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Type of Content: Article By: Miss Green Did you know that for over 200 years throughout America, you could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp? How about that you could even be jailed for not growing cannabis during the shortage periods? Yes, indeed, cannabis (more commonly known as marijuana) was absolutely legal in the United States until 1937. That means if you have a grandparent older than 71, they once lived in a day where marijuana was not only used as a medicine, but was so important agriculturally that it was once accepted as legal tender. With all of these amazing facts, I decided to do more research to figure out why something so important could become entirely illegal. Later on, I will explain why it was made illegal and cover the many uses of hemp. But first, I’m going to explain a little about the plant and its history. Cannabis contains a chemical compound commonly known as THC. This chemical is what makes marijuana psychoactive, which made it such an important medicine. However, THC was used as the reason for marijuana to become illegal. Since the highest concentrations of THC are found in the female flowers, the male plants have insignificant amounts of it. This is a problem for hemp, because hemp is derived from the male plant. So even though the male plants contain little or no THC, they are still illegal, which makes hemp illegal in the United States. According to the diaries of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington himself both grew marijuana on their plantations. In fact, Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with cannabis. These facts alone prove the importance of hemp and its cultivation. Hemp can be used for, literally, thousands of different things. Until the 1880’s in America, 80% of all textiles and fabrics used for clothing, tents, bedsheets, and linens were made from hemp. Even our national flag “Old Glory” was made from cannabis fibers. Hemp also made up nearly 90% of all the paper in the world. Not only does hemp paper last 50 to 100 times longer than most other materials, but it was also a hundred times easier and cheaper to make. Even the Constitution of the United States was written on hemp paper. Other uses for hemp are rope, paints, oil for laterns, building material, cattle feed, and fuel for vehicles. The list goes on and on. One of the most interesting facts was that Henry Ford invented a car that was made out of hemp, and ran on hemp fuel. So why was cannabis made illegal? It was very profitable, easy to grow, easy to harvest, and had limitless uses. However, the leaders in the oil, cotton, and timber industries saw a threat from cannabis. It was much cheaper and found throughout the world, and these industry leaders knew that they would be put out of business is hemp agriculture was continued. So, marijuana became the new enemy. The next thing you know, it was said to kill people, make men crazy, cause women to rebel, and even cause “negroes to sleep with our white women”; which was said in front of Congress in 1937, the same year it became illegal. Even though it is a harmless plant that could even help save our economy, it is still illegal. This could be the key that makes us, and all other countries, energy independent, not to mention all of the other uses of hemp. It’s about time that our government starts making decisions based on what is best for the country, not what can make certain people the most money. I urge you to get out and do your own research and help promote the plant that even our founding fathers found to be invaluable. In closing, I would like for you to consider this Surgeon General's report: TOBACCO kills 340,000 to 450,000 ALCOHOL (Not including 50% of all highway deaths and 65% of all murders) kills 150,000+ ASPIRIN (Including deliberate overdose) 180 to 1,000+ CAFFEINE (From stress, ulcers, and triggering irregular heartbeats, etc.) 1,000 to 10,000 "LEGAL" DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental) from legal, prescribed or patent medicines and/or mixing with alcohol - e.g. Valium/alcohol 14,000 to 27,000 ILLICIT DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental) from all illegal drugs. 3,800 to 5,200 MARIJUANA 0 Maybe now you can realize how harmless the plant really is.
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It cracks me up to see the "Growing pot plants? Great prices" banner ads. Great article. Prohibition does not work! Yes, we need hemp BTM shirts!
Great article! I suggest the authoritative book on the subject of marijuana and hemp: The Emporer Wears No Clothes - by Jack Herer. I happened to meet Mr. Herer at a NORML conference in San Francisco - this guy's research into the criminalization of marijuana is superb. Its not just racism against Mexicans and Negroes - as you note - there was ample corporate pressure to be applied by Hearst publishing company & others who also owned tens of thousands of acre of timbre to make into the paper that circulated the bogus headlines of negros raping white woman on the evil weed and also the very famous guy who murdered his whole family with an axe after getting high on marijuana. The obvious conflicts of interest displayed in this history is staggering. This history is fascinating in its detail - but it is quite unsurprising that the rationale for criminalizing marijuana from the earliest days persists till this day. Thus, John Aschcroft could state as late as 2002 that marijuana is more dangerous than all other illicit drugs combined! How high on prescription mood elevators must he have been to make that ridiculous statement?
Overgrow the government people! Support the Michigan November balllot initiative to make it the 13th state to legalize medical marijuana. Join NORML and help support the legalization of marijuana for responsible adult cannabis consumers everywhere! Buy hemp products and support North Dakotans & Californians seeking to legalize hemp production in their respective states. Whatever one's feelings on the legalization of smokable cannabis - the Hemp bans are totally insane - especially in a world of surging gas prices and non-renewable energy sources being maxed to the hilt. For students, join students for sensible drug policy and help repeal draconian drug laws that affect student-aid and help equalize alcohol and marijuana punishments on campus. In other words - GET ACTIVE!!!
Look foward to the follow ups.
windycityatty -
"It's not a war on drugs. It is and always has been on a war on personal freedom."
"John Aschcroft could state as late as 2002 that marijuana is more dangerous than all other illicit drugs combined! How high on prescription mood elevators must he have been to make that ridiculous statement?"
Everytime I hear or read about Aschcroft, I can only think of him singing at a insider gala event. After hearing him sing, everyone will need prescription mood elevators :) I'll see if I can find the video on YouTube.
Very inciteful comment though!
"A Government that is big enough to supply you with everything you need, is big enough to take everything you have." – Thomas Jefferson
After being confronted with his non-sensical statement regarding the dangers of marijuana - - Mr Ashcroft said that he based his claim on the fact that more people are admitted into drug treatment facilities because of marijuana than all other illlegal drugs combined. Okay.
What he didnt say is that over 600,000 people are arrested every year (approaching 800,000 now) and that many of them, in lieu of jail time, agree to a court ordered "rehab" for marijuana "addiction". Pathetic. At the same time as he is saying that non-sense, the national association of mayors held a conference in D.C. and when asked, almost unanimously they agreed that the #1 problem facing their cities as far as drug crime was concerned was meth. But dont tell Asshat that. Amazing we live in a society that tolerates such stupidity at the top. The media's complicity in this is well documented (remember the recent dust up over "skunk" weed leading to schizophrenia? That was BS too. Your chancs of being schizo are like .007%. With pot its like .009%. But the headline: Pot smokers twice as likely to develop schizophrenia than non-smokers. In reality, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning - multiple times - before any pot makes you crazy. Although pot still being illegal is kinda making me crazy - so maybe they s hould check the correlation on that.
"It's not a war on drugs. It is and always has been on a war on personal freedom."
I just noticed that someone else had already mentioned mr. herer - - i didnt realize there were more than one page of comments! Much apologies. Keep up the good work though :)
"It's not a war on drugs. It is and always has been on a war on personal freedom."
Thank you for writing a very thought provoking article! I hope you continue to write your own articles. Although, I find value with the re-posted articles on the BTM site, it's a pleasure to read original work :) Keep it up!
yup yup yup,
and yes yes yes
Want even more knowledge and facts about the benefits of this plant, check out Jack Herer's site and his now classic "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" - maybe the definitive book on the subject, he has put a lot of it online, and if you think we hemp peoples are nutty, then maybe you would like to take him up on his 100,000 dollar challenge to prove him wrong.
Hemp could definitely do wonders for the economy.
http://www.jackherer.com/
oh and just a little more on the nutritional benefits
straight from his book
Chapter Eight
Cannabis Hempseed as a Basic World Food
In 1937, Ralph Loziers, general counsel of the National Institute of Oilseed Products, told the Congressional committee studying marijuana prohibition that “hempseed... is used in all the Oriental nations and also in a part of Russia as food. It is grown in their fields and used as oatmeal. Millions of people every day are using hempseed in the Orient as food. They have been doing this for many generations, especially in periods of famine.”
That was over 70 years ago. Today we know hempseed is the plant kingdom’s richest source of life-giving essential fatty acids, and may well be the cure for cancer and heart disease.
Hempseed: Humanity's Best Single Food Source
Of the 3 million plus edible plants that grow on Earth, no other single plant source can compare with the nutritional value of hempseeds. Both the complete protein and the essential oils contained in hempseeds are in ideal ratios for human nutrition. Only soybeans contain a higher percentage of protein. However, the composition of the protein in hempseed is unique in the vegetable kingdom. Sixty-five percent of the protein content in hempseed is in the form of globulin edestin.1 (The word “edestin” comes from the Greek “edestos,” meaning edible.)
The exceptionally high edestin content of hempseed combined with albumin, another globular protein contained in all seeds, means the readily available protein in hempseed contains all the essential amino acids in ideal proportions to assure your body has the necessary building blocks to create proteins like disease-fighting immunoglobulins -antibodies whose job is to ward off infections before the symptoms of sickness set in.2
Cannabis seed protein even allows a body with nutrition-blocking tuberculosis, or almost any other nutrition-blocking ailment, to get maximum nourishment.*
*Cohen & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976; Czech. Tubercular Nutritional Study, 1955.
Even more important for building a strong immune system, hempseeds are the highest source in the plant kingdom of essential fatty acids. These essential oils, linoleic and linolenic acids, are responsible for the luster in your skin, hair, eyes, and even your thought processes. They lubricate (clear) the arteries and are vital to the immune system.
These essential fatty acids were used by Dr. Joanna Budwig (nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 1979) to successfully treat "terminal” cancer patients, as well as those suffering from cardiovascular disease, glandular atrophy, gallstones, kidney degeneration, acne, dry skin, menstrual problems and immune deficiency.
This, as well as other research, prompted William Eidleman, M.D., UCLA, and R. Lee Hamilton, Ed.D., Ph.D. Medical Researcher-Biochemist UCLA Emeritus, to speak out on behalf of “the life-giving values” of cannabis hemp. They state:
“These essential oils support the immune system and guard against viral and other insults to the immune system. Studies are in progress using the essential oils to support the immune systems of persons with the H.I.V. virus. So far they have been extremely promising.
“What is the richest source of these essential oils? Yes, you guessed it, the seeds of the cannabis hemp plant ... The insane prohibitions against the most valuable plant on Earth, cannabis hemp, must yield to public demand ... The promise of super health and the possibility of feeding the world is at our fingertips.” (December 29, 1991 and April 2007)
Hempseed extracts, like soybeans, can be spiced to taste like chicken, steak, or pork and can be used to make tofu-type curd and margarine, at less cost than soybeans. Sprouting any seed improves its nutritional value and hemp can be sprouted and used like any other seed sprout for salads or cooking.
Sprouted hempseeds make milk, just as soybeans do. Alan “Birdseed” Brady of Santa Cruz, California and Abba Das of Colorado use this milk to make a delicious and nutritious ice cream in many flavors that actually lowers cholesterol levels.
Hempseed is ground and used like flour, or cooked, then sweetened and combined with milk to produce a nutritional breakfast cereal-like oatmeal or cream of wheat. This type of porridge is known as a gruel. (Like the fiber, hempseeds will not get you high.)
“Hemp is a favorite [bird seed] because of its nourishing oily content.” (Margaret McKenny, Birds in the Garden, Reynal & Hitchcock, NY, 1939.) Incredibly, when cannabis hemp is grown for seed, half the weight of the mature, harvested female plant is seed!
English and European fishermen who cast in fresh-water lakes and rivers first told me in 1995 that hempseed has always been the preferred bait in Europe for chumming - that is, casting the hempseeds on the water - causing the fish to scramble from all over to get the seeds, thereby getting caught. Not one of the many European fishermen I talked to knew that hemp seeds and marijuana were one in the same. So hempseed is the favorite of fish, as well as, most birds.
The byproduct of pressing hempseed for its nutritious vegetable oil is a high protein seed cake. Hempseed cake was one of the world’s principal animal feeds until this century.* Hempseed can supply a nearly complete diet for all domesticated animals (dogs, cats), many farm animals and poultry, and allows animals maximum weight gain for less than current feed costs. And without any need for artificial growth steroids or other drugs currently poisoning the human race and food chain.
Isn’t it strange - doesn’t it make you mad as hell - that the number one food of all time for most birds, fish, horses, humans, and life in general, is illegal to have naturally and healthfully in the United States of America, as ordered by the Nazi/Gestapo-like Amerikan Drug Enforcement Administration and, through them, the USDA?
thanks for the good post
Yes- I am the proud owner of "The Emporer Wears No Clothes" :) Jack Herer is amazing. Thank you for sharing!!
-Miss Green
"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."
Would go along way to solving the worlds food crisis, bio fuel, etc... look forward to reading more
Fantastic Article! I didn't know the earliest American Flags were made of hemp. Obviously when we set this country right marijuana will not only be legal, but will provide many of our essential resources.
Great article - can't believe the constitution was written on cannibus
It seems likely to me that the constitution was written 'on cannabis' in more ways than one.
I must admit I chuckled when I read your remark.... it's so true.
-Miss Green
"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."
Thanks! Pro-Hemp is Pro-Agriculture!
Think about this too; (in American ecosystems) no genetic improvement of hemp has occurred since the thirties. In that time we've more than DOUBLED the yield potentil of wheat, rice, and corn. Just imagine how beneficial hemp will be for our self-sustainability, rural communites, and total econmy when the plant breeders get a few generations of improvement done. I'm salivating just thinking about it!
It will happen FAST too, for one, we're a hell of a lot better at this than we were in the '30s. Also, the 'illegal' cannabis breeders have figured out volumes of useful information for commercial hemp breeders to study once this insane prohibition is lifted.
(continuous)Cotton production is a wrecking ball on soil health, and we subsidize it too!
How about some hemp 'Break the Matrix' shirts?
Definitely- you've got it all right.
I always tell people (when referring to Henry Ford's hemp car) "imagine where we would be if cannabis were still legal and he have the technology that we do today".
Really, it just blows my mind that a beautiful, harmless PLANT would become such an enemy. People need to quit being so close-minded and look at the FACTS.
Thanks for the comment!!
-Miss Green
"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."
Oh, I'm sure. I've been sure for years :-)
I love it, keep telling people the truth! Thank you!
I for one am educating my children about this and together we can make sure the next generation knows this truth.
You bet!! :)
-Miss Green
"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."