TRIPPING THROUGH TIME:

A History Of Marijuana

2737 B.C

Cream of the chronic: Cannabis is referred to as a "superior" herb in
the world's first medical text, or pharmacopoeia, Shen Nung's Pen
Ts'ao, in China.

1400 B.C.

Indians love indo: Cultural and religious use of ganja or cannabis and
charas or hashish (resin) by Hindus in India is recorded.

c. 500 B.C.:

Gautama Buddha is said to have survived during his fast of
enlightenment by eating hempseed. No wonder he always looked so happy.

1000 A.D.:

Europe introduces hemp butter … so that's where special brownies came
from!

1150:

Cannabis for Christ?: Muslims use hemp to start Europe's first paper
mill. Most paper is made from hemp for the next 750 years, including
Bibles.

1563:

English Queen Elizabeth I decrees that land owners with more than 60
acres must grow hemp or be fined 5 pounds. As a result, she is
unofficially declared the hippest queen ever.

1632:

Pilgrims bring cannabis to New England; future Thanksgiving feasts are
subsequently fueled by munchies, not harvest festivals or gratitude.

1776:

The United States Declaration of Independence is drafted on hemp
paper; the Founding Fathers decide to eliminate "the pursuit of
Funyuns" from the unalienable rights.

1835:

Hemp is grown at several Californian missions. Pothead padres,
perhaps?

1840:

Drugstore dealers: In America, medicinal preparations with a cannabis
base are available. The pharmacist becomes everybody's new best friend.

1863:

The Emancipation Proclamation is written under the light of a hemp-oil
lamp … yeah, just like that bubbler sitting on your television is a
"vase."

1936:

The American propaganda film Reefer Madness is released. Originally
intended to put the fear of God into parents and educate them on the
imminent dangers of "marihuana," the film eventually becomes an
unintentionally hilarious cult classic.

1964:

Israeli professor Dr. Raphael Mechoulam of the Weizmann Institute of
Science isolates tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary active
ingredient in cannabis—and one of at least 60 compounds found in
cannabis that have therapeutic value. By "therapeutic value," they
mean finding a new appreciation for Pink Floyd laser shows.

1967:

Hip! Hip! Hashish!: Smash, the first hashish oil, appears. Red
Lebanese reaches California.

1970:

High Hefner: With $5,000 in seed money from the Playboy Foundation,
Keith Stroup establishes the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

1974:

Porno for potheads: High Times magazine is founded and makes
horticulture cool.

1988:

Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law Judge Francis Young
finds after thorough hearings that marijuana has clearly established
medical use and should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug. So many
schedules, so little time.

1996:

Herb is the new aspirin: Proposition 215, also known as the
Compassionate Use Act of 1996, passes, allowing for the sale and
medical use of marijuana for patients with a variety of medical conditions.

2006:

With a $35 billion market value, official U.S. statistics suggest that
marijuana is America's leading cash crop. Put that in your pipe and
smoke it.