Cannabis Use and Anti-Drug Laws are Tied to Asia
In an effort to raise awareness and spotlight communities most affected by the War on Drugs — Emerald is expanding its Conscious Consumption series to include a list of 100+ Asian-Owned Businesses. The list includes ancillary and plant-touching operations, ranging from retail to media services. This is an on-going list that Emerald will constantly update. So if you or someone you know want to be on the list, please reach out at info@TheEmeraldMagazine.com.
Historians trace the first use of cannabis back 12,000 years in Central Asia. They found large quantities of mummified cannabis in tombs of noble people buried in 2500 B.C. in the XinJiang region of China. It then traveled to Europe via the Silk Road, reports Science Magazine.
While American officials didn’t officially launch the drug war until the 1970s, the nation’s first anti-drug laws took effect 100 years earlier. They were aimed at Asian immigrants.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Museum, “The first drug control law in the U.S. was [passed] in San Francisco in 1875 to try to stop the spread of opium dens.”
Chinese immigrants established opium dens in the 1800s and 1900s, reports History Channel. The channel also adds: “Some people believed that opium smoking would encourage prostitution and other crimes. These concerns, and fears of unemployment among white Americans, fed into an anti-Chinese campaign that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—a 10-year moratorium on Chinese immigration.”
Soon after, U.S. officials then passed the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act in 1914. As a result, the Drug Policy Alliance considers that act the start of America’s drug war. Now as more states embrace drug reform, white Americans dominate the legal cannabis space. Only 2.4% of owners or founders of cannabis companies are Asian, according to MJ Biz Daily.
For this reason, Emerald is expanding its Conscious Consumption Series with a list of 100+ Asian-Owned Cannabis Businesses. So, if you or someone you know want to be on the list, please reach out at info@TheEmeraldMagazine.com.
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Emerald Media Group
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