Amazing Versatility.
This plant requires no pesticides, no herbicides, and only moderate amounts of fertilizer. It is frost tolerant and requires modest amounts of water. And, it will grow in all 50 states.
Used like soybeans, it can produce foods like tofu, veggie burgers, and butter, to name a few. Plus, you might enjoy hemp seed, ground into a nutritious flour, in baked goods such as pasta, cookies, and bread.
Cloth from hemp is stronger and softer than cotton, and it resists mildew. Paper, manufactured from this plant, lasts longer without deteriorating. Not only that, this paper also recycles more times than tree-based paper. In addition to fabric and paper, you might find hemp in non-toxic diesel fuel, paint, varnish, detergent, ink, and lubricating oil, as well as ethanol fuel.
A Brief History of Cannabis.
Here are a few historical facts about this plant, including hemp and marijuana. Have fun sharing them with co-workers at the water cooler or your next dinner party.
- Hemp is one of the oldest crops on the planet. Fabric dates as far back as approximately 8,000 BC.
- Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era (1492-1763) and Early Republic (1780-1830).
- Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, as well as Benjamin Franklin, grew hemp.
- William Brook O’Shaughnessy kicked off the “Golden Age” (1850-1937) of cannabis medicine when he published his findings in the late 1830s. Companies carrying cannabis products included Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer.
- In 1906 the Pure Food And Drug Act requires labels to include “addictive” or “dangerous” ingredients. All cannabis was included (marijuana and hemp).
- The anti-cannabis propaganda film, Reefer Madness, was created in 1936 to warn teenagers about the dangers of marijuana.
- Advocating anti-marijuana legislation around the world, Harry Anslinger, was the chief promoter of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Making cultivation difficult for American farmers, the tax and licensing ushered in years of prohibition.
- Scientists at the University of Illinois isolated cannabidiol from the cannabis plant in 1939.
- During World War II (1939-1945) farmers in the Midwest grew approximately one million acres of hemp as part of the war effort.
- The Controlled Substance Act (CSA) of 1970 placed cannabis under federal control. Despite being exempt, the DEA placed a ban on all forms of cannabis.
- The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) removed federal restrictions on industrial hemp.
- FDA approves the first plant-derived cannabis medication, Epidiolex, for hard-to-treat forms of epilepsy in 2018.
- 2018 Farm Bill or Agriculture Improvement Act expands legalization including CBD.
- January 2019 CANVIVA launches its premium CBD brand.