana in 1913, and Utah outlawed marijuana in 1914. From 1915 to 1937 it was banned by 30 states, in the southwestern states it was outlawed because of racial prejudice against the mexicans who used it. In other states they thought that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and lead to heroin addiction. Marijuana also became illegal because of Henry Hearst, he invested in the timber industry to support his newspaper business and he did not want hemp as a competitor. Another man was also trying to get marijuana banned, he was the director of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger. He saw a business opportunity, like many other corrupt

In that same year, Congress heard testimony asserting the same notion from the Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Examining Board of Pennsylvania, Dr. Christopher Koch. Dr. Koch warned about “Chinks” who keep white women as their “concubines” in their opium dens. In addition, he said, “The colored people seem to have a weakness for it (cocaine)…It produces a kind of temporary insanity. They would just as leave rape a woman as anything else, and a great many of the Southern rape cases have been traced to cocaine.” Whereas, just minutes later in his testimony he rationalized that white professionals “take morphine to quiet them, and they take cocaine to brace them up.”

The history of marijuana is quite interesting. Marijuana has gone from being an important crop of the early settlers, to being outlawed in many countries, including the United States. To better understand marijuana, I will trace it back to its origins, and explain how marijuana was used in the beginning. I will then take a closer look at the history of marijuana in the United States and how this plant has evolved over the years. An interesting fact that one should ponder is that ?in 1762 Virginia imposed penalties on those who did not produce it [marijuana]? (Sloman 21). This is quite a contrast to how marijuana is treated today. If one is caught growing, selling, or even using marijuana, there is consequences

Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.