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The Medical Marijuana Memory Blog recalls important events in the early history of the medical marijuana movement. Many current activists, educators, and entrepreneurs are unaware of the struggles and hardships endured by the early reformers. In Blog #27 we will start a look at the events of 1979, a watershed year in the history of medical cannabis reform. But first, a brief recap of 1978 before moving on to the equally astonishing 1979.
For federal drug agencies, 1978 began with promise: Robert Randall had been silenced. His physician had been lured away from Washington, DC, with a lucrative research contract at the University of North Carolina, and the agencies knew that Randall’s chances of finding another doctor who would apply for permission to treat Randall were just about nil.
But their contentment was short-lived. Two thousand miles from Washington, in New Mexico, cancer patient Lynn Pierson, who had linked up with Randall in December of 1977, was relentlessly lobbying the New Mexico Assembly for a state bill that would allow cancer and glaucoma patients to use marijuana legally. The feds were startled when New Mexico actually passed the legislation in February 1978 but, no doubt felt they could control a puny little state like New Mexico. The federal stonewalling began immediately. No worries, they thought, we’ve got this.
Before the year was out, however, three other states would join New Mexico, and Randall, having secured the pro bono assistance of one of Washington’s largest law firms, had his marijuana supplies reinstated and was in a stronger position than ever before.
Federal agencies face an avalanche of interest
If 1978 was disappointing to federal drug agencies, then 1979 must have been an absolute descent into Dante’s nine levels of Hell. As the New Year dawned throughout the country, cancer patients picked up the mantle of the now-fallen Lynn Pierson and charged heroically into the fray. The push for state programs of medical marijuana access would reach its peak in 1979, with an astounding 14 states enacting laws similar to the 1978 New Mexico law. After months of negotiating with the federal government, New Mexico’s program was operational, using federal marijuana cigarettes or THC capsules — it was the patient’s choice. Patients in other states made note of New Mexico’s hard-won success and logically determined, why not my state?
The deluge began in March 1979 with four states — Ohio, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia — enacting New Mexico style laws. Things then went quiet for several months. But in June, the medical marijuana movement gained incredible momentum, with 6 states enacting laws: Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas. FDA, NIDA, and DEA were reeling from those blows when July delivered a knock-out punch. California, one of the most populous states in the nation, enacted its medical marijuana law and began negotiating with federal officials for access to federal supplies of marijuana, supplies the government did not have. It was estimated that California might need a million marijuana cigarettes! Try manufacturing that from a five-acre plot in Mississippi.
The bureaucrats were not completely heartless. They were well aware of the devastating side effects of cancer chemotherapy and the pathetic arsenal of anti-nausea medications then available to physicians. But their theologies — the manufactured Reefer Madness legacy of Harry Anslinger at the DEA and NIDA, and, at the FDA, the single-molecule dogma that dismissed any therapeutic effect from a plant-based substance as “folk medicine” — would not allow the agencies to think creatively. And they rather smugly believed those theologies were about to be fulfilled in the form of a new drug being researched by Eli Lilly.
Nabilone is a synthetic cannabinoid, a close cousin of delta-9 THC, and had been in the developmental pipeline of Eli Lilly for several years. There was an irony in Lilly’s involvement. The Indiana-based company had been one of the major producers of cannabis medicines at the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th century. When the First World War began, however, Lilly changed its cultivation strategy to hemp to manufacture canvas, rope, and other practical materials used in the war. After the war, like many pharmaceutical companies, Lilly was more interested in the emerging new drugs, especially antibiotics. And, of course, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 cast a pall on the once widespread medical use of cannabis.
FDA’s great white hope
Now, in the late 1970s, Lilly was in the final phases of testing of nabilone, and the emergent medical cannabis movement gave the new drug a real boost. Reports about progress with the drug — some were positively glowing — began to appear in the popular press. It is FDA policy that drug companies cannot promote their drugs before approval, and it is interesting to note that until 1977, there was complete silence regarding nabilone in the popular press. But in 1977, Robert Randall was traveling the country, speaking to anyone and everyone about the medical benefits of cannabis and showing off his government-supplied marijuana cigarettes. In August of that year, the first public mention of nabilone occurred. A search on newspapers.com reveals 5 articles that mention nabilone in late 1977. In 1978, that number skyrocketed to 180 articles! In 1979, the number was 141. Most of these articles mentioned nabilone as an anti-emetic, but it was even touted as a possible glaucoma medication, clearly a poke at Randall. At first, these articles contained quotes from private researchers, mostly unaffiliated with the actual research but happy to help colleagues and a large funding source like Lilly. But as the medical marijuana movement gained traction, nabilone articles began to appear with quotes from FDA officials.
You see, for the FDA especially, nabilone was their savior. They could tough out a few more months of anguished calls from cancer patients and angry calls from state health officials who were trying to enact newly passed marijuana-as-medicine laws. Nabilone was coming. Be patient, and all their problems will be solved.
And then the dogs died. Beagles, to be exact. They were being used to test the long-term effects of nabilone, and in the spring of 1979, they started experiencing seizures and then died. Lilly, to its credit, did the right thing. It promptly closed all nabilone research and informed the FDA.
It could not have happened at a worse time. The momentum of the medical marijuana movement was undeniable. FDA was constantly deflecting inquiries from the states about how to set up these legislatively mandated programs. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s program was up and running, with cancer patients receiving federal supplies of marijuana. Its officials were more than happy to share with their colleagues in other states the details of their abuse at the hands of the FDA and offer advice on how to structure a state research program.
Conclusion
Yes, 1979 was a very interesting year for medical cannabis reformers. In our coming Medical Marijuana Memory Blogs, we’ll look more closely at the many fascinating stories from 1979, including a more in-depth look at nabilone and the birth of Marinol. We’ll highlight some of the special people from that momentous year and their impact on states like Nevada, Washington, and Michigan.
The story of the medical marijuana movement is a true David and Goliath tale, but unlike the Biblical story, slaying the Goliath of cannabis prohibition would require many Davids. It was Robert Randall who threw the first stone. His clarion call to other patients began a medical movement unlike any other in history. I hope you will join me in the coming weeks as we explore the people and policies of the medical cannabis movement in 1979. ❧
Want to learn more? My book, Medical Marijuana in America: Memoir of a Pioneer, tells the complete story of the medical marijuana movement from the very beginning through 1996. It is available at the Medical Marijuana Memorabilia Store on my website: www.aliceolearyrandall.com.
how early they knew that synthetical cannabis kill people..
in todays germany berlin for more than ten years 99% street weed is poisoned with synthetic cannabinoids..
i suffer under a rare type of rheumatism but i still do not get medical marijuana.. because of the rheuma leage lobby nazi doctors in germany following just like nazis did idiotical ideological regulations..
all those 'doctors' deserve to die!
Excellent essay Alice! I had forgotten many details, including how important New Mexico and Lynn Pierson were to the movement. Thanks for mentioning on your site that Lynn and Bob met at the 1977 NORML Conference.