The Dope on Hemp (Part 1)
Photo by Edward the Bonobo, under a Creative Commons license
How did hemp, a highly valued fiber grown by America’s founding fathers and employed for centuries in the production of textiles, paper, energy, and food become synonymous with potheads and hippies? After all, the first paper in China was pulped from hemp, the oldest known plant to be domestically cultivated. The Magna Carta and the Gutenberg Bible were both printed on paper made with hemp rags—even Rembrandt and Van Gogh slathered hemp-oil-based paints on hemp canvas, with the word “canvas” itself derived from “cannabis.”
“Hemp fiber was found to be a reinforcement agent in a 6th Century bridge in France. Hemp seed was considered a key nutritional element in Chinese medicine for everything from digestive disorders to pain, fever, ulcers and many other ills and was consumed as a primary foodstuff by peasants throughout Europe and Asia for centuries,” according to Erik Rothenberg, the author of “A Renewal of Common Sense: The Case for Hemp in 21st Century America” and the director of the non-profit Vote Hemp.
In fact, hemp was so important to the nascent colony of Jamestown that it passed America’s first hemp law in 1619, making it illegal not to grow hemp; Massachusetts and Connecticut did the same in 1631 and 1632, respectively. The original drafts of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drawn up on hemp paper. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, hemp farmers both, were advocates of growing hemp “for the economic necessity of the state.”
Photo by Zen Sutherland, under a Creative Commons license
Let’s back up from the history lesson for a moment. The substance that has anti-marijuana crusaders’ panties in a bunch is a cannabinoid known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient found in all members of the Cannabis genus of flowering plants.
Hemp and marijuana refer to two entirely different varieties of Cannabis sativa—just like chihuahua and Doberman refer to two different breeds of Canis lupus familiaris. Industrial hemp (subspecies sativa, variety sativa), which is cultivated for its fiber and is characterized by long stems and little branching, contains no greater than 0.3 percent THC, a concentration that is so infinitesimal that no one could get high from smoking or ingesting it. (Hemp also contains a relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid known as cannabidiol, or CBD, which besides having intrinsic value as a sedative and an anticonvulsant, also acts as an anti-psychoactive agent, blocking the effects of the THC high you get from smoking marijuana.)
Marijuana (subspecies indica, variety indica), which is cultivated for recreational and medicinal drug use, is low in CBD and has an average potency of 5 to 15 percent THC, concentrated primarily in the flowering tops and to a lesser extent in the leaves. The stockier-looking plants are spaced widely to encourage branching and flowering.
Hemp, in other words, does not equal marijuana, a distinction that the history of federal drugs laws show that the U.S. government apparently once knew. So how did one get confused with the other? Two words: personal profit.
Alicia said,
July 13, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Hello, you have just been awarded the Bloggers for Positive Global Change Award! I hope you will decide to participate. My link contains information on what this is. I love your blog and writing style!
Chelee said,
July 14, 2007 at 3:24 pm
There was just a show on POV on our PBS channel about a family getting busted for growing hemp. (not merijuana, hemp). They were Native American and growing it on Native land.
Here is the link: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/standing/resources_02.html
Sally said,
July 16, 2007 at 6:03 am
Hi there, I love your Blog soooo much - I am an undergraduate textiles student and we have learnt all about the political demise of the wonderful hemp fibre, it has really opened my perspective on a heap of things - keep up the excellent site, you truy are an inspiration!
xxxx
Jeff said,
July 26, 2007 at 6:23 am
I love the line about the Chihuahua and Doberman. It really gets the point across.
Low Mileage Food » The Dope on Hemp said,
July 26, 2007 at 6:24 am
[...] The Dope on Hemp [...]
The Worsted Witch » The Dope on Hemp (Part 2) said,
July 30, 2007 at 10:47 am
[...] Read Part 1 here. [...]
hemp » The Dope on Hemp (Part 1) said,
October 2, 2007 at 8:26 am
[...] david wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
FreesouLed said,
August 28, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Aside from all the wonderful things you could make from hemp. I admire the medicinal power of this wonderful miracle plant. I have been using this to cure my insomia and my intense migraine. (I got a fractured skull due to hit & run incident) Well, I just admire how you guys see the good side, My country is still ignorant and refuses to see the benefits.