That title probably should say, "Why hemp could have saved the world all along," because the plant should never have been banned in the first place, and its prohibition has led to untold suffering around the globe. If we—the global human population—had been able to grow the miracle plant hemp (Cannabis genus) locally and to use it for local industries and businesses, including and especially for fuel, we would never have needed to be addicted to oil, for one, an addiction that is at the root of much misery. We would never have allowed ourselves to be lorded over by international oil-mongers whose crimes against humanity have become legion, including wholesale invasion of other lands and slaughter of countless people.
None of this oil-related horror—along with the deplorable degradation of the environment globally—would have occurred if hemp had not been prohibited but had been used wisely and intelligently as a major foundation of human society. Indeed, hemp-based economies could still save the human world, while hemp planting could go a massively long way in rescuing the natural world as well.
Thousands of uses for amazing hemp
It is said that hemp has up to 50,000 uses, from fiber to fuel to food, but I'll just provide a taste here:
In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, fuel, and medical purposes with modest commercial success. In the past three years, commercial success of hemp food products has grown considerably.
Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known, producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year, and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. For a crop, hemp is very environmentally friendly, as it requires few pesticides and no herbicides. ("Hemp," Wikipedia)
A partial list of hemp uses includes (there are many within each category):
food—seeds, oil, flour
medicine—salves, anti-nausea
toiletries—soap, shampoo, lotion
textiles—clothing, towels, bedding, canvas
household products—carpet, detergent, paint, toys
industrial products—paper, concrete, insulation, fuel, car parts
(It should be noted that medical marijuana is a different strain of cannabis that contains significant amounts of the active chemical THC, whereas industrial hemp contains negligible amounts and is not capable of getting anyone "high.")
One highly important use of hemp has been in detoxifying nuclear waste, as demonstrated by experiments in the Ukraine, for example, on the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Moreover, hemp fuel could actually replace the dangerous and costly nuclear power industry.
Much of this information about the history and uses of hemp comes from the writings of, among many others, the late great Jack Herer, whose book The Emperor Wears No Clothes has become a classic, with hundreds of thousands of copies bought or given away over the past 25 years. Inspired by these writings, I myself have been a hemp activist for 20 years or so, after I learned about it while in Los Angeles—where I actually met Herer and several other major players in this important field. I once got a complaint for faxing a hemp factsheet to (other) law offices, while another time I stood up at presidential candidate Jerry Brown's press conference and asked the former California governor first about U.S. foreign policy and its repercussions, and then whether or not it was time to seriously consider hemp as a viable solution to many of the world's problems. That was in 1994, and there's a film of the exchange somewhere on Youtube, I'm told.
Why hemp was banned
When studied, the history of hemp prohibition can only be deemed a disgrace, exposing, as it appears to turn out, some of the greatest villains ever to set foot upon the earth. Despite the anti-hemp propaganda of these individuals, the fact is that this versatile plant has been used in numerous cultures around the world since the dawn of civilization:
Hemp (cannabis) was also used for making cloth in temperate Europe... Since it was resistant to seawater, it was particularly useful for making sails. Hemp seeds occur in a few European sites from LBK [c. 5500 BCE] onward, and possible hemp cloth was found in a Late Neolithic French site; hemp textiles were certainly in production by the Iron Age in Thrace and Greece.... (Jane McIntosh, Handbook of Life in Prehistoric Europe, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 107)
It is also claimed that "Ötzi the Iceman," a 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in the Swiss Alps, was discovered to be wearing clothing made of hemp, as well as carrying marijuana in his pouch.
"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!" —George Washington
As an example of how vital hemp used to be to humanity, it is said that the United States may never have succeeded if a number of its founders had not been hemp farmers—an industry that made them rich. Indeed, first American President George Washington himself is quoted as saying, "Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"
In fact, hemp farming was required by law or otherwise encouraged in several early American villages and towns:
In 1619, because hemp was such an important resource, it was illegal not to grow hemp in Jamestown, Virginia. Massachusetts and Connecticut had similar laws. During the 1700's, subsidies and bounties were granted in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North & South Carolina, and the New England states to encourage hemp cultivation and the manufacturing of cordage and canvas. (John Dvorak, "America's Harried Hemp History")
One of the most important facts concerning American use of hemp is that the Declaration of Independence itself was drafted on hemp paper.
According to hemp activists, industrial "robber barons" and "medico-fascists" colluded in an unholy war against the common people to create monopolies that have since destroyed the planet and led us to the brink of complete and utter collapse. For example, in order to corner the paper market, media mogul William Randolph Hearst teamed with DuPont, enlisting the help of Harry Anslinger, the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who actively worked to associate hemp with "marijuana" and to demonize it, so that his cronies could make a killing off cutting down the American Northwest's forests.
Oil-mongers jumped on the bandwagon, so they could force us all not to have local fuels but to buy from them—getting us addicted to the product of foreign sources that have since become huge national security problems with the trillion$ in oil money they have sucked out of our economies.
Hemp for humanity
Since that ominous time when hemp was first prohibited for capitalistic purposes, the world has degenerated to a truly frightening point where we are overwhelmed by problems—and we really don't even want to contemplate the dire consequences of our actions and state of existence. Human civilization is not well; nor is the environment, largely because of our industrial lifestyle, which reveals itself in horrendous pollution in numerous parts of the world and, probably, in climate change.
There is hope, but we must transcend our prejudices and biases, which are largely based on false morality in this case, as well as just plain greed by those who are either amoral, immoral or both. We must immediately adapt our ways and begin hemp farming worldwide on a massive scale and effort never before seen by humanity. Anti-hemp objections based on flawed interpretations of "God" or "Allah" must be thrown out the window in a haste. These nonsensical protestations and obstructions are preventing us from utilizing a "God-given plant" that has so many uses it's hard to think what it isn't good for. It's high time to end the injunction against hemp, which is also a major repression of our own freedom and independence. If local communities had their own locally produced resource base, there would be no need to take that of others, no incursions or invasions, no endless warfare. Not only can we hope but we can also demand the change, for our humanity, survival and posterity.
D.M. Murdock is the author of controversial books and articles on comparative religion and mythology that can be found at TruthBeKnown.com, Stellar House Publishing and Freethought Nation. For more articles from the Freethought Examiner, be sure to subscribe!
Sources & Further Reading
101 Uses for Hemp
Legal history of cannabis in the United States
America's Harried Hemp History
Marijuana - The GateWay Drug
Understanding the Hemp Plant and its 50,000 Uses and Benefits!
Hemp Uses
Hemp "Eats" Chernobyl Waste, Offers Hope For Hanford
World in collision with mass extinction
Comments
Like I've said before: "The 'pot' plant is a miracle plant and our government knows that like corn, it was brought here to be used by Earth Humans for so many things that it would be impossible to list them...the petrol chemical and the drug companies knew it also and they demonized it so they could sell their products...and the criminals in Washington supported them by outlawing it and depriving earth humans of the benefits of the plant. The dumbed down religous fools fell for this BS hook, line, and sinker...and most of the idiots believe that it is an evil plant."
duh.... um... let me think a minute.. I um.. think maybe it is banned because smoking it makes you stoned.(brain fuzzy, responses slow) So I guess it depends on if you think that is a good thing or a bad thing. {chuckle}
All depends how your brain works to begin with. That's not the effects I've had at all. Uh...uh...duh...let me think here...you're an ex-doper?
duh... um... you're an idiot. Did you even bother to read the article? Industrial hemp contains no THC. You could smoke a wheel-barrow full of it without effect.
Real hemp isn't smokeable. Has very little THC. Not worth the effort.
I was driving through Nebraska many years ago, and out in the middle of nowhere, I blew out the thermostat. After I repaired the hose, I went down to a stream to get some water to refill the radiator.
I just happened to take stock of where I was, and I was surrounded by thousands of wild hemp plants.
During the war, it was actually illegal not to grow it. That's why it's everywhere down there today.
And totally worthless for smoking. Pretty though.
x
Ex-doper, with your lack of reading comprehension, it's a good thing you're not smoking it any more.
Thirty years ago I bought "Dupont: Behind the Nylon Curtain" because I thought the Dupont family & the Dupont company were amazingly accomplished. Can you imagine the high degree of responsibility & professionalism that's needed to control the dangers contained within a chemical company? And I was curious to learn what was behind that curtain.
I read that hemp was a competitor to Dupont Nylon; it's said that rumor was spread in the 30's about dangers related to hemp as marijuana. The rumor's purpose was to end hemp as a competitive crop.
I'm a naturalist & I'd love to see hemp produced in the quantities described in these old videos.
I eat hemp seeds, "milk," and cereal. The seeds taste great.
I don't smoke marijuana because it's unlawful & I don't want smoke in my lungs.
I supported Pierre S. du Pont,IV for President because of his creative approach to conservative politics.
Politics caused me to meet Lewis du Pont Smith & his wife at a LaRouche convention.
Once again, you enlighten us and show us there still is hope for humanity. Let's hope this message is heard far and wide. I'm spreading this, sharing this, making this article available to has many people as I can. Thank you! T
I agree that hemp can save the world but not for the reasons given here. Hemp rope was used for hanging the guilty back when justice meant something. Treason is an offense which calls for one to swing. Since hemp rope was the traditional way to execute the condemned it can save the world; when all those guilty of treason in Washington DC and elsewhere swing for their crimes!
Hemp can surly save the world.
It can be used to build the fastest Train in the world the Airstream Train.
WWW.ZEROEMISSIONTRANSPORTATION.WEBS.COM
Use hemp and travel for free at 10X the Speed of Sound.
All Problems solved!!!
The public will be snickering about "pot"being a dangerous drug while they are gulping prozac,giving the kiddies methamphetamine ritalin just so they can get through the dumbing down they get in their schools,guzzling their fluoride water and all the other pharmaceuticals the television told them are good for them while pointing the poo poo finger at hemp.
The diesel engine was designed to run on agricultural waste and inedible seed oils.Rockefeller and the Crowned heads of Europe created ROYAL Dutch Shell,and British Petroleum.The stinky Old Queen gets 5cents of every gallons of gas that the dummies who are so proud of themselves for buying the government line of ca ca that hemp is evil.People in America are too brainwashed and way too stupid to make hemp viable.Sure it really could create a manufacturing base and we could produce something again,but the people are full of government kool aid they have been drinking for 40 years.Prohibition CORRUPTS hemp is prohibited do the math.
Look up the origin of British Petroleum Rockefeller was summoned to the Crowned heads of Europe in 1902 to create these monster oil companies that poison this world and rule your lives.Warsfought for it,carcinogens dumped into the environment and then these ridiculous hypocrits say it's YOUR CO2 thats suposed to be some kind of alleged problem.People are too stupid to demand industrial hemp initiatives.If they did have a brain cell left the oil companies and the corrupted politicians would take over the whole operation from the TEE VEE watching dumbed down public.
Its not really a democracy when the government just ignores whats best for the masses.we speak out, we scream yet it seems our voices fall on deaf ears.I see thousands of web sites dedicated to ufo disclosure ,i see thousands of sites dedicated to the legalization of hemp.yet nothing is happening in these directions .I say if these issues are not addressed and the government that we have is not willing to address these issues,and satisfy its constiuients,then what we call a government is grosely disfunctional The will of the people should be met for their benifit,not the benifit of thoes favored few who wish to monopilise power for profit
great article...i think you might be right...the devil attacked the very thing that humanity needs..hemp...to "ex-doper"- i bet your an undercover shill, who was never a doper...let's imagine all hemp did was make you stoned...so what!!!...what friggin right do you have to tell people what they can do to their own bodies...you make me sick...it's idiots like you that make this world such a crappy place...grow up and worry about yourself...
also, has anybody noticed the add that is appearing on this page?..."drugfreeworld"...SCARY!!!!
To: D.M. Murdock
Narcissistic forces around the world conspire to squash inumerable products and ideas that would be of immense value to humanity and the earth itself in order to satiate their never ending greed. Mammon is their God and they "worship" it to the exclusion of everything else; even if it means making the Earth itself unhabitable----amazing!
Professor Fate
Prohibition is a crime unto itself. Its a lie and an awful one.
Prohibition kills more people than everything combined. If it weren't for prohibition we wouldn't need to be in the ME stealing their oil. Hell we wouldn't need them at all.
Thanks for the sanity check. I am so outraged at the gullible people who allowed this insane war against a valuable crop-plant -- most of whom have taken the proud, pious and righteous/moral stance while they cut our collective throats. The problem is that, in-spite of all the proof of the good this crop can do, the pious/righteous/moral will not bow to reason but continue this insane course. There's a maxim that goes something like "Lord, protect me from your followers".
hey ex-doper, go get fkng drunk whith yer buttbuddys.. eh?
Manipulation of the masses through totalitsrisn governmental control has almost extinguished the light given by God to illuminate the medieval darkness of marijuana prohibition. Let us reflect on the wisdom of our founding fathers and reinkindle this dying ember to the former brilliance it offered in the past. Let rediscovery of this treasure guide us into a new future where those in denial fade into the dim shadows of ignorance.
the law was bought in order to hinder competion between fuel supplyers....ditto to the ethanol achohol producers in the ozarks...can not be allowed to be self sustaining or self sufficient, must be made crimninal......
why the "partisan patriots" will never scream "hang the treasoners"...............
Xdoper sounds like he never used pot
Intelligently...because expansive, slowed
Down responses in the brain is not
Negative as corporate media likes to
portray as the result of smoking the demon weed.
Clear level headed thinking actually points
One to pot/hemp as a remedy to the
wacked out time we live in. -chuckle
I am an ex-doper! I am a follower of Jesus! I did very well in College in my post-using days. IF I could do it over again, I wish I would have never touched the stuff. However, I totally am against prohibition of hemp in all its forms. I believe in your right to smoke it ... and my right to advocate a better lifestyle. I am 100% in favor of this article in the industrialization of hemp to fix the economic woes of our Country and world. I'm against wasteful Government spending. But, if BO would cut a check for a trillion dollars dedicated to the immediate resurrection of the Hemp industry ... with special emphasis on growing, harvest, R&D, and production of car fuels ... then I think we should all grant him an honorary citizenship. IF not, let’s grow enough of it anyway to use a rope to hang the whole lot of the government & oil execs that has caused this evil to come to the Great America! According to our own Constitution we are compelled to rise up in armed revolt against any
If it had not occurred to anyone yet, the psychopaths in charge only wish for Humanity to suffer and die. If it is good for you, they will only let you buy it at black market prices. The fact that 2.4 million Americans are in jail or prison currently, and you are not allowed to grow certain plants in your own backyard should explain everything to you.
This is really hard to understand for most people, even though I spell it out as simple as I can: the Federal Government is not a government of a constitutional republic. It is a government of usurpers that keep all the old offices in place, even hold an 'election' of hand picked corporate candidates. Everything they do is counter to how government is to operate according to the constitution, in favor of banks and corporations no matter how damaging to the citizenry or environment, and self absorbed and self serving with the only effect being self proliferation. It survives, now get this, because we voluntarily ask it to. Sure there's the fear factor coalition on channels 1 - 999, but where in the hell did you or on sign on the dotted line contracting with wealthy poison ivy leaguers to run our lives, our future, and our sacred honor into the ground? Just because a fraud artist says you pay up doesn't mean you do, right? That is, unless you are a sucker, and those abound.
Great article. Don't let the bible thumpers and other sexist Evangelicals out there silence you.
A wonderful plant made by a wonderful creator!
I smoke cannabis in moderation(3 or 4 times a year).I feel I get into trouble with it if I use it with any sort of regularity.I have no interest in alcohol or tobacco.Hemp is an amazing plant.I use Hemp protien powder in smothies and eat the seeds, it's good stuff.
technologies that free humanity are forbidden
Last night I expressed the respect that I had for the Dupont company & the du Pont family because of my amazement in their ability to operate such a complex technical conglomerate.
Years ago I knew about the rumor that was spread about the hemp-marijuana issue. Way back then I was saddened to learn that that rumor put an end to the production of hemp. The large scale production of hemp prior to the "rumor" was beautifully shown in Ms. Murdock's excellent selection of videos.
The video about the woman who transforms hemp & lime into a mineral based plastering substance intrigues me because I love the old-style "traditional" rock-lathe, brown coat, white coat plaster that was popular before the invention of drywall.
I'd love to meet that lady so that she could teach me her formulas.
I liked the video about hemp being used in the creation of auto parts.
www.aptera.com might have an interest & they might create a demand for the use of hemp in auto parts.
The world soaked i
If you think you are going to run the world on hemp then you are smoking it. That is sheer lunacy. The environmental destruction caused on that kind of scale would dwarf anything that fossil fuels do today. Get some facts before you start lecturing please.
"The environmental destruction caused on that kind of scale would dwarf anything that fossil fuels do today. Get some facts before you start lecturing please."
How so? What facts do YOU have for such a claim? I would wager you didn't even read the article. Hemp doesn't need any pesticides, and it can actually detoxify pollution.
I've actually presented facts - where are yours, please?
George Washington also produced a lot of sherry - the liquer. D.M. Murdock you should write about how the Holy Bible never mentions an Ice Age, which is the opposite of global warming.
The epitome of a tyrannical government is one that regulates man's relation to a natural plant growing out of the earth.
"The world soaked in toxic chemicals can't survive."
The (above) sentence was supposed to have been the last sentence in the comment that I made yesterday.
Put a bunch of unsupervised kids in a room & eventually they will create minor or major havoc. Put a bunch of chemists - or people from any manufacturing occupation - in a room completely unsupervised, & trouble will sooner or later develop.
This injustice can easily be overturned if people unite and make enough noise about it.
The government must please its people ultimately after all.
I believe we have a new film that will be of much interest to all of you. It's called Hempsters and we are about to undertake a US theatrical release.
Together, let's make sure that it arrives with a big splash. If you like it, please share it with your communities:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hempsters/143347452353242
Most people don't know but Hemp Oil or Weed Oil as it is sometimes called can cure cancer if it is processed properly. Look up "Rick Simpson" on the net sometime and you will get all the information you need to make your own. Rick figured a way to process good Hemp. He also made some videos on it. "Run From The Cure" being his best. This oil, if made public would ruin the Pharmaceutical industry. It would also put a lot of Doctors out of business but it would save millions of lives. It not only cures cancer but a load of other diseases to numerous to mention here.
Weed's medicinal, great for times of mental constipation and other symptoms of head f_ck-itis. Great for house cleaning and other dreary tasks. No such thing as drunken brawls and no hangover.
Problem is, potheads are difficult to brainwash because they couldn't give a shit. They tend to be non violent and don't take orders well, they make lousy soldiers. The middle east would be a bad place to send them anyhow, that's where all the good stuff comes from.They'd probably make friends with the locals. The pricks that run this show should take it up. The carnival they push down on us as reality is a cruel insanity.
The push to use the government to ban hemp isn't capitalism - it's corporatism. We're in the problems we are in because government bureaucrats and politicians are being bought off by corporations.
Let's not confuse capitalism with corporatism or fascism.
But I totally agree that hemp should be completely legal, both with and without THC.
actually...the most important use of hemp is for human food. the seed offers humans perfect nutrition, especially the protein. those focusing on cannabis as a drug in these comments are completely missing the subject of this article which is for hemp that is low in THC. so, hemp truly is one of the most important resources of the future and we will succeed in establishing it as the main crop again in the coming peaceful revolution!
I think that smoking itself is unhealthy, even if you smoke dollar bills! The medical and industrial uses are the real concern, not the smoking itself. We have to legalize the benefits of this great plant and use it for the benefit of humankind not just to smoke like dummies.
Awesome article, free thinking indeed! So i'm just getting started with Examiner, and i would greatly appreciate it if you wouldn't mind taking at a peak at my article "How Traverse City Michigan Can Save the World". If not then no worries, i look forward to reading more of your articles.
-Mike
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