* Indian, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations cultivated this plant.
*It was used to produce oil, cloth and paper.
*It was used in medicine and was used in cures for atleast 200 diseases in 1800s.
*It was used for spiritual purposes when smoked.
* Henry Ford made an engine for his first car using the oil of the plant.
*The plant can practically grow anywhere, even if your back yard is as barren as a desert.
How did such a useful plant, Cannabis Sativa or Hemp or Marijuana or ganja, end up being tabooed by our society. Today, I am not going to glorify the use of hemp. I will merely brief you on how for every product that we know today, an alternate, greener source is provided by hemp.
In the early 20th century, scientific discoveries, such as, nylon, rayon, termite resistant chemicals, tobacco treatment chemicals, automobile engines and other world changing scientific discoveries, inventions and contraptions were made. Majority of these inventions and discoveries were made by Du Pont and his company. Du Pont released his products to the market and initially did not sell. It’s biggest competition was non-other than God’s own creation, Hemp.
Now, Mr. Du Pont was a well connected man. He had friends in the Government, his son in law Mr.Aslinger, is the founder of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Mr. Hearst, owner of the popular ‘The Hearst Magazine’ was his close associate. The tobacco industry was dependent on him for the chemicals and wanted to destroy their competition (Hemp). Hemp had many well placed enemies and these enemies left no stone unturned in their continuous propaganda against it.
The Hearst, mainly read by the white population started attributing violence, murders and the seduction of white women by black men to Hemp. They borrowed the Mexican word ‘Marijuana ’ to demonise it further. Mexicans, blacks and Indians were looked down upon and the malicious tirade saw many people wrongly accused, jailed, tortured and killed by mobs or police. They demonised Jazz music by saying that it gave devilish powers to the musicians to produce tunes to seduce white women. A systematic campaign of hate and falsehood finally resulted in the banning of Hemp. The ban still stands in the U.S today. Although, many medical practitioners and industries dependent on hemp opposed the bill it could never be reverted. The anti hemp industry always justified their stand by saying that hemp leads to other addictions like cocaine, heroin and other chemicals.
Propaganda and power gave Hitler the right to start the war, so did it give to Du Pont.
Hemp has so many uses that it astonished me the first time i read them. It can be used as gas in automobiles. Compared to ethanol, a sugar cane and corn biomass extract, it is a better alternative. Clothes made from hemp fibre are more durable and cheaper to produce than cotton. ‘The shroud of Turin’ was made from hemp fibre. Ply boards made of wood chips are weaker compared to boards made from hemp fibre and require no anti termite chemicals to protect them. Paper made of hemp fibre was very popular in early civilisations and ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls’, any guesses, were made from Hemp. Hemp single-handedly removes our dependence on trees and gas. One acre of hemp produces as much cellulose as 4.1 acres of trees. Trees cut down to make paper take 50 to 500 years to grow, while hemp can be cultivated in as little as 100 days and can yield 4 times more paper over a 20 year period. One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fibre as 4 acres of trees and 2 acres of cotton. Marvellous, isn’t it?
Hemp seed is a good source of protein and fatty acids. It has the highest amount of fatty acids in the plant kingdom. Essential oils are responsible for our immune system responses and clear the arteries of cholesterol and plaque. It will reduce hunger in most parts of the world and provide farmers alternatives to make the best use of their land.
Hemp’s use for spiritual purposes is legendary. I don’t need to elucidate on that. My friends here may say that hemp as a drug is very harmful. Let me tell them that for every death due to hemp smoking, which is very rare, tobacco and alcohol cause countless more.
America’s imposition of morals should not be swallowed by the rest of the world. I cannot fathom why India cannot legalize the agricultural production of hemp. 200 million people are below the poverty line in this country. Farmer suicides would go down. Mass migration to cities would reduce when farming becomes profitable. Industries will become sustainable. The benefits to the economy are immeasurable and will propel the world’s fight for a greener and cleaner planet.
I would like to end by quoting a legend, Mr.Jimi Hendrix,” When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.”
