Timeline for Hemp!
1776
The patriotic populace organizes spinning bees to turn hemp fiber into clothing for General Washington’s Continental Army.
1776
First and second drafts of the Declaration of Independence are written on hemp paper.
1777
The Stars and Stripes is endorsed as the Capitol Flag of the U.S.A. and made of hemp fabric.
1790’s
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow hemp on their plantations.
1800’s
Van Gogh paints on hemp canvas.
Australians survive two prolonged famines by using hemp seed for protein and leaves for roughage.
Hemp seed oil, long the most popular lighting oil in the world, falls to second place in popularity as whale oil becomes widely accessible.
The use of hemp extracts as a recreational stimulant spreads through Western culture and romantic writers expound on individual freedom and human dignity, extolling cannabis use. Their works include: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass.
1812
America goes to war with Great Britain over free-trade access to Russian hemp.
1837 – 1901
Queen Victoria uses cannabis resins to treat menstrual cramps, sparking enormous interest in the uses of cannabis as a medicine in the English- speaking world.
1840
Abraham Lincoln uses hemp-seed oil to fuel his household lamps.
He also writes ( as a general statement on government function and legislation ): “Prohibition… goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by making a crime out of things that are not crimes… A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”
1842 – 1890
Extracts and derivatives of the hemp plant are the second and third most prescribed medicines in the U.S.A. Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Squibb, Brothers Smith and other firms produce these medicines through 1930. During this time, not one death or severe side-effect is recorded as an attribute to use.
1850
U.S. census records 8,327 hemp plantations of 2,000 acres or more and an uncalculated number of small hemp farms.
1860
‘Ganjah Wallah Hasheesh Candy Company’ produces one of the most popular candies in the U.S. It is made from cannabis derivatives and maple sugar, sold over-the-counter, and in Sears-Roebuck catalogs. It retains its popularity as a totally harmless and fun candy for over forty years.
1865
Alice in Wonderland is published on hemp paper.
1870’s
The popularity of smoking female cannabis tops, to ease the back-breaking labor of working sugar cane fields and tolerate the hot sun as well as to relax recreationally with no alcohol “hang-over”, begins to spread in the West Indies with the immigration of Hindus who are imported to provide cheap labor. Gradually, this popularity makes its way into the United States through St. Louis.
1883
Hashish smoking parlors have opened in every major American city, including an estimated 500 such establishments in New York City alone.
1890’s Popular American ‘marriage guides’ recommend cannabis extracts for heightened marital pleasures. Womens temperance groups, lobbying for alcohol prohibition, suggest cannabis as a suitable substitute for the ‘demon drink’.
1901 – 1937
U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts repeatedly that with the advent of machinery capable of harvesting, stripping and separating the hemp fiber from the pulp, hemp will again be America’s “Number One” crop.
1916 U.S.D.A. publishes Bulletin No. 404, “Hemp Hurds As Paper-Making Material,” extolling and demonstrating the outstanding qualities of paper manufactured from hemp-pulp, a new process. The document was printed on hemp-pulp paper and explained the new technology. Previously most all paper was made with the hemp fiber content of ‘rag’ (worn out clothing).
1920
To this point in time, U.S. Government papers were written, by law, on “hempen rag paper”.
1929
Henry Ford begins extensive research into the production of methanol (as a fuel) and the manufacture of plastics from renewable vegetable crops, including hemp.
1935
116 million pounds of hemp seed are used commercially in America to manufacture paint and varnish.
1937
February issue of Mechanical Engineering includes the feature story “The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop That Can Be Grown” which tells about the new machines being used to harvest hemp.
4 million pounds of hemp seed are sold retail as song-bird food in the U.S.A.
An estimated 10 million aces of hemp grows wild in the U.S.A., providing an important food source for hundreds of millions of birds.
1938
The February issue of Popular Mechanics runs a story, (prepared before the 1937 legislation was enacted) titled: “New Billion Dollar Crop.” It tells about the new machine for harvesting hemp which “solves a problem more than 6,000 years old.” It further states that increased hemp production “will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products” and calls hemp the “standard fiber of the world.” Popular Mechanics goes on to say hemp can “produce more than 25,000 products, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane.” This is the first time ever in U.S. history the term ‘billion-dollar’ is applied to the potential for an agricultural harvest.
1941
December issue of Popular Mechanics features a story on Henry Ford, showing a picture of the car he “grew from the soil.” The automobile’s “plastic panels with impact strength 10 times greater than steel were made from flax, wheat, hemp, and spruce pulp.” The auto weighed 1/3 less than its 100% steel contemporaries.
1942
U.S. government overrides its own ban on hemp and distributes 400,000 pounds of hemp seed to U.S farmers who produce 42,000 tons of hemp fiber annually to support the war effort until 1946.
U.S. farmers, including youthful 4-H Club members, are inundated by “Uncle Sam” with incentives to grow hemp. The U.S.D.A. makes it mandatory for farmers to attend showings of the “Hemp For Victory” film. Farmers and their sons who agree to grow hemp are exempt from military service, even though America is at war.
1972
U.S.D.A. finds that hemp seed is lower in saturated fats than any other vegetable oil (including soybean and canola).
Other studies note that until this century hemp-cake (the by-product of pressing the seed for oil ) was one of the world’s principle animal feeds.
It is also found that hemp seed, like soybeans, can produce a tofu-like curd and be spiced to taste like chicken, steak or pork; can be sprouted for salads, ground into meal, and also made into margarine.
Hemp seed is recommended as a nutritionally balanced food for domestic pets and farm animals.
1975
Researchers at the Medical College of Virginia discover that cannabis is incredibly successful for reducing the size of many types of tumors, both benign and cancerous.
1989
Garments containing hemp fiber are available to the American public for the first time in over 50 years, however, this clothing must be imported to the U.S. from China (via Hong Kong) and carries a huge protective tariff.
1992
Australia licenses hemp farming.
1993
England eases restriction on hemp farming. News media declare hemp clothes and cannabis leaf logo hottest new fashion.
1994
Under the CNCA, one license was granted to a Canadian company, Hempline Inc., to grow hemp experimentally in Canada under the strict supervision of the authorities.
1996
The Canadian federal government passed Bill C8 stating that mature hemp stalks are exemptfrom the list of controlled substances.
Medical marijuana is very active in California. From Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and every where in between. Twelve other states have passed medical marijuana into legislation.
1998
The Canadian government legalizes the commercial growth of industrial hemp.
1999
14 States Introduced Legislation In Favor Of Growing Hemp
Sesame Sourdough Hempzel’s awarded 2nd place for Best Pretzel in a blind taste test of 30 pretzel submissions – beat out by a chocolate covered pretzel rod from Ohio – Food Distribution Magazine – Boca Raton Florida
December 13, From The Business Wire.
DEA PERMITS HAWAII TO PLANT INDUSTRIAL HEMP After three years, the dedication and tenacity of Hawaii State Representative Cynthia Thielen paid off last May when the legislation to conduct the research needed to initiate the recovery of the industrial hemp crop in the United States passed in Hawaii. Governor Cayetano signed the industrial hemp bill into law ….
2000
Assets of No Problem, Inc. owner of Hempzel Pretzels are purchased by SP House. First Soft Hemp Pretzels Are Started
Lakota Indian Reservation: Alex Whiteplume, plant hemp on their reservation with all local authorization – DEA comes in & cuts it all down. 2000-2002
PA Farm Bureau Members Vote In Favor To “Grow, Process, Sell, Manufacturer Industrial Hemp”
2004
Hemp Madness Infects Government Drug Enforcers: Ann Woolner Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — Open the plastic bag and a musty smell wafts up from brownish green matter. This is stuff the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t want you to have. You can get it, anyway, if you know where to look. And if things go as they should, someday soon it will become a lot easier to find. This is hemp protein powder, the latest food product made from the hemp plant. Not as tasty by itself as hemp granola or snack bars, it’s fine added to other food, like soups, shakes and, perhaps, brownies. There’s nothing mind-altering about any of it, and if you think there is, you’re confusing hemp and marijuana.
2008
A San Diego appeals court handed medical marijuana users a victory Thursday, upholding a voter-approved law legalizing such uses and rejecting arguments that the law flies in the face of federal pot prohibitions.
11/04/2008
Michigan’s proposal would allow seriously ill to grow and use medical marijuana.
On Proposal 1, the medical marijuana measure, voters overwhelmingly said yes: 63 percent to 37 percent.
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