Prohibition will work great
injury to the cause of
temperance. It is a species
of intemperance within
itself, for it goes beyond
the bounds of reason in that
it attempts to control a
man's appetite by
legislation, and makes a
crime out of things that are
not crimes. A Prohibition
law strikes a blow at the
very principles upon which
our government was founded.
Abe Lincoln
Henry Ford & Rudolf Diesel Against Petroleum Part 1 & 2
Henry Ford Biomass vs
Fossil Fuels
Harry Anslinger Quotes:
Harry Anslinger, Testimony
to Congress, 1937
”There
are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes,
Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and
swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white
women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any
others.”
Other Anslinger Quotes:
"Reefer makes darkies
think they are as good as a White Man"
"The primary reason to make marijuana illegal is its effect on
degenerate races"
"Marijuana is the
most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.” “Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users
insanity, criminality, and death.”
10,000 BC to 1-BC
10,000 BC
Cannabis Hemp has been grown for at least the last 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food.
8,000 BC
Earliest Known Use of Cannabis in China and Taiwan. Prehistoric evidence of people using the cannabis plant for fiber
5500 BC
Earliest known depiction of cannabis hemp in existence from Kyushu Island, Japan
4500 BC
China: Hemp is used for rope and fishnets
6000 BC
Cannabis seeds used as food in China.
3500 BC
The Egyptians use hemp rope and scaffolding to construct pyramids over 5,000 years ago, perhaps with alien help.
2737 BC
Pharmacopoeia of Shen Neng, the first recorded use of cannabis for medical use. Shen Neng prescribed marijuana tea for the treatment of ailments and is referred to as a "superior" herb.
2700 BC
A Shaman is buried with cannabis in the Gobi Desert. Argued to be the earliest proof of cannabis for psychoactive use.
2000 BC
In
Egypt, cannabis
is used to treat
sore eyes.
1972 National
Commission on
Marihuana and
Drug Abuse -
Appendix,
Chapter One,
Part I
1600 BC
Medical marijuana referenced in Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and Roman Writings. According to the Hebrew University
1500 BC
Scythians cultivation of cannabis. They invent the scythe for harvesting cannabis.
1450 BC
God gives Moses instructions on making the Holy Anointing Oil Exodus 30:23 containing 6 pounds of cannabis
1400 BC
Cultural and religious use of cannabis, and charas or hashish used by Hindus in India
1200 BC
Hindu sacred text Arthava-Veda names Cannabis "Sacred Grass" one of the five sacred plants of India.
Cannabis is used medicinally and ritually as an offering to Shiva in India.
1000 BC
Bhang, a
cannabis
preparation (a
drink, generally
mixed with milk)
is used in India
to treat a wide
variety of human
illnesses.
700 BC
A 2,700-year-old man buried with 2 pounds of Sincemilia marijuana stash. Discovered 2011 in Turpan, China.
Scythian tribes leave cannabis seeds as offerings in royal tombs.
621 BC
Cannabis suppressed in the Hebrew temples under King Josiah
600 BC
Zoroaster, the Persian prophet, lists cannabis is #1 of 10,000 medicinal plants in his book Zend-Avesta.
Zend-Avesta speaks of cannabis having intoxicating resin.
Zarathustra, refers to bhang as "good narcotic" (Vendidad or The Law Against Demons)
500 BC
Gautama Buddha said to have survived by eating hempseed and rice.
Assyrians and the Babylonians, using Cannabis in their temple incense
Scythians spread cannabis through Europe
400 BC
Evidence of cannabis smoking in Mongolia
450 BC
Herodotus records Scythians and Thracians as consuming cannabis and making fine linens of hemp.
Herodotus reports on both ritual and recreation use of Cannabis by the Scythians
Herodotus
describes the Scythians
of central Asia throwing
hemp onto heated stones
under canvas: 'as it
burns, it smokes like
incense and the smell of
it makes them drunk'.
300 B.C.
Carthage and Rome struggle for political and commercial power over hemp and spice trade routes
100 BC
Chinese make paper from hemp
1-BC to 1000 AD
45 AD
St Mark establishes the
Ethiopian Coptic Church.
Some claim that
marijuana as a sacrament
has a lineage descending
from the Essenes, who
are considered to be
responsible for the Dead
Sea Scrolls.
70 AD
Physician Penadius Dioscorides wrote about the medical properties of cannabis in "De Materia Medica".
80 AD
Cultivation of cannabis hemp becomes common in the Roman Empire
100 AD
Pliny reports of cannabis industrial uses and wrote a manual on it's cultivation
200 AD
A Chinese physician, Hoa-Tho, prescribes cannabis as an analgesic in surgical procedures.
400 AD
Cannabis cultivation reaches Britian
500 AD
First botanical drawings of cannabis
The Jewish Talmud mentions the euphoriant properties of Cannabis. (Abel 1980)
680 AD
Cannabis use spreads across the middle east with the expansion of Islamic faith.
800 AD
Mohammed allows cannabis but forbids the use of alcohol
1000 AD
The recreational use of hashish well documented in the Arabic world
1001 AD to 1799
1090 AD
Nizari Imaili sect of the Shiite schism of the Islamic religion was founded, later to be known as the Hashshashin.
1150 AD
Moslems start Europe's first paper mill using hemp. Paper is made from hemp for next 750 years, including Bibles.
1155 AD
Religious Cannabis used in Persia by Haydar, founder of the Sufi Hyderi sect. Haydar is buried in Cannabis leaves.
1200 AD
During the Crusades, the Hashshashin was attributed to hashish use – hashish got a bad reputation.
1256
The Hashshasin sect is broken up when Persia is conquered by the Mongols.
1271 AD
Marco Polo wrote about the Old Man of the Mountains in Persia. The story of the Hashshashin, (Assassins), known for their consumption of hashish and ruthless cruelty.
1378 AD
Ottoman Emir Soudoun Scheikhouni issues one of the first edicts against the eating of hashish.
1400 AD
Cannabis Hemp flowers used a folk medicine in Europe.
1456 AD
Johan Gutenberg prints the Bible on cannabis hemp paper.
1484 AD
Under Inquisitor Pope Innocent VIII Persecution of so called witches began in Europe. Cannabis was demonized as being used in witchcraft. Malleus Maleficarum ('The Witches Hammer') was used as a guide to inquisitors. Pope Innocent VIII labels cannabis as an "unholy sacrament of the Satanic mass" and issues a papal ban on cannabis medicines.
1492 AD
Cannabis first brought to North America by Columbus.
1533 AD
King Henry VIII issues a royal proclamation imposing a fine on farmers not using some of the land for hemp production. The navy required large amounts of hemp.
1549
Angolan slaves bring cannabis to the sugar plantations in Brazil.
1538 AD
English botanist William Turner praised cannabis hemp as a medicine in his book "New Herbal".
1554 AD
The Spanish grow hemp in Peru.
1563 AD
English Queen Elizabeth I requires land owners with over 60 acres to grow hemp or be fined 5 pounds.
1564 AD
King Philip of Spain orders hemp grown throughout his empire
1606
First experimental planting of hemp in Canada by Louis Herbert, founder of Quebec.
1619
1619: First law in America concerning Indian hemp (Cannabis indica). Growing cannabis becomes mandatory in Virginia requiring every farmer to grow hemp.
Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.
Explorers find "wilde hempe" in North America in 1619
1621
The book, "Anatomy of Melancholy", by
English clergyman Robert Burton claims cannabis is a treatment for depression.
1631
Hemp used as money throughout American colonies.
1637
Hartford Connecticut Court orders all families plant one teaspoon of cannabis seeds.
1718
Irish spinners and weavers arrive in Boston, and with spun hemp gave birth to the American textile industry.
1763
New English Dictionary says cannabis root applied to skin eases inflammation.
1770
Hashish becomes a major trade item between Central Asia and South Asia.
1776
Declaration of Independence drafted on hemp paper.
1783
Cannabis reclassified into two main species, sativa and indica, by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
1791
President Jefferson calls hemp a necessity and urges farmers to grow hemp instead of tobacco.
1794
George Washington writes, "Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"
1800 to 1900
1800
Cotton gins make cotton fiber cheaper than hemp.
1809
Hashish production expands from Russian Turkestan into Yarkand in Chinese Turkestan.
Antoine Sylvestre de Sacy, reveals the etymology of the words "assassin" and "hashishin"
1830’s
Rapid increase in hemp machinery production during this decade
1839
First modern English medical article on cannabis written by William O'Shaughnessy, while working in the service of the British in India
Homeopathy journal 'American Provers Union' publishes first report on effects of cannabis.
1840
Cannabis tinctures, medicinal preparations, and opium were available in most pharmacies in America
Work of
physicians
O’Shaughnessy,
Aubert-Roche,
and Moreau de
Tours draw wide
attention to
cannabis.
Abraham Lincoln on prohibition "Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control mans' appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our Government was founded"
1841
Dr. W.B. O'Shaughnessy, writes "On the Preparation of the Indian Hemp or Ganja" introduces cannabis to western science.
1842
O’Shaughnessy
reports that
tetanus could be
arrested and
cured when
treated with
extra large
doses of
cannabis.
Work of
physicians
O’Shaughnessy,
Aubert-Roche,
and Moreau de
Tours draw wide
attention to
cannabis.
1843
Le Club des Hachichins, or Hashish Eater's Club, established in Paris.
1854
"The US Dispensary
of 1854 lists
cannabis compounds
as suggested
remedies for a
multitude of medical
problems
1845
Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours documents physical and mental benefits of cannabis.
1847
Founding of AMA at Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (Founder is Nathan Davis)
1849
Chinese bring opium smoking to America with the California Gold Rush
1850
"Medical use of
cannabis
declines as
other
medications come
into wide use."
US census of
1850 records
8,327 cannabis
plantations of
over 2,000 acres
each.
1854
Bayard Taylor essay "Visions of Hashish".
1856
British tax ganja and charas trade in India.
1857
Fitz Hugh Ludlow publishes "The Hasheesh Eater" which made hashish to be considered more dangerous and addictive than opium.
Smith Brothers of Edinburgh market cannabis indica extracts.
John Bell, MD,
Boston, reports
on the effects
of cannabis in
control of
mental and
emotional
disorders
1858
Moreau de Tours reports several case histories of manic and depressive disorders treated with hashish.
1860
First governmental commission study of cannabis and hashish, The
Committee on Cannabis Indica
of the Ohio State Medical Society. It catalogues medical conditions for which cannabis is beneficial including: chronic bronchitis, muscular spasms, epilepsy, infantile convulsions, palsy, uterine hemorrhage, dysmenorrhea, hysteria, neuralgia, nervous rheumatism, mania, whooping cough, asthma, alcohol withdrawal and loss of appetite.
1865
The demand for hemp decreases. After the Civil war, cotton becomes more valuable as export
1868
The Emir of Egypt makes the possession of cannabis a capital offence.
The Pharmacy Act in the US declares pharmacists and chemists to be the overseers of drugs.
1869
A.C. Kimmens writes "Tales of Hashish"
1870
Cannabis listed in US Pharmacopoeia as a medicine.
1870
First reports of hashish smoking in Greece
South Africa passes a law forbidding the smoking, use or possession of cannabis hemp by Indian workers.
1876
Hashish served at American Centennial Exposition.
1877
Kerr reports on Indian ganja (Cannabis) and charas (Hashish) trade.
The Sultan of Turkey makes cannabis illegal
1883
Hashish smoking parlors become popular in every major U.S. city. In 1883 there are 500 such parlors in New York City alone.
1890
Greek Department of Interior prohibits importation, cultivation and use of hashish.
Hashish made illegal in Turkey.
1893
70,000 to 80,000 kg of hashish legally imported into India from Central Asia annually.
1893-1894
The India Hemp Drugs Commission issues a 3500 page report on cannabis. In summary cannabis produced virtually no evils, and if the governor wanted to restrict its use, the best way to do so would be by taxation.
The Commission reports the use of cannabis as an analgesic, a restorer of energy, a hemostat, an ecbolic, an anti-diarrhetic, as an aid in treating hay fever, cholera, dysentery, gonorrhea, diabetes, impotence, urinary incontinence, testicular swelling, and other ailments.
1895
First known use of the name "marijuana" for cannabis, by Pancho Villa's supporters in Sonora, Mexico.
1898
Sir William
Osler, professor
of medicine at
the Johns
Hopkins, stated
in his 1898
discussion of
migraine
headaches that
marijuana "is
probably the
most
satisfactory
remedy" for that
condition.
1900 - 1950
1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act required that certain special drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, morphine, and cannabis, be accurately labeled with contents and dosage.
1910
US is introduced to recreational use of cannabis. After the Mexican Revolution, Mexicans immigrating to the United States brought cannabis smoking with them and introduce the American public to recreational cannabis use.
African-American "reefer" use reported in Jazz Clubs in New Orleans, said to be influencing white people.
Newspaper tycoon Randolph Hearst has 800,000 acres of prime Mexican Timberland seized from him by Villa and his men.
Mexicans smoking marijuana in Texas.
1911
South Africa bans cannabis.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts becomes first state to ban cannabis in the United States
Hindus reported to be using ganja in San Francisco.
1912
Hague Conference; second international meeting on drugs. 46 nations discuss opium, morphine, cocaine, heroin and cannabis. Required parties to confine the manufacture, sale and use of opium, heroin, morphine and cocaine to medical and legitimate purposes. Cannabis is not included.
"Essay on Hasheesh" by Victor Rolson. Possibility of putting controls on hashish use raised.
First suggestions that cannabis should be banned internationally, at the First Opium Conference.
1914
The Harrison Narcotic Act prohibited possession of narcotics unless properly prescribed by a physician, in the US
1915
Utah & California outlaw cannabis
1916
Expansion of hemp to replace uses of timber by industry called for by USDA Bulletin 404
1919
Texas outlaws cannabis.
1920
Alcohol is prohibited throughout the USA, by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
DuPont experiments with petrochemicals.
1923
South African delegate at League of Nations calls for international controls on cannabis, claiming that it makes mine workers less active. Britain insists on further research.
Nevada, Oregon and Washington outlaw cannabis without a prescription.
Opium and Drug Act of 1923. Canada criminalized the use of marijuana as part of the , before the use of the drug had been reported in that country.
1924
Second International Opiates conference. Egyptian delegate claims serious problems are associated with hashish use and calls for immediate international controls. Sub-committee listens to Egypt and Turkey. Cannabis declared a narcotic.
Louisiana outlaws cannabis use without a prescription
Cannabis Ruderalis identified by Lamarck.
1925
International Opium Convention Bans the use of Indian hemp except for authorized medical and scientific purposes
1926
Lebanese hashish production prohibited in 1926.
1927
New York outlaws cannabis without a prescription.
Colorado and Montana outlaw marijuana without a prescription
1928
UK Dangerous Drugs Act becomes law and makes cannabis illegal.
1930
Creation of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) later to become the DEA. Harry J. Anslinger appointed the first Commissioner of the FBN and remained in that post until 1962.
Marijuana possession outlawed in Panama
CBD (Cannabidiol)in cannabis is identified
1930 Henry Ford makes his motor cars out of hemp with hemp paint and hemp fuel.
Louis Armstrong arrested in Los Angeles for possession of cannabis in 1930.
1931
Interest in hemp soared with Henry Ford's Hemp Car and of a new decorticator machine taking the amount of time to harvest an acre of hemp down to 1-1.5 hours. Hemp paper explored. New machines invented to break hemp, process the fibre and convert the pulp or hurds into paper, plastics etc.
1932
Uniform State Narcotic Act; Concern about the rising use of marijuana creates pressure on the federal government to take action; the Federal Bureau of Narcotics encourages state governments to adopt the Uniform State Narcotic Act.
1933
Alcohol was re-legalized, and emphasis switched from alcohol to drug use.
Thirty three states have cannabis laws in place, by 1933.
1934
Anslinger refers to "ginger-haired niggers" in FBI official circulars.
1934
Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act in due to the lack of restrictions in the Harrison Act of 1914.
Initially, only nine states adopted the uniform state statute.
1935
President Roosevelt pushes support for the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act in a message on Columbia radio network in March 1935. Many more states signed on to the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act as result.
Harry J. Anslinger of the FBN, launches a nationwide media campaign declaring that marijuana causes temporary insanity, crime, suicide, murder, death. The advertisements The propaganda campaign was a success for the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act as all states signed on
Chinese government moves to end all Cannabis cultivation and charas traffic in Yarkand
Hashish production become illegal in Chinese Turkestan.
1936
“Reefer Madness” is produced by French director, Louis Gasnier;
Marihuana (1936) AKA Marihuana: The Devil's Weed is produced
The Motion Pictures Association of America bans the showing of any narcotics in films.
The Conference for the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Dangerous Drugs. Addressed the criminality of trafficking.
William Randolph Hearst's newspaper empire fuels a tabloid journalism propaganda campaign against marijuana starting around 1936. Hearst run papers wrote articles about marijuana crazed Negroes raping white women and playing voodoo-satanic jazz music.
1937
forty-six of the forty-eight states as well as the District of Columbia had laws against marijuana.
Marijuana Tax Act. The Act levied a tax of roughly one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp, or marijuana. The Act was based on the Machine Gun Transfer Act which made it illegal to pass on machine guns without a government stamp - there being no such stamps available. By applying this strategy to marijuana, Anslinger was able to effectively ban hemp without contravening constitutional rights. Calls flowering cannabis tops a narcotic. Declared unconstitutional in 1969 in U.S. vs Timothy Leary.
DuPont files patents for nylon, plastics and a new bleaching process for paper.
1938
The February edition of
US magazine Popular
Mechanics (written
before the Marijuana
Transfer Tax was passed)
declares 'Hemp - the New
Billion Dollar Crop.'
1939 to 1945
World War II, or the Second World War lasting from 1939 to 1945
1939 AD : LaGuardia Report started
1941
Cannabis dropped from
the American
Pharmacopoeia.
Popular Mechanics Magazine reveal details of Henry Ford's plastic car made using Cannabis and fuelled from Cannabis. Henry Ford continued to illegally grow Cannabis for some years after the Federal ban, hoping to become independent of the petroleum industry.
1941 President Franklin Roosevelt signs an executive order that allow for emergency hemp production for industrial uses during War World II
1942
U.S. Department of Agriculture launched its Hemp for Victory program. It encouraging farmers to plant hemp, gave out seeds, and granting draft deferments to those who would stay home and grow hemp. The Film "Hemp for Victory" is produced in 1942 by the USDA. All American farmers were required to see the film, sign a paper saying that they had viewed the film, and read a booklet on the matter. After the war the USDA and Library of Congress denied the creation or existence of such a film but copies were in existance.
1943
By 1943 American farmers registered in the USDA program harvested 375,000 acres of hemp.
Medical products derived from cannabis were removed from the US Formulary and physicians could no longer prescribe it.
1944
La
Guardia
Report.
New York
Mayor
LaGuardia's
Marijuana
commission
reports
that
Cannabis
causes
no
violence
at all
and
cites
other
positive
results.
Anslinger responds by denouncing LaGuardia and threatens doctors with prison sentences if they dare carry out independent research on Cannabis.
1945
As soon as the war concluded, the Roosevelt administration re-banned industrial hemp production, stopped subsidizing its production and teaching farmers how to cultivate it.
Facing stiff federal penalties, industrial hemp farmers had to plow under their hemp crops and pharmacists had to have all cannabis-related medicines off of store shelves.
1945
Newsweek reports over 100,000 Americans use cannabis.
Legal hashish consumption continues in India
1945-1955 Hashish use in Greece flourishes again.
1948
Robert Mitchum arrested for cannabis.
1948 Anslinger now says cannabis users are peaceful and that cannabis could be used during a communist invasion, to weaken American will to fight.
1948 United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1949
The anti-cannabis propaganda film "Wild Weed" is produced (1949). Also known as "She Shoulda Said 'No'!". A chorus girl's career is ruined and her brother is driven to suicide when she starts smoking marijuana.
1950 - 2000
1951
UN Bulletin of Narcotic Drugs states over 200 million cannabis users in the world.
Congress passes the Boggs Act. Set mandatory sentences for drug-related offenses, including marijuana.
1955
Hemp farming outlawed again in US.
1956
Narcotics Control Act of 1956. The acts made a first time cannabis possession offense a minimum of two to ten years with a fine up to $20,000,
1961
The U.N. Treaty 406 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed. Seeks to to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. It Seeks to outlaw cannabis use and cannabis cultivation worldwide, and "eradicate cannabis smoking within 30 years." The US representative is Anslinger.
1962
President Kennedy sacks Anslinger. Kennedy using cannabis as a pain relief.
1963
Kennedy assassinated.
1964
Dr. Raphael Mechoulam of the University of Tel Aviv isolates THC Delta-9, the active ingredient in cannabis
Thelin Brothers open first US 'Head Shop'.
1965
Allen Ginsberg convenes one of the first organized public protests against Cannabis Prohibition laws The effort later became the California-based reform organization, Amorphia.
1967
Home of Rolling Stone,
Keith Richards is
busted, uncovered
marijuana. Richards and
Mick Jagger were
sentenced to prison for
respectively three
months and one year. The
convictions were quashed
on appeal.
3,000 people hold a
'smoke-in' in Hyde
Park..
Abbie Hoffman and the
Yippies mail out 3000
joints to addresses
chosen at random from
the phonebook.
SOMA Times Petition in the UK urges legalisation of cannabis. The Beatles sign it.
1968
Creation
of the
Bureau
of
Narcotics
and
Dangerous
Drugs.
This was
a merger
of FBN
and the
Bureau
of
Dangerous
Drugs of
the Food
and Drug
Administration.
UK
Government
Wootton
Report
recommends
cannabis
possession
should
not be
an
offence.
"Having
reviewed
all the
material
available
to us we
find
ourselves
in
agreement
with the
conclusion
reached
by the
Indian
Hemp
Drugs
Commission
appointed
by the
Government
of India
(1893-94)
and the
New York
Mayor's
Committee
(1944 -
LaGuardia)
that the
long-term
consumption
of
cannabis
in
moderate
doses
has no
harmful
effects."
Campaign
to stop
US
soldiers
in
Vietnam
from
taking
cannabis
- they
switch
to
heroin.
John Lennon arrested for cannabis possession.
1969
Amorphia is founded in Mill Valley, California. The group funds itself by selling popular rolling papers.
James Callaghan, UK Labour Prime Minister, rejects the findings of the Wootton Report.
George Harrison arrested for cannabis.
Appellate court challenges to the 1937 ‘Reefer Madness’ anti-cannabis laws force the federal government to create a Controlled Substances Act and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1970.
1970
United States Congress repealed mandatory penalties for cannabis offenses Narcotics Control Act of 1956.
Public
interest
attorney
R. Keith
Stroup
founds
the
National
Organization
for the
Reform
of
Marijuana
Laws
(NORML)
in
Washington,
D.C.
USA
Marijuana
Tax Act
declared
unconstitutional.
Oct 27 -
The
Comprehensive
Drug
Abuse
Prevention
and
Control
Act is
passed.
Part II
of this
is the
The
Controlled
Substances
Act
(CSA)
becomes
law. For
the
first
time
sets up
a
scheduling
system
for
illicit
and
licit
substances,
classifying
cannabis
as a
schedule
I
controlled
substance
with “a
high
potential
for
abuse
and
accepted
medical
use in
treatment
in the
United
States
and not
safe to
use
under
medical
supervision.
The CSA
called
for a
presidential
commission
to
convene
to
examine
cannabis
policy,
later to
be known
as the
Shafer
Commission.
Social
use of
cannabis
receives
widespread
acceptance
despite
illegality
Policy
of
decriminalization
sweeps
across
USA and
Britain.
LeDain Report (Canada) recommended that serious consideration be given to the legalization of personal possession of marijuana. It finds that cannabis use increases self-confidence, feelings of creativity and sensual awareness, facilitates concentration and self-acceptance, reduces tension, hostility and aggression and may produce psychological but not physical dependence. The report recommends that possession laws be repealed
1971
President Richard Nixon declares a “War on Drugs”.
First political pro-reform conference, the First People’s Pot Conference, convened by NORML in Washington, D.C.
UN Convention on Psychotopic Substances
1971 British Misuse of Drugs Act classifies cannabis as a Class B drug with stiff sentencing. This bans the medical use of cannabis, ignoring the Wootton Report.
1972
The Nixon-appointed Shafer Commission urged use of cannabis be re-legalized, but recommendation was ignored.
US President Richard Nixon says 'I am against legalising marijuana'.
Baan Commission presents report to Dutch Minister of Health and suggests that cannabis trade below a quarter of a kilo ought to be considered as a misdemeanor.
Amorphia merges into NORML.
NORML files first ever lawsuit to re-schedule cannabis for medical use, under the Controlled Substance Act, NORML vs. DEA.
The
Shafer
Commission
recommends
that
cannabis
should
be
decriminalized
for
personal
use; and
that
personal
cultivation
be
allowed
along
with
small
transfers
for no
profit
(Nixon
and US
Congress
reject
recommendations).
NORML
takes
the
Shafer
commission
findings
to all
fifty
states
encouraging
adoption
of state
decriminalization
laws.
1973
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is formed. The DEA is tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the U.S.
Nepal bans the Cannabis shops and charas (hand-rolled hash) export.
Afghan
government
makes
hashish
production
and
sales
illegal.
In 1973,
a
psychiatrist
who was
all for
the
legalization
of the
use of
marijuana
for
medical
purposes
was Tod
Mikuriya
MD. He
approved
marijuana
for
medical
purposes
for at
least
9,000
patients.
He
revived
the
studies
of
medical
marijuana
and
people
began to
look
deeper
into the
subject.
1973
Oregon
becomes
the
first
state to
pass
cannabis
decriminalization
legislation
UN
Convention
of
Psychotropic
Substances:
cannabis
is
declared
a
narcotic.
1974
Dr.
Heath
conducts
government-funded
Rhesus
monkey
study
at
Tulane
University,
touted
for
years
as
evidence
that
marijuana
causes
brain
damage.
US
Senate
report
on
Marijuana-Hashish
Epidemic
and
its
Impact
on
US
Security
claims
that
cannabis
use
cause
brain
damage,
a-motivation
and
genetic
and
reproductive
defects
Tom
Forcade
creates
the
magazine
High
Times.
1975
Hundreds of Doctors call
on US Government to
instigate further
research on Cannabis.
December 1, The Supreme Court ruled that it was "not cruel or unusual for Ohio to sentence someone to 20 years for having or selling cannabis.
Supreme
Court of Alaska declares
that 'right of privacy'
protects Cannabis
possession in the home.
Limit for public
possession is set at one
ounce.
Jamaica Studies reveal good health amongst prolific cannabis users. "No impairment of physiological, sensory and perceptual performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting ability, and cognitive style, and tests of memory."
FDA establishes Compassionate Use program for medical marijuana in 1975
NORML helps Robert Randall of Washington, D.C. become only legal medical cannabis patient in America at that time.
1976
The Ford Administration bans independent research and research by federal health programs on the use of natural cannabis derivatives for medicine.
Holland adopts tolerant attitude to cannabis and many coffee shops and youth centers allowed to sell cannabis.
USA New York Times (Jan 5) declares 'Scientists find nothing really harmful about pot'.
DuPont declares cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and calls for its decriminalization.
Robert Randal becomes first American to receive Cannabis from Federal supplies under a Investigational New Drug (IND) program.
President Jimmy Carter endorses the Shafer Commission’s findings and sends a statement to Congress on August 3 asking them to decriminalize cannabis possession in America for adults.
1977
President Carter thinks
cannabis should be
legalised.
The Australian (Baume Committee) recommends treating drug use as a social / medical rather than legal problem. Also that criminal sanction of possession of cannabis be replaced by fines while retaining penalties for possession of hashish, oil and purified THC.
The New South Wales Joint Parliamentary Committee upon Drugs recommends eliminating criminal sanctions for personal use of cannabis, implementing bond and probation penalties for first offenders and expunging records upon successful completion of these punishments. Also suggest retaining penalties for trafficking in cannabis.
1980
Paul McCartney arrested for cannabis and spends 10 days in prison in Japan.
Costa Rica study reports good health in cannabis users.
President Reagan is elected to the White House (along with his wife Nancy’s anti-cannabis crusade) and ends the era of decriminalization
Eleven states have decriminalized marijuana possession (AK, OR, CA, CO, NE, MN, MS, OH, NC, NY and ME).
1981
The Coptic Study claims 'No harm to human brain or intelligence' through cannabis use.
1982
An Analysis of Marijuana Policy, National Research Council of the National Academy of Science, concludes that prohibition is only preferable to a policy of complete prohibition of supply and use"
1983
The USA government (Reagan / Bush) orders American Universities to destroy all 1966-76 research work on cannabis.
In the UK over 20,000 convictions for possession.
1986
Anti-Drug Abuse Act - Mandatory Sentences: President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, instituting mandatory sentences for drug-related crimes.
A later
amendment
to the
Anti-Drug
Abuse
Act
established
a three
strikes
and
you're
out
policy,
requiring
life
sentences
for
repeat
drug
offenders
UK Drug
Trafficking
Offences
Act
introduced
to
enable
confiscation
of
assets
from
drug
dealers
1987 AD
The USA
Merck
Manual
of
Diagnosis
and
Therapy
says:
"Cannabis
can be
used on
an
episodic
but
continual
basis
without
evidence
of
social
or
psychic
dysfunction.
Moroccan government cracks down upon Cannabis cultivation in lower elevations of Rif Mountains
1988
1988 - DEA administrative law Judge finds after thorough hearings that marijuana has clearly established medical use and should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug.
September 6, 1988: DEA chief administrative judge, Francis Young, rules the US government should allow the medicinal use of cannabis. He says "Marijuana in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substance known to man".
DEA rejects Young Report. His recommendation is ignored.
The Reagan administration and Department of Justice appealed DEA administrative law judge Young’s ruling seeking to uphold a total ban on cannabis—even for sick, dying or sense-threatened medical patients whose physicians recommend cannabis as a safe and non-toxic therapeutic agent.
20 December : UN Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic and psychotropic substances, Vienna, includes cannabis
In the UK 23,229 people arrested for cannabis offences.
1989
President George Bush declares a renewed war on drugs in a nationally televised speech. Creates the Office of National Drug Control. Marijuana is one of the drugs targeted.
shops selling smoking apparatus outlawed.
Urine testing introduced.
Worldwide prohibition entices organised crime to take control of the cannabis market and make huge profits
Price - per - ounce cannabis worth more than gold.
Secretary of State James A Baker reports global war on narcotic production is 'clearly not being won'.
1989:
St. Louis Medical University determines that the human brain has receptor sites for THC to which no other known compounds will bind..
1989
"The AMA opposes legalization of the sale and possession of marijuana, and recommends that it be prohibited for public use and also supports the modification of state laws to reduce the severity of penalties for possession of marijuana. The AMA recommends that personal possession of insignificant amounts be considered a misdemeanor and advocates increased research into the effects of marijuana."
December
30,
1989:
Drug
Enforcement
Agency
Director
John
Lawn
orders
that
cannabis
remain
on
the
Schedule
One
narcotics
list,
reserved
for
drugs
which
have
no
known
medical
use.
1990
Jack Herer, in his book 'The Emperor Wears No Clothes' offers $10,000 reward to anyone who can disprove his assertion that hemp can 'save the planet'.
Alaska recriminalizes cannabis possession
USA voters pass regional measures to allow medicinal use of cannabis
1991
THC receptors found in the brain.
UK 40,000 people arrested for cannabis.
UK Judge Pickles advocates legalisation of drugs.
1992
US Investigational New Drug (IND) Program dropped.
January 22, California Research Advisory Panel reports that prohibition has a more harmful effect on society and the individual than illegal drugs themselves.
SA over 340,000 arrests for cannabis
UK Government issue licenses to grow cannabis for industrial uses or scientific research
USA President Clinton admits he smoked cannabis but did not inhale.
Australia licenses hemp farm.
Howard Marks admits that he smoked cannabis but never exhaled.
17 European Cities sign Frankfurt Charter agreeing to tolerate social use of cannabis.
USA Jim Montgomery, a paraplegic who smoked cannabis to relieve muscle spasm, busted for two ounces of marijuana in Oklahoma, arrested and sentenced to life plus 16 years.
1993
Britain eases restrictions on hemp farming. Hempcore is first British company to get a license.
Raymond Kendall, Head of Interpol, calls for decriminalisation of cannabis.
British Law Lord, Lord Woolf calls for legalisation of cannabis
German High Court in Kruhe rules that cannabis prohibition is unconstitutional.
British Home Secretary Michael Howard declares 'War on drugs' and increases maximum fine for possession of cannabis to £2,500.
Over 72,000 UK citizens arrested for cannabis offences
Canada permits a hemp farm in Ontario province
Cannabis eradication efforts resume in Morocco.
1994
California Governor Pete Wilson vetoes popularly passed medical cannabis from the state legislature.
Border hashish still produced in Pakistan.
NORML looses appeal NORML vs. DEA. the US District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of the Drug Enforcement Administration. NORML chooses not to appeal to US Supreme Court.
Germany becomes the first European country apart from Holland to decriminalize possession of 'small quantities of cannabis for occasional use'
Association of Cannabis Therapeutics talks to Department Of Health about possibility of Legalising Cannabis for Medical use.
Heavy fighting between rival Muslim clans continues to upset hashish trade in Afghanistan
1995
Holland lowers the amount one can possess without prosecution to 5 grams (from 30) as a result of powerful international pressures from neighboring countries.
UK Home secretary Michael Howard increases penalties for cannabis offenses.
European Cannabis Consumers' Union founded in Amsterdam.
Cannabis Buyers Club formed by Dan Perron to distribute cannabis to the sick.
First CHIC (Cannabis Hemp Information Club) conference in London.
British journal of the medical profession, The Lancet, states that "The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health".
European Council orders a study of drug legislation and practice in the Union.
During the Clinton administration 1,451,000 people arrested for cannabis, 86% for possession only.
Henrion Commission Report, the French Commission in charge of drug policy supports decriminalization of cannabis and calls for a two-year trial period of regulated retail trade in cannabis. The French Government reject these proposals.
Introduction of hashish-making equipment and appearance of locally produced hashish in Amsterdam coffee shops.
Lester Grinspoon, M.D. stated in a June 1995 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "urging doctors to reconsider marijuana, to take a lesson from their 19th century forbearers who used marijuana as a medicine, and to reconsider its usefulness in a modern light."
1996
California and Arizona pass Propositions allowing the use of cannabis in the treatment of certain illnesses. California passes Proposition 215; it allows patients with AIDS, cancer and other diseases to use marijuana to alleviate pain.
Clinton is re-elected and the FBI threaten Doctors with prosecution for prescribing marijuana as medicine.
UK Liberal Democrats Party calls for a Royal Commission on cannabis.
The Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence says:
"All that can be said definitely is that 1) Cannabis use generally precedes the use of other illegal drugs. 2) Cannabis use does not necessarily (or even usually) lead to the use of other illicit drugs."
Lord McCluskey calls for consideration of decriminalization in UK.
UK Janet Paraskeno, magistrate and director of National Youth Agency calls for 'legalization and not decriminalization'.
The Parliament of Luxembourg calls for a program 'of common measures for the liberalization of cannabis and its derivatives' along with Belgium, the Netherlands, and the harmonisation of drug laws in Benelux countries.
Ireland announces their plans to use cannabis as fuel to replace the use of the dwindling supplies of peat
Dutch town council at Delfzij decides to sell cannabis through their own coffee shop. They name the shop 'Paradox'. Profits used to provide information campaigns against 'soft drugs' in Dutch schools.
The Canton of Zurich calls for legalisation of cannabis.
The Dutch close many coffee shops, bowing to pressures from Germany and France
Australia: Victoria State Council urge decriminalization of cannabis.
UK Crown Prosecution Service dropping cases of possession and cultivation against some ill people (MS) as 'not in the public interest to proceed'.
A Swiss man, Zimmermann, is given a life sentence in the Maldives, for importing three cannabis seeds, found in his luggage as he flew in from India.
Legalize Ganja Jamaica formed
Scottish Nationalist conference votes to allow cultivation for personal use and research into medical uses of cannabis
1997
Study at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, concluded that long-term smokers of cannabis do not experience a greater annual decline in lung functions than non-smokers.
The Kaiser Permanente Study (USA) - "Marijuana Use and Mortality" April 1997 American Journal of Public Health concludes "Relatively few adverse clinical effects from the chronic use of marijuana have been documented in humans. However, the criminalization of marijuana use may itself be a health hazard, since it may expose the users to violence and criminal activity."
A court in Texas, USA, sentences medical marijuana user, William J. Foster to 93 years imprisonment for cultivation of one plant.
Two Swiss Cantons decide to legalize possession of cannabis in small amounts and ask the national Government to do the same.
German State of Schlewig-Holstein legalize possession of up to 5 grams of cannabis.
Zimmermann freed after appeals for clemency from the Swiss Government and letters from CLCIA supporters, the Maldives releases Zimmermann, the man given life for three seeds.
USA a $2 million study to prove cannabis smoking can cause cancer fails and announces that it does not.
McCaffrey, Director of National Drug Control Policy, resists the medical supply or cannabis in California and Arizona, threatening to prosecute Doctor's who prescribe it.
The UK elects a new Labour Government. Prime Minister, Tony Blair, says he will not legalize cannabis.
USA marines use helicopters to destroy marijuana crops in Hawaii despite objections from the people.
The British Medical Association (BMA) recommends the provision of medicinal cannabis in the UK.
New South Wales then decriminalizes possession of cannabis - up to 5 plants, 30 grams of leaf, 3 grams of resin and 2 grams of oil.
Paul McCartney, ex-Beatle, reconfirms his call to decriminalise cannabis.
DEA formally asks the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct "a scientific and medical evaluation of the available data and provide a scheduling recommendation" for marijuana and other cannabinoid drugs.
1998
1998 Oregon passes the Medical Marijuana Act, allowing doctors to prescribe small amounts of marijuana to patients with debilitating medical conditions.
Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Arizona pass medical cannabis laws and patient protections
1999
Maine voters approved a medical cannabis initiative.
After 2000
2000
Colorado voters pass Amendment 20, the Medical Use of Marijuana Act, allowing “qualified patients” to buy, possess or grow marijuana.
Hawaii legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
Nevada voters approved medical cannabis initiatives.
2001
The AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs report"Until such time as rapid-onset cannabinoid [marijuana] formulations are clinically available, our AMA affirms the appropriateness of compassionate use of marijuana and related cannabinoids in carefully controlled programs designed to provide symptomatic relief of nausea, vomiting, cachexia, anorexia, spasticity, acute or chronic pain, or other palliative effects. Such compassionate use is appropriate when other approved medications provide inadequate relief or are not tolerated, and the protocols provide for physician oversight and a mechanism to assess treatment effectiveness."
May 14 - United States vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop. United States Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-drug laws do not permit an exception for medical cannabis because Congress concluded cannabis has "no currently accepted medical use" when the act was passed in 1970.
2001- June 14 - Canada announces Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) Makes marijuana legal with doctors recommendations
2003
02/12/2003 California– Senate Bill 420, a compromise which created guidelines for patients and the law enforcement which regards to how much marijuana patients may possess and cultivate without being arrested under the penalty of law in California. A patient is allowed 6 mature or 12 immature plants and restricted to only ½ a pound of marijuana.
2004
Cannabis reclassified to a Class C drug in the UK.
Montana
voters
approved
a
medical
cannabis
initiative.
Vermont’s legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
2005
Gonzales vs. Raich (previously Ashcroft vs. Raich), 545 U.S. 1
United States Supreme Court ruled that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution allowed the federal government to ban the use of cannabis, including medical use. The court found the federal law valid, although the cannabis in question had been grown and consumed within a single state, and had never entered interstate commerce. Congress may ban the use of cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal purposes.
2006
Rhode Island legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
2007
New Mexico legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
2008
Michigan voters approve medical cannabis initiative.
Massachusetts voters approve a cannabis decriminalization initiative.
2009
Nov 10: The AMA urges the US federal government to "review" marijuana's status in Schedule I vs. "retain" it in Schedule I as the AMA had formerly recommended. The new policy stated: "Our AMA urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."
2009:
Cannabis
reclassified
back
to a
Class
B
drug
in
the
UK
2010
New Jersey legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
Arizona voters approve medical cannabis initiative for the third time since 1996
District of Columbia City Council passed medical cannabis legislation.
Voters in California narrowly defeat a cannabis legalization initiative, 53%-47%.
2011
April 12 - Ontario, Canada Superor Court strikes down marijuana laws and gives Canadian 90 days to fix chapter issues R. v. Mernagh the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Delaware legislature passed medical cannabis legislation.
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