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H E M P
H Y S T E R I A Newfound Knowledge Presents:
By Dason Smith
Silver and gold have never been greener! Or shall we say
money does grow on trees? Industrial hemp, Cannabis Sativa L., is the
cash crop we need and once had. The debate is multi-faceted but first,
a science lesson. Only in the genus Cannabis do we find the unique
class of compounds called cannabinoids. THC is the psychoactive
ingredient of Cannabis while CBD is antipsychoactive. One
type of Cannabis, a.k.a marijuana, is high in THC and low
in CBD. However, industrial types of hemp, which all fit
in the Cannabis Sativa L. category have a reverse
ratio. Cannabis with THC below 1.0 percent and a
CBD/THC ratio greater than one is not capable of
inducing a psychoactive effect.
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Did the Garden of Eden have Cannabis?
Hemp can grow anywhere if not The Garden. From near Arctic temperatures to high mountaintops, the plant grows with weed-like speed but in the process provides shade to prevent real weeds from growing. Hemp root systems anchor to a depth of 12 inches in 30 days and as far down as 6 feet when full grown. This, of course, pulverizes and aerates the ground for the next rotational crop. The genetics of the cannabis plant make for a plant that “cleans” or soaks up heavy-metal contaminants from soil, gradually purifying the earth and purging the contaminants from fossil fuel smelting, oil refining, and even papermaking mills. Over a period of three months the entire plant reaches tree-like heights of 10 to 14 feet. Some strains climb as high as 20 feet. This allows, of course, for longer fibers, stronger fabrics and thus longer lasting products. Furthermore, harvesters have found one acre of hemp produces an amount of pulp equivalent to that of 4.1 acres of trees. Brief, Macrocosmic Highlights of Hemp History
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The Industrial Revolution meets Cannabis Sativa L.
Another 100 years later, in 1916, 50-year-old German immigrant George W. Schlichten finally invented the decorticator. His expertise in forestry and plant fibers translated into a collection of blades, belts and gears that stripped the fiber out of plants, with hemp specifically in mind. Investor Henry Timken, ambitious and with his ear to the ground for new opportunity, went to meet George in February of 1917. Timken saw the potential for a world changing invention and promptly arranged for 100 acres of hemp to be grown on his ranch in Imperial Valley in order to test the machine and its output.
Enter the scene, E.W. Scripps and partner Milton McRae. Scripps owned the largest chain of newspapers in the country. Facing an extreme shortage of paper supply because of World War I, the search for an alternative paper source was tantalizing to these men, enough that Scripps requested his partner look into the possibility of converting to the decorticator.
The businessmen were thoroughly impressed, not only with Schlicten, but with the quality of the product as well and the amount of money they could save. During this time, mogul Scripps, back in his office, was thinking of other ways to deal with the problem instead of fixations on a lone German farmer and his contraption. In the end, he simply raised the cost of his newspaper by one cent to avoid losing his entire year’s profits and dropped the idea of using the fiber-stripping machine. Nobody would hear of it again until the 1930s.
Popular Mechanics Magazine boasted the headline “New Billion-Dollar Crop” in February 1938. Exactly one year earlier, Mechanical Engineering Magazine stated “The Most Profitable & Desirable Crop That Can Be Grown”. Both headlines referred to hemp. It was the first time any product had been given such a challenge or designation, and the decorticator, designed more than a decade before, was the machine to make these headlines prophetic. Both articles explained precisely how the machine worked. For the readers it must have been like discovering the cotton gin or printing press all over again. Hemp farmers read these articles ecstatically. For years they had dreamed of using all the plant in more bulk, for less manpower. The decorticator wasn’t doing anything new, just better. Hundreds of tons could now be processed in days instead of weeks. Further, previous systems left unused plant hurds or shavings of the inner bark; this was the major substance of the wood and home furnishing products derived from cannabis.The Conspiracy Theory of the Century
Now, imagine this. A prominent and wealthy newspaper mogul (William Randolph Hearst) has stock in large amounts of forest for his own publications and hears of the hemp decorticator. Jazz and swing are the in; America is booming and climbing an upward spiral during the 20s. Hemp hysteria threatens the system and product that have always brought him his wealth. Others stood to lose millions as well, like Lammont Du Pont, president of the Du Pont Company. Not only was it supplying chemicals to the paper industry (Hearst) but also it was in the thick of fossil fuel processing and research. Chemists had recently found the means to make fuel additives, various synthetic products such as nylon, cellophane, and plastics, all out of the unscathed supply of fossil fuels. The choice was made and the players preserved what they had. Hearst, in his own papers, began to term the word marijuana for the very first time. The propaganda, posters, film, and slogans linked vicious rapes, murders, and robberies to a noxious weed from the South. In most cases, African-American men or Mexican immigrants were linked as the user and abuser. The public was astonished at the newfound “disease” and took action, eradicating it under the name marijuana. This was the propaganda name given to hide the real identity of the plant. Nobody seemed to know that as we were passing laws against marijuana, we were passing them against a “billion dollar” crop and solution to many human ailments.
After the 1937 Marijuana Tax Law, new Du Pont "plastic fibers,” under license since 1936 from the German company I.G. Farben (patent surrenders were part of Germany's World War I reparation payments to America), replaced natural hempen fibers.
This is the story—in raw brevity—omitted from history books, modified in the law archives, and hidden from the people. Industrial hemp is not a great mystery or new notion to some. Although the World War II generation is dying away, the wager is that most of them would be able to remember the days of hemp fields and gardens grown freely.
The last gasping days of hemp, when it was still promoted by the U.S. government, happened during World War II. “Hemp for Victory,” a 14-minute United States Department of Agriculture film (1942), showed Midwestern farmers growing hemp for the world cause. Most military fatigues were sewn with a majority of hemp thread. Ropes and mooring for ships in World War II—not just the War of 1812—were made of hemp to resist the elements. A hemp parachute even saved George Bush during WWII when he was shot down over the Pacific.
In comic books and movie lore, we often worry about powerful creations falling into the wrong hands. Worse in our day is when powerful ideas or devices are erased from our memory and past completely. However, crusaders are making sure we realize what we had before and could lose for good. The hemp movement is rising from the underground and waking the present populace to giant hemp stalks growing in our future, if we want them. For more info go to www.votehemp.com.Dason Smith, Asst. Editor of Street Magazine, full-time student, poet, and a music/movie aficionado, is a member of New Found Knowledge. He is also a sucker for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin cookies. He can be reached at dason@streetmagazine.net.
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