Just exactly where is all of this cannabis info coming from? Is it new? What’s the deal? NO. Not new. Here’s the run down………
The Chinese used medical cannabis in 5000 BC!! In the early 1800s an MD by the name of William O’Shaughnessy began documenting and recording valuable information he gathered from the Indian culture in it’s cannabis use – this lead to a revival of sorts in the use of medical cannabis. It was listed in the US Pharmacopeia until about 1942. By 1920 there were 2000+ preparations of cannabis listed with over 280 manufacturers.
THEN in the 1930s things started changing. New western drugs were being developed and the less formal tinctures and recipe-like medications were falling out of favor. It was at this time that Harry J. Anslinger started getting involved. Bleh. He served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) and was a supporter of prohibition and the criminalization of drugs He played a pivotal role in cannabis prohibition. BOOOOO Harry!!! He wrote the Tax Act of 1937 – THIS did not outlaw Marijuana, rather TAXED distribution and manufacturing of the plant. $$$$$$$ !! Along came WWII and not much happened to the marijuana laws (which were pretty scattered) until about 1970. Enter President Nixon – in an attempt to overhaul the country’s drug laws a new LAW called the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was developed and made Marijuana a Schedule ONE drug at that time. Argh!!!! THIS law regulates marijuana to THIS day. Because there were senators that actually questioned whether or not it should be listed with heroin and LSD, the administration established the Shafer Commission to investigate and study marijuana so that they could recommend a more appropriate Scheduling. The report that came out in 1972 recommended that it NOT be listed as schedule 1 AND that it be decriminalized entirely. However, the Nixon administration ignored those recommendations. At least studies were now being documented. Research was discovering and documenting the potential use of cannabis as treatment for glaucoma and chemotherapy side effects.
In 1975, Robert C. Randall, a young college professor was arrested for growing marijuana on his deck. He had discovered on his own, that it was helping his glaucoma. At that time he began working with the Federal researchers to prove that marijuana did indeed help his medical condition and they built a defense that was inarguable. The charges were dropped and the courts ‘allowed’ him to use it legally. This made him a SUPER STAR!!! YAY Robert!! Robert became a huge advocate for medical marijuana and a thorn in the federal government’s side. At one point, they cut off his supply, so he took them to court! And WON. This eventually translated into the Compassionate IND Program that would help others to use marijuana medically. In 1980 the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics was founded. People are starting to join forces here. They fought to get cannabis rescheduled between 1986 and 1988 and Judge Young FINALLY stated that ‘marijuana does have medical value and should be rescheduled’. BOOM. The DEA REJECTED his rulings, calling those that supported this cause, ‘snake oil salesmen’. Bleh. The government eventually closed the Compassionate IND program in 1992 after hearing from thousands of AIDS patients requesting permission to use medical marijuana for symptoms. Oh the pressure! It was too much! The public was outraged. THIS, however directly led to changes in the electoral processes, such as Prop 215 (San Francisco). California, at the forefront of this war, began enacting laws recognizing medical uses of marijuana.
Meanwhile, Dr. Raphael Mechaoulam of Israel was busy discovering The Endocannabinoid System in 1992, contributing GREATLY to the cause. Way to GO, Raphael!! This finding has forever, changed the path of the research of cannabis. We will talk more about the ECS very soon !! Are you on the EDGE of your seat?!?!?!!?
Exploring Medical Cannabis 