During the 17^th century, at the height of the colonial era, hemp finally made its way to North America. Farmers grew hemp as a cash crop, cashing in on the plant’s vast industrial utility. Thomas Jefferson even drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. After more than two centuries, hemp was eventually replaced by other materials (such as cotton) — but not before people began to notice the medical properties of the cannabis plant.

According to History.com, the recreational usage of cannabis began to surge in the early 20^th century. As cannabis became more popular in American culture, the negative stigma around the plant grew at an equal rate. Although it was legal at the time to sell regulated cannabis products in drug stores and pharmacies, prohibitionists eventually landed a huge victory with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, “originally passed to levy taxes on hemp products and on the commercial sales of cannabis products.” This new taxation greatly reduced the trafficking of cannabis products in America and would lay the foundation for future federal and state prohibitions.

Cannabis was stigmatized and prohibited for the better part of the remaining century, with even stricter laws passing in the 1970s (although some states, beginning with Oregon, started decriminalizing cannabis use in the same decade). But the tides seem to be changing. When California voters officially legalized medical cannabis in 1996, other states followed suit. The dominoes began to fall.