North America And The Magic Green

Ancient People and Cannabis

In my previous post, we went over the history of Marijuana in other parts of the world. Now, we're going to explore how North America and weed correlate!!! To do this, we have to start from the beginning; Before Columbus found us! Of course, this means archaeologists did some more digging. in 1985, a man named Bill Fitzgerald discovered 500 year-old pipes in Ontario that contained traces of hemp 5 times stronger than the average tobacco. Other archaeologists found stone and wooden pipes and hemp fibre pouches from around 800 A.D. It's said that some North American tribes used to use Marijuana in their rituals to thank their God's for everything the day would bring them. Even today, North American tribes (especially those from Mexico) use Cannabis (they call it Rosa Maria or Santa Rosa) as a gift for their Gods.

 

The White Men Brought The Green

Even though some tribes in North America used Cannabis for their rituals, some scholars believe that Marijuana wasn't really a vital part of the North American native tribe's cultures. These scholars believe that Cannabis first arrived in North America when the British settlers arrived. They say that even if Cannabis was available and used in these tribes, the native cultures and religions who used it would have either been destroyed or where forced into hiding when the British invaded. Because of this, there is very little proof that North America had much contact with the Cannabis plant before the white men came. The plant was said to have been introduced to the British settlers in 1606, but the plant itself had grown in North America for years. It was used much like the other countries for it's fibre to produce rope, clothes, and sails and rigging for ships. The settlers didn't find out about the psychoactive part or the plant (THC) until the 19th century. Soon, the British settlers began to see the amount of profit this hemp plant could bring in, so they began to produce and manufacture it. In the 1800's, a man named Edward Allan Talbot thought that if Canada was able to supply enough Cannabis to Britain, it would let them get independence and would be a great benefit to Canadians. This as we know from history didn't work, and Canada didn't gain independence from Britain until later on. Near the end of the 19th century though, the demand for Cotton was overpowering the demand for Cannabis, and it was never able to surpass Cottons' sales again. In 1937 America enacted the Marijuana Tax Law, and in 1938 Canada followed Americas lead and banned the production of Marijuana under the Opium and Narcotics Act.

 

Medicine and Marijuana

Cannabis was used in North America between 1840-1900, and was first introduced to medicine by a doctor from Scotland named  W.B. O’Shaunghnessy. He introduced it to North America after spending time viewing its effects on people in India, and performing his own experiments on animals to ensure that it was safe for humans. Soon after he declared it safe, many North American doctors began to prescribe it to their patients for things like rabies, rheumatism, epilepsy, tetanus and for muscle relaxants. Doctors continued to prescribe Marijuana to their clients until the early 1890s, however during the same time doctors began to see that there were other options and introduced Aspirin, and even though in the beginning it faced many problems, the use of Cannabis for medicinal reasons was beginning to decline.

 

Marijuana Becomes a Drug

At the same time North America began to depend less and less on Cannabis as medicine, the United States was quickly learning that it could be used as a recreational hallucinogen. Soon medical experts began to see Marijuana as a drug, saying that it can cause overdoses and become a dangerous habit.  In 1915, Marijuana became illegal in California, and by the 1920`s Marijuana had become the biggest underground drug.Since then, the general population of North America has been aware that Marijuana is an illegal drug not to be messed with.

 

Canada And Cannabis

These days, some countries have legalized Marijuana. Canada however, has not. To clarify, Canada is a "just say no!" country. However, we all know that Canada is a Mosaic country, meaning that we have many different people from many different countries celebrating their own religions and customs. This is a problem because Canada sees Marijuana as something morally wrong, and seeing people living in their country defending it is a sore spot for us. However there is a great debate in the 21st century about Marijuana, as many people are beginning to believe that Marijuana should be legalized. In a survey conducted in 2001, 47% of Canadians think that weed should be legalized. Compared to the findings in 1995, this amount has risen 31%. However, there are still Canadian citizens (much like myself) who believe that Marijuana should stay illegal. Some places in Canada have now legalized the use of medicinal marijuana, because the people in that area believe that it should be legalized.

Works Cited:

Spicer, Leah . "Historical and Cultural Uses of Cannabis and The Canadian "Marijuana Clash"." Parliament of Canada Web Site - Site Web du Parlement du Canada. N.p., 12 Apr. 2002. Web. 9 Dec. 2012. <http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/371/ille/library/spicer-e.htm>.