Hey all, I've created this blog to educate and inform the public and the medical marijuana community about anything and everything related to the medical marijuana movement both in Michigan and nationwide.
If you're not familiar with the medical marijuana movement, this first post will give you a brief overview of the history of the movement and where it's at today. Then, if you stick around, in the next days and weeks I'm going to take you down a timeline through history, showing marijuana's historical uses, how and why it became illegal, and the history and progress of the movement to legalize it's medical use. Whether you are for or against the use of medical marijuana, I promise you that this journey will be educational and eye-opening, and it just might change your mind about a few things.
Just to get started, here's a brief overview of the history of marijuana starting with the beginning of the marijuana prohibition in 1937. Before that time, cannabis (aka marijuana, aka hemp, etc.) was a massive crop in the U.S., being one of the most useful (if not the most) and most used plants on the planet. It's uses numbered in the thousands, ranging from making cloth and paper to medicinal uses like pain relief and even the relief of asthma.
The cannabis plant was on track to be the largest, most valuable domestic crop in the U.S.. But all that changed in the 1930's, with a campaign of demonizing the drug which finally peaked in 1937 with the Marihuana Tax Act, the first legislation in the U.S. aimed at bringing the cannabis industry, every branch of it, crashing down. I'll get way more into detail on all these things later, but history shows clearly (to anyone looking close enough) that the true aim of the authors of this legislation was not to bring a stop to a dangerous drug, but to bring a stop to a powerful business competitor!
Since that first law was passed in 1937, the debate has raged back and forth and activists fought for patient's rights largely without success for many years. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act classified marijuana as a drug with "No accepted medical use," placing it on a more restrictive schedule than heroin and cocaine! At that time activists knew that it was time to take their fight to the next level, and NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) was formed.
From 1970 to 2000, the battle really heated up, with Nixon's war on drugs failing miserably and the medical marijuana movement at the same time becoming stronger and more organized all the time. Finally, in 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, contradicting federal law making it illegal. Several other states quickly followed suit, with Alaska, Oregon, and Washington legalizing in 1998, and Hawaii, Colorado, and Nevada legalizing in 2000. In 2004, Montana legalized, with Rhode Island following suit in 2007, and finally both New Mexico and Michigan as well in 2008. Michigan was the 13th state to legalize medical marijuana. Since then New Jersey, Arizona, Delaware, and DC have all legalized, bringing the grand total to 16 states which currently allow the use of medical marijuana.
Although legalization was a huge victory for patients here in Michigan, there is still much to work for. It's the job of patients and activists to educate the public and help remove negative ideas and stereotypes about medical marijuana and it's users. It's up to us to remove negative stigmas and replace them with constructive ideas regarding the many, many uses for this amazing plant. And, like I just said, the best way to do this is through education! Education is the way to overcome ignorance, so educate yourself, and then educate others.
In my next post, I'll get way more in depth into the history of medical marijuana and cannabis in the U.S., so check back soon for the next leg of our journey. Until then, have fun, be safe, and spread some love!
No comments:
Post a Comment