HISTORY OF CANNABIS

In the 1800s, cannabis and hemp (also referred to as marijuana) was legal.  Hemp was a rather easy crop, since there were moderately small investments in hemp production. Compared to the large investments for factories, for other fibers; equipment to handle cotton, wool, and linen. There was a misconception hemp had an intoxicating effect because it has the same active substance, THC, which is in potent marijuana strains. Factually, hemp has a negligible amount of THC compared to medical marijuana strains.

Unfortunately marijuana has been associated with much false propaganda, claiming that most marijuana users are disreputable people and of lower class, making it an easy target.  This myth was popularized during prohibition and pothibition in the late 1920’s.

In Canada, Emily Murphy wrote a prejudice book called “Black Candle” under the pen mane of Janey Canuck.  In this fiction book, she writes that opium and cannabis are similar.  Black Candle claimed that black people were introducing white people to opium and marijuana, causing the users to loose their morality and minds.  In her book she claims the intention was to turn a good citizen into a pure evil criminal who would murder and cause great damage without conscience after smoking the herb.  This fiction was popularized by the politicians in the day, that were influence by those who wanted alcohol legal and paper mills to replace the hemp fiber products and newspaper.

After the Mexican Revolution of 1910 several Mexicans immigrated to the United States.  It is believed that was when recreational marijuana use was introduced. A public misconception that Mexicans and other minorities committed violent crimes while under the influence of marijuana, which caused many states to criminalize marijuana.  This myth was promoted in 1930 by Harry J. Anslinger‘s media interviews, faulty studies, and propaganda films that claimed marijuana caused violent, erratic, and overly sexual behavior.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the politicians were quick to jump on the band wagon hence they included cannabis in the “Opium and Narcotic Drug act of 1923”.  However fearing they may not get the votes, they changed the familiar name of hemp or cannabis to marijuana, to make it sound worse.  The bill was passed.

In the 1930s, marijuana was targeted on a federal level in the United States with the passage of the Uniform State Narcotic Act, the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and the creation of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act made possession or transfer of marijuana illegal throughout the United States under federal law, excluding medical and industrial uses, in which an expensive excise tax was required. Annual fees for the tax were $24 ($337 adjusted for inflation) for importers, manufacturers, and cultivators of marijuana, $1 annually ($14 adjusted for inflation) for medical and research purposes, and $3 annually ($42 adjusted for inflation) for industrial uses. Detailed marijuana sale logs were required to keep record of marijuana sales. Selling marijuana to any person who has previously paid the tax is $1 per ounce or fraction thereof; however, it is $100 ($1,406 adjusted for inflation) per ounce or fraction thereof to sell any person who has not registered and paid the special tax.

The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the act because the tax was imposed on physicians prescribing marijuana, retail pharmacists selling marijuana, and medical marijuana cultivation/manufacturing; instead of enacting the Marihuana Tax Act, the AMA proposed marijuana be added to the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.

The Dupont Company and William Randolph Hearst played a large role in the criminalization of cannabis. In 1938, DuPont patented the processes for creating plastics from coal and oil and a new process for creating paper from wood pulp. Dupont also manufactures Freon and many other non environmentally friendly products. If hemp would have been largely exploited and allowed to become a commercial success, it would have likely been used to make; paper, clothing, fuel and other earth friendly products, and may have hurt DuPont’s profits. Andrew Mellon of the Mellon Bank was DuPont’s chief financial backer and was also the Secretary of Treasury under the Hoover administration. In 1931, Mellon appointed Harry J. Anslinger, his nephew-in-law, as the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), where Anslinger stayed until 1962.

In the 1950s, strict mandatory sentencing laws substantially increased federal penalties for marijuana possession and then removed in the 1970’s. Less than ten years later, in the 1980s, mandatory sentencing laws were reinstated for large scale marijuana distribution, three strikes laws were enacted and applied to marijuana possession, and the death sentence for marijuana kingpins.

The 1970s, started the decriminalization of marijuana. Most countries, states and provinces that have decriminalized marijuana have civil fines, drug education, or drug treatment in place of incarceration or criminal charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana. In the 1990s many places began to legalize medical marijuana, which conflicts with American federal laws, as marijuana is a Schedule I drug according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classified marijuana as having high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. Multiple efforts to reschedule marijuana have failed and the United States Supreme Court has ruled in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop and Gonzales v. Raich the federal government has a right to regulate and criminalize marijuana, even for medical purposes.

The cannabis movement did not go away it was just pushed underground as the politicians of today want to continue.  In the 1960’s with the Vietnam War and the involvement of the Untied States there were many people who resisted the war.  Canada opened its doors to the “draft dodger” who objected.  Several “draft dodger” still remain in communes and live throughout Canada today.  Peace rallies were everywhere and with the peace and love movement sprouted the uprising of the pot movement above ground again.

By the later 1960’s the United States and Canada recognized that propaganda did not work with the intelligence of the populous.  Many people had tried cannabis and did not loose their minds or even commit any crimes.  In 1967 the Canadian Health & Welfare Minister ordered a scientific factual study to dispel the myth and realize the truth.  This study was called the Le Dain Commission and it lasted four years costing several million dollars. The Le Dain Commission presented the findings of their scientific experiments and study that there was no link to crime, violence or immorality but showed if people recognized the benefits of medicinal marijuana they were going to do it anyway.  The government only has forced the culture underground and created a new sub culture in our society.  People who benefited had a range of ailments and came from a wide range of educational level and background.  The final recommendation of the Le Dain Commission was for Canada to re legalize the special herb and gain the possible benefits from this cash crop.  Regrettably the Prime Minister sucame to the pressure of the United States and the Regan reign on the War on Drugs.  Sadly medicinal marijuana was lumped with drugs and not as an herb, which it truly is.

Thankfully for the recognition of medical marijuana and its place in herbal healing and alternative medicines we are striving to move forward with the multi purpose herb that was placed on earth by the creator of earth.  Cannabis also known as marijuana or hemp was not illegal in the United States until 1937.

The Medical Marijuana movement grew stronger and in 1996 California passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing marijuana for medical use. Proposition 215 permits seriously ill Californians to use marijuana, provided they first obtain a doctor’s recommendation. Proposition 215 also gives doctors a legal defense against professional or legal sanctions for recommending marijuana use.  To date there are 11 states that have voted pro Medical Marijuana and more that are considering totally legalizing the curative herb.

The dispensaries and co-op were formed and assisted people with safe access to medication and relief.  Majority of the dispensaries and co-ops formed in San Diego particularly are composed of caring, compassionate and knowledgeable volunteers who are dedicated to the medical movement.

Grateful for the recognition of medical marijuana and it’s place in herbal healing and alternative medicines, we are striving to progress forward with the multifunctional herb, placed on earth by our creator. It is absurd to think of restricting access to a natural plant that is beneficial, without side effects. Much research and passion has gone into these recipes. Proven facts in these articles are a work of dedication to demonstrate people can feel healthier naturally instead of using heavy narcotics and allowing their bodies to fail, rather than using an herb they were led to believe is criminal.

This holiday season we should all try to bring more peace and understanding to each other. As the medical marijuana community is under a microscope and continues to be unfairly targeted, it is imperative that we stand together. Let’s celebrate a time of peace and appreciate everything that each and every one of us is doing to assist educate the public on medical marijuana.

The following recipes are taken from Mother Earth Co-op’s “Special Medicinal Recipes – A Medical Cannabis Cookbook. The recipes are suggestions to be used in part with your Thanksgiving dinner. Recommended that you choose a few dishes for medicating and why we provided choices. If cooking all of the following recipes for the same meal, perhaps nothing else planned for the evening would be in order and sleeping will be on the agenda!

Thanksgiving Dinner Completely Medicated

BRIE WITH CHERRY BOMB CHUTNEY
(Appetizers)

1 (8-oz.) pkg. Brie cheese                              1/2 tsp Keif *
1 lb Cherries (dark, sweet, pitted)            1/4 tsp Allspice
1 cup Brown sugar                                          1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 lg. Apple (Granny Smith chopped)      1/4 tsp Onion Salt
1/2 cup Onion (finely chopped)               1 loaf French bread
1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients except keif and brie in heavy saucepan and stir to mix. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and cook gently for 45-50 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally and add keif. Cool at least one hour before serving. Heat brie in the microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds to one minute, or until softened. Pour 1 cup cherry chutney over brie and serve with crackers and French bread.

Note: Exotic healing treat for the discriminating taste buds that help with sleep and ward off nausea.

MENDO CRANBERRY CIDER
(Beverages)

2 qts Cranberry Juice                                 1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 med Oranges (zest)                                  1 1/3 cup Honey
14 whole Cloves (whole)                           1/2 tsp Kief *
1 1/2 cups Dried cranberries                  2 sticks Cinnamon

Pour cranberry juice into a slow cooker; set on low. Add juice and add the zest from the oranges, cloves, cranberries, vanilla extract, honey, kief and cinnamon sticks. Heat, stirring occasionally until hot and steamy, about 1 hour.

Note: Cider is a cold weather traditional warm, comforting drink that is easy to prepare. This healing recipe is for 2 quarts, which will serve up to 6 to 8 people.

EUREKA HAZE SQUASH SOUP
(Soups)

4 tbsp Cannabutter                                       3 med Green apples (diced)
3 cups Onions (finely chopped)              2 cups Apple juice
1 tsp Ginger (ground)                                  5 cups Broth (chicken or veggie)
1/2 tsp Mace (ground)                               2 tbsp Parsley
3 med Butternut squash (seeded, diced)

Melt cannabutter over low heat and add onions, ginger, mace and cooked covered while stirring occasionally until onions are transparent (about 13 to 15 min.). Add squash, apples, broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for about 25 minutes. Puree in blender or food processor, add apple juice, heat for a few minutes and serve hot with parsley garnish. Serves 8

Note: This soup is unusual and helps stimulate the appetite and alleviate nausea

TOTALLY BAKED SMASHED POTATOES
(Vegetables)

6 cups Water                                                       2 tbsp Garlic (fresh minced)
8 med Potatoes                                                  4 tbsp Cannabutter (melted)
1/4 tsp Salt                                                           1/2 cup Half & Half
8 slices Bacon                                                     1/2 Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1 med Onion (chopped)

Boil potatoes in the water with salt until cooked (15 to 20 minutes). Cook bacon, onion and garlic in fry pan while potatoes are boiling and cut bacon in small pieces. Drain the potatoes and add garlic, bacon, melted cannabutter, half & half and cheese and mash totally together and serve hot.

Note: This is a great comfort food for those who have a difficult time eating or with appetite.

YUMBOLT YAMS
(Vegetarian)

4 lg Yams                                                            1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar                                     2 med Apples (sliced) Granny Smith
1/4 cup Cannabutter                                     1/2 cup Walnuts (chopped)
3 tbsp Water                                                      1 cup Marshmallows
1/2 tsp Cinnamon                                           1/4 tsp Lemon Pepper

Wash and cook yams in oven until almost cooked. Combine brown sugar,
cannabutter, water, cinnamon, pepper and salt in skillet over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Stir in apples and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Combine with cooked yams and turn into casserole dish. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Add walnuts and cook for another 20 minutes.

Note: If adding marshmallows, put them over the top and brown, approx. 5 minutes.

BIRD STUFFING A LA MOTTA
(Poultry)

5 cup Bread crumbs                                       5 cloves Garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp Poultry seasoning                             3 tbsp Cannabutter (melted)
1/2 cup Raisins                                                1 tbsp Savory (ground)
1/2 cup Almonds (sliced)                           1/2 cup Cannabis (finely ground)
1/2 cup Celery (chopped)                          2 tbsp Sherry or dry white wine
1 med. Onion (chopped)                             1 Turkey or chicken

Mix onion and garlic together and brown in cannabutter. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Stuff cleaned chicken or turkey and cook bird as needed, dependant on the weight of the bird.

Note: Helps relieve holiday stress and great for appetite building.

DANK APPLE CRISP
(Dessert)

6 to 8 Apples (sliced)                                   1/2 cup Wheat germ
1/2 cup Raisins                                               1/2 cup Cannabutter (melted)
1/2 cup Water                                                 1/2 cup Honey
1 cubes Rolled oats                                       2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour

Put sliced apples in greased 9×13″ pan. Sprinkle with raisins and water. Heat the cannabutter and honey together and spread over the apples mixture. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over apples. Bake at 350°F degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until apples are soft.

Note: Serve warm or cold with ice cream of whipped cream

PUMPKIN HIGH PIE

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust    1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup white sugar                                         1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                      2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt                                              1 (15 oz) can 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon kief*                                           1 (12 oz) can Evaporated Milk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine sugar, salt, kief*, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
(Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)
* KIEF

1 Silk Screen Medical Grade Cannabis

“Kiefing” is an age old way of extracting trichomes from plant material. Kief is the product derived from the kiefing process. Kiefing is a method in which you rub dry trim and leaves with crystals on them over a silk screen (110 or 120 screen) on a glass surface. The powder that comes through the screen is then scraped off the glass and used in cooking or for smoking. It is usually a pale green to light brown dependant on the strain of the cannabis.

* Cannabutter recipe, please refer to the first edition of Nug Magazine

Wishing you a happy journey to a healthier you
Peace & Love
Kim

420 Special Healing Recipes

A Medicinal Cannabis Cookbook

Proceeds from this cookbook will be donated to

Mother Earth Co-op’s Charitries  

 Breast Cancer,   Cancer Society,   AID & HIV Research,  Heart Association,   Friends for Pets 

http://www.motherearthcoop.com/private/product1.htm

In the 1800′s, cannabis and hemp (also referred to as marijuana) was legal.  Hemp was a rather easy crop, since there were moderately small investments in hemp production. Compared to the large investments for factories, for other fibers; equipment to handle cotton, wool, and linen. There was a misconception hemp had an intoxicating effect because it has the same active substance, THC, which is in potent marijuana strains. Factually, hemp has a negligible amount of THC compared to medical marijuana strains.

Unfortunately marijuana has been associated with much false propaganda, claiming that most marijuana users are disreputable people and of lower class, making it an easy target.  This myth was popularized during prohibition and pothibition in the late 1920’s.

In Canada, Emily Murphy wrote a prejudice book called “Black Candle” under the pen mane of Janey Canuck.  In this fiction book, she writes that opium and cannabis are similar.  Black Candle claimed that black people were introducing white people to opium and marijuana, causing the users to loose their morality and minds.  In her book she claims the intention was to turn a good citizen into a pure evil criminal who would murder and cause great damage without conscience after smoking the herb.  This fiction was popularized by the politicians in the day, that were influence by those who wanted alcohol legal and paper mills to replace the hemp fiber products and newspaper.

After the Mexican Revolution of 1910 several Mexicans immigrated to the United States.  It is believed that was when recreational marijuana use was introduced. A public misconception that Mexicans and other minorities committed violent crimes while under the influence of marijuana, which caused many states to criminalize marijuana.  This myth was promoted in 1930 by Harry J. Anslinger‘s media interviews, faulty studies, and propaganda films that claimed marijuana caused violent, erratic, and overly sexual behavior.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the politicians were quick to jump on the band wagon hence they included cannabis in the “Opium and Narcotic Drug act of 1923”.  However fearing they may not get the votes, they changed the familiar name of hemp or cannabis to marijuana, to make it sound worse.  The bill was passed.

In the 1930′s, marijuana was targeted on a federal level in the United States with the passage of the Uniform State Narcotic Act, the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and the creation of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act made possession or transfer of marijuana illegal throughout the United States under federal law, excluding medical and industrial uses, in which an expensive excise tax was required. Annual fees for the tax were $24 ($337 adjusted for inflation) for importers, manufacturers, and cultivators of marijuana, $1 annually ($14 adjusted for inflation) for medical and research purposes, and $3 annually ($42 adjusted for inflation) for industrial uses. Detailed marijuana sale logs were required to keep record of marijuana sales. Selling marijuana to any person who has previously paid the tax is $1 per ounce or fraction thereof; however, it is $100 ($1,406 adjusted for inflation) per ounce or fraction thereof to sell any person who has not registered and paid the special tax.

The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the act because the tax was imposed on physicians prescribing marijuana, retail pharmacists selling marijuana, and medical marijuana cultivation/manufacturing; instead of enacting the Marihuana Tax Act, the AMA proposed marijuana be added to the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act.

The Dupont Company and William Randolph Hearst played a large role in the criminalization of cannabis. In 1938, DuPont patented the processes for creating plastics from coal and oil and a new process for creating paper from wood pulp. Dupont also manufactures Freon and many other non environmentally friendly products. If hemp would have been largely exploited and allowed to become a commercial success, it would have likely been used to make; paper, clothing, fuel and other earth friendly products, and may have hurt DuPont’s profits. Andrew Mellon of the Mellon Bank was DuPont’s chief financial backer and was also the Secretary of Treasury under the Hoover administration. In 1931, Mellon appointed Harry J. Anslinger, his nephew-in-law, as the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), where Anslinger stayed until 1962.

In the 1950s, strict mandatory sentencing laws substantially increased federal penalties for marijuana possession and then removed in the 1970’s. Less than ten years later, in the 1980s, mandatory sentencing laws were reinstated for large scale marijuana distribution, three strikes laws were enacted and applied to marijuana possession, and the death sentence for marijuana kingpins.

The 1970s, started the decriminalization of marijuana. Most countries, states and provinces that have decriminalized marijuana have civil fines, drug education, or drug treatment in place of incarceration or criminal charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana. In the 1990s many places began to legalize medical marijuana, which conflicts with American federal laws, as marijuana is a Schedule I drug according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classified marijuana as having high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. Multiple efforts to reschedule marijuana have failed and the United States Supreme Court has ruled in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop and Gonzales v. Raich the federal government has a right to regulate and criminalize marijuana, even for medical purposes.

The cannabis movement did not go away it was just pushed underground as the politicians of today want to continue.  In the 1960’s with the Vietnam War and the involvement of the Untied States there were many people who resisted the war.  Canada opened its doors to the “draft dodger” who objected.  Several “draft dodger” still remain in communes and live throughout Canada today.  Peace rallies were everywhere and with the peace and love movement sprouted the uprising of the pot movement above ground again.

By the later 1960’s the United States and Canada recognized that propaganda did not work with the intelligence of the populous.  Many people had tried cannabis and did not loose their minds or even commit any crimes.  In 1967 the Canadian Health & Welfare Minister ordered a scientific factual study to dispel the myth and realize the truth.  This study was called the Le Dain Commission and it lasted four years costing several million dollars. The Le Dain Commission presented the findings of their scientific experiments and study that there was no link to crime, violence or immorality but showed if people recognized the benefits of medicinal marijuana they were going to do it anyway.  The government only has forced the culture underground and created a new sub culture in our society.  People who benefited had a range of ailments and came from a wide range of educational level and background.  The final recommendation of the Le Dain Commission was for Canada to re legalize the special herb and gain the possible benefits from this cash crop.  Regrettably the Prime Minister sucame to the pressure of the United States and the Regan reign on the War on Drugs.  Sadly medicinal marijuana was lumped with drugs and not as an herb, which it truly is.

Thankfully for the recognition of medical marijuana and its place in herbal healing and alternative medicines we are striving to move forward with the multi purpose herb that was placed on earth by the creator of earth.  Cannabis also known as marijuana or hemp was not illegal in the United States until 1937.

The Medical Marijuana movement grew stronger and in 1996 California passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, legalizing marijuana for medical use. Proposition 215 permits seriously ill Californians to use marijuana, provided they first obtain a doctor’s recommendation. Proposition 215 also gives doctors a legal defense against professional or legal sanctions for recommending marijuana use.  To date there are 11 states that have voted pro Medical Marijuana and more that are considering totally legalizing the curative herb.

The dispensaries and co-op were formed and assisted people with safe access to medication and relief.  Majority of the dispensaries and co-ops formed in San Diego particularly are composed of caring, compassionate and knowledgeable volunteers who are dedicated to the medical movement.

Written by Kim Twolan, Mother Earth Co-op & Collective,

San Diego, CA  92103

http://motherearthcoop.com/private/product1.htm