The History of Cannabis

During the 1800s, cannabis and its extracts made up over 50% of medicine across the USA and Europe. Cannabis Indica was primarily used for medical purposes as it was known also for its relaxing and calming effect. Moving into the 1900s and cannabis was the third leading active ingredient behind alcohol and opiates as patent medicines for sale in America. It was a common ingredient in medicines, found in almost every pharmacy and medical clinic until 1937 when the plant was outlawed by the Marijuana tax Act despite later objections from the American Medical Association. It all started with a smear campaign by the paper industry led by William Randal Hurst which was supported by the pharmaceutical industry that eventually led to its demise as a health food, medicine and textile. The derogatory word marijuana was used instead of cannabis, a devil plant from mexico that was making the American population crazy and high. This lead to the ban of ‘marijuana’ which managed to fly under the radar of the medical profession who never appealed the ban as they didn’t realise it was actually cannabis that was being made illegal.