Skip to main content

The timeline can be navigated with the “Scroll Left” and “Scroll Right” buttons or by dragging the pointer to a date on the timeline waveform (located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile). To filter by a particular topic and see a smaller section of the data, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. Hover over the abbreviated filter tags in the blue boxes to see the complete name of the filter, or click a filter to display all the data with this tag. If you want to take a deeper dive into a specific topic by viewing a narrative essay page and a curated timeline, click on “Stories.”

Read More
A clear-sky landscape of George Washington talking to a farmer. In the background, enslaved Black people work, children play on the grass.
"Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon" by Junius Brutus Stearns (1851). (Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

George Washington grows cannabis, with interest in its medicinal uses.

1745

MJ
MED
"Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon" by Junius Brutus Stearns (1851). (Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

"[George] Washington's diary entries indicate that he grew hemp at Mount Vernon, his plantation, for about 30 years [approximately 1745-1775]. According to his agricultural ledgers, he had a particular interest in the medicinal use of Cannabis, and several of his diary entries indicate that he indeed was growing Cannabis with a high Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content–marijuana" (Britannica).