Hemp Scope In The Film Industry

The Columbia History of the World states that the first archaeological record of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric. This is testament to the fact that the

C. Industrial hemp as a cash crop in the United States has a history as old as the United States itself.

In 1695 plantations were introduced as a profitable means to take advantage of the agricultural potentials of the land in the South. Cotton crops were the most common, but also tobacco, and rice plantations took place in some southern states.

A group of discoverers uncovered hemp cord pottery at an ancient village dating back to around 8,000 B.C. Hemp was one of the oldest known agrarian crops. There were traces of hemp use and cultivation located in the area of modern day Taiwan. (10,000-year History) “Agriculture is not natural; it is a human invention. It is also the basis of modern civilization.” (Hamilton, Richard) 2009 Scientific American article pg. 1: Throughout history, people have used hemp as a source of fiber. Hemp was brought over to Europe between 1000-2000 B.C. Eventually, the crop was brought to South America around 1545 for plantation growing. Almost all hemp produce in the United States was located in Kentucky until 1912. (Small, Ernest and Marcus, David)

Cannabis has been known to man since as early as 7000 B.C. (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1619, the colony of Jamestown in Virginia passed the first cannabis-related law, stating that it is required for all farmers to grow cannabis sativa or hemp plant because of its strong fiber that they used to

British mercantile policy hampered American hemp culture for a time during and after the colonial period by offering heavy bounties on hemp exported from Ireland; but the American plantings continued despite this subsidized competition. At various times in the nineteenth century large hemp plantations flourished in Mississippi, Georgia, California, South Carolina, Nebraska, and other states, as well as on Staten Island, New York. The center of nineteenth-century production, however, was in Kentucky, where hemp was introduced in 1775. One Kentuckian, James L. Allen, wrote in 1900: "The Anglo-Saxon farmers had scarce conquered foothold in the Western wilderness before they became sowers of hemp. The roads of Kentucky . . . were early made necessary by the hauling of hemp. For the sake of it slaves were perpetually being trained, hired, bartered; lands perpetually rented and sold; fortunes made and lost.... With the Civil War began the decline, lasting still." The invention of the cotton gin and of other cotton and wool machinery, and competition from cheap imported hemp, were major factors in this decline

The history of marijuana in the United States government date back to the origins of the United States government itself. During the 16th century, the mass production of hemp was encouraged by the British government for its fibrous content, which was used for making fabric, ropes, cords, and other items (“Marijuana Timeline” 2014). By 1619, the Virginia assembly passed legislation requiring each household in the colony to cultivate hemp, praising its variety of beneficial uses. Even after the American Revolution, hemp continued to be a large part of the American economy. By mid-19th century, hemp was the third-largest crop in the United States, only exceeded by cotton and tobacco. As technology was developed, however, the need for

Many knowledgeable people who know and understand the potential of industrial hemp are convinced that it is one of the world's most perfect products. Its fiber makes rope and cloth which is very strong and resilient and when used to make paper products, the production is far tidier and much more efficient than using wood to make paper. Hemp is indeed considered one of the world's oldest agricultural products and hemp has a history in the United States that includes the fact that the Declaration of Independence and the original St. James Bible are actually printed on hemp paper. The list of practical uses is lengthy and impressive, but due to drug laws in the United States the growing of cannabis for industrial hemp uses is illegal; this has been a source of considerable controversy in the United States. The uses of industrial hemp and the debate as to whether industrial hemp farming should be allowed in the U.S. will be reviewed and critiqued in this paper.

As the issue of legalizing marijuana remains complicated and highly controversial, a lesser-known yet increasingly significant side effect continues to transpire in the background: the suppression of its incredibly useful and diverse distant cousin, industrial hemp. Both marijuana and hemp have a long history in the United States. Unfortunately, because both plants are from the cannabis species, hemp was pigeonholed into a “dangerous drug” classification along with marijuana, representing the beginning of the end for hemp as a major agricultural asset to the United States. Industrial hemp contains no psychotropic qualities that create a “high” like marijuana. Considering that hemp’s

A short list of the many uses of this versatile plant during this era included paper, canvas, and most notably rope. As technology progressed the uses for the plant expanded as well. In the early twentieth century it was used in the production of the earliest plastics and gasoline. The first Ford Model T's ran on hemp gas and many of the car's parts were made from hemp fibers which had an impact strength ten times stronger than steel according to a Popular Mechanics article in 1941. The US government in 1916 predicted that by the 1940s all paper produced in this country would be made from hemp fiber and in its February 1938 issue touted hemp as the world's first “billion dollar crop”. From an environmental standpoint besides the important fact hemp grows in a single growing season, while it takes an entire generation to grow trees. It takes far fewer chemicals and thus creates much less pollution to make paper from hemp than from tree pulp. Hemp grows very fast and tall and will choke out all other plants in the area including weeds so the use of herbicides really isn't required. Oil derived from the seeds of the plant can profitably be used in the production of paints and varnishes. The seeds are also quite healthy, containing all eight essential amino acids and are an excellent source of protein.(1)

One of the early colonists who grew hemp [ marijuana ] was George Washington. In his diary entry of August 7, 1765, Washington noted: ?begin to separate the Male from the Female hemp at Do- rather too late.? And two days later: ?Abt. 6 o?clock put some Hemp in river to rot-.? And in September of that year, our gentleman farmer chronicled: ?Began to pull Seed Hemp - but not sufficiently ripe.? (Sloman 21)

The rise of cotton in the United States came later to slavery. After 1800, plantations that grew cotton spread all across most of the south and as far west to what is now New Mexico’s border. Plantations were once again the key to commercial success. “By 1860, there were 4 million slaves in the US, some 60% of whom worked in cotton.” (Plantation life”). Plantations have a bigger importance than just sugar, it was the original tool the enabled European settlers to develop key areas of the tropical and semi-tropical Americas. It did this by allowing a colonial settlers with the means of dragooning and organising unfree labor to raise a host of tropical and semi-tropical

The use of hemp energy is the most economically sound idea of the future. Growing hemp is easier than many other plants. However, it was outlawed in 1937 due to of its resemblance to its THC bearing sibling marijuana. The plant is efficient, bred to improve quality, yield stress tolerance and decrease cost per ton. Furthermore, hemp grows quickly, requires less energy, uses less fertilizer, and do not require the use of chemicals after plantation. A farm that features crops other than hemp can be helped, due to hemp’s ability to breakdown the disease cycle of the coexisting crops. It is considered "a perfect crop to offset the carbon currently produced by fossil fuels" (Giulio Sica 2008 1). Using hemp for energy, could reduce pollution

Industrial Hemp is an ancient crop, which has a multitude of diverse uses. The earliest uses of Hemp can be traced back to the Sumerians and probably even earlier in man’s unrecorded history. Industrial Hemp is not Marijuana though the two plants are of the same family and have passing resemblance to one another. Industrial Hemp’s myriad uses are being rediscovered and at the forefront of research in diverse fields. I will be attempting to dispel some of the myth, and providing history and proven uses of this amazing plant.

Throughout American history our country has come to rely on many different natural resources. With technology and the population increasing, the number of fossil fuel reserves and natural forests are going down. What America needs is a renewable source of fuels and fibers that will meet the growing needs of the future, but will not damage our environment. One of the most promising sources of fiber, fuel, and natural oil is hemp. Hemp, also known as Cannabis Sativa L, has been used in our country since the early 17th century (Schreiber 160). Although hemp is considered an illegal drug, many people forget that it is a part of our country’s history. Despite its negative connotations, hemp has the potential to revolutionize the paper,