There are references to the use of Cannabis as medicine as far back as 4,000 years ago. The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug occurred in 2737 BC by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung who recommended it for pain and gout. Modern humans arrived about 200,000 years ago so it is very likely that cannabis was used by our species long before that first recorded use in China.
There is no record of any debate in Parliament regarding the prohibition of cannabis at that time.
Fear of cannabis was due, in no small part, to the bigoted and racist writings of Emily Murphy, an Edmonton Magistrate (the first female magistrate in Canada) whose unsubstantiated personal beliefs that marijuana was a dangerous drug, distributed by Chinese, stoked fears about this relatively unknown plant and it was consequently, in 1923, quietly included in the “Opium Act of 1908”, making cannabis just as illegal as heroin in Canada ! In reality, marijuana was virtually unheard of in Canada at that time but Murphy’s writings in Maclean’s Magazine and her book, “The Black Candle” warned that, “When coming from under the influence of marijuana, the victims present the most horrible condition imaginable. They are dispossessed of their natural and normal willpower, and their mentality is that of idiots. If this drug is indulged to any great extent, it ends in the untimely death of its addict.”
Yikes ! … What weird reality-distorting drug was she on ?
Around this same time some individual southern States in the USA had implemented laws to make marijuana illegal in, basically, what was an act of blatant racism.
Mexicans and blacks were, ostensibly, the only people using marijuana at that time and few white people had any interest or knowledge of marijuana. The laws were enacted to, basically, “uphold white Christian values in America.” and were used as a tool to suppress “undesirable” Mexicans and blacks.
Cannabis was made illegal throughout the United States in 1937, 14 years after it was made illegal in Canada and, again, without any scientific facts or studies to support the ban.
In fact, Harry J. Anslinger, the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics, had a maniacal obsession to rid the world of marijuana and he created and published a great deal of unfounded and biased propaganda and disinformation to portray marijuana as a dangerous drug that instantly drove users insane…….REEFER MADNESS !
Unfortunately, many of his unfounded negative claims and lies about the “dangers” of marijuana remain today.
His threats to veto votes in the United Nations, unless countries agreed to make marijuana illegal, led to marijuana being made illegal throughout most of the world through the “UN Single Convention of 1961″… even in countries where it had been accepted and used for centuries without any problems !
(Yes, there was insanity in American politics long before January 20th, 2017 !)
Prohibition of cannabis was entirely based on disinformation and fabrication of false “facts” and lies!
This chart indicates that Anslinger would have been far better off to target tobacco and alcohol, rather than cannabis, in his “war on dangerous drugs”…..
The 1961 UN Single Convention forbids countries from legalizing marijuana (except for Medical purposes) so it is not clear how the Canadian Government was able to legalize recreational marijuana while still a member of this UN treaty. Canada may have to withdraw from this treaty. This treaty, in reality however, no longer reflects current understanding and attitudes regarding marijuana….as it was based on the unsubstantiated paranoia of Emily Murphy, Anslinger and others…and should be re-written to exclude legalized personal use of marijuana.
An excellent book, “Cannabis: A History” by Martin Booth explores the history of cannabis and the laws against it’s use throughout the world. It can be ordered on the Google Play Store or on Amazon.
An interesting and informative recent article on LIFT, “Canada’s Path From Prohibition: A Cannabis Timeline” chronicles the history of cannabis laws in Canada.
THE ROAD TO LEGALIZATION…
Canada first legalized MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL USE in 2001 after the Canadian Court of Appeal declared medical marijuana prohibition unconstitutional. (Please click on the tab for each year to view the changes to the law in that year).
MMAR – “Marihuana Medical Access Regulations” ( Yes, marijuana and marihuana are both correct spellings.) was enacted and this law allowed patients, with the signed approval of a doctor, to access a single strain of dried marijuana from a single government approved supplier.
This marijuana was grown in an abandoned mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba and was far more expensive, and was much inferior in quality, compared to what was available on the street!!
As a result, many patients did not bother to order it. Most people, after acquiring their license, chose to buy their strains from Compassion Clubs and Dispensaries rather than order the poor quality cannabis from the government approved provider. Ironically, it was the poor quality of cannabis from this single government approved supplier that led to the proliferation of so many illegal Compassion Clubs and Dispensaries.
(I like to call this, “The Flin Flon Mine Disaster”).
In July, 2013, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was visiting Kelowna…..two years before becoming Prime Minister of Canada….and announced to a group of people (where one held a sign demanding “Decriminalization Of Marijuana”) “I’m actually not in favor of decriminalizing cannabis. I’m in favor of legalizing it – tax and regulate.”
MMPR – “Marihuana For Medical Purposes Regulations” replaced the MMAR and allowed patients, with a prescription from a doctor, to obtain a license and order dried cannabis from one of several Licensed Producers approved by Health Canada.
Patients could, alternately, apply for a license to grow their own plants or have another licensed person grow plants for them. This allowed patients to experiment with different strains to find ones that best treated their individual medical conditions.
ACMPR, “Access To Cannabis For Medical Purposes Regulation” replaced the MMPR. Under these regulations the only way to LEGALLY acquire medical marijuana is through one of the Licensed Producers (LPs) approved by Health Canada. A patient may, in addition, also apply for a license to grow their own cannabis or have a licensed approved grower provide it for them.
Originally Health Canada only allowed dried cannabis for smoking or vaporizing but that regulation was overturned by the Courts and now patients may order Cannabis Oils from the Licensed Producers and also may make their own cannabis derivatives at home.
Legalization of “recreational marijuana” was introduced in Parliament in the spring of 2017 and is now legal as of October 17th, 2018 under The Cannabis Act
Information regarding the Cannabis Act can be accessed through, www.canada.ca/cannabis
As of Oct 17, 2018 when recreational cannabis became legal under the Cannabis Act, the ACMPR was repealed and is now renamed Cannabis Regulations but will remain basically the same as the ACMPR.
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Don’t bother trying to remember all those dates and boring old acronyms if you’ve just inhaled your medicine…..”short term memory loss”, sometimes attributed to marijuana use, can sometimes be a good thing !!
In July of 2017 Uruguay was the first major country to legalize marijuana and Canada, in Oct. 2018 became the second.
Contrary to common belief, The Netherlands never did “legalize” marijuana even though “Cannabis Cafes” are permitted in Holland.
Several countries have “decriminalized” marijuana and some others “tolerate” it’s use but have not yet “legalized” marijuana.
In the USA, despite the fact that 19 States, (plus Washington, DC), allow legal Recreational Marijuana, 36 allow legal Medical Marijuana and several others allow “limited” Medical Marijuana (low THC high CBD), marijuana is still illegal federally so a Canadian Medical Marijuana License is NOT VALID IN THE USA….or anywhere else outside Canada.
It is illegal to carry marijuana out of Canada whether you have a valid medical license, or not.
In fact, do not even admit to using marijuana if asked at the border or you could be permanently barred from entering the United States!
There are efforts underway to have criminal records of Canadians who were convicted of simple possession of marijuana erased now that marijuana is legal. However, there is no guarantee that the USA will honor these “pardons” if this occurs.
I, personally, was convicted of Possession of Marihuana in Winnipeg way back in 1967 and applied for, and received, a “Pardon” 5 years after the end of my sentence. Still, over 50 years later, I can not enter the USA without paying $585.00 US, plus possible lawyer’s fees, to the Department of Homeland Security for a “US ENTRY WAIVER”. (Entry can still be denied after paying this fee for the application.)
It is important to understand that even if you had your record erased in Canada it may not be erased in the USA. (It would be naive to think that Homeland Security does not have a record of Canadian drug convictions.)
Unfortunately, with legalization, our Federal Government decided to allow the responsibility of controlling cannabis to be amended by the individual Provinces. This was, in my opinion, a huge mistake by the Liberal Government ! Laws controlling marijuana were always a Federal responsibility and it would have been much more appropriate, and less confusing, to have control of legal marijuana also the responsibility of the Federal Government.
Now, rather than having a harmonious National policy on marijuana use, each province, city and municipality are allowed to come up with their own laws so, depending on where you live, permitted use of marijuana will vary greatly. Common sense would allow that one standard set of laws across the country would be far better than a hodge-podge of different laws throughout the country !
Another mistake by the Federal Government is that it now will TAX MEDICAL MARIJUANA along with taxation of recreational marijuana! As long as patients are required to obtain approval from a doctor in order to purchase legal medical marijuana, it should be treated like any other prescription drug …. and prescription drugs in Canada are NOT SUBJECT TO TAX !!
Two of the main objectives of legalization were to eliminate the criminal “black market” and to keep marijuana out of the hands of young people.
It remains to be seen what effect legalization will have on the black market over time….that will depend a great deal on the price and availability of legal marijuana. At this point in time there is not enough “legal” cannabis available in all cities in Canada to counteract the “black market” and the price of legal cannabis is too often much higher. Ironically, current conditions may actually encourage the “black market” as Canadians are now permitted to use marijuana but, because of the price and availability of legal marijuana, many are turning to the “black market” !
As far as young people using marijuana, yes, it will have a positive effect. In every State where marijuana was legalized in the USA use amongst youth decreased after legalization.
Before legalization people were arrested for possession of cannabis, now they aren’t….very little preparation required I would think.
Seriously, though, one major benefit of the legalization of marijuana is that police will no longer be the “enemy” of cannabis users.
For average Canadians who chose to use marijuana, feeling it was their right to do so as the laws against marijuana were never based on scientific studies or facts, there was always a valid worry that, at any time, they could be “busted” and have their lives negatively impacted by a criminal record. This led to much of the “paranoia” attributed to marijuana use and a fear of police. With legalization the fear of arrest is removed.
Marijuana users are no longer “criminals” and police, for the average person, should no longer be a threat or an “enemy” out to bust them.
Click here to go on to the next section titled “Cannabis Explained”