[ad_1]
The annual America’s Cannabis History Week takes place from June 2 to June 8, 2014. Each state has classes to educate more Americans about the benefits of cannabis. Applications include building materials and fuel; for clothing and food, show hemp as an eco-friendly solution that provides economic opportunities for US farmers and US producers. It is ironic that this versatile, sustainable cultivation that once required farmers to grow under US law is now banned – as a result of erroneous federal policies developed in the 1930s.
Hemp has a global history, used as far back as 8000 BC to make fabrics. Until 2700 BC, hemp was also used to make rope, food, and medicine. In the following years, hemp was used for sailcloth, lamp oil and paper. Hemp paper was used for both the Gutenberg Bible and the King James Bible, and artists including Rembrandt and Van Gogh painted on hemp canvas. With the enactment of the first cannabis law in Virginia, 17th and 18th century American farmers had to grow cannabis, and by the 18th century they could have been jailed for not doing so. Famous American ancestors were involved in the cultivation of hemp as a viable crop. One of the first hemp mills was founded by Ben Franklin; hemp fiber was used in the production of clothing for George Washington’s army, the fabric for the first flag, and the paper used to draw up the Declaration of Independence; both Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations; Abe Lincoln used hemp seed oil as a fuel for lamps; and hemp has been accepted in America as legal tender currency. In 1850, there were about eight thousand large hemp plantations in America, covering about two thousand acres, as well as countless small hemp farms. In the late nineteenth century, engines such as the one produced by Rudolph Diesel used vegetable oils and seed oils – hemp was the most efficient of these. And in the 1930s, Henry Ford saw biomass fuels as the future, including hemp in his biomass processing facility.
The decline of cannabis began at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Recreational drug use has been introduced in the United States, and smoking salons have been opened in several major cities. Smoking female cannabis flowers to relieve pain and the increased use of cannabis in over-the-counter medicine led to the introduction of the Food and Drug Administration in 1906 requiring labeling of every over-the-counter product containing cannabis. The influx of immigrants to the United States after the Mexican Revolution in 1910 introduced marijuana for recreational purposes. With the hardships endured during the Great Depression, the fear and resentment of these immigrants grew and the marijuana associated with them was blamed as the cause of violent crimes. This unfounded fear was used in the cannabis campaigns launched by the industry in direct competition. Key figures interested in pulp, cotton, alcohol, oil and fuel wanted to eliminate the competition from hemp. The negative hype around cannabis continued, and in 1937 Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which criminalized the cultivation and unauthorized use of marijuana. Interestingly, until the late 1960s, the US government believed that the cannabis plant had two varieties, industrial hemp and marijuana. After the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, cannabis was no longer recognized as distinct from marijuana. Once referred to as the “billion dollar crop,” cannabis and its value to the US economy have been wiped out of existence.
There are two different varieties of cannabis – marijuana and cannabis, just like the Siamese cat and the tiger are different varieties of the cat species – Felidae. The blooming tops and leaves of the psychoactive strain known as marijuana have a high THC content which causes a psychoactive effect in the nervous system. Industrial hemp is another very low THC variety and is grown for its fiber, seed and oil. There are many benefits of industrial hemp. Known as a carbon-free raw material, it enriches the soil with essential nutrients; produces more oxygen than any other crop; and combats weeds. Producing up to 25 tonnes per acre per year, the hemp plant recovers quickly and can be grown in a variety of climates and soil conditions without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Every part of an Industrial Hemp plant can be used to produce a wide variety of products, including textiles, paper, food, medicine, building materials, paints, detergents, oil, ink and fuel. Legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp in the US would have a huge positive impact on the US economy and natural resources, including; less foreign imports with more American-made products; providing an alternative source of energy; minimizing the demolition of our forests; and providing a food source for humans and livestock. .
Many states have explored the benefits of industrial hemp and have started processes to make hemp a major crop again in the US. Colorado and Kentucky are at the forefront of this pressure, with cannabis farms popping up across Colorado with test projects taking place in Kentucky. Hemp History Week is the perfect time to check out the activities in your state and online to learn more about the amazing benefits of cannabis.
[ad_2]
Source by Lynn Lavanga