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7 Ways People Used Cannabis In The 1930s

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The 1930s was a crucial decade for cannabis. Before the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, cannabis was a widely used medicine. But after a national campaign to stigmatize and outlaw cannabis, medicinal use declined, and the herb’s reputation was tarnished.

But a hundred years ago, weed was commonplace. Across the country, you could buy marijuana in drug stores as a liquid or as resin. The government did not regulate it, which meant that companies advertised marijuana-infused products as a treatment for a long list of conditions. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it was a really bad idea.

Look back on innovative ways that people used cannabis before it was illegal.

Marijuana as a Sedative

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Need a narcotic, sedative or antispasmodic? Look no further than Eli Lilly and Company’s Cannabis Fluid Extract. This potion, labeled a poison because you should only take a drop, was 80 percent alcohol. By today’s standards, Lilly’s Cannabis Fluid Extract (1 fluid ounce total) is a tincture, just not one you’d see on the shelves.

Though we do not advise using any product resembling this, Eli Lilly’s understanding of medical marijuana as an “antispasmodic” isn’t too far off the mark. Today, medical marijuana is one of the only effective treatments for epilepsy or seizure-inducing autism.

Treatment for Hysterical Women

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With a long list of uses, Lloyd Specific Medicine is pretty far from specific. This tincture was marketed as a cure for many things, most of which targeted women. It could ‘treat’ melancholia, PMS, stomach pain, nervous system issues, ‘nervous depression’ and any behavior for which a man would call a woman ‘crazy’. For instance, having an overactive sex drive could be cured with Lloyd Specific Medicine.

The bottle reads: “It is useful in hysterical patients, and in the mild forms of insanity in women, especially if these be due to menstrual irregularities which are the cause of pain.” The label adds, “It allays abnormal sexual appetite.”

For Asthma

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Grimault Corporation manufactured what they called “Indian Cigarettes.” This product’s main objective was to treat asthma. 

Today, Israeli researchers have discovered that certain cannabinoids can reduce the inflammation symptomatic of asthma. Specifically, CBD in liquid form could treat asthma. This doesn’t mean that smoking marijuana when you’re having asthma is in any way a good idea. At the time, though, these cigarettes were a completely legal medicinal treatment.

To Treat Gonorrhea

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Wm. S. Merrell, an Ohio-based chemical company, manufactured Indian Cannabis. They said that this tincture is both an anesthetic and a treatment for Gonorrhea. As far as we know, this is not true.

Wm. S. Merrell manufactured a whole line of what you could call medical marijuana products. One of them, Bromo-Chloral, mixed indica with licorice, orange peel, and chloral hydrate, a strong sedative and hypnotic drug that’s very difficult to get today.

As a Tool for Relaxation

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Having a smoke sesh is by no means a modern innovation. Since the 19th century, urban creatives have taken part in these gatherings and received a lot of attention for it. Back in the 1840s, Balzac, Baudelaire, Dumas and other French intellectuals formed Le Club des Hashishins.

During the 1920s and 30s, people called them “Tea Pads.” In 1938, Meyer Berger, a New Yorker reporter, visited a Harlem tea pad. Berger describes the scene: “four rooms with nine couches set against the cracked, cream-colored walls, with a few limp easy chairs to handle the overflow.”

Music was often an important part of Tea Pad culture. Berger adds that the host was playing “weird ritualistic themes.” Additionally, many Tea Pads sprung out of Jazz culture, though they attracted a wide array of customers.

Marijuana’s connection with Jazz culture, and through African American communities, is one of the reasons why authorities outlawed it in the first place.

To Treat Bunions and Corns

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Not only was marijuana a typical treatment for bunions and corns, but at one point it was the most common. Antique Cannabis Book lists over 40 different corn removal brands that list cannabis as an ingredient.

Though there isn’t much research on cannabis for corns, we do know that marijuana is a potent anti-bacterial. For this reason, it can be a useful topical for external ailments like psoriasis and eczema, and, potentially, bunions and corns.

To Treat Urinary Infections

Until the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, marijuana served as a catch-all remedy for a variety of ailments. A medication that could be used as a remedy for insomnia might also (supposedly) cure urinary infections.

Advertisers said that most popular tinctures of the early 20th century cured urinary infections or urinary tract pain. People also used them to treat sexually transmitted diseases. Largely due to the Marihuana Tax Act, and following legislation that prevented research on marijuana, we still don’t know which cannabinoids are useful for which conditions.

Marijuana As Vintage Medicine

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Before the government followed alcohol prohibition with marijuana prohibition, weed was a common medicine. Though some of these uses appear laughable, medical professionals are reclaiming some of these uses today.

Perhaps it isn’t so ridiculous to think of cannabis as catch-all medicine for a variety of conditions. With the benefit of modern science, we can target what exactly in cannabis benefits each unique ailment.

Links:
https://hightimes.com/culture/ways-peopl...abis-1930/
(This post was last modified: 02-29-2020, 11:39 AM by Ace-.)
Thanks for sharing this article! It’s interesting to see what marijuana has been used for in the past I never really thought about it.
I'm suffering from Asthma, happy to see there is a cure for it by using certain cannabinoids that can reduce the inflammation symptomatic of asthma. Moreover, new information about CBD in liquid form could treat asthma.
It means it’s completely legal allowed medical treatment.
Thanks, Lol.
My close friend has suffered two concussions within a gap of 2 months: once after falling during skiing, and once in a road accident. That was about 1 year ago and he still suffers from the post-concussion condition, which is hardly endurable. Moreover, he feels hypersensitivity to sound and light, tiredness, some dizziness, some cognition impairment.

He is uncertain to try something that might further harm his cognitive function but he is willing to give cannabis a try (now that it is legal in many states).

I just want to know, is there any fruitful research on the effects of cannabis on a concussed brain?

Thanks
Mary
(03-14-2020, 11:06 PM)maryjones Wrote: My close friend has suffered two concussions within a gap of 2 months: once after falling during skiing, and once in a road accident. That was about 1 year ago and he still suffers from the post-concussion condition, which is hardly endurable. Moreover, he feels hypersensitivity to sound and light, tiredness, some dizziness, some cognition impairment.

He is uncertain to try something that might further harm his cognitive function but he is willing to give cannabis a try (now that it is legal in many states).

I just want to know, is there any fruitful research on the effects of cannabis on a concussed brain?

Thanks
Mary

“Some researchers believe that properties of marijuana may help the brain to repair itself following a traumatic injury. The reasons marijuana and concussions may have a beneficial relationship to one another is because marijuana might be able to help reduce inflammation in the brain following an injury. Cannabis plants have antioxidants that can provide protective features to the brain and they can reduce overall inflammation and stress-related damage in the brain, possibly. This is important because one of the primary impacts of concussion is neural inflammation.” - The Recovery Village.

”Multiple cannabis studies have been conducted on TBI patients, and in each case, the drug was well-tolerated. It appears that cannabis may even protect the cells against the damage that occurs as a result of TBI.

2015 study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex examined how the body’s natural cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) impact the healing process. The researchers determined that CB1 and CB2 antagonists prevent neuroprotection following a traumatic brain injury. However, cannabinoids like THC and especially CBD bind to the CB1 and CB2 receptors and help to reduce damage and inflammation.” - Green Health Docs.



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