4. Patterns and Extent of Cannabis Use

SOCIAL HISTORY OF CANNABIS USE IN NORTH AMERICA Popular use of cannabis by Europeans and North Americans is a phenome-non of the second third of the twentieth century. The development of popular North American use of cannabis does not appear to have begun until the turn of this century in the southern United States. There was a slow spread of use in North America up to the 1950s and 1960s when the incidence of use began to increase sharply. This development was followed by the diffusion of cannabis use to Europe and areas of European influence and settlement, such as Australia and New Zealand.