This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on July 3, 2014.
Until 1883, around 85% of all the world’s paper was derived from marijuana (hemp) fibers. Paper made from hemp is far superior than that made out of cotton, and it lasts considerably longer. A few hundred years ago, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks and bonds, and newspapers were all written on hemp paper. In those days, they couldn’t make paper from trees like they do today.
Our nation’s first and second drafts of the Declaration of Independence were both written on Dutch hemp paper (June 28, 1776). On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered the Declaration of Independence be copied and engrossed on parchment (a prepared animal skin). This was the famous document signed by the delegates on August 2, 1776.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp and manufactured clothing and rope from the harvest. Indeed, cannabis has been grown in America since soon after the British arrived. In 1619 the Crown ordered the colonists at Jamestown to grow hemp to satisfy England’s incessant demand for maritime ropes, Wayne State University professor Ernest Abel wrote in “Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years.”
Hemp became more important to the colonies as New England’s own shipping industry developed, and homespun hemp helped clothe American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Some colonies offered farmers “bounties” for growing it.
While it is common knowledge that marijuana has been cultivated as a raw material for thousands of years, and for all kinds of applications, did our nation’s founders ever indulge in cannabis use for medical or recreational reasons?
“Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.”
Thomas Jefferson.
Replace dangerous fossil fuels with safe, abundant and cheap hemp. Plant a seed.