A Brief History of Cannabis

Cannabis has certainly gained popularity over the past few years, but the fact is cannabis has been a popular go-to for humans for a very long time. Thanks to its textile and medicinal applications, it has been a source of rope, clothing, sails, pain relief and food dating back more than ten thousand years.

Believed to have originated in Asia, historians have also found proof of its popularity in the Middle East, Egypt and Europe dating back four or five thousand years.

It wasn’t until the last few centuries that cannabis finally migrated to South America in the 19th century, reaching North America through Mexico soon afterwards.

Cannabis cultivation in America dates back to the early colonists, who grew hemp for textiles and rope. The fact that it was a fast-growing plant that was relatively easy to cultivate made it a great fit for a variety of uses, and by the late 1800s, cannabis extracts were being sold across the United States as a treatment for stomach problems and a variety of other ailments.

Cannabis wasn’t used recreationally until the early 1900s; introduced by Mexicans that immigrated during the Mexican Revolution. A few decades later, devastating unemployment and disturbing social unrest going into the 1930s led to increased resentment and fear towards the dangers of ‘marijuana’.

As a result, during a time when prohibition was already a popular trend, 29 states outlawed the cannabis plant by 1931.

A few decades later, due to the “War on Drugs” as well as a variety of political and racial factors, President Richard Nixon introduced the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, classing all forms of cannabis (marijuana) as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin, ecstasy and LSD.

For the next 30-plus years, cannabis sales was reserved to the black market and those who purchased it were treated (and often convicted) as criminals, druggies and generally not “good” people.

However, the benefits that come from cannabis were not forgotten and many legitimate medical and scientific professionals continued to study and publish the truth about the positive effects both THC and CBD can have on a wide variety of negative mental, physical and emotional symptoms suffered by millions of people around the world.

In the 21st century, North America, and a lot of countries around the world, are starting to view cannabis differently.

Instead of viewing it as a plant to be feared or to stifle, it is being viewed as the best-fit answer to a number of unanswered needs across medical, recreational and textile industries alike.