Weed, Mary Jane, Cannabis, Bud, Herb, Pot, Marijuana, whatever your name preference is, it is the medicinal plant where CBD comes from. CBD is just one of many cannabinoids the plant holds, and as you know (if you’ve been following us for a while) Full Spectrum CBD holds all of cannabinoids including THC but extracted at a completely legal level that cannot get you high.

But there are still people who struggle to get on board with the idea that CBD can be good for you. Unlike pharmaceuticals, CBD actually boosts the Endocannabinoid system, enhancing the expression of CB1 and CB2 receptors responsible for regulating the body’s responses to mood, sleep, recovery and pain. So why does the plant still have such a bad reputation? Seems unfair, right?

Weed was banned in 1928 in the UK, so recreational use of the plant has been seen as ‘criminal’ for over 90 years. It’s crazy to think that weed has been put under the umbrella of those deemed the most dangerous drugs when you compare it to so many other substances and their side effects, even legal ones like alcohol for that matter. This leads us to the question we’ve all been asking – why was weed actually criminalised?

It is said that legislation on marijuana in both the US and UK was brought in to spite immigrant groups. This legislation was then further hardened in the 1960s as a result of people beginning to challenge the established order. Cannabis was seen as an unknown. When looking at the US in particular this results back to the early 1900’s just after the Mexican Revolution. There was an influx of Mexican immigrants into the US, bringing with them their native language, culture and customs – including their use of cannabis as a medicine and relaxant. Although Americans were already familiar with cannabis, the term ‘marihuana’ that Mexicans tended to use was foreign to them. The media then began to play on the fears the US public has on these new citizens from Mexico, spreading false claims relating mostly to their so-called dangerous native behaviours which included marihuana usage. Little did Americans know, this plant was something they were all familiar with and many could find in their medicine cabinets, only they called it cannabis. The criminalisation of weed was essentially an extension of the demonization of the Mexican immigrants entering the US.