AAPI Heritage Month cannabis history starts earlier than most people think: genetic research places the plant's first domestication in East Asia, thousands of years ago. Every May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a chance to learn that story, from Chinese medical texts and Japanese hemp to Hawaii's early medical law, and to understand the stigma some AAPI families still feel.
What AAPI Heritage Month celebrates and why it falls in May
Congress created Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week in 1978 and expanded the observance to the full month of May in 1992. May honors two milestones: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the United States on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, when most of the workers who laid its tracks were Chinese immigrants.
Where cannabis began: early cultivation in East Asia
A 2021 study in Science Advances sequenced the genomes of 110 cannabis plants from around the world and concluded that cannabis was first domesticated in East Asia in early Neolithic times. Today's hemp and drug varieties descend from a gene pool still found in feral plants and local varieties in China. Our guide to hemp versus marijuana explains how the two differ now.
Hemp and medicine in Chinese tradition
Cannabis has a long history in China as a fiber and seed crop. Its seeds and other parts have been recorded in Chinese medical texts for nearly 2,000 years, starting with the Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica, an anonymous text from the Eastern Han dynasty. Historical use is a matter of record, not proof that a remedy works.
Hemp in Japan, then decades of strict prohibition
In Japan, archaeologists suggest cannabis fibers were once used for clothing, bowstrings and fishing lines, and the plant held a place in Shinto purification rites. That changed after World War II. With the country still under U.S. control, Japan passed the 1948 Cannabis Control Act, and the number of farms fell from more than 25,000 in 1948 to fewer than 60 licensed by 2014.
The act's first major revision came in 2023. It opened a path for cannabis-derived medicines, introduced penalties for use itself and took effect on December 12, 2024. In the U.S., federal prohibition was cemented by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
Hawaii and the Pacific: an early path to medical cannabis
In 2000, Hawaii's legislature passed Act 228, a medical cannabis law. California voters had approved medical cannabis at the ballot box in 1996, but Hawaii's law came from lawmakers, an early example of a state legislature taking that step.
Stigma and generational conversations in AAPI families
AAPI communities trace their roots to dozens of countries and cultures, and attitudes toward cannabis vary widely among them. Some relatives grew up where cannabis laws are far stricter than Michigan's, and decades of U.S. anti-drug messaging left their mark too. If cannabis is a hard topic at home, try listening first, sharing the basics of Michigan law (adults 21 and older, licensed stores, tested products) and respecting a "no thanks."
AAPI advocates and business owners in today's industry
AAPI entrepreneurs, growers, scientists, budtenders and advocates work across the legal cannabis industry, often while navigating the same family conversations described above. Seeking out AAPI-owned businesses, asking who makes the products you buy and supporting fair cannabis policy are practical ways to back that work.
Ways to celebrate and support AAPI communities in Michigan
- Visit AAPI-owned restaurants, markets and shops near you.
- Look for heritage month events each May at Michigan universities, libraries and museums.
- Share the history, and read our guides for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month.
When your celebration includes cannabis, keep it legal: 21+ only, at home or on private property, never before driving. Questions about products? Visit your nearest High Society store.
