Hemp cultivation was basically demanded by the government in the 1600′s, in fact, through most American History hemp has been a popular crop to grow. The first American Hemp law was passed in Jamestown colony, out of Virginia. The law made it illegal to not grow hemp, without exception, or be dragged off to jail… what changed so dramatically? In our present age, you will now be hauled off to jail if you grow hemp in your yard. In fact, there is far more capability to grow Marijuana legally, (which contains THC compounds and is considered a drug) than its non-drug, counterpart Hemp.
In all actuality, Hemp was so popular, that, in the 1600′s you could use it as currancy, Hemp was even accepted by the government for paying taxes . In fact, for over 200 years hemp was popular, Until it’s look-alike, Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana) was “demonized”, it had remained a viable and lucrative crop.
If something is considered beneficial for hundreds of years, and kept without trouble or complaint , what made it go off of the range? Did the same mentality which created the era of prohibition , which only fueled the fires of alcohol as an illegal trade? If you prohibited all alcohol, you wouldn’t even be able to cook with it, so prohibition was a serious issue, there are still “dry counties” even after all this time.
The Mentality and Mood of the Times…
“Marijuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.” - 1930 Harry J. Anslinger Head of the bureau of narcotics.
This day and age was quite different from our present day, even though traces of this mentality still exists; all effects in, about the same time as, or after The Great Depression (1929 to approximately 1940). We tend to bury things that are embarrassing to our civilization, and I mention them here, to show that such mentality did and still exists, in the prohibition of Hemp, which no longer makes sense. These laws were created and enacted from the imaginations and conspiracy theories of “Great Depression” mentality, the way we “think” about hemp needs to change, if not, we will be missing, what could be one of the most useful, diverse and beneficial plants on the planet.
Henry Ford said to a New York Times reporter that ethyl alcohol (processed from hemp) was “the fuel of the future”, all of this happened around 1925, In this statement, Henry Ford was reflecting the opinions of the automobile industry as well. Instead of embracing the ethyl alcohol, we have taken the other option of fossil fuels, which has brought a great deal of the pollution we have today.
“The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumach out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust – almost anything,” he said. “There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There’s enough alcohol in one year’s yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years.” – Henry Ford
Ford knew what the hemp plant could do, in fact, he made the first car body from the stiff hemp fiber, and ran the car off of ethanol created from Hemp. He also knew the value of Hemp and how it could change the economy, where it to be put to use. But, what would have happened to certain emerging industries that didn’t want to go down because of hemp?