Modern Hemp History, 1900 – Present

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OMG, such a roller coaster ride for cannabis!  Is it good? Is it bad? Do we want it? Why not? Who decides?

The confusion surrounding marijuana, cannabis, ECS, CBD and THC is mind-boggling!

In this report read how the discovery of the ECS changes everything for each of us!

In addition, discover….

  1. How hemp paper is four times more efficient than tree paper!
  2. How a WWII film triggers 1,000,000 acres of hemp!
  3. How Cannabis became legal in all 50 States!

Modern Hemp History, 1900 – Present

1900 – Present: The U.S. government has published numerous reports and other documents on hemp dating back to the beginnings of our country. Below is a list of some of the documents that have been discovered. These documents and many more are published online by the Yearbook of the USDA, by Gilbert H. Hicks; Assistant, Division of Botany, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

1901: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, “Hemp and Flax Seed” and a 13-page article, “Hemp”

1903: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, Principal Commercial Plant Fibers

1909: USDA Secretary, “Fiber Investigations: Hemp and Flax”

1913: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, “Hemp Soils, Yield and Economics”

1913: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, “Tests for hemp, List of Products”

1916: USDA Bulletin 404: “Hemp Hurds as a Paper-Making Material”

1916: USDA publishes findings that show hemp produces four times more paper per acre than trees

1917: USDA reports, “Hemp Seed Supply of the Nation”

1917: USDA reports, “Cannabis

1927: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, “Hemp Varieties”

1931: USDA Lyster Dewey writes, “Hemp Fiber Losing Ground”

Shift in Attitude Toward Cannabis

1937: Hemp was a big part of early history of the United States, an attitude towards the crop started to change in the early 1900’s. The US government in its attempt to combat drugs such as marijuana, hemp was confused with cannabis.

Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act which effectively began the era of hemp prohibition. The Marijuana Tax Act placed a tax on all cannabis sales, including hemp, heavily discouraging the production of hemp. The tax and licensing regulations of the act made hemp cultivation difficult for American farmers.

The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 started the major decline of the hemp industry, as all hemp sales started to get heavily taxed on. There has been some controversy over this bill, as some have argued that this policy was aimed to reduce the size of the hemp industry in order to help the emerging plastic and nylon industries gain market share.

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.

Film Catalyzes 1,000,000 Acres of Hemp

1942: Then came World War II. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 shut off foreign supplies of “manila hemp” fiber from the Philippines.

The U.S. government formed the War Hemp Industries Department and subsidized hemp cultivation. During the war, U.S. farmers grew about a million acres of hemp across the Midwest as part of that program.

1943: USDA reports, “Hemp for Victory” documentary film. The peak of the hemp promotion was when the US government released a pro-hemp documentary. The film was to encourage U.S. farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. The US government heavily promoted hemp and started publishing various benefits that hemp offered.

Hemp 4 Times More Paper Per Acre Than Trees

Basically, the Department of Agriculture, through this film confirmed their findings that hemp produces 4 times more paper per acre than trees!

1945: After the war ended, the government quietly shut down all the hemp processing plants and the industry faded away again. The US government went back to its original stance on hemp again and the industry continued to decline.

Other alternative sources, such as plastic and nylon, were encouraged across multiple industries. This led to fewer farmers cultivating hemp and many hemp processors declaring bankruptcy.

1947: USDA reports, “Hemp Day Length and Flowering”

1956: USDA reports, “Monoecious Hemp Breeding in the United States

1957: The last commercial hemp fields in the US were planted in Wisconsin.

Until 1969: During the period from 1937 to the late 60s, the U.S. government understood and acknowledged that industrial hemp and marijuana were distinct varieties of the Cannabis plant.

Controlled Substance Act Bans ALL Hemp

1970: The Controlled Substances Act classified hemp as an illegal Schedule I drug, which imposed strict regulations on the cultivation of industrial hemp as well as marijuana.

Hemp farming was eventually officially banned altogether with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in which hemp was included as a Schedule 1 drug, grouping this crop with  drugs like heroin and LSD

Hemp was no longer officially recognized as distinct from marijuana after the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. This is despite the fact that a specific exemption for hemp was included in the CSA under the definition of marijuana.

1970 – 1997: Silence for almost 1/3 of a century!

Discovery of the Endocannabinoid System

1992: The endocannabinoid System is discovered in our bodies by

1998: The U.S. begins to import food-grade hemp seed and oil.

2000: In the new century, application of hemp started to diversify as hemp fiber was imported to be used for clothing and textiles.

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. After almost 30 years of being forbidden, the US allowed businesses to import dietary hemp products.

Building on this, in 2014, the Farm Bill was signed into law, which allowed hemp cultivation as part of university research in states that permitted hemp farming.

After 50 Years, Farmers Can Finally Grow Hemp