Reflections ►
Unstoppable
Hemp
by Dolores Halbin, contributing writer
This month, we are faced with the 88th anniversary of the cannabis lies in perpetuity, The Marijuana Tax Act, instituted on August 2, 1937. The Stamp Act levied a $ 100 per ounce tax on marihuana, using a variety of spellings, all meant to confuse the general public. No one knew what marijuana was. They certainly knew what hemp and cannabis were.
Hemp had been the leading crop in the country since 1927, with the development of inventor George Schlichten’ s decorticator, which revolutionized the labor-intensive hemp harvest. Before Schlichten’ s decorticator, hemp was chopped, sorted, and combed by immigrant farmers who followed the crop.
In 1937, there were more farmers in the U. S., if not the world, growing hemp than any other crop. I was absolutely sure there was a story there. Hemp farmers, put out of business by the Stamp Act. A gang of Federal agents, Elliot Ness-type government thugs, burning down farms. It turns out that there aren’ t any of those stories. All the government had to do to convert the American farmers from hemp to corn in mass was to offer corn subsidies. No story there at all, and, on a federal level, not much has changed since.
Corn, bringing in significantly less than cannabis per acre, was subsidized by a check from the government, touting corn as“ The great American crop.” Corn oil replaced hemp oil for cooking; corn syrup replaced honey and cane sugar. While being banned in most of the world, corn syrup continues to destroy the guts of millions of Americans as we speak, especially our children, leading to an unfit population of overweight kids and parents.
I love corn on the cob, but with the GMOs and pesticides, I can’ t remember the last time I bit into a tasty, homegrown ear of crispy, sweet corn on the cob. Sigh...
But enough about corn. This is about hemp and the people who are saving our planet through their love of the plant. Hemp IS a Mission from God. Whatever the God of your understanding is, she loves cannabis.
In spite of paddling upstream on a Federal level, basically since 1937, hemp doesn’ t care. The Farm Bill has helped, and hemp farmers have fought tirelessly, exhaustively, and successfully with no subsidies to bring back the plant. Hemp farmers can now apply for a USDA license to grow hemp with crop insurance, just like any other crop.
38 August 2025
This much I know is true: we will not stop this( literally) grassroots movement. When I can drive 30 minutes from the river to Rosebud, MO, and buy hemp clothes, hemp hygiene products, hemp food, and almost anything hemp-related from across the U. S. and the world, including extremely soft hemp baby blankets, I too get Slap Happy.
Celebrate the hempers around us with us!
Reporting From Rosebud, Missouri
A hearty thank you to Kara and John Grady, and the incredibly successful opening of Slap Happy Hemporium in Rosebud, MO. It is definitely one to put on the field trip list, along with Katie Thomas’ s foraging walks down here on the Bourbeuse River. When I returned to nursing last year, the only scrubs available were made from fossil fuels. The“ environmental scrubs” were made from recycled plastic. Yuk!
I am slap-happy about finally being able to buy hemp clothes, and in my own backyard, less than a thirty-minute drive!
Now I can walk into the Slap Happy Hemporium Company Store in Rosebud and have access to a wide range of hemp products from around the country and the world.
Kara and John Grady, both Navy Veterans, living the dream! Can you believe I bought hemp overalls like John is wearing in Rosebud, MO?
The Grady’ s have accumulated quite a collection of hemp products. Included from their U. S. contributors are dog leashes and ropes from Colorado, dog chew toys from Greenville, SC, pet chews from St. Louis and Union, MO, soft hemp baby blankets from Utah( buy one and the company donates one to infants in need), paper bags from New York, and hemp straws and resin cups from California. Bath and body lotions are made in Oregon, St. Louis, and by local Redbud crafters. In the hemp clothing department, you’ ll find hemp undergarments and tank tops from Minnesota, as well as athletic wear from Pittsburgh, PA. My favorite stateside product,