Cannabis is one of the most utilized psychoactive substances in the world. It has a long history as well. Dating back thousands of years, cannabis has been used over the generations as a medicine, a recreational drug, and as a means of heightening religious practice. Cannabis even has an extensive history in China.
It is ironic that cannabis is completely banned in China now. Even so, you can go back and look at records from hundreds of years ago and find Chinese rulers who absolutely adored cannabis. Get caught with cannabis today and the Chinese government could sentence you to death.
There is no shortage of people in the U.S. cannabis industry convinced that China will never legalize pot. But don’t be so sure. Even a cursory study of history suggests that the possibility of legalized weed in China still exists.
-
An Ancient Plant
We humans have a tendency to view history within the realm of our own experiences and those related to us by parents and grandparents. We give very little thought of what happened hundreds of years ago, let alone thousands of years. In relation to cannabis, so many people do not know its history. It is not a newly discovered plant that people just began consuming after World War II.
Cannabis is an ancient plant with a long history. Many ancient cultures utilized its seeds and flowers for medicinal purposes. They burned plant material during religious services to enhance spiritualism. And yes, ancient cultures used marijuana recreationally.
-
Explaining China’s Stance
You can look back on China’s ancient history with marijuana and struggle to understand why the plant is illegal today. But a similar situation exists here in the U.S. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Congress decided to ban cannabis. Furthermore, cannabis wasn’t even on the regulatory radar until the postwar era.
China made cannabis illegal for the same reason we did: a mistaken belief that the plant is on par with dangerous drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Here in this country, we have come to terms with the fact that cannabis doesn’t belong in the same classification as those other drugs. China has yet to not come to that realization.
As for the belief that China will never legalize pot, it boils down to the freedom issue. China is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, a political entity that does not believe in individual freedom. Government officials and their police enforcers control nearly every aspect of Chinese life as tightly as possible. The thinking is that giving into pot legalization could make it harder to control the populace.
-
Equally Strange Things Have Happened
The thing about pot legalization in China is that equally strange things have happened before. Look at our own country. Back in the 1990s, when California and Colorado were pushing so hard for medical cannabis, no one ever thought they would succeed. There were very few who expected to see medical cannabis spread nationwide, let alone lead to recreational legalization in more than a dozen states.
Utah, one of the most conservative states in the union legalized medical cannabis back in 2019. Organizations like the Beehive Farmacy in Brigham City now supply Utah patients with a full menu of medical cannabis products. Yet a lot of people were convinced Utah would never go for it.
To be clear, there is no comparison between China and the U.S., or Utah for that matter. The point is this: if it can be legalized here, cannabis can also be legalized in China. Maybe it’s a long shot. But it is always possible.
