Cannabis and history

Although cannabis became a controversial subject throughout the 20th century, hemp played an important role in the economy and industry for several centuries. For this reason, the status of the Cannabis sativa plant was very different: its cultivation was encouraged and rewarded. Let's take a look back at centuries of hemp history. Why was hemp worth its weight in gold to a ship? Before steel and synthetic fibres, a warship was basically wood, sails and miles of rope. And those sails and ropes (the famous rigging) came mainly from hemp fibre. Yes, the very same species you lovingly tend today in your grow tent. The figures are mind-boggling. According to a study published in the Revista de Historia Naval, just over 20% of the cost of an 18th-century Spanish ship of the line came from hemp materials, and a three-decker required around 150 tonnes of fibre. Textile hemp revolutionised the maritime industry. Just imagine how many plants went into every ship! Why hemp in particular? Because its fibre withstands tension, wear, moisture and sunlight better than flax or esparto grass. For a sailor, that meant something very simple: the rigging wouldn't snap in the middle of a storm. It's no coincidence that hemp was as essential to sailors as it was to hangmen, a grim comparison which, as we'll see, appears in Hemp for Victory itself.  

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Few regions of the world have a relationship with cannabis as ancient, deep, and contradictory as the Indian subcontinent. There, the plant has been an offering to the gods, traditional medicine, companion to Sufi mystics, source of taxes for an empire, and finally, a prohibited substance. India and Pakistan shared this history until 1947. Since then, their laws have taken different paths, but on the streets, in temples, and in shrines, the traditions remain surprisingly alive. From Sacred Plant to Prohibited Substance Cannabis grows wild on the slopes of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush, so it's no surprise that it appears in the region's most ancient texts. The Atharva Veda, composed some three thousand years ago, cites bhang among the five sacred plants capable of freeing one from anguish. Some scholars have even speculated that soma, the divine drink of Vedic hymns, was cannabis, although this theory has never achieved consensus. Cannabis plants in an Indian valley

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Can you imagine telling someone that, in barely a decade, cannabis would go from being a persecuted and demonised plant to starring in political debates, scientific studies and even family after-dinner conversations? Well, that's exactly what happened. And today, from Alchimia, we want to look back on a decade that changed absolutely everything. The 2010s represented the moment when cannabis came out of the shadows and entered the global public conversation. Millions of people discovered that medical marijuana could improve patients' lives. At the same time, entire states in the US were opening the doors to recreational use, while countries like Uruguay were blazing unprecedented trails in international regulation.

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The 1990s were a crucial period for the development of cannabis, not just in legal terms, but also in cultural and technological terms. In much of the world, cannabis remained illegal and demonized, but in certain regions such as the Netherlands, the plant began to see a greater degree of tolerance and regulation. In Amsterdam, for example, coffee shops selling cannabis operated within a flexible legal framework, attracting tourists and growers from around the world. At the same time, in the United States and Canada, the first serious moves toward the legalization of medicinal cannabis were underway, with California passing Proposition 215 in 1996, which allowed the use of cannabis to treat a variety of medical conditions. In parallel, cannabis cultivation technology advanced significantly. The cannabis community experienced a boom in the creation of new genetics and cultivation techniques, leading to the refinement of strains that are still popular today. In addition, indoor cultivation began to dominate the market, as it offered the possibility of complete control over growing conditions and much more discretion, which was essential to maximize yield and quality at a time when outdoor cultivation was still risky due to restrictive laws. This was a period of innovation, where seed banks and growers around the world shared knowledge and techniques, leading to a true cannabis revolution. Today we will delve into this interesting decade and look at some of the most important milestones in our industry...will you join us?

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The War on Drugs, an initiative that began under the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, stands as one of the longest and most controversial campaigns in modern history. In an attempt to address the growing use of illicit drugs, especially marijuana and heroin, this government policy triggered a series of repressive and punitive measures that deeply affected society and the judicial system. And all this, why not say it, without achieving absolutely nothing. Over decades, the War on Drugs has evolved, generating debates about its effectiveness, its social consequences, and its impact on the most vulnerable communities. In this article we invite you to explore the origins, evolution, and implications of this campaign from its beginnings to the present day, highlighting its position as one of the most protracted, complex, and futile struggles of the modern era.

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Cannabis cultivation in Brazil has a history that goes back centuries, marked by a mix of indigenous traditions, colonial influences, and significant political changes. Over the years, Brazil's relationship with this plant has been complex and varied, reflecting both its cultural importance and its controversial legal status. In this article, we will explore the fascinating history of cannabis cultivation in this wonderful country, from its pre-colonial roots to its evolution in the 21st century, highlighting the key moments, cultural transformations, and political struggles that have shaped its development over the years. From the Amazon rainforest to modern urban cities, this story offers a unique insight into how Brazil's relationship with marijuana has been a reflection of its ever-evolving identity.

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From ancient times to the present day, cannabis has played a fascinating role in human history. In the context of Germany, this plant has undergone a significant evolution in its perception, use, and regulation over the years, especially if we take into account the latest news coming from this country. From being valued in traditional medicine to being the subject of intense legal and medical debates in the modern era, cannabis has woven a unique fabric into the cultural and legal narrative of this territory. In this article, we will dive into the history and current situation of cannabis in Germany, exploring how this plant has gone from a medicinal resource to a hot topic in conversations about politics and health. From pioneering legislation to contemporary challenges, we will examine the changing landscape of cannabis in Germany and how its trajectory continues to shape attitudes and decisions in this European nation.

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In recent years, Portugal has emerged as a focal point of discussion in the international scene in relation to cannabis and its regulation. From its historic step towards the decriminalization of personal drug possession and consumption in 2001 to its most recent move towards the legalization and controlled regulation of medicinal and recreational cannabis, Portugal has undergone a paradigm shift in its approach toward this ancient plant. Today we invite you to explore the unique path that Portugal has traveled in its relationship with cannabis, examining both the historical background and the most contemporary developments in the politics and legislation surrounding this substance. As the Lusitanian nation navigates uncharted waters in its quest to balance public health, social justice, and economic interests, it is critical to understand the many nuances of its approach, its implications, and its potential influence on the global cannabis landscape.

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Often, and especially in countries like China, considered in fact by many researchers as the cradle of cannabis, legends, historical figures or deities appear with some kind of relationship with our most beloved plant. Today we are going to tell you about one of these cases, an interesting figure from Taoism represented by a beautiful young woman with long nails who protects the sacred mountain Tai, in the Chinese province of Shandong. We are talking about Magu, the one that many know as Hemp Maiden.

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Traditionally, Lebanon has been one of the hot spots for cannabis cultivation and hashish production in the Middle East. Until about 1970, the region was known for its prosperity, being the financial center of the entire area; Not surprisingly, Lebanon came to be known as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Hit by a bloody civil war between 1975 and 1990, the economic situation has not been the same since then, partly encouraging many growers to take the risk of choosing marijuana as their main source of income. Lebanon has been inhabited since prehistoric times and has been influenced by various civilizations over the centuries, including the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Ottomans, and the French. During World War II, Lebanon was occupied by France and then by Great Britain. In 1943, Lebanon gained its independence from the French mandate and became a republic. However, despite its complicated situation during the 20th century, Lebanon has continued to be a point of reference in terms of cannabis cultivation and hashish production. In this article, we tell you more about this country and its cannabis translation.

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As we saw in our article on cannabis in the 1970s, the situation at the beginning of the 1980s had not changed much from the last years of the previous decade. Cannabis continued to be persecuted across most of the world thanks to the prohibitionist policies inherited from the previous decade, and both the cultivation and development of new varieties depended on the brave few who dared to defy the laws of their respective countries. However, cannabis activism continued to fight harder than ever, and its consumption was, little by little, becoming more and more normalised in society and especially among artists, musicians and other people in show business. In addition, and thanks to the policies applied during the previous decade, a small European country, more specifically its most visited city, became the "world capital of cannabis" and Amsterdam appeared, for any stoner in the world, like a true paradise on Earth.

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The year is 1970. Under the recalcitrant Richard Nixon, the United States includes marijuana in the list of the most dangerous substances in its Controlled Substances Act. It looks like the golden age of cannabis is coming to an end. Or maybe not? While Nixon, Haldeman and co. plot to smear, harass and tear down a mere plant, the feeling on the street is very different, with more and more young (and not so young) people discovering this exotic substance. The 1970s was a period of contradictions; prohibitions, hippies travelling in search of the best cannabis and hashish, the first commercial crops in the West, of the so-called War on Drugs... a real roller coaster where the opinion of government bodies clashed head-on with a large part of the population. It was also a crucial time for cannabis cultivation as landrace varieties from remote places began to be grown and the first modern hybrids that would see the light of day during the following decade were taking shape.

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Studies on the origins of cannabis are becoming more frequent as global interest in this plant has skyrocketed in recent decades. Whether we talk about the place of origin, the date of domestication or the oldest dated samples found, our curiosity about human's relationship with this ancient plant grows every day, thanks in part to the process of legalisation and normalisation that we see taking place in many countries. In this article, we want to go back to the beginning of this relationship, and to do this, we need to take you on a journey through time, back to the Stone Age, when humans established their first settlements and started a key activity for their development: agriculture. And, naturally, you can already guess what one of the first plants cultivated by mankind was... Cannabis, of course!

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The criminalisation and stigmatisation of cannabis is a peculiar twist in the latest stage of humanity's long association with this plant because, for most of our history, cultures around the world have embraced it, and as early civilisations discovered its industrial, psychoactive and medicinal uses, they paid homage to it in their works of art. It is not known exactly when cannabis began to be smoked recreationally, but until the invention of rolling papers, cannabis was often smoked using a pipe, as for thousands of years this was the most common tool to burn weed, hashish (or any other consciousness-altering herb) and inhale the smoke more efficiently. The oldest known pipes have been found in a tomb in what is now Laos. They are about 3,000 years old and were most likely used for smoking cannabis. In southern and western Africa, marijuana was also burned in small covered pits and the smoke was then inhaled through hollow canes. More famous is the so-called hookah, a water pipe that originated in Persia and was widely used from the early 17th century onwards in South Asia and the Middle East. However, the habit of smoking hashish began to spread throughout the Middle East much earlier, from the 900s onwards, as the consumption of alcohol was forbidden by the Koran. The Muslim population in Europe used cannabis as a recreational drug during the Middle Ages when the spread of Sufism influenced the Muslim world.

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Cartoon characters are an essential part of our childhood, growing up with us and often becoming our heroes along the way. However, for the most part, at the time we were not smart enough to understand what made them so funny and lovable. Some of the most famous cartoon characters that we never saw light up a joint on screen were probably secret cannabis users. They were never explicitly shown doing so for obvious reasons, but they radiated 100% stoner vibes! Furthermore, although intended for a child audience, the cartoon series are created by adults. For this reason, it is not surprising that they are full of hidden symbolism and characters whose fondness for cannabis completely escaped our innocent gaze. And we're sure that more than one of them will surprise you!

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When you think of cannabis users, what is the first thing that comes to mind? How many of you think of 19th-century French poets, painters or philosophers who have gone down in history? This image may differ from the caricature of the unmotivated stoner that many people have in their minds, lazing on the couch, brushing Doritos crumbs off a stained t-shirt. However, as we already know, this stereotype is generally far from reality. For centuries, cannabis has inspired creativity in some of the past generations' most influential thinkers, and perhaps the best illustration of this comes to us from Paris around 1845, behind the doors of the clandestine 'Club des Hachichins'.

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