A History of Medical Cannabis in America: 1900-1960
This is the first part of a series of blog posts about the history of medical cannabis in America. We want to provide our community with a detailed account of the evolution of medical cannabis law in the United States.
The use of medical cannabis dates back to ancient history. Ancient physicians in many parts of the world mixed cannabis into medicines to treat pain and other ailments.[1] It was reintroduced to Western medicine in the 19th century by Irish physician William Brooke O’Shaughnessy.
In the United States of America, the early 20th century saw the increased regulation of food and drugs. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. This legislation regulated the labeling of medicines containing cannabis. Prior to this act, many drugs had been sold as patent medicines with secret ingredients or misleading labels.[2] Although this legislation did not outlaw cannabis, it was a precursor of future regulation that the federal government would enact.
Following the Pure Food and Drug Act, individual states began to regulate cannabis: Massachusetts in 1911, New York in 1914, and Maine in 1914. California was the first state in the West to include cannabis as a “poison”.[3] By 1915, every state west of the Mississippi River had enacted laws prohibiting cannabis possession without a medical prescription.
In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created.[4] Harry J. Anslinger was its commissioner.
Anslinger claimed cannabis caused people to commit violent crimes and act irrationally and overly sexual. The FBN produced propaganda films promoting Anslinger's views and Anslinger often commented to the press regarding his views on marijuana.[5]
The FBN encouraged state governments to adopt the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The Bureau argued that the traffic of narcotic drugs should have the same safeguards and regulations in every state. By 1936, eighteen states had enacted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act.
The nail in the coffin for safe, legal access to cannabis came with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Cannabis possession and transfer were deemed illegal, except for medical and industrial uses.
Annual fees were $24 ($637 adjusted for inflation) for importers, manufacturers, and cultivators of cannabis, $1 ($24 adjusted for inflation) for medical and research purposes, and $3 ($82 adjusted for inflation) for industrial users. Detailed sales logs were required to record marihuana sales. Selling marihuana to any person who had previously paid the annual fee incurred a tax of $1 per ounce or fraction thereof; however, the tax was $100 ($2,206 adjusted for inflation) per ounce or fraction thereof to sell any person who had not registered and paid the annual fee.[6]
The American Medical Association opposed the act since the tax was imposed on physicians prescribing cannabis, pharmacists selling cannabis, and medical cannabis cultivation and manufacturing. Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937 after a series of poorly attended hearings and questionable scientific reports.[7][8] Harry Anslinger also ran a propaganda campaign against cannabis in the newspapers. Connections between cannabis and violent crime were reported but were found to be fabrications of “yellow journalism.”[9]
In response to the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia created the LaGuardia Committee, which studied the effects of smoking cannabis in America and particularly in New York City. In 1944, the Committee contradicted the earlier reports of addiction, madness, and overt sexuality thought to be associated with cannabis use. The report found thirteen conclusions:
Marihuana is used extensively in the Borough of Manhattan but the problem is not as acute as it is reported to be in other sections of the United States.
The introduction of marihuana into this area is recent as compared to other localities.
The cost of marihuana is low and therefore within the purchasing power of most persons.
The distribution and use of marihuana is centered in Harlem.
The majority of marihuana smokers are Negroes and Latin-Americans.
The consensus among marihuana smokers is that the use of the drug creates a definite feeling of adequacy.
The practice of smoking marihuana does not lead to addiction in the medical sense of the word.
The sale and distribution of marihuana is not under the control of any single organized group.
The use of marihuana does not lead to morphine or heroin or cocaine addiction and no effort is made to create a market for these narcotics by stimulating the practice of marihuana smoking.
Marihuana is not the determining factor in the commission of major crimes.
Marihuana smoking is not widespread among school children.
Juvenile delinquency is not associated with the practice of smoking marihuana.
The publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marihuana smoking in New York City is unfounded.
Anslinger branded the report as “unscientific” and denounced Mayor LaGuardia and the doctors who had worked on the research for more than five years.[10] The American Medical Association was forced to deny the LaGuardia Report and forbade studies on medical cannabis use.[11]
In 1952, the Boggs Act sanctioned mandatory sentencing for cannabis possession. A first-time cannabis possession offense had a mandatory sentence of two to ten years with a fine up to $20,000.[12]
This sets the stage for the story of medical cannabis in the second half of the twentieth century. Stay tuned for our next blog post detailing the history of medical cannabis in America from 1960 to the present day!