Last updated on: 12/8/2022 | Author: ProCon.org

Did You Know?

1. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, meaning it is considered to have a "high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use," and "a lack of accepted safety." Rescheduling marijuana to the less restrictive Schedule II or III remains a contentious issue.
2. Archaeologists unearthed traces of cannabis with high levels of THC (the main psychoactive component of cannabis) in wooden bowls dating to 500 BCE in the Jirzankal Cemetery in China, marking the earliest instance of marijuana use found to date.
3. The Moors brought marijuana to Spain during the 8th-century occupation. The Spanish, in turn, took marijuana to the Americas where it was mainly used as a cash crop for producing hemp fiber.
4. Queen Victoria was reportedly prescribed marijuana postpartum and for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) by her private physician J.R. Reynolds.
5. The US Federal Bureau of Narcotics was concerned that “marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing.”
Click for an Encyclopaedia Britannica video about the chemistry of marijuana and how its potency and safety is determined.