Create Jobs AND save the Earth!
- von: Earth Citizen
- empfänger: It's time to start the debate on Legalizing Industrial Hemp.
It is time to start a conversation about legalizing industrial hemp. Most people are uneducated about the almost limitless economic benefits of legalizing industrial hemp in America.
There are many resources on the internet that give valuable information about cannibas and industrial hemp. I believe people need to educate themselves on this issue and then contact their congressmen/women, senators, governors and the president to let them know that you support research and government investment in hemp technologies and farming. This could literally be as important as the industrial revolution if America were to seize the opportunity. One thing that America has in land and people willing to work the land.
I think the article below explains much better than I can the benefits of hemp. I pulled it from the website www.hemphasis.net.
For most of human existence, hemp has provided food, fuel, clothing and shelter for people all over the world. During the 20th and 21st centuries, however, it has become, according to many governments (primarily under coercion by the US government), a threat so horrible that it should be wiped from the face of the earth.
We know of no species (other than some deadly microbes) that has been afforded the notability of an international effort to exterminate it globally.
While you browse this site consider the ramifications of a government's efforts to eradicate a key environmental species on every continent except Antarctica. Consider that there is NO EVIDENCE to support any of the government's allegations about the harmful effects of hemp that is not also true of potatoes, strawberries, cotton swabs or blue jeans.
While you consider that, consider also that the species in question is the single living organism that holds the greatest promise for renewable/sustainable food, fuel, clothing and shelter accessible to the widest possible range of people.
Hemp is the most versatile and adaptable crop plant on earth. It also provokes the most amazing politics. Why are politicians opposed to such a marvelous and valuable resource?
Hemp and the Economy
Hemp has well over 50,000 industrial uses; most of which are discussed on various sites on the worldwide web. We believe that if hemp were legal to grow in America, it would have a positive ripple effect on the economics of this country. Hemp has an estimated $500 billion annual potential worldwide market, because anything made from trees, cotton or petroleum can be made from hemp, and usually better than from what it's made from now.
Reader's Digest and Popular Mechanics in 1938 hailed hemp as the first billion-dollar crop. In America alone, the hemp industry has grown from $5 million in 1990, to $50 million in 1995, to about half a billion dollars in 2002. The clothing industry has picked up on the usefulness of hemp cloth. Walt Disney Co, Esprit, Calvin Klein, Adidas, and Vans are all importing hemp for clothing and shoes. Many designers are calling hemp the "fabric of the decade".
Hundreds of businesses are selling imported hemp products in the U.S. Why should all the profits go overseas, when hemp can be grown and processed right here in America?
Because raw hemp is heavy and bulky, its first processing must be processed within about 50 miles of harvest to be cost-effective, which would create thousands of processing, transportation, and manufacturing jobs, including jobs in local further-processing centers, i.e. small weaving factories, seed pressing facilities, and pulp mills. This is exactly what is needed as globalization has swept over America and sent all the labor opportunities overseas, and American farmers are left with weak topsoil, polluted waterways, and clear-cut forests.
Industrial hemp could help save family farms, slowing corporate takeovers and the continued shrinkage of family farm numbers. Industrial hemp could bring rural production of food, clothing, shelter, and energy back to local populations and micro-industries.
Capitalism is defined as the freedom to exchange value for value. If an industry producing a product in demand can't deliver the product at affordable prices, another producer may come along and replace it freely without interference. How free are we in this country when we cannot even grow and trade the most useful plant on Earth, while nearly every other industrialized nation on earth can?
America gives huge subsidies to oil and logging industries, which encourages wastefulness and discourages conservation. We say, no more subsidies. Allow farms and manufacturers to compete for business, and may the best products win. Why not grow hemp, which is versatile, agronomical, and which encourages local processing? Why not maintain resources and distribute wealth along the most idealistic lines of capitalism?
Hemp farming would lessen pollution and overuse of land. Ideal hemp farming is not aimed at maximum output for short-term production at the expense of long term viability. Hemp provides quality, durability, and productivity. This is the kind of responsible economics which is needed to see us to a new tomorrow.
By buying natural organic foods and products which can help stop the destruction of our world, our ozone, our waters, our forests, our air, and our soil, individuals can make a difference. Since hemp products are the most environmentally-friendly products available, it makes sense that the market for these items will grow. You can do your part, too. Buy products from eco-friendly sellers.
There are niches for hemp in the following applications:
Absorbents: Animal bedding, cat litter, hydrocarbon absorbent, manure-nitrogen absorbent. The Queen of England and practically every thoroughbred race horse stable in Kentucky uses hemp hurds for bedding, because they are more absorbent than wood shavings and compost faster, and the horses prefer it. Hemp is also used in oil spill cleanup.
Oil: Paints, varnishes lubricating oil, sealants, industrial cleaner which removes oil from textiles, detergent, solvent, and printing inks.
Fuel: Bio-diesel, methanol, ethanol, gasoline, coal; for heating, cooking, industry, automobiles, and electricity. Hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least-specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. Hemp-based methanol and ethanol could compete with petroleum-based fuels because hemp yields so much biomass. The United States Department of Energy predicts that by 2010, over 13,000 megawatts of biomass power could be installed, with over 40% of the fuel supplied from 4 million acres of energy crops (like hemp) and the remainder from biomass residues.
It's estimated that around 80% of living expenses go toward energy, including transportation, heating, cooking, lighting, etc. Millions of new clean jobs could be created using hemp biomass instead of our constantly dwindling and environmentally dangerous petroleum. Industrial hemp just wants a piece of the 80% energy pie. It's unfair not to include the most cost-effective and environmentally-safe energy source. It is downright stupid, costly and dangerous for industrial hemp to be illegal.
Accessories: Back packs, beanies, bags, belts, briefcases, caps, checkbook covers, gloves, guitar straps, hair ties, jewelry, luggage, scarves, shoe laces, shoes, cots, ties, wallets, change bags, dog leashes, ect.
Animal Care: beds, bedding, feed, leashes, collars, fish bait, treats. Hempseeds have historically been the birdseed of choice for most birds. Birds will pick hempseeds out and eat them first from a pile of mixed seed. Birds in the wild live longer and breed more with hempseed in their diet. Horses, cows, and chickens respond well to hemp based diet, made from crushed hemp seed shells. They require less feed and they digest it more efficiently, unlike corn, which is fed to cattle, even though it causes digestion problems. Then they give the cows antibiotics in such supply that humans who eat the beef slowly become immune to the aid of antibiotics.
Apparel: Bathrobes, dresses, jackets, jeans, lingerie, overalls, pants, shirts, shorts, skirts, suits, sweaters, t-shirts, baby cloths, hats, gloves, socks, etc.
Foods: Nutritional supplements, beer, breads, burgers, cheese, chips, chocolate bars, coffee, cookies, dry mixes: cake, cookie, pancake, pizza dough, energy bars, flour, powder, hummus, ice cream, lollipops, nut butter, oil, paste, pretzels, salad dressings, soda, tea, wine, tortillas. Dozens of new companies are springing up in Canada selling hemp foods, nature's best food source. As it becomes more and more important to be healthy in America, health foods will continue to rise in popularity, and the same is to be expected from the best food source as well, hemp.
Cosmetics: Aromatherapy mists, hair shampoo & conditioners, lip balms, lotions, body creams, massage oils, perfume, salves, soaps, lipstick. Cosmetic sales in hemp have continued to grow since The Body Shop opened their line a few years back. Revlon opened a new line of hemp-based cosmetics in Spring 2002 available at Targets and Wal-marts.
Housewares: Aprons, blankets, curtains, furniture, hammocks, potholders, pillows, placemats, napkins, toilet paper, tablecloths, towels, etc.
Biocomposites: Biodegradable plastics and fibergalss, Hempstone, and PVC pipes.
Building materials: Fiberboard, roofing, flooring, wallboard, caulking, cement, paint, paneling, particleboard, plaster, plywood, reinforced concrete, insulation, insulation panels, spray on insulation, concrete pipes, bricks, etc. The hemp insulation industry has grown because hemp insulation is easier to handle than its fiberglass counterparts, and provides better sound insulation.
Paper: Art papers, bond, bookmarks, books, cigarette papers, corrugated, cardboard, envelopes, invitations, journals, magazines, postcards, posters, stationery, etc.
Sports Equipment: Frisbees, hackie sacks, skateboards, snowboards, surfboards.
Textiles: Hand woven & mill-loomed fabric, canvas, various weights & textures, colors, patterns, stripes & plaids, knits, furnishing services, non woven fabrics, carpet, twine, cordage, yarn, etc. Hemp rope has been valued throughout history for its superior strength and resistance to mildew and rot.
Other: Fertilizer, soil amendment, dolls, candles, coffee filters, drums, picture frames, teddy bears, toys, motor vehicle brake and clutch pads.
International treaties, such as NAFTA and GATT, recognize hemp as a valid agricultural crop. Isn't it time that the U.S. do the same (and quit violating treaties to which it is a signatory)?
If introduced into third-world nations biomass could drastically cut our overseas aid and reasons for war, while raising the quality of life and providing food, shelter, clothing, and energy to 3rd world peoples. New non-polluting industries will spring up everywhere. The world economy will boom.
Imagine. . . waking up in your hemp foundation home, with hemp shingles, a hemp floor platform, painted with environmentally safe hemp paint, nice and cool on a hot summer day due to the breathability of hemp. Then you walk on your hemp carpet down to the bathroom, insulated with hemp plywood and prepare for your morning shower, using hemp soap, which helps rebuild your cell membranes, then rinsing your hair with hemp shampoo and conditioner, and putting on your hemp lotion to soften and moisturize your skin. Then imagine using hemp toothpaste and hemp composite toothbrush to brush your teeth, a hemp plastic biodegradable hemp comb to brush your hair, and doing the morning laundry with environmentally safe hemp detergent. Then you go and put on your hemp clothes, which are so soft and comfortable. Then you go into the kitchen and have a big bowl of hemp granola with hemp milk. Then you get in your hemp composite car and drive down to the local gas pump where you fill up with hemp ethanol. Then imagine using a hemp paper checkbook, with a hemp plastic cover, and a hemp plastic pen filled with hemp ink to pay for the fuel, a hemp soda and some hemp chips.
All of this --and so much more-- is possible, while benefitting our environment. Let us no longer prohibit the most useful plant from being grown by the strongest country, or we may find that we are no longer the strongest country. Re-legalize industrial hemp; it's simply common sense.
Sources for the above assertions
Just a few of tens of thousands of references on the internet
Castleman, Tim Hemp as Biomass for Energy. Fuel and Fiber Company AZ: 2001.
Conrad, Chris. Hemp: Lifeline To The Future. Los Angeles: Creative Xpressions Publications, 1994.
Erasmus, Udo. Fats that heal, Fats that kill: The complete guide to Rats, Oils, Cholesterol, and Human Health. Burnaby, BC: Alive Books, 1993.
Hawaii House of Representatives. Industrial Hemp: Economic Viability and Political Concerns. State of Hawaii. (Honolulu, HI).
Herer, Jack. The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Van Nuys, CA: HEMP Publishing, 1992.
Frazier, Jack. The Great American Hemp Industry. Solar Age Press. Peterstown NJ: 1959.
Rose, Richard; Mars, Brigitte The HempNut Health and Cookbook. HempNut Inc. CA: 2000
Rosenthal, Ed. Hemp Today. Oakland, CA: Quick American Archives, 1994
Rothenberg, Erik. A Renewal of Common Sense. Vote Hemp, Inc.: March 2001
Roulac, John W. and Hemptech. Hemp Horizons. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. VT: 1997
Steenstra, Eric, publisher. The Vote Hemp Report. Merrifield VA
Gaylon, Paul. Hemp, Hemp, Hooray. video.
http://www.hemp-union.karoo.net/
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Why industrial hemp?
Hemp seed ready for planting in 1999, Alberta, Canada
Hemp is an excellent food source. It provides nearly complete nutrition. Hemp seed is a complete source of essential amino acids (EAAs). Hemp provides significantly more of all 8 EFAs than its closest competitors (meat, eggs, tofu), while providing the types and amounts of amino acids the body needs to make serum albumin and serum globulins, two other amino acids essential to life. Hemp protein contains all 20 known amino acids.
Hemp seed has over 30% protein. 65% of the proteins in hemp foods are in the form of globulin edistin (the word edistin comes from the Greek word %u201Cedestos,%u201D which means edible). Edistin is considered by many to be the most easily digestible protein. The other 35% of the protein in hemp is Albumin, another of the most easily digestible proteins. Soy commonly has more protein than hemp, at 35%, but soy protein contains tripsid inhibitors that block proteins absorption, and oligosaccharides, which cause upset stomach and gas. Hemp protein is the most easily digested protein, and has all 10 EAAs, making it the best source for protein on the planet.
Hemp seed is also a complete source of essential fatty acids (EFAs), with optimal amounts and proportions of Omega-6, Omega-3, and GLA. Hemp seed (30-35% oil) is the highest in total EFAs, at 80-81% of total oil volume, of any food source.
EFAs, by definition, are essential and must be obtained through diet, because the body can%u2019t produce them. EFAs help regulate brain function, the immune system, the endocrine system, aid in digestion, circulation, and practically regulate all systems in the human body. EFAs turn themselves into whatever the body needs to regulate itself chemically.
Many American%u2019s are deficient in EFA. A diet rich in hemp seed would greatly help humans to maintain health and happiness.
The fact is that hemp is the only food source with all 10 EAAs and all 4 EFAs.
Because of hemp oils high EFA content, especially GLA, helps skin cells to communicate to rebuild cell membranes, which keeps the skin from getting dry.
Hemp is among the longest, strongest, most elastic, and most durable fibers in nature. As far as natural fibers go, it yields some of the strongest and most durable fabric, cloth, canvas, cordage, and textiles. It is highly resistant to mildew, rotting, and is very anti-microbial.
Compared to cotton, hemp textiles are stronger, more durable, use one third the amount of water, and require no crop chemicals. Cotton uses 25-30% of the worlds toxic crop chemicals.
Hemp can make most building materials, including caulking, cement, fiberboard, flooring, insulation, paneling, particleboard, plaster, plywood, stucco, mortar, and biodegradable plastic.
Hemp can also be formed into cement-/concrete-like walls. This material is called hempcrete. Hempcrete is a building material that is formed by combining air-lime based binders with the chopped core of the hemp plant stem. It can be pored into a form almost identical to pouring concrete, or spray applied. Hempcrete homes are lightweight, fire-, water-, earthquake-, and rodent-resistant, have excellent thermal mass and insulation characteristics that allows the homes to breath, which saves money on heating and cooling costs, has high sound insulation, and good flexibility.
This building technique also sequesters a lot of carbon, reversing the damaging effects of greenhouse gases, providing one the best value materials for low impact, sustainable and commercially viable construction. The Roman aqueducts were most likely built this way, as were still active bridges in France dating to the sixth century. Homes such as these are being built in Europe today, and a new Chicago company called American Lime Technology is ready to use this technique here in the U.S.
Cars
European plants are making auto panels from hemp based composites that are biodegradable, half the weight of, more durable, and safer than fiberglass counterparts. Most car companies are using 100% hemp car interior panels in all new models. Henry Ford made a hemp based car in the 1940%u2019s that was more dent-resistant than steel. A sledgehammer blow could not even break the windows of these cars, which were made from hemp.
Hemp seed oil can be used as fuel to drive cars, heat homes, and power industry. Hemp produces biomass, which can be converted into sulfur-free charcoal for electricity; plus ethanol, methanol and other sources of fuel. Burning biomass for energy, instead of fossil fuels, helps keep the carbon dioxide cycle in balance. Hemp can produces more biomass per acre than any plant practical for farming in the Midwest. One acre of hemp has the prospect of producing 10 tons of biomass in a growing season. Hemp energy could make the U.S. less dependent on foreign petroleum.
That being said, hemp is so valuable for its other uses that it wouldn't make sense for a producer to sell it for biofuel prices ($3/gallon); therefore it doesn't present a viable alternative to other biofuels. Hemp oil fetches $40 per gallon as a food or food additive. Fuel has the lowest potential value for the hemp farmer, therefore fuel would be the last industry to develop after all other possible industries have been exhausted.
Oil
Hempseed oil can be made into non-toxic paints, varnishes, lubricants, and sealants. The paints last longer than other counterparts, and the sealants are better absorbed by wood than other toxic counterparts.
Hemp farming requires no toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and no fertilizer if grown in a proper crop rotation. Hemp roots anchor and aerate soil, reduce erosion, soil loss, and runoff, and also pull metals, toxins, and radioactive material from the soil turning it into organic material. Hemp is the ultimate green crop. It produces food, fiber, pulp, and cellulose for thousands of industries without any toxic chemicals needed in any of the processing.
Hemp can be used to make paper more durable and more environmentally-friendly than paper made from wood. The switch to hemp-based paper could reduce deforestation considerably. Hemp paper doesn't require toxic bleaching chemicals and lasts hundreds of years longer than paper made from trees. An acre of hemp will produce at least as much paper as an acre of trees, with far less adverse effects to the environment.
Feed & Animal Bedding
Hemp meal provides all the essential protein that livestock requires, yet doesn%u2019t require any antibiotics to digest. Hemp seed is the preferred seed among songbirds. Birds will pick through other seeds to get at hemp seeds. Hemp is also an excellent animal bedding for horses and gerbils.
Hemp is among the top cellulose producers of all farmable plants. Hemp hurds and fiber have over 60% cellulose, the building blocks of plastics. Biodegradable hemp plastics could reduce landfill waste and display unique strength characteristics.
Hemp has a $500 billion estimated worldwide market, which, when tapped into by farmers would help reduce the corporate takeover of family farms. Hemp farming could create thousands of new jobs in the transportation, processing, and manufacturing facilities, and would generate millions of dollars for hard-working Americans. Canadian hemp is being trucked past barely-surviving US family farms.
There is no good reason not to allow farmers, manufacturers and the rest of us to enjoy the benefits of domestically-produced hemp. The only reasons given for keeping hemp production illegal in the United States are lies. If the government will lie about a beneficial plant, what will it not lie about?
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin made his discoveries about electricity. The 1st electric wire was actually a homegrown hemp string attached to a kite. Franklin also owned a mill that made industrial hemp paper.
Chronology of Hemp throughout history
There is no doubt in our minds that, from the beginning of human existence until 1937, hemp was the most important crop that man used. Food, fuel, clothing, shelter -- all available in a package the size of a peppercorn, which will grow anywhere man can live. When the US politicians regain some sanity, the queen of crops will return from exile.
Earliest History
10,000 BC: In Taiwan, the earliest-known hemp relic in existence.
8000 BC: In China, the earliest known cloth fabric is woven from hemp.
5500 BC: Earliest known depiction of hemp in existence from Kyushu Island, Japan
4500 BC: China: Hemp is used for rope and fishnets.
4000 BC: China uses hemp foods.
c. 3500 BC: Hemp rope was used in the construction of the pyramids because its great strength was ideal for working with large blocks of stone.
2800 BC: China makes first rope from hemp fiber.
2800 BC: Lu Shi (500 AD) mentions an Emperor who taught people to use hemp at 2800 BC.
2700 BC: China: Hemp was used for fiber, oil, and as a medicine. Examples of each were purposefully left in tombs with bodies.
1200 BC: Hemp cloth found in tomb of Pharaoh Alchanaten at El amarona. Records of apothecary form the time of Ramses III suggest hemp's use for an ophthalmic prescription.
c. 1100 BC: City of Carthage uses hemp to dominate Mediterranean Sea as hemp is used in ships, rope, and as medicine.
1000 BC: Hemp is cultivated in India.
650 BC: Hemp is mentioned in cuneiform tablets.
450 BC: Greek historian Herodus claims that "hemp garments are as fine as linen." From Asia to Afghanistan to Egypt, hemp was widely cultivated for its fiber.
c. 400 BC: Buddha was nourished with hempseed.
300 BC: A Carthaginian galley sank near Sicily was found with hemp onboard that was still identifiable after 2,300 years of salt water exposure.
200 BC: Greek Moschion wrote of hemp ropes used in the flagship Syracusi, and other ships of the fleet of Hiero II.
2nd Century BC: Roman writer Pausanaius noted hemp was grown in Elide.
100 BC: Chinese make paper (oldest surviving piece) from hemp and mulberry.
Europe (A.D.)
1st Century AD: Pliny recommends hemp from Alabanda, a city of Cairn, in Asia Minor as the best hemp.
1st Century AD: Lucius Columella writing during the time of Agustus put forward hemp cultivation methods.
70: Hemp cultivated for the first time in England. By 400, hemp was a well-established crop.
3rd Century: Sample of hemp paper with Sanskrit characters in India.
500-1000: Hemp cultivation spreads throughout Europe.
600: Germans, Franks, Vikings, etc. make paper, sails, rope, etc. from Hemp.
6th century: A hemp-reinforced bridge is built in France. The bridge actually petrified and is still strong today.
7th Century: First known mention of hemp as a medicine in work of Suskota in India.
716: Shoes are constructed from hemp.
850: Viking Ships used hemp for their sails, ropes, fishing nets, lines and caulking.
8th Century: Arabs capture Chinese craftsman and learn to make paper from hemp.
8th Century: Japan Princess Shotoku sponsored the first recorded printing in her country using hemp. Japan continued to use hemp throughout thier history. Shinto priests, and royal family wore special hempen clothes.
10th Century: A treatise on hunting by Syrian Sid Mohammed El Mangali records hemp's use for game netting, and hemp seeds for bird lime. Hemp was used in these times in the mid-east as food, lamp oil, paper and medicine.
1000: Europe introduces hemp butter.
1000: The English word 'Hempe' first listed in a dictionary.
1150: Moslems use Hemp to start Europe's first paper mill. Most paper is made from hemp for next 850 years.
Middle Ages: Knights drank hemp beer.
1215: Magna Charta was printed on Hemp paper.
14-15th Century: Renaissance artists committed their masterpieces to hemp canvas.
1456: Guttenberg Bible printed on hemp paper.
1492: Hemp sails and ropes make Columbus's trip to America possible (other fibers would have decayed somewhere in mid-Atlantic).
1494: Hemp papermaking starts in England.
1535: Henry VIII passes an act stating that all landowners must sow 1/4 acre, or be fined.
1537: Hemp receives the name Cannabis Sativa, the scientific name that stands today.
1563: Queen Elizabeth I decrees that land owners with 60 acres or more must grow hemp or else face a £5 fine.
1564: King Philip of Spain follows lead of Queen Elizabeth and orders hemp to be grown throughout his Empire from modern-day Argentina to Oregon.
16th Century: Hemp has wide cultivation in Europe for its fiber and its seed, which was cooked with barley and other grains and eaten.
c. 1600: Galileo's scientific observation notes written on hemp paper.
16th-18th Century: Hemp was a major fiber crop in Russia, Europe and North America. Ropes and sails were made of hemp because of its great strength and its resistance to rotting. Hemp's other historical uses were of course paper (bibles, government documents, bank notes) and textiles (paper, canvas), but also paint, printing inks, varnishes, and building materials. Hemp was a major crop until the 1920's, supplying the world with its main supply of food and fiber (80% of clothing was made from Hemp).
17th Century: Dutch Masters, such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt, painted on hemp canvas. In fact the word canvas derives from the word "cannabis".
1807: Napoleon signs a Treaty with Russia, which cuts off all legal Russian hemp trade with Britain. Then The Czar refuses to enforce the Treaty and turns a blind eye to Britain's illegal trade in Hemp.
1812 -- 24th June: Napoleon invades Russia aiming to put an end to Britain's main supply of Hemp. By the end of the year the Russian winter and army had destroyed most of Napoleon's invading forces. The Royal Navy depended on the Russian hemp to stay afloat during their war with the U.S., the War of 1812.
The Americas
1545: Hemp was introduced into Chile, then in 1554 to Peru.
1606: French Botanist Louis Hebert planted the first hemp crop in North America in Port Royal, Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).
1611: British start cultivating hemp in Virginia.
1631: Hemp used for bartering throughout American Colonies.
1619: It became illegal in Jamestown, Virginia not to grow hemp because it was such a vital resource. Massachusetts and Connecticut passed similar laws in 1631, and 1632.
17-18th Century: Hemp was legal tender in most of the Americas. It was even used to pay taxes, to encourage farmers to grow more, to ensure America's independence.
1715, 1726 and 1730: Pro-hemp acts were signed to cut European imports, to help the struggling colonies, who spun hemp cloth, and printed bibles and maps on hemp paper, drive for self-sufficiency.
1720 - 1870: Every township in Lancaster County Pennsylvania grew hemp, flourishing just before the Revolution. There were more than 100 mills that processed hemp fiber.
1775: Hemp was first grown in Kentucky.
18th Century: Benjamin Franklin started the first Hemp paper mill. This allowed America to have its own supply of paper (not from England) for the colonial press. Thomas Paine's patriotic literature, which helped spark the revolution, was printed on hemp.
1776: Declaration of Independence drafted on Hemp paper. The U.S. Constitution was also printed on hemp paper fourteen years later.
18th Century: Betsy Ross sews first American flag out of hemp.
1791: President Washington sets duties on Hemp to encourage domestic industry. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp on their plantations.
Make the most of the hemp seed. Sow it everywhere. --George Washington
Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and prosperity of the nation. -- Thomas Jefferson
1801: Canada, on behalf of the King of England, distributed hemp seed free to farmers.
19th Century: Hemp became the first crop to be subsidized in Canada.
1802: Two extensive ropewalks were built in Lexington Kentucky. There was also announced a machine that could break "eight thousand weight of hemp per day" a huge quantity for the time.
1812: War of: Sailors outfitted and propelled the U.S. frigate Constitution "Old Ironsides" with more than 60 tons of hempen rope and sail.
Early 19th Century: The advent of steam and oil powered ships reduced demand for hempen rigging.
19th Century: Center of hemp production shifted to the Midwest
1835: Hemp spreads to Missouri. Hemp grown at Californian missions.
1850: The United States Census counted 8,327 hemp plantations growing it for cloth, canvas, and other necessities.
After 1850: Hemp lost ground to cheaper products made of cotton, jute, sisal and petroleum. Hemp was processed by hand, which was very labor intensive and costly, not lending itself towards modern commercial production.
1863: Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation under light of hemp oil lamp.
1875: Hemp is introduced to Champaign IL, Minnesota by 1880, Nebraska by 1887, California by 1912, and Wisconsin and Iowa by the early 1920s.
Late 19th Century: The American west was tamed with hemp lassos and hemp canvas covered wagons. Hemp oil was used extensively in lighting oil, paints, and varnishes.
Late 19th & early 20th centuries: Increasing labor costs encouraged a gradual shift away from hemp to cotton, jute, and tropical fibers which were less labor intensive. Hemp was used only for cordage and specialty products like birdseed and varnish.
1892: Rudolph Diesel invented diesel engine, intended especially for vegetable and seed oils.
1915: California outlaws Cannabis.
1916: Recognizing that timber supplies are finite, USDA Bulletin 404 calls for new program of expansion of Hemp to replace uses of timber by industry.
1917: American George W. Schlichten patented a new machine for separating the fiber from the internal woody core ("hurds"), reducing labor costs by over 90% and increasing fiber yield by 600%. That, combined with new technology to fashion paper and plastics from hemp-derived cellulose, gradually breathed new life into the industry.
1919: Texas outlaws cannabis.
1920-1940: Economic power is consolidated in hands of small number of steel, oil and munitions companies, such as Dupont, which became the US's primary munitions manufacturer. Dupont developed and patented fuel additives such as tetraethyl lead and other petroleum based products like nylon, cellophane and plastics during this time. Mexican rebels seize prime timberland from land belonging to newspaper magnate, paper and timber baron, William Randolph Hearst.
1920-1970: Oil Barons Rockefeller, Standard Oil, and Rothschild of Shell, etc., realized the possibilities of Henry Ford's vision of cheap methanol fuel, so they kept oil prices at between one dollar and four dollars a barrel (almost 42 gallons in a barrel), so that no other energy source could compete with it, until 1970, after all competition was erased, when the price of oil jumped to almost $40/barrol over the next 10 years.
1931: Andrew Mellon, The Treasury Secretary, and Head of Bank of Pittsburgh, which loaned Dupont 80% of its money, appoints his niece's husband, Harry J. Anslinger, to head newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics (later becoming the DEA).
1930s: Following action by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and a campaign by William Randolph Hearst, propaganda is created against hemp from companies with vested interest in the new petroleum-based synthetic textiles. Even though hemp reinvented itself, thanks to new technology that eased processing and expanded its use, the timber (Hearst) and oil interests (Dupont, Anslinger, Mellon) crushed competition from plant-based cellulose by demonizing marijuana, and paralleling its use to Mexican immigrants and later Black jazz musicians. The effects of marijuana are demonized with such movies as "Marijuana: assassin of youth," Devil's weed," and "Reefer Madness." Throughout this assault hemp's link to marijuana is exaggerated.
1937: DuPont Corporation patents processes for making plastics from oil and coal. The Marijuana Tax Act is passed, a prohibitive tax on hemp in the USA, effectively destroying the industry. Anslinger testifies to congress that 'Marijuana' is the most violence causing drug known to man. The objections by the American Medical Association (The AMA only realized that 'Marijuana' was in fact Cannabis or Hemp two days before the start of hearing) and the National Oil Seed Institute are rejected.
1937 - late 60s: US government understood and acknowledged that Industrial Hemp and marijuana were not the same plant.
1938: Popular Mechanics magazine, nearly at the same time as the Marijuana tax act goes into effect, touts hemp as first "billion dollar crop" and lists over 25,000 uses.
In 1938: Canada prohibits marijuana, and thus hemp production, under the Opium and Narcotics Control Act.
1940: World production of hemp peaked at about 832,000 tons of fiber.
1941: Popular Mechanics Magazine reveals details of Henry Ford's plastic car made using hemp and fueled from hemp. Henry Ford continued to illegally grow hemp for some years after the Federal ban, hoping to become independent of the petroleum industry.
1941-1945: Hemp for Victory
During World War II, Japan cut off our supplies of vital hemp and coarse fibers. The hemp was needed for making, among other things, rope, webbing, and canvas, to be used on navy ships. So a program was started to grow hemp for military use under the banner of "Hemp For Victory". After the war, licenses were subsequently revoked; concurrent with the last hemp crops being grown in the U.K.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture released an educational film called "Hemp for Victory", which showed farmers how to grow and harvest industrial hemp. Hemp harvesting machinery was made available at low or no cost. From 1942 to 1945, farmers who agreed to grow hemp were waived from serving in the military, along with their sons; that's how vitally important hemp was to America during World War II. The fields of hemp were termed victory gardens, as were the backyard vegetable gardens also urged by the government.
1942: Patriotic farmers plant 36,000 acres of seed hemp, an increase of several thousand percent from the previous year.
1943: Both the US and German governments urge their patriotic farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. The US shows farmers a short film - 'Hemp for Victory' which the government later pretends never existed. The United States government has published numerous reports and other documents on hemp dating back to the beginnings of our country.
1945: The war ends and so does "Hemp for Victory". Feral hemp, "ditch weed", still lines the back roads, waterways, and irrigation ditches of most Midwestern states, 60 years descended from "Hemp for Victory!"
1961: UN treaty allows for the cultivation of industrial hemp.
1968: The last legal hemp crop is grown in Minnesota
1970: The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 recognizes industrial hemp as marijuana, despite the fact that a specific exemption for hemp was included in the CSA under the definition of marijuana. "Marijuana Transfer Tax" declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.
1971: In Canada, cannabis, thus industrial hemp, became caught up in the politics of the Opiate laws and became classed as a restricted plant under the misuse of drugs act.
1970s: 'Spinning Jenny' is invented and cotton prices fall dramatically, making hemp's demise in the Americas complete.
Early 1990s: Global hemp production sank to its lowest level.
Hemp's Revival
1991: Hempcore become the first British company to obtain a license to grow hemp.
Since 1992: France, the Netherlands, England, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany have passed legislation allowing for the commercial cultivation of low-THC hemp. In fact, the E.U. has recently been promoting hemp cultivation by providing subsidies of approximately $1400 per hectare to grow hemp.
1992: 124,000 tonnes of hemp fiber are produced by mainly India, China, Russia, Korea and Romania, countries where the cultivation of hemp has never been prohibited.
1994: One license granted to Canadian company, Hempline Inc., to grow low-THC hemp under the strict supervision of the authorities, for research purposes only. President Clinton included hemp as a strategic food source in an executive order.
1995: In England, The Cornish Hemp Company Ltd was set up to produce hemp and set up the infrastructure to realize the current potential for industry.
1996: The American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest farming organization in the United States with 4.6 million members, passed a resolution unanimously to research hemp and grow test plots.
1998: March: Canada passes proposed regulations, and as a result hemp can be grown commercially in Canada for the first time in sixty years.
1998: The Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota legalized hemp.
1998: While running for governor, Jesse Ventura announces his support for industrial hemp. Within weeks Venturaís numbers jump from 7% to 38%.
1999: 14 States introduced legislation that endorsed the commercialization of industrial hemp with varying success. Hawaii gets permit from DEA to plant an industrial hemp test field.
2000-2002: Alex White Plume grows hemp on Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation in SD and the DEA destroy the crops near harvest time, not making any arrests, thereby distinguishing between marijuana and hemp.
Nov. 2000: Alex White Plume and his family receive hemp from the Kentucky Hemp Growers to replace the hemp destroyed in the two years prior by the DEA.
2001: "Hemp car" crosses North America using hemp bio-diesel fuel, stops in Watertown SD.
Oct. 9, 2001: DEA arbitrarily bans all hemp foods in order to disrupt the domestic market. Hemp importers and their suppliers sue. Supreme Court temporarily injoins implementation of DEA's unilateral proclamation. Still in court.
May 2002: South Dakota becomes first state to get the issue of industrial hemp farming on the state ballot. A poll indicates that 85% of registered South Dakotans favor legalizing industrial hemp.
Aug 2002: Alex White Plume becomes first farmer since 1968 to cultivate and sell a hemp crop in the United States. The crop is bought by Madison Hemp & Flax, a Kentucj.
Nov 2002: So. Dak. voters reject industrial hemp, but 38% vote for it. Hemp wins on Indian reservations.
Feb. 2004: 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals holds that DEA can not regulate hemp foods.
Currently: Hawaii's, West Virginia's, Minnesota's, Montana's, and North Dakota's legislatures have passed laws similar to Initiated Measure 1 in So. Dak., but the federal government refuses to allow them to grow hemp. Most hemp materials are imported from China, Hungary, and now Canada.
Resources for Hemp Chronology
Abel, Ernest. Marijuana, The First 12,000 Years (Plenum Press, New York 1980)
Conrad, Chris: Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (©1993 Chris Conrad, Los Angeles)
Herer, Jack: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, (©1985 HEMP Publishing, Van Nuys CA)
Michaux, Andre, Travels to the West of the Alleghenies, 1805
Moore, Brent. A study of the past, the present and future of the hemp industry in Kentucky, 1905
Robinson, Bob, "Dr. Hemp", experimenter at U. of MN 1960-1968
Roulac, John: Hemp Horizons
Schoenrock Ruth, Hemp in Minnesota During the Wartime Emergency,1966
Stratford, Peter. Psychedelics Encyclopaedia (ISBN 0-9114171-51-8)
Yearbook of the Dept of Agriculture, 1913
US Dept of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin #153, 1909
A very good resource for learning about hemp is the movie "Hemp Revolution" available on the internet and through Netflix.
Please sign the petition and let the government know that it is time for America to lead in this industry! Legalize industrial hemp now and create millions of jobs for the future - while doing our part to save the planet!
Hemp http://www.alternatethoughts.com/ Break your programming! Shed the Brain-washing! Definitions
I think it is important today that we use our terms correctly. Cannabis Sativa is the scientic name for the plant in all its forms.
We will use Cannabis to describe the psychoactive (THC potent) plant. Cannabis is used medicinally and for recreation.
Hemp is the non-psychoactive (no THC) plant used for industrial purposes.
Marijuana is the mexican slang term for "loco weed" which was used to demonize cannabis. I would perfer we get away from this name, but 70 years of use is hard to destroy.
Where to Start
This is the book that started the hemp revolution. More than 600,000 copies have been sold to date. (Read this online version.)
The First Law
In 1610 the Jamestown colony's first edict was to require all households to cultivate Indian hemp. They used the plant as a resource to create fiber, cloth, and medicines. By 1850, the Census Bureau reported that 8,327 plantations grew hemp, providing cordage for baling cotton, cloth, and canvas.
Ancient
For over 3,500 years, various strains of the green herb higher thinking, Cannabis sativa, or true hemp, have been among the emotions most widely used of medicinal plants. This includes civilizations in China, India, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Cannabis was used in the USA from 1850 to 1937 to treat more than 100 distinct diseases or conditions.
One of the Safest
%u201CMarijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.%u201D %u2014 DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young, Docket No. 86-22. 1988
%u201COne of marihuana%u2019s greatest advantages as a medicine is its remarkable safety. It has little effect on major physiological functions. There is no known case of a lethal overdose; ... Marihuana is also far less addictive and far less subject to abuse than many drugs now used as muscle relaxants, hypnotics, and analgesics.... The ostensible indifference of physicians should no longer be used as a justification for keeping this medicine in the shadows.%u201D %u2014 Journal of the American Medical Association, June 21, 1995. Commentary. p. 1874-1875
Our First President
"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!" (George Washington in a note to his gardener at Mount Vernon (1794), The Writings of George Washington, Volume 33, page 270 - Library of Congress)
On August 7, 1765, George Washington mentioned in a journal entry that he had pulled the male plants from his hemp field "rather too late," indicating that he probably grew sinsemilla for personal use, but he never went public about it.
"What was done with the seed saved from the India Hemp last summer? It ought, all of it, to have been sewn again; that not only a stock of seed sufficient for my own purposes might have been raised, but to have disseminated the seed to others; as it is more valuable than the common Hemp." George Washington - Writings of Washington, Vol. 35, pg. 72
Hemp: A New Crop with New Uses for North America
"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." -Thomas Jefferson
"Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye could see." - Thomas Jefferson 1781
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