Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Legal Medical Marijuana

The History of Medical Marijuana

As early as 2737 B.C., the mystical Emperor Shen Neng of China was prescribing marijuana tea for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, malaria and, oddly enough, poor memory. The drug's popularity as a medicine spread throughout Asia, the Middle East and down the eastern coast of Africa, and certain Hindu sects in India used marijuana for religious purposes and stress relief. Ancient physicians prescribed marijuana for everything from pain relief to earache to childbirth. Doctors also warned against overuse of marijuana, believing that too much consumption caused impotence, blindness and "seeing devils."

By the late 18th century, early editions of American medical journals recommend hemp seeds and roots for the treatment of inflamed skin, incontinence and venereal disease. Irish doctor William O'Shaughnessy first popularized marijuana's medical use in England and America. As a physician with the British East India Company, he found marijuana eased the pain of rheumatism and was helpful against discomfort and nausea in cases of rabies, cholera and tetanus.

The sea of change in American attitudes toward pot came at the end of the 19th century, when between 2% and 5% of the U.S. population was unknowingly addicted to morphine, a popular secret ingredient in patent medicines with colorful names like "The People's Healing Liniment for Man or Beast" and "Dr. Fenner's Golden Relief." To prevent more of the country from being washed over with a morphine-induced golden relief, the government introduced the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, creating the Food and Drug Administration. While it didn't apply to marijuana and merely brought the distribution of opium and morphine under doctors' control, the regulation of chemical substances was a major shift in American drug policy.

It wasn't until 1914 that drug use was defined as a crime, under the Harrison Act. To get around states' rights issues, the act used a tax to regulate opium- and coca-derived drugs: it levied a tax on nonmedical uses of the drugs that was much higher than the cost of the drugs themselves, and punished anyone using the drugs without paying the tax. By 1937, 23 states had outlawed marijuana: some to stop former morphine addicts from taking up a new drug, and some as a backlash against newly arrived Mexican immigrants, some of whom brought the drug with them. Also in 1937, the Federal Government passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which made nonmedical use of marijuana illegal. Only the birdseed industry, which argued that hemp seeds gave birds' feathers a particularly shiny gloss, was exempted, and to this day birdseed producers are allowed to use imported hemp seeds treated so they don't sprout.

With an exception during World War II, when the government planted huge hemp crops to supply naval rope needs and make up for Asian hemp supplies controlled by the Japanese, marijuana was criminalized and harsher penalties were applied. In the 1950s Congress passed the Boggs Act and the Narcotics Control Act, which laid down mandatory sentences for drug offenders, including marijuana possessors and distributors.

Despite an easing of marijuana laws in the 1970s, the Reagan Administration's get-tough drug policies the following decade applied to marijuana as well. Still, the long-term trend has been toward relaxation. Since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, a dozen states have followed. Critics say the legalization of medical marijuana has sparked an underground pot culture in states that sanction its use — Los Angeles County district attorney Steve Cooley has estimated that there are about 1,000 illegally operated marijuana shops in that city alone. And although the Justice Department's newly unveiled policy will keep authorities from cracking down on those with legitimate marijuana prescriptions, all other smokers still run the risk of prosecution.

Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.

Marijuana's scientific path of discovery and studying Marijuana was interrupted in 1937 by the now FDA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937) When it was deemed to be a deficit to society by a few with a lot of political power such as Harry Anslinger, William Randolph Hurst (http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mj004.htm) (who used his newspapers to crusade against marijuana associating it with violent crimes and blacks perpetrating race crimes against whites he spread false information to gain public support) collectively with a few politicians they were able to convince the public that Marijuana was dangerous and needed to be outlawed. Harry Anslinger kept up his aggressive war against marijuana until he was relieved of his duties by John F Kennedy in 1960 for his approach to marijuana that wasn't based in fact but opinion. Some argued that it was a drug that caused violence and racial hate crimes and others argued that it was a Russian ploy to make us complacent so they could invade without any resistance.

In the end all of these people were patriots that believed that they were preserving the American dream for their country and their community but the foundation for making up their beliefs wasn't based in fact nor was it scientifically proven. Ultimately this was a gross injustice to Marijuana as a medical application it squelched science's ability to study and analyze so we don't understand as much as we should. There have been several documented cases of scientists doing independent studies and reporting their findings to congress but the findings were either disregarded as with Harry Anslinger or simply never funded with financial support to continue studies. Part of the recent emergence of states acknowledgement of a medicinal purpose for Marijuana has allowed it to become part of the natural discovery process that scientists do in labs vs. individuals who believe in the benefits.

The History of Marijuana

6000 B.C.: Cannabis seeds used for food in China.

4000 B.C.: Textiles made of hemp are used in China. Remains have been found of hemp fibers from this period and from Turkestan a century later.

2727 B.C.: First recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia. In every part of the world humankind has used cannabis for a wide variety of health problems.

1500 B.C.: Cannabis cultivated in China for food and fiber.

1500 B.C.: Scythians cultivate cannabis and use it to weave fine hemp cloth. (Sumach 1975)

1200 - 800 BCE: Bhang (dried cannabis leaves, seeds and stems) is mentioned in the Hindu sacred text Atharva veda (Science of Charms) as "Sacred Grass", one of the five sacred plants of India. It is used by medicinally and ritually as an offering to Shiva.

700 - 600 BCE: The Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta, an ancient Persian religious text of several hundred volumes, and said to have been written by Zarathustra (Zoroaster), refers to bhang as Zoroaster's "good narcotic" (Vendidad or The Law Against Demons)

700 - 300 BCE: Scythian tribes leave Cannabis seeds as offerings in royal tombs.

500 B.C.: Scythian couple die and are buried with two small tents covering censers. Attached to one tent stick was a decorated leather pouch containing wild Cannabis seeds. This closely matches the stories told by Herodotus. The gravesite, discovered in the late 1940s, was in Pazryk, northwest of the Tien Shan Mountains in modern-day Khazakstan.

500 B.C.: Hemp is introduced into Northern Europe by the Scythians. An urn containing leaves and seeds of the Cannabis plant, unearthed near Berlin, is dated to about this time.

500 - 100 BCE: Hemp spreads throughout northern Europe.

430 B.C.: Herodotus reports on both ritual and recreation use of Cannabis by the Scythians (Herodotus The Histories 430 B.C. trans. G. Rawlinson).

100 - 0 BCE: The psychotropic properties of Cannabis are mentioned in the newly compiled herbal Pen Ts'ao Ching which is attributed to an emperor c. 2700 B.C.

0 - 100 A.D.: Construction of Samartian gold and glass paste stash box for storing hashish, coriander, or salt, buried in Siberian tomb.

70: Dioscorides mentions the use of Cannabis as a Roman medicament.

170: Galen (Roman) alludes to the psychoactivity of Cannabis seed confections.

500 - 600: The Jewish Talmud mentions the euphoriant properties of Cannabis. (Abel 1980)

900 - 1000: Scholars debate the pros and cons of eating hashish. Use spreads throughout Arabia.

1090 - 1256: In Khorasan, Persia, Hasan ibn al-Sabbah, the Old Man of the Mountain, recruits followers to commit assassinations...legends develop around their supposed use of hashish. These legends are some of the earliest written tales of the discovery of the inebriating powers of Cannabis and the supposed use of Hashish. 1256 Alamut falls

Early 12th Century: Hashish smoking very popular throughout the Middle East.

12th Century: Cannabis is introduced in Egypt during the reign of the Ayyubid dynasty on the occasion of the flooding of Egypt by mystic devotees coming from Syria. (M.K. Hussein 1957 - Soueif 1972)

1155 - 1221: Persian legend of the Sufi master Sheik Haidar's of Khorasan's personal discovery of Cannabis and it's subsequent spread to Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt and Syria. Another of the ealiest written narratives of the use of Cannabis as an inebriant.

13th Century: The oldest monograph on hashish, Zahr al-'arish fi tahrim al-hashish, was written. It has since been lost.

13th Century: Ibn al-Baytar of Spain provides a description of psychaoctive Cannabis.

13th Century: Arab traders bring Cannabis to the Mozambique coast of Africa.

1231: Hashish introduced to Iraq in the reign of Caliph Mustansir (Rosenthal 1971)

1271 - 1295: Journeys of Marco Polo in which he gives second-hand reports of the story of Hasan ibn al-Sabbah and his "assassins" using hashish. First time reports of Cannabis have been brought to the attention of Europe.

1378: Ottoman Emir Soudoun Scheikhouni issues one of the first edicts against the eating of hashish.

1526: Babur Nama, first emperor and founder of Mughal Empire learned of hashish in Afghanistan.

1549: Angolan slaves brought cannabis with them to the sugar plantations of northeastern Brazil. They were permitted to plant their cannabis between rows of cane, and to smoke it between harvests.

Mid 16th Century: The epic poem, Benk u Bode, by the poet Mohammed Ebn Soleiman Foruli of Baghdad, deals allegorically with a dialectical battle between wine and hashish.

17th Century: Use of hashish, alcohol, and opium spreads among the population of occupied Constantinople

1606-1632: French and British cultivate Cannabis for hemp at their colonies in Port Royal (1606), Virginia (1611), and Plymouth (1632).

Late 17th Century: Hashish becomes a major trade item between Central Asia and South Asia.

1798: Napoleon discovers that much of the Egyptian lower class habitually uses hashish (Kimmens 1977). He declares a total prohibition. Soldiers returning to France bring the tradition with them.

19th Century: Hashish production expands from Russian Turkestan into Yarkand in Chinese Turkestan.

1809: Antoine Sylvestre de Sacy, a leading Arabist, reveals the etymology of the words "assassin" and "hashishin"

1840: In America, medicinal preparations with a Cannabis base are available. Hashish available in Persian pharmacies.

1840s: Heydey of the Club des Hachichins in Paris.

1843: Le Club des Hachichins, or Hashish Eater's Club, established in Paris. after 1850 Hashish appears in Greece.

1856: British tax ganja and charas trade in India.

1870 - 1880: First reports of hashish smoking on Greek mainland. c. 1875 Cultivation for hashish introduced to Greece.

1877: Kerr reports on Indian ganja and charas trade.

1890: Greek Department of Interior prohibits importance, cultivation and use of hashish.

1890: Hashish made illegal in Turkey.

1893 - 1894: The India Hemp Drugs Commission Report is issued.

1893 - 1894: 70,000 to 80,000 kg of hashish legally imported into India from Central Asia each year.

1906: Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the labelling of products containing Alcohol, Opiates, Cocaine, and Cannabis, among others. The law went into effect Jan 1, 1907

Early 20th Century: Hashish smoking very popular throughout the Middle East.

1915 - 1927: Cannabis begins to be prohibited for nonmedical use in the U.S., especially in SW states...California (1915), Texas (1919), Louisiana (1924), and New York (1927).

1920: Metaxus dictators in Greece crack down on hashish smoking.

1920s: Hashish smuggled into Egypt from Greece, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Central Asia.

1926: Lebanese hashish production peaks after World War I until prohibited in 1926.

1928: Recrational use of Cannabis is banned in Britain.

1920s - 1930s: High-quality hashish produced in Turkey near Greek border.

1930: Yarkand region of Chinese Turkestan exports 91,471 kg of hashish legally into the Northwest Frontier and Punjab regions of India.

1930s: Legal taxed imports of hashish continue into India from Central Asia.

1934 - 1935: Chinese government moves to end all Cannabis cultivation in Yarkand and charas traffic from Yarkand. Both licit and illicit hashish production become illegal in Chinese Turkestan.

1936: Propaganda film "Reefer Madness" made to scare American youth away from using Cannabis.

1937: Cannabis made federally illegal in the U.S. with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act.

1938: Supply of hashish from chinese Turkestan nearly ceases.

1940s: Greek hashish smoking tradition fades.

1941: Indian government considers cultivation in Kashmir to fill void of hashish from Chinese Turkestan.

1941 - 1942: Hand-rubbed charas from Nepal is choicest hashish in India during World War II.

1945: Legal hashish consumption continues in India.

1945 - 1955: Hashish use in Greece flourishes again.

1950s: Hashish still smuggled into India from Chinese Central Asia.

1950s: Moroccan government tacitly allows kif cultivation in Rif Mountains.

1962: First hashish made in Morocco.

1963: Turkish police seize 2.5 tons of hashish.

1965: First reports of C. afghanica use for hashish production in northern Afghanistan.

1965: Mustafa comes to Ketama in Morocco to make hashish from local kif.

1966: The Moroccan government attempts to purge kif growers from Rif Mountains.

1967: "Smash", the first hashish oil appears. Red Lebanese reaches California.

Late 1960s - Early 1970s: The Brotherhood popularizes Afghani hashish.

1970 - 1973: Huge fields of Cannabis cultivated for hashish production in Afghanistan. Last years that truly great afghani hashish is available.

1972: The Nixon-appointed Shafer Commission urged use of cannabis be re-legalized, but their recommendation was ignored. Medical research continues.

Early 1970s: Lebanese red and blonde hashish of very high-quality exported. The highest quality Turkish hashish from Gaziantep near Syria appears in western Europe.

Early 1970s: Afghani hashish varieties introduced to North America for sinsemilla production. Westerners bring metal sieve cloths to Afghanistan. Law enforcement efforts against hashish begin in Afghanistan.

1973: Nepal bans the Cannabis shops and charas (hand-rolled hash) export.

1973: Afghan government makes hashish production and sales illegal. Afghani harvest is pitifully small.

1975: FDA establishes Compassionate Use program for medical marijuana.

1976 - 1977: Quality of Lebanese hashish reaches zenith.

1978: Westerners make sieved hashish in Nepal from wild Cannabis.

Late 1970s: Increasing manufacture of "modern" Afghani hashish. Cannabis varieties from Afghanistan imported into Kashmir for sieved hashish production.

1980s: Morocco becomes one of, if not the largest, hashish producing and exporting nations.

1980s: "Border" hashish produced in northwestern Pakistan along the Afghan border to avoid Soviet-Afghan war.

Early 1980s: Quality of Lebanese hashish declines.

1983 - 1984: Small amounts of the last high-quality Turkish hashish appear.

1985: Hashish still produced by Muslims of Kashgar and Yarkland (NW China).

1986: Most private stashes of pre-war Afghani hashish in Amsterdam, Goa, and America are nearly finished.

May 13, 1986: Dronabinol is placed into Schedule II by the DEA.

1987: Moroccan government cracks down upon Cannabis cultivation in lower eleations of Rif Mountains.

1988: DEA administrative law Judge Francis Young finds after thorough hearings that marijuana has clearly established medical use and should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug. His recommendation is ignored.

1993: Cannabis eradication efforts resume in Morocco.

1994: Heavy fighting between rival Muslim clans continues to upset hashish trade in Afghanistan.

1994: Border hashish still produced in Pakistan.

1995: Introduction of hashish-making equipment and appearance of locally produced hashish in Amsterdam coffee shops.

1996: California's Compassionate Act is passed.

1997: American Medical Association lobbies US Institute of Health to research the medical utility of Marijuana.

1998: Alaska legalizes Medical Marijuana.

1999: Maine legalizes Medical Marijuana.

November 2000: Colorado's ammendment 20 was passed allowing the use and distribution of Medical Marijuana.

2001: Britain's Home Secretary, David Blunkett, proposes relaxing the classification of cannabis from a class B to class C. As of June 10, 2002, this has not taken effect.

2002: British Government reduces penalties for marijuana charges.

June 2003: Canada is first country in the world to offer medical marijuana to its patients.
Special thanks to Erowid for previous portion of the Timeline

2004: Vermont passes Medical Marijuana into law.

2005: Supreme court ruling about prosecution of Medical Marijuana.

2006: Rhode Island legalizes Medical Marijuana.

2007: New Mexico legalizes Medical Marijuana.

2008: Michigan legalizes Medical Marijuana.

2009: Federal authority to prosecute Medical Marijuana is loosened.

2010: Norml is lobbying the federal government to re-start clinical testing of marijuana.