The story of medical
marijuana has come full circle. From a tumultuous period of
prohibition and outlawing, renewed interest in making the drug legal
for medicinal use once more has resurged in the 1970s. It basically
ended more than 60 years of prohibiting marijuana, which began when
Massachusetts became the first state to outlaw it in 1911.
By “full circle,”
however, it means modern society’s take on medical marijuana
returned to the pre-prohibition period. Records of marijuana use for
treating ailments existed as early as 2900 B.C., particularly during
the Zhou Dynasty. Emperor Fu Xi described cannabis (“ma” in
Chinese) to “possess both yin and yang.” The Chinese are known
for taking yin and yang seriously.
After Jamestown settlers
brought the cannabis to North America in 1611, the surge in the use
of marijuana as medicine became evident. More than 200 years after
its introduction, marijuana was included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia,
an official guide on prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It
specified the Cannabis sativa—the most well-known variety—and its
extract.
When Massachusetts
started the long prohibition on marijuana, many states followed suit
a few years later. However, the laws at the time – according to
Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – weren’t
necessarily made with concerns regarding its use during that
particular milieu. It was, for some reason, meant to discourage the
drug’s use in the years to come.
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