The Laughing Cure: Medical Marijuana in the 1980s

This text details the struggles of medical marijuana advocates in the 1980s to gain legal access to cannabis for patients suffering from various ailments like glaucoma and cancer. Despite some initial successes and bipartisan support, the Reagan administration’s war on drugs severely hampered these efforts. The text contrasts the difficulties faced by patients who needed cannabis for medicinal purposes with the government’s simultaneous funding of research into Marinol, a synthetic THC medication, highlighting the contradictions in policy. The narrative also explores the ironic situation where government-grown marijuana was used to train drug-sniffing dogs while being denied to patients. Finally, the text connects marijuana’s use to its antidepressant effects and the cultural phenomenon of marijuana-related humor during a time of political repression.