So as the “green rush” is sweeping the United States and many other countries around the world. Marijuana Beginner asks where did this cannabis culture stem from and where is it heading.

Cannabis culture has been developed over centuries and both ancient and modern societies have used cannabis for either nutritional, recreational or medical use.

In fact, Cannabis was first documented by the Chinese around 3000BC in their book of Pharmacopoeia as a treatment for gout. It was also heavily used during this time in the Far East as a nutritional supplement.

Cannabis was only used as a recreational “drug” during the late 19th century in Europe and slowly made its mark on the American social scene during the middle of the 20tcentury. Cannabis was generally used as an industrial fibre to make ropes, paper, sails and even medicine.

Funny enough the word canvas is derived from the word cannabis and it was one of the worlds most important resources during the Great Wars of the 20th century.

Although cannabis has a rich and colorful history its only been in the last 50 years or so it has become a popular recreational drug of choice for millions of people. This is partly due to the many therapeutic and medical benefits  of cannabis, but also because cannabis is a fairly light narcotic that is not addictive and has fairly benign side-effects.

There is not one reported death directly related to cannabis and if you compare that to legally available drugs such as alcohol and tobacco that is quite an amazing fact.

The cannabis market today is projected to provide over 250,000 new jobs in America and projected to be worth over $13.4 Billion by 2020.

Many other industries are also benefiting from this new legally sanctioned cannabis market. The tourism and  security markets are seeing massive growth in states that have legalized cannabis.

Colorado and California have seen massive growth in these sectors due to the influx of cannabis consumers wanting to legally purchase cannabis, and due to the financial restrictions on cannabis sales, cash is king.

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Federal law is still holding back the development of the cannabis industry but as soon as this changes we will see the big traditional brick and mortar businesses such as financial institutions getting their hands stuck into the cannabis gravy train.

Currently, Congress is discussing the much-needed changes in the Farm Bill and already has approved
adjustments to the bill that will shortly see a variety of cannabis known as hemp being legal in all states. This is a big leap in the right direction and will see many laws falling away that restrict the cannabis industry.

Cannabis has developed from a subculture of the “Cheech and Chong” type and infiltrated all walks of society. The stigma of cannabis use has now been normalized in our modern society and we now see professional business people and sports stars supplementing their performance with cannabis.

The cannabis industry is still in its infancy and rapidly developing into very large industries that is projected to top big business like food and beverage and even tobacco sales in the near future.