Cannabis Britannica: Empire, Trade, and Prohibition 1800-1928 [Paperback]

James H. Mills (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2005

Cannabis Britannica explores the historical origins of the UK's legislation and regulations on cannabis preparations before 1928. In 2003 the role of government in the regulation of cannabis is as hotly debated as it was a century ago. It draws on published and unpublished sources from the seventeenth century onwards from archives in the UK and India to show how the history of cannabis and the British before the twentieth century was bound up with imperialism. In this lively study James Mills explores the historical background of cannabis legislation, arguing that the drive towards prohibition grew out of the politics of empire rather than scientific or rational assessment of the drug's use and effects. The book is the first full history of the origins of the moments when cannabis first became subjected to laws and regulations in Britain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This study is built upon a tremendous research effort, one which easily surpasses anything heretofore written on the subject. Indeed, this book should quickly become one of the standard historical references on cannabis."--Journal of Social History

"Mills has made an important contribution in resurrecting the information in the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report and in bringing to light again the extensive nineteenth-century medical and scientific literature on cannabis.... One would hope that future debates on the issue of cannabis will be informed by his research."--American Historical Review

About the Author

James H. Mills is an ESRC Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer, Department of History, University of Strathclyde.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199278814
• ISBN-13: 978-0199278817
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent commodity history, January 30, 2009

By 

N. Mattingly (NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cannabis Britannica: Empire, Trade, and Prohibition 1800-1928 (Paperback)

This is one of the best academic histories on the subject of cannabis, and I have read many. If you are sick and tired of reading popular conspiracy theories, or books that repeat anecdotal evidence ranging over thousands of years that cannot be substantiated, then this book is for you. It is well-written, easy to digest, and flawlessly researched and footnoted. It looks at the mechanisms of the British Empire, specifically its relationship with India, where Britain learnt a great deal about the intoxicating uses of hemp.

At the start of the nineteenth century, Britain sought to utilise India in the provision of hemp for rope. Indian cannabis cultivators were uncooperative as they already had viable distribution networks for their intoxicants. The British taxed this trade and undertook medical research which revealed promising results. Mills provides great detail on the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1893, and illustrates the ways that cannabis consumption first came to be associated with insanity and illegality. He also analyses the League of Nations' Opium Conferences of the 1920s, which led to cannabis being scheduled alongside opium and cocaine as a dangerous narcotic. This marked the beginning of the modern era of international cannabis control.

Mills treats cannabis as an imperial commodity, rather than a magical plant. He is objective in his appraisal of the subject, neither pro or anti prohibition. His arguments are tight and applied to his research, and do not trail off into the hippie garbage that typifies much writing on cannabis. Mills' trade is history not polemics, and he leaves space for the reader to draw their own conclusions.

The book is full of interesting and surprising insights and incidents, not only about cannabis. Scholars who are interested in British imperial history, nineteenth century India, or the machinations of the League of Nations will find great value in this book. An academic yet accessible history, this book is one of a kind.