Marijuana, pot, weed, bud, grass, the devils grass, the wacky tobaccy, the ganja, the herb, the sticky icky, hemp; there’s one that doesn’t fit the list. Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant this is true. Cannabis sativa is the technical term for the plant. THC is the narcotic agent in marijuana. Marijuana has about 20 to 30% THC where as hemp contains less than 1 percent, making it useless as a drug. You could smoke a 15 foot stalk of hemp and not get high. Hemp is the most misunderstood, misrepresent, and unnecessarily feared substance in America yet ironically has played a key role in our countries development all the way up to world war two. Hemp is a incredibly versatile substance it’s being researched to used as biodegradable plastic, a bio-diesel fuel, and a whole other host of bio products.

Hemp once was a essential part of America along with the world. It’s can be traced back over 10,000 years ago in pottery. If prostitution can be the worlds oldest profession, hemp might be the world oldest industry. There was established laws making farmers grow a certain quantities of hemp. In 1619 the first law to have all farmers grow Indian hemp seeds in the colony Jamestown, Virginia followed by connected in 1631, masseuses in 1632, and so on. In 1705 an act was passed that would offer 6 pounds for every ton of hemp produced in the united states. Not only did we produce hemp but it was a huge import into the colonies. For two hundred year we were able to pay taxes with hemp… We can’t even phantom a time when that was a reality. George Washington, the man that is on ever quarter and every dollar bill that the untied states prints grew and advocated growing hemp.

Hemp was completely legal until 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act outlawing marijuana and placing heavy restrictions on the growing of hemp including needing a permit, making growing Hemp economically impossible.

War and hemp, hemp and war what a odd combination. Not really we need cheap, strong rope and clothes… hemp provides both. During World War II farmers were encouraged to grow hemp for the war effort “hemp for victory.” In 1942 hemp was need for rope so it was legalized until the end of the war when the “prohibition” was stared again. Hemp for victory, such a ironic term for in 1861 Sterling Price of the confederate army in Lexington Mass. ingenuously used bails of hemp to shield his soldiers form northern fire . They rolled the huge bails of hemp and fired from behind them as they moved… winning the battle. Obviously we can’t be preoccupied with the fact it was the south that won, just the fact of how they won.

Hemp could be in almost every product we use today, but is not it was banned in the interest of a few large corporations. Oil, fuel, plastic, paper, rope, soap, tea, lotion, and a whole other host of products can and are produced with hemp. Until 1883, 80 percent of the worlds paper was made from hemp. There was an estimated 80 millions dollars in sales on hemp products in 2000 world wide. Hemp produces more paper and can be recycled more times than the same acre of forest. Dupont, the forests industry, the cotton industry, and grand total of 19 companies all played a key role in wiping the cannabis plant out of the united states. We were the first country in the world to order the destruction of the hemp plant even if it was for industrial use. There is an organization that created car that run off of hemp fuel traveling the Untied states. Not only can bio-diesel be made from hemp but airplane fuel, and even methanol worth of nasal. Between July 4 2001 and October 2^nd 2001 the hemp car drove a record 10,000 miles across the untied states on only bio-diesel fuel. Bio-diesel type fuels are not a new idea. Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor company foresaw the use of hemp as both a material for cars and fuel all the way back in 1930. Ford engineers extracted methanol, charcoal fuel, tar, pitch, ethyl-acetate and creosote. These are all essential to so any industries and are all supplied by the oil industry.

From a war hero, to Assassin of our Youth, from billion dollar cash crop to reefer madness, and from a product to a drug. Imagine where the untied states might be if low THC hemp was legal for every one.