Chris Duvall’s The African Roots of Marijuana challenges scholarship on cannabis and asserts that the existing literature or narrative presents an incomplete history, especially the history of cannabis in Africa. The book seems more like a literature review of published information on the history of cannabis over the years. According to Duvall, cannabis history or cannabis debate has been used as a political tool, with some of the available research coming from political standpoints rather than factual historical knowledge. This book brings enlightenment to the existing history of cannabis as we know it from what has been written thus far; Duvall insinuates that our reading is very Eurocentric, as it is based on the experiences and narratives of European travellers and on misinterpretations of cannabis history. This history excludes the experiences of Africans and other primary parties who have a longstanding connection to cannabis. Although this has been brought to light in recent publications, Duvall argues that more narratives on cannabis could be discovered, especially from Africans themselves. This would include ordinary people such as slaves, sailors and other labourers whose encounters and experiences with cannabis have never been documented.
The book argues that the existing literature has always placed the USA at the forefront of the prohibition of cannabis globally while other players or countries have been overlooked. The available literature promotes the false narrative that the US government was a global leader in proposing the prohibition of cannabis under the leadership of Harry J. Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Yet, African countries such as Egypt and South Africa showed early concerns about cannabis, way before the twentieth century, and were responsible for the international banning of the plant.
Duvall provides a detailed history of cannabis as well as geographical evidence of where cannabis originated and how it moved around the world. In the book, he explores the distribution of marijuana seeds across Africa and in other parts of the world. He argues that, through colonization and trade, the plant spread worldwide and has had different uses. For example, colonists used the plant as a source of fibre to produce rope and for economic benefits, while Africans used it for herbs and others used it as a source of strength. He also discusses the origins and botany of cannabis plants and analyses the different definitions of cannabis, stereotypes, and the racial classification of cannabis users. Duvall brings to light that Africans were once again presented as passive participants in their history. For example, he highlights that Africans could distinguish or identify the different species of cannabis before Europeans could do so in the 1970s. But, in what has been written, it is as if this information was discovered by European botanists studying cannabis plants.
The African Roots of Marijuana highlights the different uses and cultural processing of cannabis in different parts of the world, societies and cultures. This breaks the stereotypical idea that cannabis has the same meaning across all African and Asian communities; in fact, each society has different uses and meanings of cannabis, although there are some similarities. Duvall’s use of linguistics to trace the plant’s existence in particular regions back into the past is commendable. By comparing the terms used for cannabis in different parts of Africa and in different historical periods, the interconnectedness of different communities is established and the origins of cannabis use in most regions are traced. The story of the Bena Riamba provides an interesting example of how friendly relations between two different ethnic groups were forged through cannabis use.
The book also examines the relationship between cannabis consumption and labour; this is nothing new in the literature on cannabis history. Duvall, however, explores the history of the use of cannabis as an enhancement by people doing manual work in different parts of the world. This is an interesting argument because the very same ‘evil’ of cannabis, as discussed in the 1970s, had a significant role in labour production, from which white Europeans and colonists benefited. Cannabis was consumed by most slave labourers to enhance their performance and as a way of escaping the harsh realities that came with inequalities in a colonial world. Colonists occasionally paid their labourers with drugs and alcohol, so cannabis was a form of commodity for both Africans and Europeans. There are limitations to the history of cannabis among African people because of a lack of evidence, and most of these stories are told from the perspective of white European travellers. For instance, Duval mentions that slaves, prostitutes, mine workers, farm workers and indentured labourers were among the people who consumed cannabis as a coping mechanism, but not much of their history is captured. This point shows how much of the ‘history from below’ is still missing from the literature on the history of cannabis. Duvall acknowledges this limitation, highlighting that a wider perspective on the history of cannabis is lacking because of the untold stories of ordinary people.
Overall, this is a well-written book that provides a nuanced analysis of the history of cannabis. It will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars seeking to deepen their understanding of the African roots of cannabis, and especially its cultural and economic significance.
