High Times
To be frank, we’re totally onboard with the theories about Cannabis Prohibition being some larger evil scheme to keep wellness away from the people. And worse, we know the federal ban of cannabis in the US was directly related to the influx of Mexican immigrants to Southern states after the turn of the last century, who brought with them a cultural tradition of smoking marijuana in cigarettes and pipes for medicinal purposes (Americans had up until then mainly been using oil or hashish orally). So basically this fear-of-other turned into a vilification campaign of both Mexicans and cannabis (they threw hemp in there too, thanks to a W. R. Hearst-led mission to stamp out this cheaper and more eco-sound alternative to wood pulp – cough, cough, lumber and paper holdings – follow the money) in some flagrantly idiotic, racism-fueled, media and governmental law dovetail, that lead to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
While hemp almost made a comeback out of sheer necessity during WWII, thanks to materials for parachutes and other military gear being scarce, the media began pushing a “college campus drug epidemic” in the 1960s (code for: revolutionary thinking and civil action stimulated by more unnecessary war and the fight for equality). The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 lumped cannabis and hemp together, and classified it as a Schedule 1 drug, carrying the highest penalty of the law, and that act is still in effect today.
We love the ‘90s for so many reasons, not least of which California passing the statewide establishment of medical marijuana legislation in 1996 and leading the way for the rest of the country toward informed progress (though we’ve got a lot of problems with who benefits from this legalization and commercialization versus who’s still in jail – we urge you to do some research and try to direct your money appropriately if you are a cannabis consumer). Research blossomed, and report after report of the plant compounds’ efficacy against myriad ailments let marijuana and hemp step out of the shadows. Currently, 33 states have passed laws toward the legalization of medical Mary Jane. The 2018 passing of the Hemp Farming Act allows U.S. farmers to grow, process, and sell that plant commercially, legalizing hemp nationwide for any use including flower production, and the extraction of CBD, or cannabidiol.
Hemp is cannabis that contains less than .3% of the substance THC, CBD’s cousin and the compound that causes psychotropic or euphoric effects, aka gets you high. There is hemp CBD and marijuana CBD; neither will get you high (we promise), but hemp-derived CBD is the more widely available and the federally legal compound found in luxurious wellness treatments and at gas stations in gummy form everywhere. Seems like everyone wants to try CBD and we don’t blame them; it’s been shown to balance the skin, aid in relieving anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain, and so much more. A natural compound from one of the world’s most miraculous plants (seriously, 50k uses including making denim, varnishes, fiberglass substitutes, with long roots that aerate the soil and seed hearts that makes delicious milk?!), we’re SO into it.
