About the dissemination of cannabis in Western societies

Danilo Anton

In the seventeenth century the English introduced hemp in Virginia, and from that moment its use spread to all the English colonies of North America.

 It is known that the Declaration of American Independence was written on hemp paper and its editors, called “fathers of independence” of the country, were all consumers of this plant. 12

In 1791 George Washington himself sought to promote domestic production of cannabis and somewhat later, President Thomas Jefferson proposed hemp plant rather than tobacco.

In the early nineteenth century when Napoleon’s armies conquered Egypt, the  administration of French invaded territories sought to restrict the consumption of hashish without success. The result was the opposite, due to contact between French soldiers and merchants to Egyptian society, cannabis use spread to certain intellectual sectors of French society.

In the 1840s several famous writers such as Baudelaire, Dumas, Balzac and others formed the “ Club des Hashischins “where dawamesc (a type of Algerian hashish) was consumed.  However, the prestige of the writers of this club failed to fully open the doors to the consumption of hashish. In 1848 during the rebellion of the Paris Commune, the students carried banners demanding free access to cannabis and ether.

The scientistic and naturalistic approach that prevailed in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century allowed cannabis for a time, and the use of cannabis began to expand to African countries.

Several doctors advocated its use as a remedy for various ailments. Some were O’Shaughnessy, England, Aubert-Roche in France, and finally JJ Moreau, also in France (Tours), who published a book entitled “Du Hashish Mentale et de l’Alienation” (Hashish and Mental alienation), triggering a wave of experimentation in certain circles of the Parisian elite.

Gradually, Europeans and Americans began to become familiar with hemp, and already during the first half of the twentieth century trade had become global.

At that time hashish was consumed in many different ways. Smoked in water pipes was only one of the modalities. Its consumption was much more common in candy ingestion, usually imported from the Middle East.

The effect of cannabis when “eaten” instead of smoking it, it’s very intense.

The description of Bayard Taylor published in Atlantic Monthly in 1854 is illustrative:

“ The sense of limits, the confinement of our senses in the borders of our own flesh and blood, fell instantly. The walls of my body fell exploded outward and demolished; without thinking that it was my way, I lost all idea of form, I felt that there was over a vast expanse of space .... The spirit (demon shall I say more) of hashish had complete possession of me. It was wrecked in the flooding of their illusions, and drifted helplessly wherever they wanted to take ... as I tried to describe my feelings to my friends who had not yet been affected by the drug and were sitting watching me incredulous, I suddenly found myself at the foot of the Great Pyramid Cheops ...  I wanted to climb it and just with the desire I was able to locate myself at its peak, above thousands of feet on the wheat fields and palm groves of Egypt. Looking down, and, to my amazement, I saw that was built, not limestone but of square blocks of tobacco Cavendish ...

The atmosphere was light, parfum, music ... sublimated beyond what the senses can receive in sobriety. In front of me, a thousand leagues, a vision of rainbow arches of sapphire, emerald, topaz and amethyst ruby ​​stretched. Thousands and tens of thousands flew in front of me, as my boat sped into the wonderful arcade; however the view stretched still far in front of me.  any sense of feeling was gratified. .But Above all things my mind was filled with a boundless sense of triumph.".

Almost from the beginning, the spread of the plant was fought with varying intensity in the central countries. Religious and political elites had their reasons. Regular use of cannabis produces effects of “ego dillution” tend to erase gender differences and reduce aggression. And this clearly goes against the basic principles of the domination society.

The “ hippie “ revolution of the late sixties and early seventies was perhaps the strongest attempt to achieve legitimization of cannabis.

From" "Peoples, Drugs and Serpents", Danilo Anton, Piriguazu Ediciones