Marijuana! That dangerous plant that our Governments want to ban, control, and ensure that no one has access to was not that relatively long ago, an enormous crop used for a variety of useful products?


The history of marijuana is quite interesting. Whether or not you think it should be illegal, many people have no idea that what we now call marijuana was at one time a very much valued crop in the Americas.

Marijuana was not made illegal based on any scientific grounds originally - and in fact, there was some confusion at the time of its being prohibited. In Canada, prohibition of marijuana was originally motivated by the racist attitudes of one Judge Emily Murphy.

Prior to marijuana being banned, it was highly valued - hemp was especially important for military and naval uses as it can be made into very strong rope. In 1873, Edward Harland created the Belfast Ropeworks to help meet demand for the largest ship building company in the world, also located in Belfast. Belfast Ropeworks began importing hemp for it’s rope making operation, and by 1900, was considered the best rope making company in the world.

Hemp was so valuable at one time, if you were a farmer in Virginia between 1763 and 1767, you could be jailed for not growing hemp! Virginia had laws on the books dating back to 1619 ordering farmers to grow hemp.

In 1850, there were 8,327 hemp plantations of 2,000 acres or more in the USA. Of course, at that time, it wasn’t being used (much) as a “drug,” but was highly valued for the ability to create clothing, rope and canvas from it.

Today, hemp with low quantities of the THC, the active ingredient valued by users of hemp/marijuana are being investigated for what appears to be tremendous dietary benefits being high in Omega fatty acids.

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