A Brief History
On October 17, 2018, the recreational use of Marijuana was legalized in Canada. Call it Cannabis, Hemp, Pot, Weed or whatever, for decades the “herb” was illegal in most industrialized nations.
Digging Deeper
Going back to 1378, the Emir of the Joneima in Arabia outlawed Marijuana and its derivatives, and Napoleon did the same for the French in 1800. Other countries followed, including Mexico in 1920, Canada in 1923, Britain in 1928, and the USA in 1937.
Now, almost a century later, the tide has turned, and many States and countries have legalized Weed for medical or recreational reasons. Some of those that allow recreational use are: Austria, Canada, Israel, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, and Uruguay.
As of 2023, 23 US states have legalized Marijuana. We strongly urge potential users to research the laws of any state or country Marijuana use is contemplated. Many jurisdictions have restrictions on the amount of Pot allowed or the number of plants allowed.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Hudak, John. Marijuana: A Short History. Brookings Institution Press, 2020.
Stack, Laura. The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story. Johnny’s Ambassadors Publishing, 2022.
The featured image in this article, a map by DrRandomFactor showing which MP’s voted in favour (green) of Bill C-45 (Cannabis Act), against (red), abstained (grey) or whether the seat was vacant (black), is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
