                        The Marijuana Time Line




4000 BC  Archaeological evidence of hemp fiber found in China

3000 BC  Hempen rope and thread are found in what was Turkestan

2737 BC  The first detailed description of M appeared in a medical 
         book prepared by the Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung

2350 BC  The Shu King, an ancient Chinese book, says that in the 
         province of Shantung the soil was "whitish and rich 
         ...with silk, hemp..." and that hemp was among the 
         articles of tribute extorted from inhabitants of the 
         valley of the Honan

1000 BC  Archaeologists in Turkey unearth pieces of fabric containing 
         hemp fibers in the debris around Gordion, an ancient city 
         located near present-day Ankara

800 BC   The Assyrians used Cannabis as an incense

800 BC   "female man-barbarians," an Amazon-like dynasty of female 
         warriors from Indochina, offered the Chinese emporer a 
         "luminous sunset-clouds brocade" fashioned from hemp, as 
         tribute

700 BC   Hempen fabrics are found in Turkish archaeological sites

650 BC   Records from Assyria refers to a drug called AZULLA that 
         was used for making rope and cloth, and also used as a euphoric

600 BC   Some Chinese view M intoxication with special disdain

500 BC   Chinese book of treatments referred to the medical uses of 
         M

500 BC   The Greek Historian Herodotus describes the Scythian 
         custom of burning M seeds and leaves to produce a euphoric smoke 
         in steam baths

500 BC   A Taoist priest writes that Cannabis was employed by 
         "necromancers, in combination with Ginseng, to set forward time 
         and reveal future events."

400 BC   Cannabis leaves and fruit are found in Scythian tombs in 
         central Asia

200 BC   The Greeks outfit their ships with Hemp, brought from 
         the Rhone Valley, France

100 BC   Chinese Book of Rites ordained that out of respect for 
         the dead, mourners should wear clothes made from hemp 
         fabric, a custom followed down to modern times.


23 AD  Roman Naturalist Pliny The Elder related that the sails and
       cordage of the Roman Galleys are made from Hemp

50 AD  The Pen Ts'ao, a Chinese herbal book, contains a 
       reference to Ma, the Chinese name for hemp

70 AD  Greek scientist Dioscorides published his herbal and 
       wrote that Cannabis is not only useful for making strong 
       rope, but the juice of its seeds is also very beneficial 
       in treating earaches and in diminishing sexual desires

100 AD Chinese surgeon Hau T'o performed complicated, painless 
       surgical procedures with the help of a preperation of 
       hemp, which he discovered

130 AD Greek Historian and Medical writer Galen described the 
       general use of Hemp in cakes, which when eaten in EXCESS were 
       euphoric

140 AD Hempen rope found in a Roman site in England

200 AD Roman emperor Aurelian imposes a tax on Egyptian Cannabis

400 AD A Handy Guide To Papermaking, a Japanese book, says that 
       "hemp and mulberry...have been long used in worshipping 
       the gods. The business of paper making therefore, is no 
       ignoble calling."

476 AD In the Middle Ages, Hashish is drunk and eaten in Arabian 
       countries

570 AD A French Queen is buried with cannabis in her tomb

850 AD A Viking ship sails the seas with Cannabis seeds onboard

900 AD Some Chinese physicians claim that Cannabis is useful 
       in the treatment of "wasting diseases and injuries... 
       clears the blood and cools tempature, it relieves fluxes; 
       it undoes rheumatism; it discharges pus."

1100   The Inquistion outlaws Cannabis ingestion in Spain

1200   The Inquistion outlaws Cannabis ingestion in France

1297   Marco Polo begins to write of his adventurous travels 
       through the Far East. He includes a "story" he heard in 
       northern Persia about a ruler known as the "Old Man of 
       Mountians" and his band of ruthless followers called the 
       "Assassins". This "story" is often twisted to provide a 
       connection between Hashish/Marijuana and violent acts of 
       insanity in its users, even though Polo never mentioned 
       Hashish or Marijuana

1300s  Traces of Cannabis in smoking-pipe bowls are found from 
       ethiopia

1430   St Joan of Arc is accused of using "witch" drugs, including 
       Cannabis
1484  Pope Innocent VIII singles out Cannabis healers and other 
      herbalists, proclaiming Hemp an unholy sacrament of the second and 
      third types of satanic mass. This persecution continued for more 
      than 150 years

1533  England's King Henry VIII orders farmers to dedicate a 
      portion of their land to growing Hemp

1545  The Spanish plant Hemp in what is now Chile, for use by its 
      Army, and in ship repairs

1554  The Spanish plant Hemp in Peru

1563  Bangue(Bhang) which is made with Cannabis, is used in India 
      as an intoxicant

1591  Hashish is being smoked in Egypt to produce Ecstasy

1600  The Indian medical work, Bharaprakasha, describes Cannabis' 
      medicinal value

1606  Hemp is grown in the French Port Royal Colonies, in Nova 
      Scotia, Canada

1609  Cannabis is cultivated in the Southern tip of Africa

1611  Hemp is planted near Jamestown, Virginia to be used for 
      making rope

1615  Cannabis is listed as the main ingredient in ointments used 
      by witches, by Italian physician and Demonologist of the day, 
      Giovanni De Ninault

1630  Half of the winter clothing at Jamestown is made from Hemp
      fibers

1632  The Pilgrams bring their Hemp crop to New England

1633  Russia supplies 97% of London's Hemp

1635  Because of the growth of the New England ship building 
      industry, the first factory for making rope from Hemp, called a 
      Ropewalk, is established in Salem, Massachusetts

1639  To meet the demand for fiber, a law is passed in 
      Massachusetts requiring every householder to plant Hemp seed

1658  Hottentot tribes of Africa use Cannabis, which they call 
      Dagga, as a drug

1695  Cannabis is used in India as a medicine

1705  Tribes in the Southern tip of Africa learn to smoke their 
      "Dagga" in a pipe

1753  Botanist Carolus Linnaeus classified M as Cannabis Sativa. 
      Cannabis comes from the Greek word for Hemp

1775  Hemp production starts in Kentucky and soon Kentucky leads 
      the effort to grow Hemp

1776  A shirt made of Hemp costs $.50 to $1, compared to a cotton 
      shirt at $100 to $200

1776  The first draft of the Declaration of Independence is 
      written on Hemp paper. So is the second draft

1780  The King of Spain instructs his colonies in New Spain to 
      encourage Hemp production

1783  French Biologist Jean Lamarck named the Indian Hemp plant, 
      Cannabis Indica, to differ it from the European plant, Cannabis 
      Sativa

1789  George Washington has a field of Hemp at Mt. Vernon. There 
      is some indication that it is used for medicine as well as for 
      rope

1792  Congress levies import tariffs against Hemp, to "stimulate 
      domestic Hemp supplies, thereby making the US independent of 
      foreign nations for this essential military item". The tariff is 
      placed at $20 per ton

1793  Hemp is introduced to Cuba and Guatemala by the Spanish

1800s Hemp is introduced to Jamaica by the British

1800s US Physicians used M extracts for a tonic and as a 
      euphoriant, and did so until 1937

1800  Russia charges 61 English Pounds, per ton of Hemp

1801  Spanish colonies in California raise Hemp in experimental 
      farms

1807  Spanish colonies in Califronia produce 12,500 pounds of Hemp

1810  Spanish colonies in California produce 220,000+ pounds of 
      Hemp

1812  During the War of 1812, the tarrif placed on Hemp is $40 per 
      ton, and the US imports 4200 tons this year

1815  Napoleon's troops bring Hash back to France from their
      campaign in Egypt, against Napoleons strict order not to do so

1839  British physician W.B. O'Shaugnessy starts his enormous 
      study in India on the uses of Cannabis medicines

1840s The effort to curb the widespread use of Hash in France  
      is unsuccessful

1845  A group of popular French literary people and artists form 
      the Club of Hashish Users, its goal; to search for new experinces 
      and impressions of life

1848  The first doctoral thesis on Hashish is written by 
      DeCourtive

1850  The US Census lists 8,327 Hemp farms, which grew Hemp for 
      use in rope, cloth and canvas.  40,000 tons of Hemp, worth $5 
      million, are grown in Kentucky

1850  An African tribe called the Bashikinge form a Cannabis cult

1854  The US Dispensatory lists Cannabis among the nation's 
      medicinals

1857  The active principle in Cannabis is isolated

1868  Egypt outlaws Cannabis ingestion

1876  At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, visitors were 
      treated with a tastes of the Far East at the popular Turkish 
      Hashish Exposition

1883  Hashish parlors are open in every major American city, 
      including Chicago

1893  Indian Hemp Drug Commision Report stresses that available 
      evidence on M did not prove M to be as dangerous as it was 
      popularly thought, and concluded in part "To the Hindu, the 
      hemp plant holy"

1900s M is incorrectly classified as a narcotic in the popular and 
      legal literature of the early 1900's

1906  The Pure Food and Drug Act is enacted. It stated that all 
      patent medicines shipped across state lines had to list their 
      contents if they contained more than a specified amount of certain 
      drugs, including cannabis

1910  South Africa, controlled by whites, outlaws native Dagga 
      (Cannabis) cults and religions

1911  The US Ways and Means Committee meets to discuss federal 
      antinarcotics laws. They are presented with arguments regarding 
      whether or not Cannabis should be outlawed domestically

1914  The Harrison Act is adopted and required pharmacists 
      dispensing narcotics to registar with the Bureau of Internal 
      Revenue and pay for a tax stamp. Cannabis is not covered by this 
      Act

1914  July 30th, the New York Times reports that Cannabis is a 
      "Narcotic with practically the same effects as morphine and 
      cocaine..."

1914  New York City bans Cannabis from its streets

1915  California, Utah, and Wyoming prohibit possession of M 
      unless prescribed by a physician


1916  The US Dept. of Agriculture (Bulletin #404) announces a new 
      method for making paper from Hemp "hurds" or pulp, and predicted 
      that if a machine for stripping Hemp were developed, it would be 
      unnecessary to cut down forests to make paper

1919  Texas prohibits possession of M unless prescribed by a 
      physician

1919  The Volstead Act, Alcohol Prohibition

1920  The Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibiton) to the US Constitution 
      is enacted. M, which was little used prior to prohibition, becomes 
      popular

1923  The US Army prohibits possession of M by US personnel in the 
      Panama Canal Zone

1923  Iowa, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Arkansas prohibit 
      possession of M unless prescribed by a physician

1924  Russian botanist Janischewsky suggests that in addition to 
      Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, there was a third distinct 
      species which he called Cannabis ruderalis

1925  Mexico officially outlaws cultivation of M

1925  A committee is formed to investigate the use of M by US 
      personnel in the Panama Canal Zone. It found that M is NOT habit 
      forming and it dose not have "any appreciable deleterious 
      influence on the individual using it"

1926  Orders forbidding M in the Panama Canal Zone are rescinded

1926  Newspaper headlines of the day..."SCHOOL CHILDREN FOUND IN 
      GRIP OF MARIJUANA HABIT BY INVESTIGATORS..WORKMEN OF CITY LURED BY 
      MUGGLES..WELFARE WORKERS ARE POWERLESS TO COPE WITH SINISTER 
      TRAFFIC"

1927  Nebraska prohibits possession of M unless prescribed by a 
      physician

1929  Canada adds M to the list of regulated substances in its 
      Opium and Narcotics Drug Act

1929  A new committee is formed to study M use in the Panama Canal 
      zone.  It confirms the earlier study and reports that "use of the 
      drug is not widespread and...its effects upon military efficiency 
      and upon discipline are not great. There appears to be no reason 
      for renewing the penalties formerly exacted for the possession and 
      the use of the drug"

1930s Reefer songs are the rage of the jazz world...Louis 
      Armstrong's "Muggles," Cab Calloway's "That Funny Reefer Man," 
      Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag," and many more topped the hit list of 
      the era

1930  Despite the evidence, M is again prohibited in the Panama 
      Canal Zone

1930  The Federal Bureau of Narcotics is formed within the 
      Treasury Dept. Headed by Harry Anslinger until 1962, it was the 
      forerunner of the current DEA

1931  Another investigation is started into M use in the Panama 
      Canal Zone

1931  A Louisiana court finds that M poses a threat to the 
      community. The court quoted the story of the connection between 
      Hashish and the Assassins (see Marco Polo A.D. 1297) to support 
      its findings

1931  Harry Anslinger states that the M problem is slight

1932  The musical "Smokin' Reefers" opened in review on Broadway. 
      A line from the show acknowledged M as "the thing that white folks 
      are afraid of"

1932  National Conference on Uniform State Laws includes M 
      provisions in the Uniform State Narcotic Act that was making the 
      rounds of various state legislatures

1933  Eighteenth Amendment is repealed

1935  116 million pounds of Hempseed are used in the US for paint 
      and varnish

1936  Harry Anslinger claims that the increase in the use of M is 
      of great national concern

1936  The US imports over 62 million pounds of Hemp seed

1937  The M Tax Act is enacted. It states that only the 
      nonmedical, untaxed possession of M was illegal

1937  Tinctures of M are listed in the USA Pharmacopia. One ounce 
      of Cannabis sells for one dollar in the drugstores

1938  Canada makes it illegal to grow cannabis without a permit

1938  An article in Popular Mechanics hopes that "if federal 
      regulation (against M) can be drawn to protect the public without 
      preventing the legitimate culture of Hemp, this new crop can add 
      immeasurably to American agriculture and industry."

1940  18,500 M reefers (joints) are confiscated in the US

1941  An article in the December issue of Popular Mechanics 
      describes a car that Henry Ford built in part with Hemp

1942  World War II...Japan cuts off our supplies of vital 
      Hemp...Government subsidizes farmers to grow hemp
      for rope fiber

1942  14,000 acres of Hemp for fiber are harvested in the US

1942  M is included in the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act

1942  Dept. of Agriculture produces "Hemp For Victory", that urges 
      patriotic farmers to cultivate Hemp for wartime use. Farmers who 
      agreed to grow Hemp were waived from service in the military, 
      along with their sons

1943  US farmers produce 75,000 tons of Hemp fiber

1943  Between 1943 and 1949, H. Anslinger, of the Federal Bureau 
      of Narcotics, orders all his agents to keep M criminal files on 
      virtually all jazz and swing musicians so that he might coordinate 
      a massive bust of all of them on the same night. His plan for a 
      massive bust never occurred

1944  The LaGuardia Committe on M makes its report. One of the key 
      summaries of the paper states that M was NOT the killer that many 
      thought it to be

1945  17,000 M reefers (joints) are confiscated in the US

1950s With the escalation of opiate-use violations, corresponding 
      M penalties are increased at the request of federal drug offcials

1951  Boggs Act becomes law. Mainly dealing with narcotics, M was 
      included because of the FALSE belief that M was a "gateway drug". 
      The "gateway drug" theory has since been proven false by 
      scientists and their research, although oddly enough it persits to 
      this day as a MAJOR piece of DISINFORMATION. Until this Act, M was 
      covered by the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act

1954  The United Nations Economic and Social Council is persuaded 
      that "there is no justification for the medical use of Cannabis 
      preparations"

1954  Up until now, Cannabis was used in prescriptions in Canada

1956  Narcotic Drug Control Act passes. Imposes VERY stiff 
      penalties for narcotics and M. Increases the penalties of the 1951 
      Boggs Amendment on all levels

1961  The United Nations adopts the Single Convention, designed to 
      control the misuse and illicit traffic of Cannabis

1962  President Kennedy's Ad Hoc Panel on Drug Abuse dissmisses 
      the alleged link between M and sexual abuse and criminality as 
      "limited." The dangers claimed for M, it said, were "exaggerated," 
      and it challenged the "long term sentences imposed on an 
      occasional user or possessor of the drug" as being in "poor social 
      perspective"

1963  The President's Advisory Commision on Narcotics condemns the 
      current M policy

1964  Delta-9-THC is isolated by Israeli chemists, Y. Gaoni and R. 
      Mechoulam

1964  Bangladesh signs an anti-drug agreement with the US not to 
      grow Hemp
1964  Single Convention Treaty becomes effective. The US Senate 
      did not ratify the treaty until 1967

1965  Israeli scientist Dr. Raphael Mechoulam first synthesized 
      delta-9-THC

1967  The first experimental study with pure delta-9-THC was made 
      by Dr. Harris Isbell et.al. at the University of Kentucky Medical 
      Center

1967  President Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and 
      Administration of Justice challenges the "gateway drug" theory as 
      having "...no scientific basis..."  It also voices its criticism 
      of M being classified with the narcotic drugs

1967  The 1964 Single Convention Treaty is ratified by Congress. 
      In part, this treaty regulates all aspects of M. Signatory parties 
      must plan to phase out the nonmedical use of M within 25yrs of 
      signing. In order to LEAGALIZE M, it would be necessary to 
      abrogate this treaty

1968  The Federal Bureau of Narcotics becomes the Bureau of 
      Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, inside the Dept. of Justice

1968  85,715 pounds of M are seized by federal authorities

1969  Tax Act is declared unconstitutional

1969  The federal government begins making M of controlled quality 
      available to research scientists

1970  The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws 
      (NORML) is formed

1970  The Ledain Commission of the Canadian Government urges the 
      decriminalization of M

1970  The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is 
      passed (The Controlled Substance Act).  Part of this law gave the 
      attorney general authority over reclassification of such drugs as 
      M, which it falsly states has no recognized medical uses, because 
      control of such drugs was required by "US obligations under 
      international treaties."  The act also lowered penalties for first 
      time offenders, and called for yet another commission to evaluate 
      M.  The commission suggested that private use and distribution of 
      small amounts of M be legalized whereas public possesion be 
      subject to confiscation and forfeiture. President Nixon rejected 
      these recommendations

1970  Congress demands that the Secretary of Health, Education and 
      Welfare issue annual reports on the health consequences of M along 
      with recommendations for reassessing the legal status of M

1971  M was discovered to substantially reduce intraocular 
      pressure, indicating possible use for people who suffer from 
      glaucoma-the third leading cause of blindness. M efficiency in the 
      treatment of glaucoma has been recognized at both the state and 
      federal levels

1971  The college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan decriminalized M

1972  NORML sues the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to 
      reclassify medicinal M.  The agency director dismisses the action, 
      claiming such reclassification would violate US treaties. NORML 
      appeals the dismissal to US Circuit Court of Appeals

1972  National Commission on M estimated that about 24 million 
      Americans had tried M, 8 million were still using it, and about 
      half a million use it every day

1972  Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substance Act

1973  Ann Arbor, Michigan's lenient 1971 M laws were rescinded

1973  The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) becomes 
      the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

1973  Decriminalization of M is first recommended by the National 
      Commission on M and Drug Abuse

1973  Harsh "Get Tough Laws" are passed in New York. It has NOT 
      been a deterrent to trafficking or the use of M

1973  783,000 pounds of M seized

1973  Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize M, making 
      possession of less than an ounce of M a misdemeanor

1974  Once again, Ann Arbor, Michigan votes to decriminalize M 
      (see 1973)

1974  Finding no merit to the BNDD's claim, the circuit court 
      holds that NORML's 1972 petition should be heard

1975  The DEA dismisses NORML's 1972 petition, claiming a hearing 
      wasn't neccessary to justify the removal of M as a Schedule I 
      Controlled Substance

1975  Alaska passes decriminalized M laws

1975  Helsinki Conference on M is held

1976  R.C. Randall becomes the first person to gain legal access 
      to M, when the courts ruled that his use of M for glaucoma was a 
      "medical necessity"

1976  The Ford Administration said that no American independent 
      research or federal health program would be allowed to again 
      investigate natural Cannabis derivatives for medicine

1977  President Carter address Congress on the drug issue, and 
      says "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more 
      damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. 
      Therefore, I support legislation amending federal law to eliminate 
      all federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one 
      ounce of M."  Congress ignored his statement

1978  By now, 11 states have enacted laws decriminalizing M

1979  California passes a law allowing the use of experimental 
      Cannabis medicines. 1.5 million pounds of M are seized by the DEA

1980  1.6 million pounds of M seized by the DEA. 27 million pounds 
      of M is consumed in the USA

1981  1.9 million pounds of M seized by the DEA

1982  2.8 million pounds of M seized by the DEA

1983  The Reagan/Bush Administration gave orders that all American 
      universities and researchers should destroy all 1966-76 Cannabis 
      research work, including compendiums in libraries. Scientist and 
      doctors scoffed at this plan, which was dropped for the moment

1984  600,000 people are arrested this year on M charges. The 
      House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse said the 
      annual US crop of M could be worth from 10 to 50 BILLION $$

1985  THC is approved for medicinal use in the USA

1985  A Milton Wisconsin high school forces its students to submit 
      to urine tests weekly to see if they smoked M

1988  Administrative law judge Francis Young recommends that the 
      DEA should make M available as medicine. He also said that "M is 
      one of the safest therapeutically active substances known."

1988  The DEA estimates 4,500 metric tons of M were harvested in 
      the USA. There were 324,000 arrests for simple M possession

1988  The Anti-Drug Bill

1989  In Operation Green Merchant, the DEA raids gardening centers 
      and private homes in 46 states

1989  Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz said "we need to 
      at least consider and examine forms of controlled legalization of 
      drugs."

1989  More than 8 million working Americans had their urine tested 
      this year

1989  President Reagan declares victory over the War on Drugs

1989  The DEA rejects judge Francis Youngs 1988 ruling

1989  For the first time, the federal government has approved the 
      legal use of M for an AIDS patient to test reduction of nausea, 
      vomiting and pain caused by the disease and the side effects of 
      its treatment.

1990  There are an estimated 30 million regular users of M, and 
      390,000 arrests for M

1990  Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates testified before the US 
      Senate Judiciary Committee that M smokers should "be taken out and 
      shot."  California attorney general Van de Camp suppresses a 
      report by his OWN advisory panel that called for Hemp re- 
      legalization

1991  A three-judge US Appeals Court panel ruled that the DEA 
      should re-write its opinion that M has no medicinal value for 
      cancer patients

1991  Alaska makes M possession a misdemeanor

1992  The DEA rules that M has no currently accepted medical use

1992  The federal government estimates that 33,000 tons of M 
      reached America's smokers

1992  The Marian County, CA Board of Supervisors voted unanimously 
      to adopt the Marin Medical Marijuana Measure, and ordinance 
      calling for the restoration of medical cannabis to the list 
      medicines that can be prescribed by Marin County doctors

















































This is a partial list of sources for the M Timeline. If you find 
any errors, please drop me a line at RIPCO II, 312-528-5020, send 
e-mail to SPAZ CAT. I make no claims to this information, I just 
compiled it by date in order to give some insight into the very 
old history of Cannabis. For more information on what YOU can do 
to change the lies the government/others have spread about this 
sacred substance, write to the Illinois Marijuana Initiative. Box 
2242, Darien, Ill. 60559. Knowledge is power, and history proves 
that Cannabis IS NOT a menace, it is only misunderstood. First 
release, 1993. Last updated March 8, 1993



MARIJUANA TODAY; GEORGE K. RUSSELL

DRUGS; RICHARD SCHLAADT, PETER T. SHANNON

THE PHARMACISTS GUIDE TO THE MOST MISUSED AND ABUSED DRUGS 
AMERICA; KEN LISTA, PH.D

DRUGS AND SOCIETY; WELDON L WITTERS, PH.D, PETER J. VENTURELLI, 
PH.D

PLANTS OF THE GODS; RICHARD EVANS SHULTES, ALBERT HOFMANN

THE EMPEROR WEARS NO CLOTHES; JACK HERER

MARIJUANA AND YOUR CHILD; JULES SALTMAN

MARIJUANA; ERNEST L. ABEL

VARIOUS HIGH TIMES
