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THE 30 INTERESTING FACTS
ABOUT
CANNABIS
YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW
Why It Became Illegal, Strange Science, & More…
www.GreenFlowerMedia.com
© 2015 Green Flower Media LLC
ABOUT GREEN FLOWER MEDIA
Cannabis is a life-changing plant that’s lugging
around an outdated public persona
hat’s why our mission at Green Flower Media is to produce original content
that changes the social stigma of cannabis forever. That way, everyone,
everywhere, can choose to benefit from cannabis without judgment or
restriction.
This collective shift begins by educating people about the legitimate benefits, facts,
and science of cannabis so that old stereotypes and misinformation can finally be
put to rest. It also happens by telling compelling true stories of the people who use
and enjoy cannabis, whether that be to stimulate creative thoughts, relax into life,
deal with illness, or build empires.
Whether you are an existing cannabis user looking for a place to call home on
the internet, or you’re a new or returning cannabis user looking for clear, credible
information about how to use this plant in a safe and responsible way, we’re glad
you’ve found us.
Make sure to sign up for our newsletter at www.GreenFlowerMedia.com to get new
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2
LET'S BRING CANNABIS OUT OF
THE DARK & INTO THE LIGHT
here is a tremendous amount of misinformation about cannabis; and,
unfortunately, that causes a lot more harm than good. This Green Flower
Report is designed to help you understand the history about why cannabis
became illegal in the first place and some fascinating cannabis facts you
probably don’t know.
If you enjoy this report, feel free to share it
with your friends.
Since our mission is to change the social stigma of cannabis, we encourage you to
spread it around. As always, we seek to stimulate real dialogues about cannabis; so,
if you feel moved, visit the link below and share your thoughts:
http://greenflowermedia.com
Much love,
The Green Flower Media Team
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A BRIEF, SLIGHTLY SUBJECTIVE, HISTORIC
TIMELINE OF CANNABIS IN AMERICA
…and Why The Social Stigma Formed In The First Place.
he history of cannabis in the United States begins idyllically in the fields and
farms of colonial America, persists harmlessly through the period of the Civil
War, and really only begins to come under legal scrutiny in the 20th Century.
When you consider the long and sordid history of cannabis, one cannot help but
wonder why it has taken so much time for it to come to the foreground once more.
From there, the story becomes one of fear, racism, the protection of corporate
profits, yellow journalism, corrupt legislators, greed, and personal career
advancement. It really does sound like an episode of House of Cards and as it
should, since great fiction is built upon reality. Then, as the 1900s slip away, people
start to realize that decades of restrictive laws against cannabis do far more harm
than the plant they tried unsuccessfully to suppress. That’s when things finally
begin to change. Let’s take a journey through an abbreviated timeline of the
modern Western understanding of cannabis.
1619 Every Virginian is required to grow hemp by the State Assembly.
It is exchanged there as legal tender, as well as in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
What a strange world where hemp, something today that conjures only a hippie
vibe, was a means of purchasing and trading resources in colonial America.
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1700s George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow vast acreages
of hemp.
This contributes significantly to their stature in the Colonies — to say nothing of
their immense personal wealth and political clout. Can you imagine an image of
that on modern legal tender?
1870s Prior to the Civil War, hemp is used extensively to make rope,
sails, clothing, paper, and oil.
Shortly thereafter, imported and domestic materials are
introduced to replace hemp. Coincidentally, cannabis
becomes widely used in a variety of patent medicines
and medical products. Cannabis is sold in pharmacies.
Let that idea sink in for a moment.
1880s-1890s Cannabis is lumped into the same category with
questionable components found in patent medicines, some highly
dangerous to humans.
Without proper labeling and product testing, it’s
impossible for people, including regulators, to know
which ingredients cause harm and which do not. There
is putting safety first and then there is fear-mongering:
I will let you decide which is which.
1906 Non-medical cannabis is labeled a poison.
The Pure Food and Drug Act requires the labeling of ingredients, including
any cannabis used in over-the-counter medicines.
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1910 The term “Marihuana” is born.
As soon as the Mexican Revolution ends, waves of Mexican immigrants begin
crossing over the border to America. They bring habits and folkways of their own,
including a foreign language and recreational use of marihuana.
The Spanish word sticks because anti-drug crusaders
use it widely to emphasize the dangerous Mexican
connection to cannabis usage, which becomes
associated with the threatening immigrant
population.
News stories of marihuana-fueled
crimes, often of a lurid sexual nature and
perpetrated by immigrants upon innocent
Americans, inflames the fear of outsiders.
Sensationalized by the media, fears of marihuana and the people who use it
become part of the culture. Americans familiar with cannabis in their medicines
and tinctures are clueless that “marihuana” is this same plant.
Controlling cannabis is seen as a way of institutionally enforcing prejudice, anger,
and resentment toward the Spanish-speaking users of the plant. Just as regulating
opium usage had helped authorities control Chinese immigrants in the GoldRush era, criminalizing cannabis becomes part of the effort to control Hispanic
immigrants.
1913-1930 California passes the first
State law prohibiting cannabis usage in 1913.
This provides a convenient method for authorities
to search, detain, and deport Hispanic immigrants at
will. Utah follows in 1914, with 30 states creating
anti-cannabis statutes by 1930. In eastern states, it is
not fear of Hispanic immigrants, but fear of African
Americans and particularly jazz musicians, who are said to use cannabis to “take
advantage of White women.” Making marijuana illegal is essentially a strategic
move that is, unfortunately, steeped in racism.
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1930s Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) forms and begins efforts to
regulate and criminalize all recreational drugs.
Some of America’s largest companies, including DuPont Chemical Company and
various oil companies, join in the effort to outlaw cannabis. DuPont has patented
plastics and nylon, made from oil, and wants hemp removed as competition. The
oil companies throw their money behind anti-cannabis efforts. Cannabis has also
fallen out of favor in pharmaceutical usage as companies struggle with the day’s
unsophisticated technologies to properly identify and standardize cannabis dosages.
Another significant factor in this decline is that people can grow their own cannabis
and do not have to purchase the new drugs being manufactured by these large
companies. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst owns vast timber farms
and thus favors the timber industry over hemp for producing paper. He uses his 26
influential newspapers to spread disinformation all over the country. Headlines such
as “Marihuana makes fiends of boys in thirty days” or “Hashish goads users to bloodlust”
appear in Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.
1937 The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is rammed through Congress.
Citing Hearst’s headlines as factual, and despite strenuous
objections from the American Medical Association, the shit
hits the proverbial fan when the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937
is rammed through Congress. Anslinger emerges as the first
real Drug Czar. He claims cannabis causes people to commit
violent crimes, act irrationally, and in overly sexual ways.
The FBN produces propaganda films promoting Anslinger’s
views. Anslinger is not shy about taking shots at cannabis,
as he often comments to the press regarding his views on
marijuana, demonizing drugs and drug users to solidify
his power through the spread of fear and racism. He has
the resources and a large public podium to promote his
personal agenda. Incidentally, Anslinger’s uncle is Andrew
Mellon, who had been President Hoover’s Treasury Secretary and is DuPont’s primary
investor. On August 3rd, President Roosevelt signs the law that makes possession or
transfer of cannabis illegal throughout the United States, excluding medical and
industrial uses, through imposition of an excise tax on all sales of hemp. Everyone
remembers Reefer Madness, right?
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1941 Henry Ford smashes his car made with hemp with an axe.
In an effort to support farmers through the depression, Henry Ford builds a prototype
car of lightweight plastic bound with hardening fibers from pine, straw, hemp, and
ramie (similar to cotton). In a famous ad of the time, he even smashes the car with an
axe to demonstrate the strength of the material. Although the axe swing leaves no
dent in the car, it never goes beyond the prototype stage.
1942 Cannabis is removed from the US Pharmacopoeia.
What a shame.
1948 Actor Robert Mitchum creates a PR frenzy around cannabis.
On September 1st, the LA Times reports: “Actor Robert Mitchum and starlet Lila Leeds
were reportedly caught smoking marijuana during a police raid at the actress’ Hollywood
Hills home.” The event unleashes six months of intense media scrutiny and a 60-day
jail term for Mitchum. It is speculated that his career will be ruined. It doesn’t work
out that way. He dies in 1997, a beloved star of dozens of films. However, the career
of his partner in crime, actress Lila Leeds, is destroyed.
1950s Cannabis and poetry begins.
Beatniks popularize black clothes, turtlenecks and berets, coffee shops, jazz, finger
snapping (hence the beat), and moody poetry readings in smoky coffee shops filled
with potheads. The legend grows.
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1967 The Summer of Love.
All the happy, humping, and high hippies of
Haight-Ashbury smoke lots and lots of pot,
facilitated open-heartedly by wheeling,
dealing Hell’s Angels and the returning
misfit Vietnam Vets — who not only smoke
up a storm, but bring strong cannabis back
with them from the war. Decades before
it becomes popular, it’s common in these
times to see a waterproof sea bag stuffed with
a hundred pounds of exotic hash oil. Duffels
overflow with sticky, hallucinogenic Thai sticks far
stronger than any cannabis to reach these shores
prior to that. The tight, tasty buds come wrapped around
a sliver of bamboo, tied together with a piece of bamboo
string. The profound term “one-hit” enters the cannabis user’s lexicon.
1970 President Nixon signs the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention
and Control Act into law.
This establishes the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance, meaning it
has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and has a lack of
accepted safety for use under medical supervision. No prescriptions may be written
for Schedule I substances and such substances are subject to production quotas
by the DEA––thus impeding research. Combined with mandatory sentencing laws
implemented at the same time, any interaction with cannabis is now a serious
federal crime. As of 2015, despite numerous State laws legalizing medical and
recreational marijuana (and multiple studies showing medicinal benefits), such
measures have no effect on federal law. Marijuana remains on Schedule I, effective
across all US states and territories. The National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML) is founded.
“It has surprised me, however, that the facts on which these statements have been
based have not been brought before this committee by competent primary evidence.”
-Dr. William C. Woodward
The Ansliger hearings in 1937.
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1971 Drugs become public enemy #1.
During a July 17th news conference, President Nixon
says: “America’s public enemy number one in the United
States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this
enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.”
1972 First attempt to decriminalize marijuana fails.
The bipartisan Shafer Commission, appointed by President Nixon at
the direction of Congress, considers laws regarding marijuana and
determines that personal use of marijuana should be decriminalized.
Nixon, in classic form, rejects the recommendation.
1973 Say hello to the DEA.
On July 1st, President Nixon signs a law to
establish the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA),
a new federal law enforcement agency under
the Justice Department created to fight drug
smuggling and use in the United States. It also
has sole responsibility for coordinating and
pursuing US drug investigations abroad. The war
by America, against Americans who use drugs,
is on. On July 2nd, everyone starts smoking pot:
the ROTC guy down the hall in your dorm, the
business majors, and the football players. Even
moms try it. It is more illegal than ever, more
available than ever, and starting to get stronger.
1974 High Times publishes its first issue.
Hilarity and puns fill pages of glossy material.
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Late 1970s Cannabis growers start to find their roots.
Early migrants from San Francisco, escaping the city for more fertile grounds,
have started slipping into California’s Humboldt and Mendocino counties since
the Summer of Love wound down in 1967. Now, a decade later, some of those
Thai or Vietnamese cannabis seeds they brought along begin to bear remarkable,
clever new strains of the strongest cannabis the world has ever known. Those first
clandestine planters, and the pioneers who follow over the next decades, will grow
weed impressively and reliably to the delight of cannabis connoisseurs everywhere.
1986 “Just Say No” Campaign Begins.
During a September 14th address to the
nation regarding drug abuse, President
Reagan defers to his wife, Nancy, who
famously chirps: “When it comes to alcohol
and drug abuse, just say no.” The President
signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, instituting
severe mandatory sentences for drug-related
crimes. It’s later amended to include a “three
strikes and you’re out” policy, requiring life
sentences for repeat drug offenders — no
matter how petty the crime.
1996 California legalizes medical
marijuana.
Although still a federally-controlled
substance, California voters pass
Proposition 215, legalizing medical
marijuana in the state.
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1997 California’s first legal medical
marijuana dispensary opens.
It’s progress.
1998-2014 Twenty-three states legalize medical marijuana.
Three more states are in the process of doing so. Recreational marijuana is legal in
four states: Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon.
2015 Green Flower Media is founded to help, once and for all, to
reverse the social stigma associated with smoking cannabis.
It aims to provide education on the benefits and pleasures of cannabis for
responsible users. Together with you, we can write the new story of cannabis as the
healthful, beneficial, and valuable crop that it can, and should, be.
12
INTERESTING CANNABIS STATISTICS
ere at Green Flower Media believe that nothing can replace facts for
establishing the truth about cannabis. Knowledge always beats ignorance. In
that effort, we present statistics about the prevalence of use, harm, and its
impact on the economy. The next time someone has an uninformed opinion
about what cannabis does (or does not) you can back up your claims with
knowledge.
In the US, where marijuana is federally illegal:
• Pew Research Center reported 47% of Americans, or approximately 150 million,
have tried cannabis.
• According to US government estimates, domestic marijuana production increased
tenfold in the 25 years from 1981 to 2006, from 1,000 metric tons (2.2 million
pounds) in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons (22 million pounds) in 2006.
• According to a February 2015 report from Arc View Research, the national legal
marijuana market is worth $2.7 billion; up from $1.5 billion in 2013, a gain of 74%.
The report projects legal marijuana in 2015 will see a further 32 percent growth in
the market.
• According to that same report, the estimated amount the national legal marijuana
market will be worth in five years is $10.2 billion.
• According to a 2010 study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron, the
estimated total amount that marijuana prohibition costs State and Federal
governments every year is $17.4 billion.
• The Federal government’s own statistics show that marijuana is safer than alcohol.
In Colorado, where marijuana is legal:
• $700 million was sold in the first year of legal recreational cannabis.
• A February 2014 budget proposal from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper included
an estimate for $98 million in expected tax revenue that Colorado will collect
from legal marijuana sales in a complete fiscal year.
• $40 million of marijuana tax revenue in Colorado is earmarked for public school
construction.
• 7,500-10,000 marijuana industry jobs currently exist in Colorado according to
Michael Elliott, the Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group — a trade
association that advocates for responsible marijuana regulation.
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• 130.3 metric tons is Colorado’s annual demand for marijuana, which is equal to
36.8 million “eighths” of cannabis flowers.
• 485,000 adults who are 21 and older use marijuana at least once a month. This
is around nine percent of Colorado’s population.
• 23% of Colorado’s cannabis users consume it daily.
• 7% of Colorado’s cannabis is bought by out-of-state tourists, although in resort
vacation communities throughout the state, 90% of recreational sales are
attributed to out-of-towners. Vacation fun!9% is the average decline in retail
prices on recreational marijuana over the first year of legal sales.
• $315 million of recreational marijuana was sold in 2014.
• $386 million of medical marijuana…in the same period.
• 103,918 patients report “severe pain” as their condition for a medical marijuana
license. This represents 94% of the State’s total patients.
• $76 million in taxes, licenses, and fees was collected in 2014 on recreational
and medical marijuana.
• 10 milligrams of THC is the state-standard single-serving size for marijuana
edibles, with 100 milligrams maximum allowed in an individually-packaged
product being sold recreationally.
• Despite fear and hysteria over pot-laced treats, 0 is the number of reports of
THC-laced candy given to Colorado’s trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
*All Colorado statistics are from tax data released by the state Department of Revenue.
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30 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT
KNOW ABOUT CANNABIS
1. Marijuana is the most commonly-used (illegal) drug in the world.
2. 10,000-year-old pottery found in Taiwan was decorated with hemp fibers.
3. Beer and cannabis are botanical cousins: hops and cannabis are in the same
family of flowering plants.
4. Cannabis is legal and not classified as a drug in North Korea.
5. In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to make it legal to grow,
sell, and consume marijuana.
6. In Colorado, medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks locations 3
to 1.
7. During the temperance movement of the 1890s, cannabis was commonly
recommended as a substitute for alcohol. The reason? Cannabis did not lead to
domestic violence while alcohol
abuse did.
8. Prior to its ban, hemp was a staple cash crop of the family farm in early America.
The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on paper
made from hemp.
9. Marijuana production and trafficking create the world’s largest drug market and
the substance can be grown in almost every country. The United Nations Office
on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) has data on 172 countries and territories known
to grow marijuana.
10. In 2003, Canada became the first country in the world to offer medical
marijuana to pain-suffering patients.
11. During the height of World War II, the US produced a film entitled “Hemp for
Victory” praising the many uses of hemp and encouraging farmers to grow it to
help with the war effort. The peak level of US hemp production was reached
in 1943.
15
12. Marijuana is actually good for your lungs. A recent study of 5,000 pot smokers
by UCSF and University of Alabama showed that those who smoke a few
cannabis cigarettes a week had stronger lung capacity and external blowing
force than non-users.
13. A 2005 UCLA paper shows that marijuana smoke may help prevent lung cancer.
Unlike tobacco, which contains nicotine and is a known carcinogen, cannabis
contains cannabinoids such as THC, which seem to discourage cancer.
14. The British colonial government of India declared marijuana harmless in 1894.
There was concern cannabis might be driving the population insane. They
commissioned a study and issued a report entitled The Indian Hemp Drugs
Commission Report of 1894. It concluded that mainstream usage was harmless
and that a ban on it might prove more detrimental.
15. Uses of the hemp plant fiber itself are numerous. It can be made into rope,
paper, clothing, canvas, eaten as a food, and its seeds can be used for fuel.
16. It’s good for the planet. A Canadian study by McGill University estimated that 1.5
to 3.5 million acres of industrial hemp would take care of all of our oil needs.
17. It is legal in Uruguay, Peru, India, and Iran for cannabis to be grown for food or
fuel.
18. Legalization of hemp and marijuana would produce thousands of jobs, reduce
world hunger, lessen greenhouse gases, and help people fight AIDS, glaucoma,
and cancer,
19. In Malaysia, if you are arrested with 200 grams (seven ounces) of weed you will
receive a mandatory death sentence.
20. Marijuana is good for your brain. A 2005 study by National Institute of Health
showed cannabinoids’ ability to promote neurogenesis (brain cell growth)
in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for many important brain
functions including mood and memory. The authors cited anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects that accompany the neurogenesis. It also supports research
that marijuana helps improve cognitive function in bipolar disorder patients.
21. According to the American Public Journal of Health, suicide rates suicide rates
are lower in areas where medical marijuana is available. Results suggest
that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5%
reduction in total suicide rate, an 11% reduction in the suicide rate of age 2029 males, and a 9% reduction in the suicide rate of 30-39 males.
16
22. According to records provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse
(NHSDA), 1999-2006.
23. Numerous studies report that legalizing cannabis would save the US an
estimated $14-$17 billion per year. This is not including tax revenue that would
be collected from selling cannabis.
24. Colorado collected $45 million in taxes on cannabis in the first 8 months of
legalized recreational sales in 2014.
25. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, around 6,000 people per
day in the US try cannabis for the first time and this number is growing
26. FDA has recently approved the first clinical trials of marijuana for pediatric
epilepsy.
27. Researchers at Great Britain’s University of London showed that various
chemicals in marijuana can kill leukemia cells.
28. First clinical trials of marijuana for brain cancer began in the UK.
29. Scientists at the University of Tel Aviv provided the first clinical evidence that
marijuana can help treat Crohn’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
30. Harvard study shows smoking marijuana can aid in weight loss and reduce the
risk of diabetes..
17
FINAL THOUGHTS
ow that you know more facts and information about cannabis, we
encourage you to start some interesting dialogues with your friends.
Tell people about the history of why it became illegal. Share some of the
medical breakthroughs. Be the smartest person in the room! Cannabis is a
hot topic right now, so go forth and fuel those dialogues with solid facts
and interesting information.
And remember: we’d love to hear from you. If you have opinions, comments, or
ideas based on this Green Flower Report, share them with us right now.
Plus, you can find more Green Flower Reports to read and enjoy!
You can also find us on all the social networks.
Thanks for reading, please make sure to visit us online and sign up for our
newsletter, and we’ll talk to you soon.
18

to it now - Green Flower Media

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