The wide availability of cotton fiber reduced the need for hemp as a fiber for clothing and thus reduced the profit resulting in many farmers switching from hemp cultivation to a more lucrative endeavor. Hemp remained a cash crop until well after the Civil War however because of its availability and the ease with which it turned into clothing. Eventually, the price dropped until it was no longer profitable and many hemp growers switched to tobacco.
Far from vanishing, the resilient marijuana plant became popular as a medicine for treating numerous ailments. The United Stated Pharmacopeaia recognized marijuana for its medicinal value as early as 1850. It was used to treat lack of appetite, gout, migraines, pain, hysteria, depression, rheumatism and many other illnesses. .
Marijuana as medicine didn't last long as dosage regulation was a problem. Different plants produced different strengths and durations of effectiveness. Ingesting marijuana didn't produce results for hours and often produced different results in different patients and marijuana is insoluble and can't be injected. The love affair with morphine and the syringe was beginning and the demand for marijuana as medicine decreased. Owning marijuana was made a crime in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. .
Marijuana usage has many medical benefits. It became popular as a medicine in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century. After that, marijuana was used to treat general headaches, migraine headaches, depression, muscular tension, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. Today, marijuana has proven to be beneficial in the treatment of many more medical conditions including glaucoma and cancer. In 1976, Robert C. Randall became the very first American to ever gain legal access to marijuana for medical purposes. In Marijuana, The Patients" Fight for Medical Pot, he describes how marijuana helped him through his battle with glaucoma, "Marijuana has helped control it.
