The History of Cannabis as Medicine

The history of the medical use of cannabis dates back to 2700 B.C. in the pharmacopoeia of Shen Nung, one of the fathers of Chinese medicine. In the west, it has been recognized as a valued, therapeutic herb for centuries. In 1823, Queen Victoria’s personal physician, Sir Russell Reynolds, not only prescribed it to her for menstrual cramps but wrote in the first issue of The Lancet, “When pure and administered carefully, [it is] one of the of the most valuable medicines we possess.” The American Medical Association opposed the first federal law against cannabis with an article in its leading journal. Their representative, Dr. William C. Woodward, testified to Congress that “The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marihuana is a dangerous drug,” and that any prohibition “loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for Cannabis.” Cannabis remained part of the American pharmacopoeia until 1942 and is currently available by prescription in the Netherlands and Canada.

The sea change in American attitudes toward pot came at the end of the 19th century, when between 2% and 5% of the U.S. population was unknowingly addicted to morphine, a popular secret ingredient in patent medicines with colorful names like “The People’s Healing Liniment for Man or Beast” and “Dr. Fenner’s Golden Relief.” To prevent more of the country from being washed over with a morphine-induced golden relief, the government introduced the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, creating the Food and Drug Administration. While it didn’t apply to marijuana and merely brought the distribution of opium and morphine under doctors’ control, the regulation of chemical substances was a major shift in American drug policy.

“The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marihuana is a dangerous drug.”

It wasn’t until 1914 that drug use was defined as a crime, under the Harrison Act. To get around states’ rights issues, the act used a tax to regulate opium- and coca-derived drugs: it levied a tax on nonmedical uses of the drugs that was much higher than the cost of the drugs themselves, and punished anyone using the drugs without paying the tax. By 1937, 23 states had outlawed marijuana: some to stop former morphine addicts from taking up a new drug, and some as a backlash against newly arrived Mexican immigrants, some of whom brought the drug with them. Also in 1937, the Federal Government passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which made nonmedical use of marijuana illegal. Only the birdseed industry, which argued that hemp seeds gave birds’ feathers a particularly shiny gloss, was exempted, and to this day birdseed producers are allowed to use imported hemp seeds treated so they don’t sprout.

With an exception during World War II, when the government planted huge hemp crops to supply naval rope needs and make up for Asian hemp supplies controlled by the Japanese, marijuana was criminalized and harsher penalties were applied. In the 1950s Congress passed the Boggs Act and the Narcotics Control Act, which laid down mandatory sentences for drug offenders, including marijuana possessors and distributors.

Despite an easing of marijuana laws in the 1970s, the Reagan Administration’s get-tough drug policies the following decade applied to marijuana as well. Still, the long-term trend has been toward relaxation. Since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, a dozen states have followed.