A Brief History of Weed According to Weeds (Showtime)

A brief history of weed brought to us by Weeds. With the Showtime series Weeds coming to an end, we should take a moment and reflect on what the show has meant to the mainstream acceptance of cannabis. Over the years, Weeds has helped to mainstream marijuana in our society. As part of the marketing efforts, Showtime released these 2 videos in 2009 helping to educate on the honest truth of cannabis over the generations.

A Brief History of Weed | Part I

Highlights from A Brief History of Weed | Part I

• 2727 B.C. | China begins using marijuana as medicine [0:12 mark]
• 500 A.D. | Cannabis reaches Europe by way of India and Africa [0:18 mark]
• 1492 | Christopher Columbus brings cannabis sativa to the new world [0:22 mark]
• 1619 | Jamestown Colony Law: All settlers required to grow cannabis [0:29 mark]
• 1797 | Washington’s primary crop at Mount Vernon is cannabis [0:37 mark]
• 1876 | The Sultan of Turkey give the U.S. marijuana as a gift [0:45 mark]
• 1880 | Turkish smoking parlors open up ALL OVER the northeast [0:51 mark]
• 1891 | Queen Victoria is prescribed marijuana to relieve menstrual cramps [0:55 mark]
• 1908 | Henry Ford’s first Model T is made with HEMP plastic and runs on hemp ethanol [1:01 mark]
• 1937 | Federal Law BANS marijuana [1:07 mark]
• 1942 | The U.S. military uses marijuana as truth serum [1:10 mark]
• 1965 | 1 Million Americans have tried marijuana [1:16 mark]
• 1972 | 24 Million Americans have tried marijuana [1:21 mark]
• 1980’s | The Reagan administration begins its War of Drugs [1:24 mark]
• 1980’s | Every 38 seconds someone is arrested for violating cannabis law [1:29 mark]
• 1996 | Propositions 215 passes in California, medical marijuana is legal
• 2009 | Marijuana is America’s #1 cash crop at $36 Billion a year [1:40 mark]

A Brief History of Weed | Part II

Highlights from A Brief History of Weed | Part II

• 8,000 B.C. | The first woven fabric is made of hemp [0:08 mark]
• 105 A.D. | The Chinese make the first paper from mulberry and hemp [0:14 mark]
• 1484 | The Pope declares that smoking cannabis is sacrilegious [0:20 mark]
• 1776 | The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper [0:23 mark]
• 1789 | Napoleon discovers Egyptian lower class smokes pot habitually. He bans it in France. [0:32 mark]
• 1919 | The Dutch pass the Opium Act, the road map for Holland’s tolerance of soft drug use [0:39 mark]
• 1928 | Britain bans the recreational use of cannabis [0:48 mark]
• 1937 | America makes first pot arrest Samuel R. Caldwell gets 4 years for possession [0:59 mark]
• 1961 | At the United Nations, 100 countries agree to make marijuana illegal around the world [1:06 mark]
• 1960’s | The average THC concentration of cannabis, less than 1% [1:15 mark]
• 2008 | The average THC concentration 9.6% [1:20 mark]
• 1970’s | Hawaiian pot growers are the first to grow marijuana hydroponically [1:22 mark]
• 2003 | Canada is the first country in the world to offer medical marijuana to its patients [1:28 mark]
• 2008 | The UN reports that 172 countries or territories grow marijuana [1:36 mark]