The West Old & New Vol. III Issue III March 2014 | Page 21

How Hemp
Become Illegal on August 2, 1937
By S.F. Roberts
As a society we have become monster consumers, as evidenced by the amount of garbage mounting in land fills. We allow big
money to continue the rape and pillage of the earth for oil, gas, and coal to keep the lamps burning, the television sets on, the computers on line, and supply plastics for our every need. We also have allowed a travesty by our government concerning one of the
most valuable sustainable crops available to mankind, hemp.
As far back as the 1600s hemp farming was popular and actually mandatory in the colonies. The first American Hemp Law
was passed in the Jamestown Colony in Virginia making it mandatory for all farmers to grow hemp seed. At the time if you didn’t
grow hemp during times of shortage you could be hauled off to jail between the years of 1763-1767. Hemp was even used as a
currency.
The word hemp comes from Old English hoenep and is defined as a soft, durable fibre that is cultivated from plants in the
Cannabis genus. Unfortunately it also has been lumped together with its kissing cousin, also a cannabis genus, marijuana from the
Spanish word marihuana. The industrial variety grown for its fibre is cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa va. Sativa, while the one primarily used for recreational and medicinal purposes is a Cannabis C. sativa subsp. indica. The primary difference between the
plants is the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol or (THC) secreted in the epidermal hairs of the plant. Hemp only has minute amounts
of this psychoactive drug, not enough for any physical or psychological effect. Hemp contains below .3% THC while marijuana
can contain anywhere from 6 to 20%.
The illegality of this highly sustainable crop began August 2, 1937 when the Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn introduced a
bill called The Marijuana Tax Act. The bill ordered American farmers to obtain a license from the Treasury Department to grow
industrial hemp and made it a Federal crime for Americans to possess, give away or sell it without paying a 1% tax. What began as
a tax ended up becoming an issue over marihuana (not a typo) when Drug Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger, head of the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics ( later the DEA) introduced the bill into committee hearings for review and made it analogous with the genus
used as a drug. The bill was not debated and took only 92 seconds before it became Federal Law.
In 1972 Richard Nixon dismissed a panel of experts, the Shafer Commission which recommended immediate decriminalization of marijuana and declared war on cannabis. Today hemp remains at the top of the DEA’s list of dangerous drugs, next to heroin.
Hemp is one of the fastest grown biomasses known. As a crop it is very environmentally friendly and requires few if any pesticides or herbicides. It is one of the earliest known domesticated plants in the world.
Our country still does not distinguish between marijuana and the cannabis used for commercial and industrial purposes. The
world leader in producing hemp is China with smaller production in Europe, Chile, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Over 30 countries produce industrial hemp including Australia, Austria, Canada, Great Britain, France, Russia and Spain. Uruguay approved a hemp production project for the second half of 2010.
Hemp can be used to make an estimated 50,000 products including cordage, everlasting clothing, and numerous food products
for humans and animals, wood products such as plywood and building materials, car bodies, biofuels for vehicles, and the list goes
on and on. It can be used to make plastic like materials, and makes a sturdy paper. The bible was printed on hemp paper at one
time and the original U.S. flag is made from hemp material. A renewable house was built in the UK from hemp-based materials in
2009, and a US made hemp-based house was completed in Asheville, North Carolina in 2010.
Hemp because of its height and density is a very effective weed killer. It grows at a rapid rate and is cultivated in a variety of
soils.
Montana passed Senate Bill No. 261 in 2001 which was introduced by C. Christianens, E. Clark, Eggers, Ekergren, G. Forrester, Glaser, Hargrove, Harrington, Jergeson, Mangan, Masolo, McNutt, Nelson, Ripley, Roush, Schmidt, Tash, Tester, Toole, J.
Whitaker, and Jacobson. We are one of the seven states in the United States which legalized the growing of hemp. Under Montana Code Annotated 80-18-103 an individual can grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes by purchasing a license. The
applicant must giv