Cannabis is one of the first plants known to have been cultivated by humanity, with archeological traces of it dating back 10,000 years. Hemp was one of the first plants to be spun into fiber, and it was a staple of many industries for millennia for its uses in crafting rope, paper, textiles, clothing, plastic, fuel, construction material and food, among many other things. The word “canvas,” which refer to sails, comes from “cannabis” due to the foremost importance of hemp in sailing for much of recorded history—including on Christopher Columbus’ ships.
Hemp continued to occupy an important place in the Americas after Columbus. It was a vital crop in the New World, and domestic production was encouraged. In 1619, Virginia even passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was so precious it was considered legal tender in parts of the country. It was grown by Thomas Jefferson in Monticello and George Washington in Mount Vernon. Betsy Ross allegedly made the first American flag out of the best fiber around at the time: hemp.
The plant remained a commonly grown cash crop, as well as a significant part of the U.S. economy, until the 1900s; at the time, cannabis did not suffer from its modern reputation as “the plant that makes you high,” which makes it all the more puzzling how it gained that reputation in the first place. The first cracks in the good name of cannabis appeared when its recreational use was introduced to white people in the U.S. by immigrants, in particular Mexicans.
An anti-cannabis movement started in the U.S. in the early 1900s, fueled by economic interests in seeing hemp step out of the spotlight and an anti-immigrant sentiment. Cannabis, the plant’s proper name, wasn’t scary enough. Opponents of cannabis started calling it foreign-sounding names like “locoweed” (from the Spanish word for “crazy,” loco) and the better-known “marijuana” (or marihuana), the popularity of which skyrocketed in the 1930s at the height of the anti-drug craze. For decades, the fact that the demonized Mexican drug “marihuana” was the same plant as the well-known and trusted cannabis crop was not made obvious to the populace.
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“Fear of brown people, combined with fear of nightmare drugs used by brown people, produced a wave of public action against the ‘marijuana menace.’ That combination led to restrictions in state after state, ultimately resulting in federal prohibition,” explains NPR writer Matt Thompson.
A Timeline of Cannabis Prohibition and Legalization
April 29, 1911
Massachusetts becomes the first state to outright ban cannabis, then known as “Indian hemp,” except by licensed pharmacists on a doctor’s prescription, after the state’s legislature was strong-armed by the puritanical New England Watch and Ward Society (founded as the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice). This is the first domino, whose fall would start a chain reaction of anti-cannabis state laws across the country.
June 14, 1930
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics is formed under President Herbert Hoover and headed by Harry J. Anslinger. As commissioner of the Bureau of Narcotics, Anslinger was the architect of cannabis prohibition in the U.S. and much of the world. Despite not being opposed to marijuana use during Prohibition, he abruptly changed his stance for a violently anti-cannabis one when alcohol became legal and his job as a Prohibition enforcer became threatened. A notorious racist, he used his position to oppress racial minorities and to spread misinformation and fear about cannabis.
Oct. 1, 1937
The Marihuana Tax Act becomes effective, officially starting the federal prohibition of cannabis, after an aggressive propaganda campaign against cannabis supported by lobbying efforts and the movie Reefer Madness released a year earlier. While the act didn’t explicitly outlaw marijuana, it restricted its possession, sale and transfer to such a degree that cannabis was effectively banned nationwide. The act, which was drafted by Anslinger, also made hemp far less profitable, dealing a serious blow to the industry.
Jan. 1, 1940
Despite legislative efforts to repress it, cannabis research continues. Researcher Roger Adams and a team from the University of Illinois are the first to isolate cannabidiol (CBD) from the cannabis sativa plant, opening up countless new possible uses for cannabis.
Dec. 7, 1941
The U.S. enters World War II, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt temporarily lifts the ban on hemp to support the war effort as imported fibers are in short supply. The government-sponsored propaganda movie Hemp for Victory is released in 1942 to encourage Midwestern farmers to grow hemp in large quantities—in particular those in Wisconsin, which was, historically, the heart of the national hemp industry.
Sept. 2, 1945
Japan officially surrenders, spelling the end of World War II. The U.S. government promptly bans hemp again, going so far as to deny ever supporting hemp production during the war in the first place. Faced with harsh penalties, American farmers are forced to abandon hemp and get rid of their crops.
July 1, 1965
Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam is the first to synthesize tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), identify the endocannabinoid system and illustrate the medicinal properties of cannabis, greatly improving the scientific community’s understanding of the substance.
May 1, 1971
The Controlled Substances Act becomes effective (replacing the Marihuana Tax Act, which was judged unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court). The Controlled Substances Act, devised under President Richard Nixon and still in place today, became the cornerstone of the ensuing “War on Drugs.” It creates the “Schedule I Controlled Substances” category for substances with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, placing cannabis and its derivatives, including hemp, under that denomination in spite of the scientific consensus. The Controlled Substances Act makes official the absolute ban on cannabis, starting a violent and hostile campaign against the plant, which in many way continues to this day.
In 1994, Nixon’s aide, John Ehrlichman, would famously go on to admit that the War on Drugs was a political move to suppress racial minorities and anti-war liberals: “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, 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,” Ehrlichman said. “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.”
Sept. 25, 1971
The first Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival, which would become the longest-running cannabis festival in the U.S., starts in Wisconsin under the supervision of cannabis activist Ben Masel. Activists smoke marijuana in the capitol rotunda in Madison to protest the arrest of some prominent marijuana activists and speak up against the war. In 2020, the festival returns for the 50th consecutive year.
Oct. 5, 1973
Going against the current, Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize possession of marijuana, making it equivalent to a traffic ticket with a maximum fine of $100. The bill is championed by a young upstart state representative, Earl Blumenauer, who would go on to found the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and who is still spearheading cannabis reform on the federal level today. Oregon’s successful decriminalization legislation kickstarts a wave of decriminalization initiatives in Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California and Ohio, among others.
April 5, 1977
Madison becomes the second city in the country to decriminalize marijuana (after Ann Arbor, Mich.) through municipal ordinance. The ordinance is still in place today, making the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana in a private space in Madison essentially legal.
Oct. 12, 1984
President Ronald Reagan’s Comprehensive Crime Control Act becomes effective. It severely increases the penalties for possession or sale of cannabis and establishes mandatory minimum sentences and civil asset forfeiture. This is a key moment in Reagan’s efforts to ramp up the War on Drugs; in the years leading up to the act, the federal budget allocated to drug enforcement is multiplied by 12.
Nov. 5, 1996
Mirroring the evolution of public opinion, California passes the Compassionate Use Act, becoming the first state to effectively legalize medical marijuana. It fully legalizes the possession and cultivation of cannabis by patients with a doctor’s recommendation. This act opened the door to similar initiatives in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Nevada in the following few years.
Aug. 4, 2009
Oregon proves once again to be a driving force of cannabis reform by legalizing the possession and production of hemp with a sweeping bipartisan bill. While the state’s hemp industry is initially stalled while waiting for the federal government’s approval, it contributes massively to the upcoming federal hemp reform, indicating a change in the tide.
Nov. 6, 2012
History is made. Colorado and Washington legalize recreational marijuana in defiance of federal law. Almost precisely 100 years after cannabis bans spread across the country, the 2012 presidential election, which brought about the reelection of President Barack Obama, partially lifts the ban.
Feb. 7, 2014
The 2014 Farm Bill is signed into law by President Obama. It authorizes the cultivation of hemp for research purposes under the supervision of an institution of higher education or a state department of agriculture.
March 2, 2018
Thanks to the 2014 Farm Bill, Wisconsin establishes a hemp pilot program under the guise of academic research. Despite sometimes restrictive and needlessly expensive roadblocks, Wisconsin farmers seize the opportunity to bring back the crop that was once one of the state’s main products.
Dec. 20, 2018
Hemp is finally federally legalized. The 2018 Farm Bill, which largely improves the hemp reform of its 2014 equivalent, is signed into law by President Donald Trump, removing federal shackles on the hemp industry, allowing the transportation of hemp across state lines and opening up crop insurance programs, federal grants, rights and protections to hemp farmers.
Jan. 7, 2019
Tony Evers becomes governor of Wisconsin after campaigning to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin, promising Wisconsinites a statewide referendum to consider legalizing adult-use marijuana, as well. As governor, he repeatedly pushes to decriminalize marijuana and attempts to legalize it. Evers also signed a bill entirely striking hemp from the list of controlled substances in the state.
Feb. 8, 2020
The first Wisconsin Cannabis Expo is presented by the Shepherd Express.
