To read about cannabis in North America, you would think cannabis was native to Latin America – but it isn’t! Although the US version of cannabis history starts with ‘marihuana’ being brought by Latino farmers, the Latin portion of the story goes back much further. 

Let’s begin our lesson by explaining where the plant got its start and its eventual journey to Latin America .

Humans and cannabis have a long relationship spanning millennia. The plant first grew in Central Asia (we think) in the area that now makes up parts of Siberia and Mongolia. There are records of it being used as far back as 2737 BC – at the time of writing that is 4758 years ago. Farmers who operated along the coast brought cannabis to Korea.  Invading Aryans brought cannabis to South Asia somewhere between 2000 and 1000 BC where it surged in popularity. 

Around the same time, it began its westward travel – starting in the Middle East and working its way to where is now the present-day UK by the 5 ^th century. 

When Columbus ran into what was known as ‘The New World’ – the already inhabited Americas – he brought with him, among other things, hemp, a form of the cannabis plant. Hemp was commonly used for the rope that the ship and invading militaries required. At the time, the Spanish Empire was promoting its growth and trade. Thus, crops of hemp and cannabis were sown in the soils of Latin America, and history was made.

Around 1545, hemp and cannabis were being grown in Chile. To the north, in Peru, they had attempted to grow hemp with no success. A conquistador from Cortes’ Army is believed to have brought cannabis to Mexico on an expedition. This man, named Pedro Cuadrado, went into business growing hemp in Mexico and was very successful. That is, until the Spanish government limited cultivation in 1550 to curb the alternative uses for the plant.

The word cannabis comes from the people who originally began its movements through the Middle East – the Scythians. The word in Persian (Farsi) became Kanab, then evolved into the Greek word: Kannavis. Once Latin and subsequently English the word became cannabis as the Europeans who were colonizing North America knew it. 

The word Marijuana is a little blurrier – but we’re sure it comes from Latin America. One theory is that it came from the Nuatl word for prisoner which was muallihan. Another is that it might have come from the phrase Maria y Juan – a term used to describe a brothel. As the use of marijauna spread, it made its way further north to California. There, the difference between ‘cannabis’ and ‘marijuana’ would become more stark. 

Mexico would have a long and tumultuous history with cannabis, thanks to its U.S. prohibition the 1920s. At this point Mexico had already prohibited cannabis to an extent. After a spate of violent acts at a military hospital, the government banned it on site, in hopes of stemming the violence. There’s no word on whether or not that was an effective strategy. 

In 1920, Mexico banned the production, sale and recreational use of the plant similarly to the US – which is important. The US had labelled cannabis a poison in 1906 and had been campaigning against Mexican migrants. A common misbelief that Mexicans are lax towards ‘marihuana’ and other drugs was perpetrated back then. This has continually plagued immigrants and Latinos in the Stateside portion of Latin America to this very day.  

Even though North Americans had already been using ‘cannabis’ for ages, the word ‘marihuana’ or ‘marijuana’ confused them and painted a negative view of the Mexican people. It was as if ‘marijuana’ was a different drug than ‘cannabis’ which they could more easily demonize.

The US didn’t only outlaw cannabis back in the 1920s – they pressured all the countries they traded with to do the same. Most complied, and though global criminalization of cannabis had been under way since the 1800s (with a couple of early-birds in the 1300s and 1700s), the plant was essentially globally banned by the 30s, including South and Central America.

The U.S. passed the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937 and in 1970 they deemed cannabis a Schedule I Narcotic. That put it right next to heroin, cocaine and all the other scary drugs. This is relevant to Latin America because the criminalization of cannabis and other drugs meant that absolute crooks stood to profit.

Non-coincidentally, cartels began to profit off the prohibition in the late 1970s. A few men named Rafael Caro Quintaro, Manual Angel Felix Gallardo, and Ernesto Fonsesca Carillo began the now infamous Guadalajara Cartel. All of Latin America has suffered in some way for this prohibition thanks to the creation of a black market and the empowerment of criminals.

In the 2000s many Latin countries began to open their minds to legalizing cannabis for medical or recreational use. Now cannabis is legal in almost every Latin country. Legalization has also been happening in places like California and other U.S. states. Now, public perceptions affecting immigrants and cannabis may finally start to shift. 

Perhaps one of the reasons that Latin America is leading the world in terms of cannabis legalization is thanks to the work of the many, many advocates that it has provided ! From Cheech and Chong to Gael Garcia Bernal and more – Latin Americans have been calling for legalization for decades. Santana is even selling his own line of flower now! To that end, we salute Latin America and its long relationship with this plant which has come to help so many.

La entrada A History of Cannabis in Latin America se publicó primero en Ecomeds.