A Brief History of Societal Feelings Towards Cannabis:

For most of human civilization, the cannabis plant was revered and widely grown for a multitude of reasons. However, major societal and political shifts starting in the 1920’s, created an environment where alcohol and tobacco were widely accepted and promoted, while cannabis was relegated to an illegal netherworld surrounded my misinformation and smear campaigns.

Here are some interesting historical milestones regarding Cannabis in the United States:

In early America (pre-1800’s), The Harvesting of hemp was encouraged by the government for the production of rope, sails, and clothing, and it was even allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. All the way through the early 1900’s, hemp and cannabis were viewed as an important crop with a multitude of industrial and medical benefits.

Things started to change in the United States after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. With thousands of Mexican immigrants coming into the U.S., Americans were first introduced to the recreational use of marijuana. The drug quickly became associated with the immigrants, and the fear and prejudice about the Spanish-speaking newcomers became entwined with marijuana. Conservative religious and societal campaigners warned against the encroaching "Marijuana Menace" and started the movement to make Cannabis illegal and “criminal”. These feelings of paranoia and fear were only amplified during the Great Depression, with massive unemployment increasing public resentment towards Mexican immigrants. This escalated public and governmental concern about the problem of marijuana, which in turn fueled propaganda campaigns to associate cannabis (now known as marijuana) with violence, crime and other socially deviant behaviors. The campaigns worked, with 29 states outlawing marijuana by 1931.

In 1936,  a Christian morality group named “tell your children” produced the ridiculous (and infamous) Propaganda film "Reefer Madness", falsely showing the horrors of cannabis usage on young people. The film was, and still is, widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made in the history of cinema, but the damage had already been done. The outrage from uninformed people in the U.S. helped Congress pass the Marijuana Tax Act, basically criminalizing marijuana in the country. Here are examples of what people were shown:

In 1944, towards the end of WWII, there was a landmark medical study from The  New York Academy of Medicine regarding Cannabis use.  The NYAM issued an extensively researched report declaring that, contrary to earlier research and popular belief, use of marijuana did NOT induce violence, insanity or sex crimes, or lead to addiction or other drug use.

In the 1960’s, a slowly changing political and cultural climate was reflected in more lenient attitudes towards marijuana, with recreational use becoming widespread, especially in the white upper middle class demographic. Reports commissioned by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson found that marijuana use did NOT induce violence nor lead to use of heavier drugs. Policy towards marijuana began to involve considerations of treatment as well as lessening criminal penalties. Over the course of the 1970s, eleven states decriminalized marijuana and most others reduced their penalties.

Starting in 1976 though, the seas of change and perception started again. Led by a nationwide movement of conservative parents' groups, lobbying efforts began for stricter regulation of marijuana and the prevention of drug use by teenagers. Some of these groups became quite powerful and, with the support of the DEA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), were instrumental in affecting public attitudes which led to the 1980s War on Drugs

In the 1980’s, President Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, instituting mandatory sentences for drug-related crimes. In conjunction with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, the new law raised federal penalties for marijuana possession and dealing, basing the penalties on the amount of the drug involved.

Again, here are examples of what people were being shown in print marketing:

FINALLY…After decades of back and forth and shifting opinions and attitudes, which were never based on scientific or medical research, rather fear, control and paranoia, 1996 became the landmark year for the cannabis climate to finally change. That year, California voters passed Proposition 215, allowing for the sale and medical use of marijuana for patients with AIDS, cancer, and other serious and painful diseases. Even though the law stood in conflict with federal laws prohibiting possession of marijuana, the world was changing.

As of January 2020, there are 12 US states with full legalization for medical and recreational cannabis use, with 28 more states that have legal medical use and decriminalized recreational use. Only 10 states currently have neither recreational nor medical use (Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Sough Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming) However 4 of those states (Idaho, Nebraska, Mississippi and South Dakota) are voting in 2020 to legalize medical use.

Through all these changing feelings towards cannabis in the united states, here instead is what people were being sold as healthy and wonderful products (these are not photo-shopped in any way!)