Apparently, the cannabis business is not going anywhere soon, but how did it all start?

The use of cannabis goes back a long way — it is about 8,000 years old. It was originally used as food, and for medicinal purposes, too. Studies show cannabis was most likely brought into North America by the Spanish around the late 1500s. Then, early colonies in the United States started growing it for several applications.

All was going well for some time, but the 20th century brought in a number of changes.

1900 – 1960

• In 1925, there was an international conference in the Hague about the International Opium Convention. It banned the exportation of Indian hemp to countries where it was prohibited and made it mandatory for countries that wished to import to issue certificates.

• In 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, which banned the sale by imposing costly excise taxes on sale, possession, and transportation of hemp.

• The last official marijuana hemp fields in the United States were planted in 1957.

1961 – 2000

• The United Nations’ 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs restricted the worldwide recreational cannabis market.

• On 17 July 1971, President Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one and launched the war on drugs. On 28 January 1972, it was signed into law.

• The schedules of controlled substances were created, with cannabis on Schedule I. The drugs from this list are not accepted for medical use and have a high potential for abuse.

• In 1996 California legalized cannabis, becoming the first state to do so.

2000 – Present

• In 2014, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment was passed as a part of the spending bill. It prevents the US Department of Justice from using federal funds to stop states from implementing their own medical marijuana laws.

• In 2014, Colorado started the first regulated recreational marijuana market in the world.

• In 2018, the US Hemp Authority was set up with the purpose of managing the growers and processors of hemp.

• 33 US states have now legalized cannabis in some way. It seems federal legalization is imminent with many companies preparing for it.

The cannabis industry has come a long way since it began so long ago in the depths of Asia.  Its growth has been impressive and we can’t wait to see what will happen next.