By Nicanor Gordon
Cannabis has a long and colorful history. It has had a near-global reach, with many cultures incorporating it into their religious and medicinal practices. Today, it is often used at the center of many political disagreements.
Cannabis is Older Than Jesus!
The history of cannabis dates back to almost 3000 B.C..
Ancient Asian cultures used it to treat a medley of maladies, and would also use hemp to create fibers. The fibers were woven into many different forms, like bags for carrying crops or clothing. These cultures were also aware of cannabis’ psychoactive properties. Evidence has been unearthed that cannabis was regularly ingested.
Thanks for the Name
Marijuana is the most famous (or infamous) species of cannabis. Ancient cultures did not call the hallucinogenic poster boy, marijuana. That name is far more contemporary. The word ‘Marijuana’ is of Mexican origin. During the Mexican Revolution of 1910, many Mexicans fled across the border into the US, to escape the ongoing violence. Some of them packed some marijuana and thankfully gave us a better name than reefer.
The War on Drugs
Cannabis has been used for centuries by cultures around the world to treat anxiety and stress, and to also create materials for weaving bags, clothing, etc. So what’s happened since to give cannabis such a bad rap? The answer, politics. In the early 70s, President Nixon enacted The Controlled Substances Act. It classified cannabis, specifically marijuana, as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule one drugs were defined as substances with little to no medicinal benefits and had addictive qualities. This was a part of Nixon’s bid to get re-elected… The best way to silence anti-war protestors was to vilify their drug of choice.
There are many more facts about cannabis, with new ones discovered every year. We’re pretty sure that there are some exciting times for cannabis ahead.
