In 1898, a Steveston, BC doctor with financial troubles “procured a pound of Indian hemp for what reason no one at present knows… enough to supply a drug store for a year.” Later that day, the doctor was found in the “busy little salmon town… in a condition of unconsciousness” and it was assumed thatRead more
Fitz Hugh Ludlow, 1836-1870 (author, journalist & explorer) After the civil war, opium addiction became widespread in the United States and in 1868, Horace Day published The Opium Habit, one of the earliest books to deal with the crisis. Friz Hugh Ludlow, famed author of The Hasheesh Eater, submitted a chapter entitled Outlines of the Opium-Cure in which heRead more
Maclean’s (June 15, 1938) by Jack Mosher Marijuana – in the East they call it hashish – is giving North American narcotic squads plenty to worry about HERE’s the latest message being whipped from narcotic headquarters at Ottawa to all Mounties on border patrol and to undercover men in a dozen large cities: “Look outRead more
TREATMENT OF TETANUS British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, January 1851 By Professor Miller [Speaking of the value of Cannabis Indica in this disease, Professor Miller says,] I can now record three fortunate cases under its use; all traumatic. A girl, eleven years of age, sustained comminuted fracture of the finger. Tetanus occurred, the finger wasRead more
In the late 1930s, “reefer madness” tales became common in the Canadian media – often reprinted from American sources. The Winnipeg Tribune published the over-the-top account below in 1937, even though RCMP confirmed in the addendum that “it is not used in Manitoba. We do not find any smokers.” G-Men Seek Green Goddess For Every Horrible Crime WinnipegRead more
During the Spanish-American War, cannabis tablets were standard issue in US military field hospital medicine chests. Each hospital’s “Medical Chest No. 1” was equipped with 35 15cc. bottles, stored specifically in the “small drawer at right of lower drawer.”Read more
In 1907, Ohio-based pharmaceutical company Lloyd Brothers, Inc. sponsored a medical textbook/catalogue, Dose Book of Specific Medicines, to market their extensive product line to physicians. The 255-page tome features entries for both “Cannabis” and “American Hemp (Cannabis Sativa)”. Both are hailed as remedies for many conditions; among other things, the former is indicated for “cancerRead more
The following is an excerpt from Frederick Peterson, M.D.’s 1893 book In Egypt. Accounts like the one below, linking hasheesh use with insanity, spurred the British government to create the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission the same year Peterson’s book was published. The commission concluded that cannabis is relatively harmless and should not be prohibited. “There is much that is interesting in theRead more
By the turn of the last century, pharmaceutical giant Parke, Davis & Co. had fully embraced cannabis as a medicine. The company’s 1901 edition of Physician’s Manual of Therapeutics contains over 400 references to cannabis, recommending it as a primary treatment for a wide range of conditions including migraines, inflammation, neuralgia and epilepsy. However, companyRead more
Twenty years ago today, Canada’s justice system branded me a criminal. I had launched a constitutional challenge to the country’s cannabis laws after being arrested in 1995 for selling small cannabis plants from my London, Ontario shop. In August 1997, after weeks of expert testimony, Justice John McCart released a groundbreaking judgement that ruled cannabis is relatively harmlessRead more
