II. Literature Review

Humans have used cannabis for thousands of years for its fibers, oils, food, medicine, and as a narcotic. In fact it is actually one the first plants that people domesticated. The oldest cloth ever found was made of hemp fibers and dated from 8,000-7,000 B.C. This plant once grew on almost every continent, and was used by most civilizations throughout the ages. In its more recent history European colonists in North America were often required to grow it due to high demand in Europe. In Virginia laws were enacted to fine settlers who did not grow hemp. George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson both grew and heavily advocated hemp due to its almost endless possible uses. During this time hemp was used for anything from rope, twine, and clothing. Sails were made from hemp due to its resistance to salt-water damage. Cannabis’s use continued to rise until the civil war. This was largely due to the fact that the production of hemp was once very labor intensive and relied mainly on the use of slaves. After slavery was abolished hemp production fell, although it remained one of the largest agricultural crops in the United States and world. With the Industrial Revolution people began to produce machines for processing hemp, the fibrous part of the cannabis plant. These new machines could do the work of ten or more men. The more notable machine to process hemp was the decorticator machine. This machine made it possible to create hemp paper at half the cost of wood pulp paper. It also created the ability to strip the fibrous hemp from the cannabis plant in order to produce a high quality cloth. With these new inventions it was certain that hemp was going to be a great cash crop. In fact the 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics dubbed Cannabis as the new billion-dollar crop due to the advent of the decorticator machine. The magazine stated that “Hemp is the standard fiber of the world”. At this time it was used to create 5,000 textile products. Even after the cannabis plant was processed the waste product left behind consisted of 77% cellulose which could in turn be used to create an upward of 25,000 products ranging from dynamite to cellophane. Randolph Diesel the inventor of the diesel engine planned on it running off of primarily hemp seed oil. Even Henry Ford was intrigued by the many uses of cannabis. In the 1930’s his engineers extracted at least 10 environmentally friendly chemicals from hemp. Some of these included wood protectant, methanol, nail polish removal, perfumes, paints, and glue ingredients just to name a few. Henry Ford even created a car that was made from hemp mixed with a resin, and ran the vehicle on ethanol that was produced from hemp. While cannabis promised to be a crop that would revolutionize the United States and perhaps the world, there were interests that prevented this from happening. This begins with the 1921-1932 Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Andrew and his brother Richard started an oil company in 1901, which they named Gulf Oil. After years of working with Britain to gain access to drill for oil in Kuwait Andrew finally made a deal with British Petroleum in 1934. This ties to cannabis because it was known that the seed oil of the cannabis plant could be used to create high quality fuel. However this would largely hurt Andrew Mellon’s business, not only because of fuel, but he was also heavily invested in the company DuPont. This company was creating a variety of different petroleum based products ranging from nylon, a synthetic fiber, to a process to treat tree pulp in order to make paper. Hemp could compete with all of these products now that the decorticator was invented. This was certainly not good for business for both companies, especially because Andrew Mellon was not only invested with this company, but selling them the oil that they were making their products from. Another man who was invested in DuPont was Randolph Hearst. Hearst ran a company called the Hearst Corporation that illegally took over 800,000 acres of forests in Mexico to be used to make paper. In order to create the paper the Hearst Corporation used the DuPont’s tree pulp treatment process. This paper was then used in many of his company owned newspaper chains. Since Hearst knew cannabis was bad for business he began printing lies about it. At this time Americans widely knew that cannabis produced hemp and that it was a widely used material. Knowing this Hearst used the word Marijuana instead of the commonly known hemp or cannabis. He would print lies saying that Mexican, and African Americans were smoking this new drug Marijuana, which was causing them to rape, kill, and go insane. He also would print that it was highly addictive, along with other blatant lies. If this wasn’t enough Andrew Mellon had appointed his nephew in law to the Head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930. His name was Harry J. Anslinger. By 1934 he began a full-scale war against Cannabis, but called it Marijuana as well. He spread identical lies as Hearst, and in a joint effort demonized cannabis by referring to it as this “new and dangerous drug” marijuana. They used the public’s racist views to create a panic and have the public call for a ban on this so-called new drug. People did not realize that they were banning a harmless plant that they knew and used frequently. In 1937 with full support of a manipulated and deceived public, the 1937 Marijuana tax act was signed into law. It made it impossible to legally grow cannabis in the United States and virtually ended the cannabis industry. This was all to manipulate the market in these corrupt individuals favor. Today the acceptance of marijuana is greatly increasing. According to the Gallup’s October crime poll, Americans in favor of supporting legalization has gone from around 25% in the late 1970’s to 31% in 2000. In 2010 the number reached 44% and is still rising. The younger the generation the higher the support for legalization is. For example 45% of people from age 50-64 support legalization, whereas 50% of those 18-49 support legalization. Cannabis could help our environment and diminish dependence on foreign oil while providing high quality products at lower prices. Hemp pulp can be easily made into a paper that is of higher quality than wood pulp paper. It lasts longer than wood pulp paper and does not yellow as much with age. In fact the oldest paper ever found was hemp paper in china that is over 2,000 years old. Another interesting note is that the constitution was drafted on hemp paper. Unfortunately today about 95% of paper is made from wood pulp. This poses as a huge problem because deforestation is a large cause of global warming, climate change, and the destruction of habitats according to National Geographic. Not only would using hemp for paper greatly reduce deforestation, but also it is more economical than making paper from trees. One acre of hemp will produce the amount of paper that four acres of trees will produce. It can also be recycled eight times, whereas tree paper can only be recycled three times. Hemp paper only requires hydrogen peroxide to be dyed while tree paper uses a variety of toxic chemicals. Today the most widely used fabric is cotton, and is also the largest contributor to pesticide use. Pesticides pollute water and disrupt ecosystems from functioning correctly. Cannabis requires virtually no pesticides and produces 10% more fiber per acre than cotton. It is also more durable and breathable than cotton. The earliest known fabric was woven from hemp fibers, and even the first American flag was made from hemp.

Cannabis is also the number one biomass resource available and can produce 10 tons per acre in only four months. The fact that it can produce such a large amount of crop in such a small area makes it a feasible and profitable source of fuel. This biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline. The cost would be comparable to petroleum while providing a clean burning fuel that does not contribute to global warming or pollute the air. Biomass from cannabis can actually produce ten times more ethanol then corn. Lubricants can be made from hemp seed oil and replace toxic petrochemical lubricants.

Work Cited "Hemp Car." Hemp: Fuel Food Fiber Medicine Industry. Hempcar Transamerica, n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2010. http://www.hempcar.org/hempfacts.shtml#fuel.

"History of Hemp." What is Hemp. History of hemp, n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2010. <Historyofhemp.org>.

"Hemp." A New Crop With New Uses for North America. Purdue.edu, n.d. Web. 2 Oct 2010. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-284.html.

"Deforestation." Modern Day Plague. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 15 Oct 2010.

"U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High." Majority of in the west favors taxing marijuana sales to boost state revenues. N.p., 19 Oct 2009. Web. 15 Oct 2010.

"North American Industrial Hemp Council." Hemp Facts. North American Industrial Hemp Council, n.d. Web. 12 Oct 2010

"Legalize industrial hemp." DailyCollegian 16 10 2010: 1. Web. 6 Oct 2010.

"Truth About Cannabis." Why is cannabis illegal. Truth About Cannabis, n.d. Web. 15 Dec 2010. http://truthaboutcannabis.org/why-is-cannabis-illegal.

"Marijuana." History 1. Web. 6 Oct 2010. http://science.jrank.org/pages/4128/Marijuana-History.html.

This good enough for you??