American hemp has a tumultuous history. Now it’s coming out of marijuana’s shadow.
Hemp is much more than marijuana’s often-misunderstood cousin. It’s a plant with a long, important and sometimes controversial past. And, after being illegal on a federal level for nearly 50 years, hemp appears to be on the verge of once again becoming a key part of America’s agricultural and cultural landscape.
June 5-11 marks the eighth annual Hemp History Week. Supported by the nonprofit Hemp Industries Association (HIA), events are mostly carried out on a grassroots level by local hemp advocates, farmers and producers from across the country.
According to Hemp History Week’s website, events during the week are meant to encourage a change in U.S. federal policy on hemp, “while raising awareness about the benefits of hemp products.”
Lauren Stansbury, HIA director of communications, says there are over 300 events taking place in all 50 states this week.
These efforts by local activists to bring hemp awareness to their communities take different forms, she tells The Cannabist. Documentaries about the plant’s history are being screened at small-town cinemas, hemp fashion shows are being organized, and themed potlucks are taking place. Others are setting up at farmers markets to pass out education materials.
“It really depends on the interests of the organizers,” she said.
Women process hemp fibers in 1956. (L. Blandford, Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
The path of hemp from favored to forbidden
Hemp has a venerable history to celebrate: It was an important crop in Colonial America, where its fibers were used to produce paper, ropes and textiles – including the canvas used in the sails that powered international maritime trade.
In the 1930s “Reefer Madness” era, even while cannabis was being vilified and eventually federally criminalized, hemp was still considered an important commodity. In 1938, Popular Mechanics declared hemp to be the “new billion-dollar crop” thanks to technological innovations that allowed hemp fibers to be separated mechanically and quickly.
At the time the magazine predicted that hemp “will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products produced by underpaid … labor and it will provide thousands of jobs for American workers throughout the land.”
Read the full story at TheCannabist.co.
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