Cannabis has moved from back alleys to the open air. Growing, selling and smoking marijuana is legal in some states, and it may be legalized in a city near you. But is marijuana really good for you? The journey begins at a small town house nestled in the mountains where the family never lets the TV cameras in.
They live in Colorado, one of two states where smoking marijuana is legal, either medicinally or recreationally. Medical pharmacies are everywhere; people smoke in private clubs and public festivals. Decades ago, marijuana was a legal drug, also known as marijuana, prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacies, but that changed in the 1930s. For Harry Anslinger, America’s first drug lord, marijuana was public enemy number one.
He spread an anti-marijuana message through news reports, then made the film Reefer Madness, which portrayed marijuana users as unproductive and deranged. Cannabis became illegal in 1937, and by 1970 it became a Schedule I controlled substance. The government says it has no medicinal value and is likely to be abused. Cannabis is made up of two components: THC, the psychoactive component that makes you feel high, and CBD, also known as cannabidiol, which scientists believe regulates electrochemical activity in the brain.
