Cannabis Was Legal, Medical & Sacred For 10,000 Years — One Racist Man Made It A Crime In 1937
Cannabis has been used by human beings for over 10,000 years. It was medicine in ancient China. It was used in religious ceremonies across Central Asia, India, Egypt, and Africa for thousands of years before the United States existed.
The American Medical Association was against making it illegal in 1937. And the man who pushed hardest to make it a crime — Harry Anslinger, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics — left a documented record of quotes that tell you exactly why he did it.
In this episode, XO and CDA tell the full story of cannabis — where it came from, how it spread across the world, how one racist bureaucrat criminalized it and targeted Black and Latino communities, what Nixon's own aide admitted the drug war was really about, where we are with legalization today, and the uncomfortable truth about who is getting rich off legal weed while Black people still carry records for the same thing.
Keywords: cannabis history origin, marijuana history, Harry Anslinger racism, war on drugs racist history, cannabis prohibition Black community, Marihuana Tax Act 1937, John Ehrlichman drug war admission, Black cannabis arrests statistics, cannabis legalization 2026, Black owned cannabis business, Past Present Pushback podcast
