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In many countries, hemp was banned as part of the ban on cannabis. The US effectively banned hemp production prior to WWII, although temporary exceptions were m
by Lazare 6y ago
In many countries, hemp was banned as part of the ban on cannabis. The US effectively banned hemp production prior to WWII, although temporary exceptions were made during WWII due to needing hemp fibre for war time production. Hemp production was only legalised at a federal level in 2018(!).
Why hemp was banned is an open question. Various theories involving the DuPont family, Andrew Mellon, and Randolph Hearst exist, although evidence supporting them is scant. Alternatively, the whole thing may just have been a mistake; cannabis was often called "Indian hemp" back then, and it does contain trace amounts of THC.
In any case, at least as far as the US goes, hemp was competing quite well with cotton (it was a major crop in Kentucky prior to the civil war); the decline was caused by the legal system, not economics.
- froh 6y agoHemp is marijuana. It's the same plant. Low thc varieties have been created after marijuana prohibition.
- devilduck 6y agoAlso using the male plant and not the female plant for the production of fibrous material
- Lazare 6y agoThat's not entirely true. Historically, the US distinguished between European hemp (aka Cannabis Sativa), grown for its fibres and with a lower THC content, and Indian hemp (aka Cannabis Indica), which was sometimes grown for its fibres but had a higher THC content. Eg, the Internation Opium Convention of 1912 restricted exports of "Indian hemp" but not European hemp. Mind you, plenty of farmers did grow "Indian hemp" for fibres, including (somewhat amusingly) George Washington, who imported Indian hemp seeds for that purpose, and is on record as saying it was much more valuable for fibre production that "common hemp". Whether those were ever really different plants, or what exactly the THC levels of any of them would have been is not clear. :) But the distinction is one that was routinely made both by farmers and government.
- froh 6y agoTo my understanding both sativa and indica do have "sufficient" psychoactive content however with different profiles, while cannabis ruderalis is the one with no psychoactive use: https://www.cannabismarketcap.io/blog/understanding-cannabis-sativa-vs-indica-vs-ruderalis https://www.cannabismarketcap.io/blog/understanding-cannabis...