Hemp History Week (May 17-23)

Suppose you could trace your lineage to the very beginning of recorded human history, and further you could show that without you, the progress of humanity would have been considerably slower. 

Take paper, and the written word. From the very first writings of the Chinese, to the Guttenberg Bible, to the Magna Carta, to our own Declaration of Independence and Constitution, ideas and concepts were put down on your paper and preserved for the betterment of all.

Then there is the fabric you made possible that allowed people to adequately clothe themselves. This sturdy cloth also allowed the production of sails, and sails allowed trade and travel over wide distances.

If you haven’t guessed by now, we are talking about hemp. Yes, that oldest of cultivated crops that is now illegal to even grow in the United States, because hemp is equated with marijuana, in spite of the fact that marijuana and hemp cannot be grown together. Hemp won’t give you a buzz, and robs marijuana of that quality.

In the early years of the Republic, it was illegal NOT to grow hemp. Without hemp, this country might not have gotten off the ground. Hemp was even used as currency at one time, before the nation was able to get its banking system up and running.

Later on, when Rudolf Diesel invented the engine that bears his name, diesel fuel wasn’t yet refined from oil. His fuel of choice was hemp oil. In addition, hemp oil can also be used for cooking. It is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, a substance that raises the good cholesterol in your blood.

Better than that, an acre of hemp will produce as much paper as 10 acres of trees And, while trees may take up to twenty years to grow back, hemp is ready again every year.. Hemp paper can also be produced without the chemicals needed to produce paper from trees. By switching to hemp, we could also forestall the unsustainable pace of deforestation currently taking place the world over.

In 1939, hemp was declared persona non grata in the U. S. Then the U. S. entered WW2, and suddenly discovered it needed hemp again. So the feds suddenly not only discontinued enforcement of this ban, it actively encouraged farmers to grow it.

Once the war was over, though, hemp was quickly forgotten, as forgotten as those who once benefited from its production. Native Americans, such as those on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where unemployment rates are as high as 85%, or Kentucky farmers who must soon find a replacement crop for tobacco, are just two of these groups.

We can no longer pretend that the ban on hemp makes any sense. We need this crop now more than ever. But we must wake up our elected officials. H R 1866 has languished in the Congress for over five years now. This proposal by retiring Congressman Ron Paul, would reverse 71 years of nonsensical policy and allow American farmers join their counterparts in other countries, and freely produce a very profitable crop without fear of prosecution.

Help celebrate Hemp History week. Join Vote Hemp on line, and work with this group of dedicated individuals to reject the policies of the past seventy-one years.