Ready for a quick history lesson? Let’s talk THC.
The first recorded usage of cannabis dates back thousands of years, first in Asia, then Africa, Europe, and lastly in the Americas. While ancient cultures utilized the plant for medicinal purposes, the history of cannabis cultivation in the United States dates back centuries, to the 1600s. During this time, hemp was grown to produce textiles. Fun fact: both Benjamin Franklin and George Washington grew hemp!
In the early 1900s, immigrants from Mexico seeking respite from the Mexican Revolution brought recreational marijuana to the US.
Political and racial factors such as the Great Depression and a changing opinion of immigrants quickly induced fears and paranoia about the “evils of weed,” resulting in cannabis being outlawed in 29 states by 1931.
In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act criminalized marijuana nationwide. This act imposed a tax on the sale, possession, and transfer of hemp products, criminalizing non-industrial use of cannabis.
Enter Richard Nixon and the (failed) “War on Drugs” a few decades later. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act was signed, repealing the Marijuana Tax Act and listing marijuana as a Schedule I drug – grouping it with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.
Further misrepresenting cannabis, marijuana was targeted in anti-drug programs like D.A.R.E and labeled a “gateway drug” -- 90s kids know.
Breaking free of cannabis stereotypes, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in 1996, followed by Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and 37 additional U.S. states.
The 2018 Farm Bill allowing the sale of hemp containing under 0.3% Delta-9 THC marked a long-overdue step in the right direction of cannabis legalization.
As of January 2024, recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states and Guam – hemp-derived Delta-9 THC is available in 48 states.