The history of hemp actually predates history. What does that mean? It means that cannabis sativa (the scientific name of the plant) has been with mankind since they lived in caves, helping our ancestors thrive and survive.
It is likely that hemp was the first cultivated plant on the planet. Hemp was the first form of paper, so the crop predates the written word. The Egyptian Goddess of Wisdom, Seshat, who reportedly created writing, was intimately associated with hemp leaves.
Evidence of ancient cannabis exists around the globe. From neolithic-period cave paintings in ancient Japan depicting medicinal use, to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, to early Chinese manuscripts, cannabis is easily seen as a necessity (and a blessing) throughout history.
Seeds were used for food, and their oil extracted for use as fuel; the flower was used for spiritual purposes; and the pulp of the plant became thread, cording, bowstrings, cloth, paper, rope, and more.
Cannabis is possibly the most beneficial plant to mankind in all history, recorded or otherwise. Its uses were many, and the plant was easy to grow. And it kept mankind company for millennia.
The tomb of the Chinese shaman where the oldest stash of weed ever found was unearthed. (Brazil Weird News)
After making its way from China some 12,000+ years ago, then spreading through lower Asia, and eventually Roman-occupied Europe- the practical uses of hemp were well known from antiquity.
Hemp was eventually brought to the western hemisphere around 1545 by the Spanish to Chile. In North America, hemp was cultivated as early as 1600 in the Powhatan Village of the Virginia Algonquian Native Americans as observed by early European settlers. Hemp would become a rich cash crop for the American colonies, helping them become a thriving nation.
As early as 1619, the first ruling house in Virginia issued an edict requiring both American and East India hemp be grown by colonial farmers to support the needs of England, which considered itself the owner of the colonies. This caught the attention of early American farmers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both colonial cannabis cultivators.
The spread of industrial hemp ultimately occured because the fiber was superior material for rigging (rope) and canvas (sails); both critical for shipping vessels.
FUN FACT: the word “canvas” comes from the Latin word “cannapaceus,” meaning “made of hemp.” Guess what the Mona Lisa is painted on?
Industrial hemp had other uses too including clothes, bags, and even paper (the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence were drafted on hemp parchment). By the mid 1600s, hemp was such an important cash crop that farmers were compelled to grow under threat of jail. Farmers could even pay their taxes with hemp in the American colonies.
Hemp was the original cash crop for other reasons too. First, the economics proved superior to shorter crops like flax because hemp could grow to great height and the entire husk used. And secondly, unlike tobacco, hemp roots also aerate soil as it grows, making the land ready for another crop afterward. As if that weren’t enough, hemp also requires little water or fertilizer compared to other cultivated plants.
“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”
-George Washington
Thomas Jefferson, another founding father pioneering hemp cultivator, invented a “hemp brake” to help separate the plant’s fibers from the husk. As a chief architect of America’s revolution, he is noted to say, “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country."
Hemp is everywhere in American history. Ben Franklin conducted the famous kite and key experiment tied to a hemp line and would become Philadelphia's first hemp paper purveyor. Betsy Ross chose durable hemp cloth to sew the first American flag. The soldiers who crossed the Potomac River with Washington were clad in hemp uniforms. Even the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence were inked on hemp parchment.
Cannabis sativa was a boon to America until 1937 when sweeping legislation lumped industrial hemp with THC rich marijuana, making it illegal to cultivate. When the plant was categorized as schedule I narcotic in the 1970s, like heroin and cocaine, industrial hemp would become banned worldwide as other countries followed the lead of the United States.
In June 2018, the American Congress passed a farm bill which includes hemp legalization legislation. And so hemp will be legal to grow, on the Federal level, in any state in America. Rather than lead the way, America is just joining the dozens of other countries who already support industrial hemp.
Bart Benne
Lead Writer/Site Editor