ep1 - Hemp Drafted Independence (1492 - 1776)

When the 1st United States president George Washington, and the third United States President Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp, they we’re not using Cannabis for its psychoactive compounds. Colonial America needed rope, clothing and sails for ships and by 1890 Cannabis was a lucrative cash crop. This episode we will explore the Divided States of Cannabis from 1492-1776. Hemp and Marijuana are both species of Cannabis and members of the Sativa family. Cannabis contains a variety of different compounds called cannabinoids, and 2 of those cannabinoids are THC and CBD. Prior to 1492: Native Americans grew Hemp for medicinal and commercial purposes. 1492: Europeans brought Hemp to the Americas 1500's: Spain was promoting hemp production in its colonies throughout South America. 1616: Jamestown, Virginia Colony, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, grew hemp to make ropes, sails, and clothing. 1632: The Virginia Assembly ordered: “that every planter as soone as he may, provide seede of flaxe and hempe and sowe the same.” 1690: America enacts 1st cannabis law. 1763: New laws in America make growing Hemp compulsory for all farmers. 1776: The Declaration of Independence is drafted on hemp paper. Be sure to subscribe, for free, where ever you get your podcasts for future episodes. Where we take you from the first appearance of Cannabis in the United States all the way into present.