Let’s take a quick walkthrough of the past starting in the early part of the 20th century courtesy of the Cannabis Marketing Association:
The Anti-Cannabis Campaign and Federal Regulation (1930s – 1940s)
1930 – The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created in 1930, and Harry J. Anslinger was hired as first Commissioner where he held his post for more than three decades. Harry Anslinger is one of the primary individuals who can be held accountable for creating and perpetuating the stigma around cannabis that still lingers today, and launched a ferocious anti-cannabis campaign that was unwavering throughout his time in office. By 1931, 29 states had banned cannabis and it was no longer the plant substance found in medicines across the country. Anslinger’s efforts with the Bureau of Narcotics were a largely contributing factor to the American adoption of the word “marijuana”— when making statements publicly and crafting propaganda like the 1936 film Reefer Madness, Anslinger would intentionally use the term when campaigning against the plant, solidifying the plant’s new “foreign” identity.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 against the “evil weed” was passed, federally criminalizing cannabis across the U.S. and establishing a one-dollar tax on anyone who sold or cultivated the plant. Several years later, the New York Academy of Medicine released a report declaring that cannabis use did not incite violence, insanity, or crime, contrary to earlier studies and popular belief.
Demand for industrial hemp imports and other materials grew in the United States during World War II to assist in producing military necessities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched its “Hemp for Victory” program in response, encouraging farmers to grow hemp by giving out the seeds and granting draft deferments to those who would participate. Farmers registered in the program harvested over 375,000 acres by 1943.
Cannabis Regulation Post-World War II (1950s – 1970s)
Throughout the 1950s, federal laws were enacted which established mandatory sentences of drug-related offenses, cannabis included.
A first-offense possession of cannabis carried a minimum sentence of 2 – 10 years with a fine of up to $20,000.
By the 1960s, cannabis consumption was commonplace in counterculture, and its use was popular among white upper-class Americans.
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson commissioned reports that stated cannabis consumption did not induce violence nor did it lead to the use of heavier drugs; however, less than a decade later, the Controlled Substance Abuse Act of 1970 was signed into law by President Nixon, effectively “placing all substances which were in some manner regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules.
Their placement is based upon the substance’s medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence reliability” (DEA). Cannabis was categorized separately from other narcotics and the mandatory federal sentences for possessing small amounts were eliminated.
A nationwide movement of conservative parent groups materialized in the mid-70s, lobbying for stricter cannabis regulations and the prevention of teenage drug use. A handful of these groups became largely powerful, and with support from agencies like the DEA and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), acted as a catalyst in influencing public opinion leading to the 1980s War on Drugs.
In Oregon – the legislature was the first to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis in 1973.
Shifts in Cannabis Policy (1980s – 1990s)
In 1986, President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, establishing mandatory sentences for drug-related crimes, in conjunction with the launch of First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, which taught students the skills needed to reject peer pressure relating to drug abuse. Three years later, President George Bush declared a new war on drugs in his very first nationally televised speech. At this point in American history, if you asked the average citizen what they believed to be the biggest issue in the nation, the usual response would be illicit drug consumption.
This turned around by the early 90s, when President Bill Clinton advocated for treatment instead of incarceration during his 1992 presidential campaign. Within a few months in the White House, Clinton had revisited the drug war strategies his Republican predecessors established and continued to elevate the war on drugs.
By 1996, California passed Proposition 215, allowing for the sale of medical-use cannabis for patients with cancer, AIDS, and other serious ailments. This becomes the first law that stands in direct tension with federal laws that prohibit the possession of cannabis.
NORML was established in 1997 with a mission “to better educate the public about marijuana and marijuana policy options, and to assist victims of current laws”.
Oregon approved Ballot Measure 67 in 1998 to approve cannabis for medical use.
Contemporary Cannabis Landscape (2000s – Present)
By the time George W. Bush arrived in the White House, the war on drugs was beginning to run out of steam, and his drug czar vehemently focused on cannabis and launched a massive campaign promoting student drug testing.
George W. Bush’s presidency saw nearly 40,000 “paramilitary-style SWAT raids on Americans every year” for what were primarily misdemeanors, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. Although federal reform slowed under Bush, state-level reform finally began to stall the drug war, but it did not bring it to a complete stop.
According to the ACLU report “The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests” published in 2013,
“Between 2001 and 2010 there were over 8 million marijuana arrests in the United States, 88% of which were for possession… In 2010, there was one marijuana arrest every 37 seconds, and states spent combined over $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws.The report also finds that, on average, a Black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though their use rates are similar. Such racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests exist in all regions of the country, in counties large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, and with large and small Black populations. Indeed, in over 96% of counties with more than 30,000 people in which at least 2% of the residents are Black, Blacks are arrested at higher rates than whites for marijuana possession.”
The Colorado Amendment 64, which was passed by voters on November 6, 2012, led to recreational legalization in December 2012 and state-licensed retail sales in January 2014.
In 2015, Oregon voters passed Measure 91, “Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act,” creating a regulatory system for individuals 21 years of age and older to purchase marijuana for personal use from licensed marijuana businesses.
Source: https://thecannabismarketingassociation.com/a-history-of-cannabis-prohibition/