Why Early American Colonizers Never Smoked Weed

Long before Americans smoked weed, they all used old school 'fluid extracts'

When you think about cannabis use in the United States today, smoking weed is likely the first thing that comes to mind. But did you know that early Americans, even though they grew cannabis, never actually smoked it?

That’s right! Americans have been cultivating cannabis since the country’s founding, but the idea of lighting up a joint was the last thing on their minds. Let’s dive into the fascinating reasons why early Americans didn’t smoke cannabis and how this plant was actually used long before it became the Devil’s Lettuce.

Indigenous Americans’ Cannabis Use

Cannabis did not naturally occur in North America, and didn’t show up until people brought seeds there from other places -but this wasn’t thanks to the Europeans. Cannabis was in the Americas before European settlers or colonizers arrived, brought by early human migrations across the Bering Strait. Native Americans used cannabis long before the Europeans showed up, mostly for practical purposes like making fabric, ropes, baskets, and fishing nets. There’s also evidence suggesting it may have been used in rituals and medicine, but that is another fascinating story that we will cover in another article.

But just to be clear, cannabis was being used in North America for a long time before European colonizers came in and took over, forcing Native communities off their land and taking their resources.

The Early Cannabis Craze

While cannabis plants may have been around before colonizers, early European settlers started growing hemp of their own in the 1600s after bringing new hemp seeds from Europe. Hemp quickly became a crucial crop for making things like ropes, sails, clothing, and food, making it super important for the new growing nation.

Back then, hemp was such a big deal that colonies like Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut passed laws requiring farmers to grow it. But it was all about using the plant’s fibers for practical purposes. No one was thinking about smoking it because the varieties grown in the U.S. didn’t have the cannabinoids we associate with psychoactive effects. These early plants were basically giant stems, bred for fibers, not buds. So even if someone wanted to smoke it, there wasn’t many cannabinoids in these plants to get them high.

The cannabis being grown by settlers was selectively bred to make the most fibers, not to get high. This was just hemp.

Medicine, Not Marijuana

While cannabis was a major part of ancient medicine in places like China, India, and Egypt, early Americans were totally missing out. Why? Because the hemp they grew wasn’t the good stuff. The cannabis strains used in places like Asia and the Middle East had higher levels of trichomes and cannabinoids, the compounds that actually give cannabis its medical (and psychoactive) effects.

The seeds that came to the U.S. with the Europeans had been selectively bred for fibers, so the buds were just a by-product. Essentially, Americans were growing rope, not weed. But that didn’t stop them from getting creative with cannabis as medicine when the right strains eventually came into the country.

William Brooke O'Shaughnessy

This guy was an OG cannabis researcher, and he played a big role in introducing high-quality potent weed to the new colonies.

Cannabis Fluid Oils: The Original American Cannabis Medicine

Cannabis Fluid Extracts were cannabis tinctures made by soaking cannabis in alcohol. 

By the 1840s, people in the U.S. started to catch on to the idea of cannabis as medicine, largely thanks to the work of Dr. William O’Shaughnessy, who learned about its healing properties in India. By this time, higher-quality cannabis strains, like strong landrace indicas, were being imported as dried flowers or resin, which packed a much stronger punch than the hemp being grown locally.

But even then, Americans didn’t start smoking it. Instead, they turned the flowers and resin into something called “Cannabis Fluid Oils,” a fancy name for what we’d now call tinctures. Apothecaries and doctors would soak the flowers in alcohol, letting the cannabinoids and beneficial compounds dissolve into the liquid. This was a powerful medicine that was used to treat all sorts of conditions like headaches, muscle spasms, pain, and digestive issues.

Cannabis oils became common household medicines, and in 1851, it was officially recognized in the U.S. Pharmacopeia under the name "Extractum Cannabis" or "Extract of Hemp." It was even used during the Civil War to help soldiers deal with pain. But things were about to change with the rise of pharmaceuticals.

The Rise of Pharmaceuticals and the Fall of Cannabis Medicine

By the late 1800s, the pharmaceutical industry was taking off. With new drugs like Aspirin hitting the market, medicine began shifting towards treatments that could be measured in precise doses. Since cannabis tinctures varied in strength depending on the batch, they quickly started to feel outdated. By the early 1900s, cannabis medicines were falling out of favor.

But just when you’d think cannabis was on its way out, the Mexican Revolution brought a whole new way of using it into the U.S.

Mexican Revolution: The Smoking Tradition Arrives

Pancho Villa (middle) smoking a doink on his ranch in Chihuahua 

In the 1910s, Mexican immigrants fleeing the violence of the revolution brought their tradition of smoking cannabis to the U.S. For the first time, the new Americans were exposed to the idea of smoking weed instead of using it for fibers or medicinal oils. This smoking culture quickly spread, and by the 1930s, “reefer” had gained popularity, especially in jazz clubs. Cannabis became part of the counterculture, celebrated in music and nightlife.

But as cannabis gained popularity, so did the opposition to it. The U.S. government, big pharmaceutical companies, and other industries saw the rise of cannabis use as a threat to their control. They were determined to put a stop to it.

The War on Weed

By the late 1930s, anti-cannabis propaganda was everywhere, fueled by racial prejudice and corporate interests. The 1936 film Reefer Madness played a major role in demonizing cannabis, falsely portraying it as a dangerous drug that led to insanity and violence. These scare tactics paved the way for strict laws against cannabis use.

In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, essentially making cannabis illegal in the U.S. This was the beginning of a long and harsh crackdown on cannabis, which would last for decades. The government, led by figures like Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, used fear and misinformation to vilify the plant, disproportionately targeting communities of color.

Throughout the 20th century, the war on cannabis continued to escalate. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug—placing it in the same category as heroin, with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. This classification fueled mass incarceration, disproportionately affecting Black and Latino communities, despite the fact that cannabis use was widespread across all races.

A Shift Toward Legalization

Despite the harsh penalties and stigma, cannabis use didn’t disappear. In the 1970s and 1980s, it remained a staple of the counterculture, embraced by activists, musicians, and everyday Americans who defied the laws. By the 1990s, the tides began to turn as more people recognized the plant’s medical benefits.

In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, marking the beginning of a slow but steady shift toward acceptance. Over the next two decades, state after state followed suit, either legalizing medical use or decriminalizing possession.

By 2012, the first states—Colorado and Washington—made history by fully legalizing recreational cannabis. This opened the door for a legal cannabis industry, allowing people to legally purchase and use cannabis for the first time in nearly a century.

Cannabis in 2024: A New Era

Fast forward to 2024, and cannabis is now legal for recreational use in 23 states and for medical use in many more. The legal cannabis industry is worth billions, with dispensaries popping up across the country, offering everything from flower and edibles to concentrates and tinctures.

However, even though legalization has brought relief to many, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. The federal government still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug, creating a legal gray area that affects everything from banking to interstate commerce. While more people are pushing for federal legalization, progress has been slow.

At the same time, corporate interests have once again become a concern. Big cannabis companies have taken over much of the market, sometimes prioritizing profits over product quality and safety. As we’ve seen with scandals like contaminated products in California, there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure that the industry serves the people, not just the corporations.

Watch my video about this to see more.