1.There are More Dispensaries In Colorado Than Starbucks and McDonald’s Combined

We’ve got a lot of love for Colorado.

It was the first of two states to legalize recreational cannabis, thus providing a model for other states to follow suit.

But there’s another reason that the state deserves a special place in the Cannabis Hall of Fame.

The state literally has more dispensaries than they have Starbucks and McDonald’s combined – over three times more!

Number of medical dispensaries: 195

Number of recreational dispensaries: 169

Total number of dispensaries: 364

Number of Starbucks: 80

Number of McDonald’s: 31

Total number of Starbucks and McDonald’s: 111

Well done, Colorado. Well done.

2. Medical Cannabis Was Legal in the U.S Prior to 1937

Before the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, manufacturers of medicinal tinctures used cannabis as a common ingredient. And they didn’t even have to mention that on the labeling!

But then cannabis quickly became linked to the growing anti-Mexican sentiment at the time. Harry Anslinger, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner, took advantage of this sentiment to help pave the way for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which basically made cannabis unaffordable for most people.

3. The Largest Cannabis Seizure was over 6 Million Pounds

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the “bulkiest drug seizure” of cannabis was 2,903 metric tons, or 6.4 million pounds — all of which came from a Colombian drug operation in 1982 – which ended up being one-fifth of the total amount of cannabis being illegally imported into the United States per year at the time.

4. The First Cannabis Sellers were Eastern European Nomads

They’re known as the Yamnaya, and they were from the region which is now Russia and Ukraine.

According to researchers, these traders might have traded cannabis throughout Europe and East Asia around 5000 years ago.

Cannabis was growing naturally and being used in both Europe and Asia at least 10,200 years ago.

But archaeological records indicate a rise in cannabis use in East Asia 5,000 years ago when the Yamanya had created a trade route across the Eastern European Steppe. Yamnaya sites also show evidence of cannabis burning!

5. Legal Cannabis Has the Potential to Generate Billions in Tax Revenue

The Cato Institute did a study and found that if the federal government imposed taxes on cannabis similar to the taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the revenue would equal $8.7 billion each year.

6. Rastafarians can Legally Use Cannabis in Italy for Religious Reasons

The Italian Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that possessing or using cannabis is not against the law but a religious act if the person is Rastafarian.

More specifically, they declared that Rastafarians use cannabis “not only as a medical but also a meditative herb. And, as such [it is] a possible bearer of the psychophysical state to contemplation and prayer.”