The History of Hemp

Around the year 8000 BC, large-scale agriculture focusing on and around hemp began in certain parts of Europe and Asia. Hempen clothing was widely used, and was an extremely durable material, even more durable most synthetic fibers used in clothing, and all but a few rarefied naturally occurring ones.

Around 3700 BC, cannabis is considered a "superior" herbal remedy, as recorded in what is often called the world's first medical text, Pen Ts'ao, written by Shen Nung, in China.

In 500 BC, Gautama Buddah survives on a diet of nothing more than hempseed and water. This began to popularize the consumption of hemp in Asia.

In 300 BC, Carthage and Rome vie for domination over the trade routes of the Mediterranean that controlled the flow of the hemp and spice trade. Several large battles were fought over the control of these routes.

In 100 BC, the Chinese invented a form of paper that more closely resembles modern paper than most (or, some would say, any) papers or parchments used in the
pre-Industrial Revolution era world.

In 100 AD, the Roman surgeon, Discorides, gives the plant the scientific name "cannabis sativa" and expands upon previously documented medicinal uses. Also, Pliny describes various industrial needs that could potentially be met with hemp, and writes a manual on the farming of cannabis sativa.

1000 AD: the English word "hempe" first appears in a dictionary. Wide-scale exposure begins.

1150 AD: Muslims use hempen fiber to start off the first paper mill in Europe. Following this, most paper used in a surprisingly large area was made from hemp, for the next 700 or so years.

1492 AD: Yes, I'm sure that year catches your attention. The sails, caulking, and rigging on Christopher Columbus's ships that made the first landing on America were made of hemp. His ships were among the earliest to do so, and it is theorized by some that without the striking durability of hempen fiber, reaching the Americas would've been delayed by a hundred or more years at the least.

In 1619 AD, the American colony of Virginia makes the cultivation of hemp mandatory and to be enforced with jail time if a hemp crop is not maintained. Most other colonies follow suit. Europe pays bounties on hemp.

In 1631 AD, hemp began being used as currency in the American colonies. It was actually possible to pay off your debts with cords of hemp, and this was how debts were often paid for.

1776 AD: The Declaration of Independence is drafted on hemp paper.

1791 AD: President George Washington sets taxes on the imports of hemp, to encourage the growth and development of a domestic hemp industry. Thomas Jefferson refers to hemp as a "necessity", and condones and supports the growth of hemp rather than that of tobacco.

In the 1850s, the age of the petrochemical begins. Sulfites and chlorine-based processes make paper from trees, steamships replace ships with sails, and the fibers of tropical vegetation become more widely used than hemp fiber. This is done mostly for reasons of greed; the hempen paper lasted much longer, but the tropical vegetation was in large supply due to newly-explored areas of the New World, and so could be used much more cheaply. The 1850s can be noted as the point in history that hemp met a marked decline.

In the 1930s, the American public, fearing racism, cried out for cannabis to be outlawed.

In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act forbids hemp farming in the US, and tries to force more reliance on fibers that would cost more and be less efficient, thus making the market for paper and clothing "stronger", by some accounts.

In 1943, the Hemp For Victory program once again allows and emboldens farmers to grow hemp. Interesting how hemp, when it became one of the last means of income that could be used to fuel the war effort about that time, was brought back at least as strong, if not stronger than before...

And then banned again in 1955, after the war had ended, and there was no need for a "drain" on the economy that hempen fiber would provide for, by providing for cheap and highly effective clothing and paper. It is estimated that hempen jeans are four to five times more durable than denim blue jeans. They are also lighter.

Following all of this, large-scale anti-drug revolution ensued. During this anti-cannabis time period, cannabis was criminalized, and looked down upon highly--much as it is today.

Let's not forget the humble roots of this great plant, and remember how beneficial it has been to us in the past. While stoners or weed-heads (debatably) are a "drain on society" (as described the more conservative among us), we must remember that it is not the plant presenting the problem, but the abuser.

Use, don't abuse.