A few blogs ago, the subject was Carry Nation and her campaign to abolish alcohol from the face of the Earth. Unfortunately, Carry died before the U.S. established nationwide prohibition in 1920. Prohibition was repealed in 1933. So a good part of the 20th century was a merry and “wet” one for a lot of folks.
But in the 1960s and 70s, a wave of Puritanism quietly swept over America where the citizens had spent more than two decades in indulgence. A foreign substance crept in and corrupted our youth. Called marijuana, or cannabis, or pot, or weed…. it was not drunk, but inhaled — totally alien to our traditions. This new vice quickly spread throughout the land and suddenly, being stoned was a lot more fashionable than drinking. Plus — drinking was now legal and the new stuff wasn’t.
I wasn’t around for prohibition, but I did grow up in a “dry” state (Oklahoma.) The attitude there was that alcohol was the root of all evil, a bit like the use of marijuana is today, or at least maybe until recently.
Alcohol had been a part of America culture for hundreds of years. Some/most Native American tribes used alcohol for ceremonial purposes during the precolonial era.
But then there’s the cannabis plant…. medicinal use of cannabis didn’t make its first appearance in America until the 1850s.
It’s interesting that varieties of cannabis plants are also known as hemp plants, although the word hemp is more commonly used when referring to fiber derived from the plants. Hemp, the fiber, has been used extensively throughout history for items like rope, paper, fabrics and boat sails. (In colonial America, hemp production was a requirement of English rule, and George Washington grew it as one of his main crops at Mount Vernon.)
As I mentioned, in the 1850s, products with cannabis extracts were first produced and sold for the purpose of treating illnesses such as pain and muscle spasms. Soon after, pharmaceutical regulations were introduced in individual states. Products containing habit-forming substances like cannabis were often labeled poison and, in some cases, were available only with a physician’s prescription.
So it seems like marijuana use and acceptance is following a similar path that alcohol did on its way to acceptance. But it is becoming more acceptable — I saw a sign the other day that said, “It’s CANabis, not CAN’Tabis.” And it seems like it’s even gotten a thumbs up from a couple of presidents…
“Some of my fines hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“I don’t think [pot] is more dangerous than alcohol.” ~ Barack Obama
So have a happy day…..
— 30 —