INDEX

History of Weed in the US

When weed was legal all around, the plant was used for a number of purposes. Even medical practitioners used it to provide pain relief to patients. There were many researches conducted during the 19th century that prompted the British and the US to undertake a stand on its legalization. During the International Opium Convention in 1928, America too sent its delegates to attend the meeting. Here, they were introduced to several testimonies that proved that marijuana made people go insane, commit murder, and even die due to overdose. This made the United States stop all export of Indian hemp to any country. This agreement led to a fall of the production of weed in the US. During the same period, during the revolution in Mexico in 1910, there was an increase in the influx of Mexicans. It was seen that many Mexicans smoked marijuana and brought along the plant to America. Thus, California passed the first state law that banned 'preparation of hemp, or loco weed'. Soon, other states followed suit, and passed the marijuana prohibition law. These states included Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). With many other factors playing a role, the Roosevelt administration signed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937. Under this law, any person who sold the drug had to pay a tax. If the tax was not paid, he had to pay a hefty fine, and even serve prison time. But, the US government did not want the tax money, and simply made weed illegal in America.

Reasons Behind Weed Being Illegal

The first reason that lead to making weed illegal in the US was its classification as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. This was because, it was perceived that once a person uses marijuana regularly, he turns into a 'pothead' that is addicted to the drug. The second reason was that, there were no accepted medical uses of marijuana. The benefits of medical use, as claimed by people for weed legalization, had not been accepted on a national level. Weed has been linked with narcotics like heroin and morphine, and therefore, thought as a 'gateway drug'. Many hippies and other social outcast have been known to use marijuana. This led to making marijuana illegal, as these people were thought to have a criminal streak. Marijuana has been associated with increasing insane behavior. Also, people who advocated weed legalization did not present a stronger case to change the laws. Nevertheless, in recent times, weed has been legalized on various levels in different states in the US. Some states allow its use for medicinal purposes only, while others also allow certain amounts for recreational use, while the rest consider it illegal.

State-wise Laws

Interesting Facts

• The first woven fabric produced around 7000 - 8000 BC was believed to be woven from dried hemp weed.
• The Chinese used hemp seeds as food around 6000 BC. They even used it as a medicine to treat many health problems.
• The Scythians, in 1500 BC, cultivated weed for weaving cloth, and left cannabis seeds as offerings to the royal tombs.
• In the Hindu sacred text Atharva-Veda, cannabis has been named as one of the five sacred plants of India. It is used as an offering to Lord Shiva.
• Around 500 BC, the euphoric properties of hemp plant was mentioned even in the Jewish Talmud.
• Cannabis sativa was brought to America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
• President George Washington was known to grow hemp as his primary crop in 1797 at Mount Vernon. Hemp was grown as a secondary crop by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
• Britain banned the recreational use of marijuana in 1928.
• The short-term effects of marijuana include memory loss, learning problems, distorted perception of sound, touch, and time, loss of motor coordination, increased heart rate, anxiety, and dry mouth and throat.
• As of now, only Colorado and Washington have legalized the drug for recreational use.