Marijuana in the New World By: Erica Marijuana in the New World The first definite record of the marijuana plant in the New World dates from 1545 AD, when the Spaniards introduced it into Chile. It has been suggested, however, that African slaves familiar with marijuana as an intoxicant and medicine brought the seeds with them to Brazil even earlier in the sixteenth century. There is no record that the Pilgrims brought marijuana with them to …showed first 75 words of 3121 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3121 total…smoke them," Dr. J. D. Reichard of Lexington, Kentucky told a scientific meeting in 1943. In short, marijuana was readily available in the United States through much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, its effects were known, and it was occasionally used for recreational purposes. But use was at best limited, local, and temporary. Not until after 1920 did marijuana come into general use-and not until the 1960s did it become a popular drug. Bibliography none