Throughout history, cannabis has been a contentious subject. It has been used widely, banned, made illegal, legalised, made illegal again, used as medicine, used in politics, used in world conflicts, there is nothing this plant hasn’t been through. The cannabis industry is constantly growing, and the laws are constantly changing. It is largely thanks to these people and others like them who fought for cannabis equality, legality and medicinal testing who are the reason we have come as far as we have. Of course, we can’t go into every influential cannabis activist in this short article. However, I will try and fit in as many of the heavy hitters as I possibly can.
Jack Herrer
This is a man who likely needs very little introduction, especially for those who are fans of the strain named after him. Jack Herrer is often considered the father of the cannabis legalisation movement. A documentary about his life was made called “The Emperor of Hemp” and he wrote two books of his own. His most notable was “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” and his other book was titled G.R.A.S.S.: Great Revolutionary American Standard System. He was not only a big player in helping cannabis be decriminalised but also pushed for the use of hemp as fuel, textiles, food, and paper. He also made is common knowledge that cannabis could essentially be grown anywhere and was fantastic for medicinal use.
Dr Raphael Mechoulam
This man is so important to cannabis he is known as the godfather of THC. This man is best known for his work in organic chemistry, working with the pharmacology of cannabinoids. He won several institutional awards, far too many to name. He was one of the first to isolate THC as a chemical and to truly understand what it was capable of. Anyone who wants a really good look into this man’s life need only look up his documentary. It is called “The Scientist” and it can be easily found online. He paved the way for scientists to discover the endocannabinoid system which has changed the way we use medical marijuana.
Kieth Stroup
Our next activist created NORML, otherwise known as the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. This organisation has been working to legalise marijuana and change the laws of the US since the 70s. NORML is thought to have had a serious impact in the first 9 years that Stroup worked as the director. During this time 11 states decriminalised marijuana, which is a big change in something so controversial and delicate. He returned to NORM in the mid — 90s and works with them to this day working against unfair cannabis legislation. During his time away from the organisation he worked as an attorney lobbying for farmers and artists. NORML is considered to be one of the biggest and most important parts of activism history, especially in the US. One of their greatest achievements was having the charges dropped on Robert Randall in the mid-70s when he was charged with possession. This man then became one of America’s first medicinal marijuana patients.
Lori Ajax
Lori Ajax has gone down in cannabis history as the very first head of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana in California. This meant that she was responsible for setting up and ensuring the stability of the market place for taxation, regulation and licensing of medicinal marijuana. Once this extremely important aspect of legalisation is stable Ajax is moving towards the legalisation of recreational marijuana. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before the states that are softer on medicinal weed will move towards allowing full legalisation. Recently Ajax announced that after 5 years she was retiring from this position. Her reasoning was simply that she felt it was time, what with her husband retiring recently himself. But during her 5 years, she made huge changes to the internal structure of Californian cannabis legalisation.
Dr Allyn Howlett
Dr Howlett is one of the greatest names in medicinal cannabis. She advanced on Dr Mechoulam’s research into the endocannabinoid system. She was a key researcher on the study that first found the CB1 receptor, a crucial part of our understanding of how cannabis affects the body. She has since continued her work on the endocannabinoid system, constantly helping the medical community to understand the importance of medical marijuana. Her current research takes place at the Howlett Lab at Wake Forrest University. Here she undertakes public and private research into the many undiscovered ways that weed can help us. Without her, we would be nowhere near the place we currently are as far as medicinal marijuana science.
Lester Grinspoon
Not only does this fella have a fantastic name, but he is a big name in the psychiatry game. He is also a Harvard man and is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the illustrious university. The interest in cannabis for Grinspoon started back in the 60s during it’s US rise in popularity. One of the best parts of his story is that he began as an anti-cannabis advocate. He set out to prove how dangerous cannabis was in order to keep it away from the impressionable youths and those who didn’t understand it. After his extensive research, he discovered that he was the one who didn’t fully understand cannabis. Once he realised that cannabis was not at all dangerous but could be an important part of life for thousands of people he became an advocate for its legalisation. After he found that cannabis was less addictive and toxic than alcohol or tobacco he published the book “Marijuana Reconsidered” which looked into the truth behind marijuana. Such an important figure in the psychological community coming out in favour of cannabis at such an integral time changed public opinion and helped move legalisation along.
These are just a few of the many incredible people who have played a part in cannabis activism throughout history. I suggest that any interested in the rich and varied history of this wonderful plant has a little research of their own.
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