How the media and those in power skewed our view.

Did you know that cannabis has a history of medicinal healing? It was introduced in the US as a medicine in the mid 1800s. Did you know there were no restrictions on consuming or selling cannabis before the 1900s? This plant originated in Asia and was as part of medicine and treatment for the father of Chinese medicine - Emperor Shen Nung. The ancients kept records of their medicine and how it was used for what. Cannabis was the treatment plan for grief, pain, digestion, and other various ailments. Ever since civilizations began keeping records, they have written about cannabis. Cannabis was here before any written work.

“ I believe that a federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing cannabis to seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane...” - Jerome P. Kassirer, MD

“Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control man's appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principle upon which our government was founded.” - Abraham Lincoln
The part of the plant that is smoked for a high is called THC. THC comes from the cannabis plant as a whole. Other parts of the plant, like fiber, were used for clothing in 2250 BC. This crop was so abundant that it was used for clothing, paper, canvas, and many other everyday uses. Did you know that the rough drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper? Cannabis was used as an antiseptic to treat pain by digesting it, smoking it, and using it directly on the body. Egyptian women used Cannabis to treat “wrath and grief” as well as mixing with honey to ease menstrual cramps.

Did you know that the media perpetuated a negative attitude to cannabis? In the early 1910’s, Hispanic immigrants came to the US and introduced recreational smoking. The media began to call cannabis a gateway drug with harmful and unpredictable results. Crimes were blamed on Mexican immigrants without evidence and the plant was labeled as addictive and dangerous. Prohibition movements have a common theme of targeting a group of people associated with a substance. With the dividing and false statements from the media and new laws surrounding it, minorities are oppressed. The government, journalists, and media perpetuated this.

What is the correlation between drug laws and racial oppression?
Even though cannabis was used among the population, minorities were targeted. Targeting minority groups and immigrants with the use of drug laws has been a common pattern throughout US history. The history and research of this topic suggests that cannabis laws were used to control the Hispanic population that were coming in for labor. The demonization of cannabis segwayed into treating minorities like criminals and made the average American fearful of them because of the propaganda used to back minorities into a corner with stereotypes, blame, and racism. This law was a way to divide the people. When people are divided and scared, they are easy to persuade, control, and be kept in small boxes without looking for the truth.

The recurring theme of dividing people using laws is evident here. This division created hate towards minorities as well as distrust among the American population. Taking away a plant that is used to achieve an expansion of consciousness and unity among the people is a clear path to turning people against each other and forcing them to turn to other alternatives. If cannabis is free of side effects, why is it illegal? The natural remedies of cannabis complement the compounds in our bodies. It is free from side effects, and important for our endocannabinoid system. So, not only did the demonization of cannabis kill our sense of solidarity and human connection with people, it destroyed our pursuit of truth.

What truth are we missing out on?
Cannabis elevates our mind, body, and spirit. Our mission is to bring medicine and joy to people who often have no other remedies or care. We need to start asking our own questions. Why is cannabis illegal? Why is it a Schedule 1 drug when it has never been a cause of death? Aspirin is the cause of over 3,000 deaths per year. If we can consume a plant that alleviates symptoms by working symbiotically with the endocannabinoid system and has real lasting health benefits, why are we turning away from it? Instead of masking our pain with over-the-counter pills and sleeping medications, let's care for our bodies' core system so it can regulate itself.

We live in a time where pain and symptoms are masked by pharmaceuticals. According to a study done by Yale, 1 in 3 medications prescribed by the FDA will have serious safety issues in the coming years. The pharmaceutical profit incentive has become too strong and there is not enough time to test the products safely.

How does the media affect our views?
In 1923, William Randolph Hearst spread the word that Cannabis is a “shortcut to the insane asylum.” How did we come to associate cannabis with hard drugs? Harry Anslinger promoted false information about cannabis that sent the world into mass hysteria. He was the head of the US government narcotics department from 1930 - 1962. This misinformation was a collection of statements that included graphic details of people hurting others after consuming cannabis. Historians have proved these files to be false claims. Although he was asked to resign because of his dividing and false claims, he continued to promote propaganda. Anslinger did not have any scientific evidence or support to back his claims, but his legislation to criminalize cannabis passed through. Anslinger and his bureau of narcotics promoted the film “Reefer Madness”, which showed cannabis as a harmful drug that pictured people losing their minds and committing crimes.

In 1970, president Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substance Act. This act made cannabis a schedule 1 drug. This means that cannabis is classified as a similar drug to heroin, LSD, and others considered to be the most dangerous and addictive. According to Nixon’s assistant John Ehrlichman, “...but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

What can we do about this?
Cannabis brings people together and reminds us that there is no room in our lives for division and hate. We need to begin by asking our own questions and finding out where our curiosity lies. How could cannabis improve my life? Why are we not talking about the lives taken by being incarcerated due to possession of cannabis? Destigmatization is needed so we can be open to new ideas and discussions and stop pointing the finger with blame at groups of people. Do you ever think about the lives cannabis could change for the better if it was accessible? Having open discussions about the way cannabis helps can pave the way for a better and more hopeful future. There is no need to hide in fear that people will call you names and have assumptions about you if you smoke cannabis. The destigmatization starts with us being honest with ourselves and those around us. The current administration is considering reviewing the classification of cannabis as a schedule 1 drug, nothing has come of this yet. 

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