HEMP

HEMP has made a comeback since the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp (Cannabis sativa L) as a schedule 1 narcotic. Once considered a wartime crop (meaning its demand was tied to a war effort, subsidized by the government and then shut down when a war ended) hemp now provides opportunities for economic growth, jobs and income potential that has not been available since the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act removed hemp from American soil.  With so much history, politics, corruption, money, lies and deceit associated with this crop that you must wonder why it is now OK when such a big effort was put forth to keep hemp virtually banned. Despite the impact to the economy and the many uses for hemp, allowing farmers to grow hemp was prohibited, regulations were tightened and ad campaigns were developed to kept hemp closely tied to marijuana, minorities (to stoke fear in white people) and to keep the public misinformed.

20^th Century Timeline: (1)

• 1916: USDA publishes findings showing hemp produces 4X more paper per acre than trees
• 1937: The Marijuana Tax Act placed a tax on all cannabis sales (including hemp), heavily discouraging production of hemp
  • The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was based on the 1934 National Firearms Act where an excise tax was imposed on the sale of machine guns (organized crime’s weapon of choice) making them too expense to purchase resulting in their removal from society.  This same taxation method was used in the Marijuana Tax Act successfully removing cannabis (marijuana and hemp) from American soil.  The ACT was to impose heavy taxes so farmers could not afford to grow hemp. The Act ended the legal production of hemp in the United States.
• 1938: Popular Mechanics writes an article about how hemp could be used in 25,000 different products.
• 1942: Henry Ford builds an experimental car body made with hemp fiber, which is ten times stronger than steel
• 1942: USDA initiates the “Hemp for Victory” program – this leads to more than 150,000 acres of hemp production
• 1957: Farmers plant the last commercial hemp fields in the U.S. in Wisconsin
• 1970: The Controlled Substances Act classified hemp as an illegal Schedule I drug. Strict regulations imposed on the cultivation of industrial hemp as well as marijuana
  • Hemp and Marijuana were treating exactly the same in the 1970’s Controlled Substance Act. This (false) equivalence was made possible by the fears born out of the great depression. In 1930 Harry Anslinger became the director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.  He did not pay much attention to cannabis until his budget was cut and his department was at risk of closing.  He needed to vilify Marijuana in order to make prosecutions easier.  Once the National Firearms Act (tax on machine guns) was deemed constitutional, he introduced the Marijuana Tax Act to the House Means and Ways Committee.  Roosevelt signed the Act into law August of 1937.  The Marijuana Tax Act did not distinguish between the two, HEMP from Marijuana, thus paving the way for the Controlled Substance Act to classify both as schedule 1 narcotics.
• 1998: The U.S. begins to import food-grade hemp seed and oil.
• 2004: Ninth Circuit Court decision in Hemp Industries Association vs. DEA permanently protects sales of hemp foods and body care products in the U.S.
• 2007: The first hemp licenses in over 50 years granted to two North Dakota farmers.
• 2014: President Obama signed the Farm Bill, which allowed research institutions to start piloting hemp farming.
• 2015: The Industrial Hemp Farming Act (H.R. 525 and S. 134) introduced in the House and Senate. This act is the first of several attempts to fully legalize hemp.
• 2016: A Colorado farm has earned the Organic certification from USDA for its hemp
• 2018: After failed attempts to pass hemp-specific laws, an amendment to the Agricultural Improvement of 2018 (a.k.a. the “Farm Bill”) legalized hemp in the U.S. Pres. Trump signs the bill into law on Dec 20, 2018. This amendment removed the hemp plant, along with any of its seeds and derivatives from the Controlled Substances Act. A huge win for the hemp industry!

HEMP is a variation of Cannabis Sativa.  Hemp has lower concentrations of THC and higher concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD), which decreases or eliminates its psychoactive effects.  In the Farm Bill, HEMP is defined as Cannabis sativa L, a plant with a THC concentration of no more than .3 percent on a dry weight basis.

Hemp has a rich history in the America.  In the 1700’s early law required American farmers in several colonies to grow hemp.  In 1776 US Founders write early drafts of the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper and in 1840 Abraham Lincoln used hemp seed oil to fuel his household lamps.

Like most things in American Society whether something has value is largely determined by the pockets that get lined in the production of a product, in this case a crop, from seed to consumer.

So, let’s follow the money…
Would HEMP have been legalized if the demand for tobacco had not gone down?

Kentucky grows tobacco. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 600,000 acres of tobacco were harvested in Kentucky in 1919, but by 2018, the state produced less than 100,000 acres.  What are the chances that the only reason hemp made it into the 2018 Farm Bill was because of Mitch McConnell?  He needed another (cash) crop for his state. Tobacco is not producing, and the soybeans return on investment is not substantial.  Do not get me wrong, I am truly glad that people have moved away from tobacco and I applaud the legalization of hemp. I just question the motives of man.

Despite its many uses, its healing properties, its economic impact in the production of textile, rope, oils, paper, fabric and its environmental impact creating plastic alternatives, would hemp be legal today if Mitch had no use for it (the money)?

If we put people over profits in this country the Marijuana Tax Act might never have been enacted, hemp would have never been “outlawed”, mass incarcerations of minorities may never have taken place and America might be a little bit nicer than it is today.

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Sources:

1 – Timeline: https://ministryofhemp.com/hemp/history/
2 – American Hemp – Jen Hobbs – 2019
3 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol