"Cannabis indica became available in American pharmacies in the 1850’s following its introduction to western medicine by William O'Shaughnessy (1839).6 In its original pharmaceutical usage, it was regularly consumed orally, not smoked. The first popular American account of cannabis intoxication was published in 1854 by Bayard Taylor, writer, world traveler and diplomat."
Source
Geiringer, Dale, "Origins of Cannabis Prohibition in California" Contemporary Drug Problems," originally published as "The Forgotten Origins of Cannabis Prohibition in California," Contemporary Drug Problems, (Summer 1999 - substantially revised June 2006) Vol 26, #2, p. 4.
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