Erasing History? (1 Viewer)

[CaliNORML]

Last night watching PBS Antiques Roadshow I saw a 17 Century wedding gown, when the appraiser started discussing the dress's fabric composition, I listened close. "Cotton was not a largely used material in the period. (Colonial America) It was too expensive, too hard to keep clean, and wore out too quickly,” the appraiser lectured. I just could not take the dancing around of the words she longed to spit out. "Just say it,” I screamed at the television, "the dang thing is made up of HEMP."

The Great Cotton-Rag Myth

In fact one of the largest reordering of American History has hardly anything to do with war, or foreign affairs, it instead has to do with a plant and its fibers. After watching a Documentary entitled "The Hemp Revolution" by an Australian film maker, I went to find out about the microscopic analysis of textiles in American history.

The last state left in the United States to proudly and loudly proclaim their Hemp history is Kentucky. Museums such as the Smithsonian Institute and the Textile Museum here in America have changed most of their records to totally annihilate every reference to hemp in American history. However, they have let some good ones go by. Like that fact that the rope holding George Washington's first banner to its staff, was 100% hemp. This kind of discovery tickles me to no end when found.

Through history the classification of fibers used in textiles has been either overlooked due to researchers not properly categorizing the fiber by specific testing standard, or possibly on just listing the fabric contents as to what pleases the Government. After all this insures more monies to the organizations.

Here are the studies and evidence in determination of fibers. Look close at these slides, as a researcher, I would classify allot of fibers very wrongly myself except for the spectrum test to prove the fibers origins.


The light spectrum test to determine hemp fiber is located here.


Standard fiber identification methods used today link.

On this link are simply type fibers to see Hemp fiber vs. other natural fibers in microscopic photos.
HERE.




The terms of fabrics are a key to this little mystery. "Homespun" broadcloth and linen are used for the politically correct term instead of hemp. In all of my research I have yet to find a linen plant or a broadcloth plant for that matter. There is however many fibers employed in the making of linen, mainly hemp, as well as in hundreds of other cloths used both today and throughout history. What they mean to say is hemp fibers, they simply can't.

Critics say hemp fibers are and were too rough to be used as fine cloth. Yet history and today shows steaming can make a fine material almost as smooth as silk. A patent on such a process was granted in the early 1800's. In fact during the Revolution Hemp fabric was considered as much a Patriotic statement as a fashion.

In the United States Congress, records show they almost always had Hemp on their agenda throughout history. Thomas Jefferson produced enough cloth to clothe the entire population of his plantation. I'd say due to the wealth of evidence it is been proven that Hemp was the driving force in not only building this Country but in our bid for freedom, many experts agree, America would never have won the Revolution except for our fine Hemp.

American Cannabis Sativa was shown to be the finest in the world, and is still used today for military gear, from rucksacks, to uniforms and the canvas tents we supply our troops. Martha Washington herself was said to have run a spinning bee to cloth our troops at Valley Forge, only thing they could not make from Hemp, was shoes. All this is from the non-THC variety American farmers are banned from growing.

Ecological, Economical, and safe, with so much of our history built on this foundation, shouldn't we also consider Hemp may well have a prominent place in our future?

KMS

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Interesting

 

[SixStringHero]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if inhaled doesn't hemp just give people a bad headache?

I was under the impression it wasn't the same thing as marajuana. So, what is the big controversy?

 

[CaliNORML]

Your not mistaken, smoking Cannabis Sativa Rudelias does produce a splitting headache for those who try to smoke it, not the side effects most commonly associated with the medicinal or drug useage.

The largest confusion on this subject comes from the terms used when discussing Hemp vs Marijuana aka Marihuana for those seeking Government records. Hemp is Cannabis as is the drug variety also a Cannabis species it is the fibers of all Cannabis plants that are used as Hemp. The trait of long, strong, and virtually unbreakable fibers are produced by all Cannabis species and are called collectively Hemp. The type of Cannabis species that produces the tallest, thickest and most useable fibers is deemed Industral Grade Hemp and carries no high amounts of THC, in fact it produces chemicals the exact opposite of it's smokeable cousin. A trait that has been used in surgey for thousands of years to revive a patient from Cannabis anethesia, Cannabis is the only plant known to mirror itself in this fashion of chemical production.

The problem I have as yet to determine, it may be the Petrolchemical industry, who stand to loose billions, as Hemp can effectively replace all plastics and common fuels, and do less harm to the enviorment. Possibly it is from the paper industry who if this resource is implemented in the USA will no longer have to use such toxins as bleach to make white paper, or cut down anymore trees.

Foriegn affairs does play into a part of it, as we buy our Hemp from overseas today, instead of using our own "homegrow," As Heaven forbid the economic resurgeance that this move may cause in our domestic job market, then we would have to provide for our soldiers have the best product America could produce for American use.

In the industry of Textile and paper products alone the US could create thousands of jobs, boost our agriculture, and enjoy a mild recession break, as well as meet the expectations of current world Ecological treaties. We could not only meet those requirements, we could surpass them if Hemp was taken off the Schedule 1 Drug list and allowed to b grown once again as an agricultural crop. Yet to many view such blasphemy I speak with a distrustfull look.

Special permits are allowed to few farmer today, the fight to get the permission to grow hemp stalls many because of the red tape surrounding such requests. Kentucky is once again the largest producer of Hemp in the States, where it was once known to have been grown in all 50.

Heres a hint, the next time you or your family buy shoes from a major retail chain store such as Target, check the labels.

Those made in China will say: "One half man made material, one half natural materials"

That natural material list includes Hemp my friend, in almost all textiles from China imported today there is a foundation weave of Hemp.

Companies such as Adidas which are also produced in such third world countries are there not only for the cheap child labor, which there is, but for the access to Hemp, which constitutes over 30% of the fibers in modern tennis shoes today.

KMS

 

[libertarian_knight]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if inhaled doesn't hemp just give people a bad headache?

I was under the impression it wasn't the same thing as marajuana. So, what is the big controversy?

Cannabis means "Cane (stalk) with two sexes." Canna Cane, Bis two.

Same Plant, Cannabis Sativa, grown differently. Cannabis used for hemp production is grown very close together for the long fibers in the stalks. Cannibis grown for psychoactive properties, the plant needs room for large leaves, the leaves produce the THC that collects in the buds. The buds, produce the seeds, and are only found on the female plant. Female plants that are unfertilized by male pollen will produce larger buds and more THC, called Sinsimilla, Spanish for "without seeds."

Thus, when grown from hemp fibers, the tall stalks, have rather small leaves, often fertilized buds, and are a mix of both male and female plants, thus seeds, which almost completely reduces the THC content to just about nothing. Definately not enough to get high off of, and only produces, as you mentioned, a nice headache.

So, even if someone wanted to grow a cannabis plant in the middle of a hemp field, it can easily be spotted, especially from the air, as a big bushy plant grown in the midst of tall skinny plants. In fields, there is almost no way to isolate male from female, thus producing the better sinsimilla buds.

In my opinion it's stupid to have outlawed cannabis for it's drug properties, and way more stupid to continue prohibition on industrial hemp use. Literally THOUSANDS of non-drug products have been made, for THOUSANDS of years out of hemp.

The Brainiacs at the DEA, a couple of years ago, through departemental (not legislative) fiat sought also to ban possesion and import of products made from hemp, such as shirts, shampoos, coocking oils, canvas, old masterpiece paintings, rope, Besty Ross' flags, the Declaration of Independence and the US Consitution. The DEA control use of non-psychoactive commercial and industrial product production, and people wonder why things are screwy in the country.

 

[SixStringHero]

This is quite interesting information.

I always knew that the possibilties for HEMP in the industrial and and pharmaceutical market was being kept in check by federal powers, but it seems like a really stupid notion.

It can do far more good than harm, and really, what's the controversy?

 

[KevinWan]

This is rather interesting... revisionist history is always important. And I always thought cotton was the most important fabric in American history...

 

[CaliNORML]

One of the main things is importing hemp seed, as they are indistinguishable from their THC producing cousins. This coupled with the economic decrease in business such as oil, petro-chemical, paper, textiles, and medicinal.

Hemp and Ecology.

Growing in certain states.

Economic justification for production

Hemp even has been shown to pull out heavy metals from the soil, including nuclear waste materials.

Hemp Eats Nuclear waste

In fact one of the largest areas in America to produce American Cannabis Sativa was New Orleans, for Eli Lilly. This is a major factor to the flooding of this town.

Hemp and the Soil.


Hemp even filters water as it prevents erosion, had Hemp been left alone in Lousianna, there would be more land, and fresh water.

Fresh Water

Since our first communities, man has followed hemp, it has been found to be of some use and the main use to man for thousands of years, and it is still giving us new reasons to let it grow. Like hemp biodeisel which is easier to produce than any other grain into a burnable fuel.

The lighthouse at Alexandris used hemp seed oil to burn the flame at its base, there was no wood in Egypt, and it would have left a carbon residue on the mirrors, hemp is the cleanest and most usefull burning fuel man has ever discovered. They simply want us to forget.

Besides who can call a form of life illegal, government? If it is on this planet it has a use and a reason to be so, and has proved so for thousands of years in thousands of ways.

KMS

 

[CaliNORML]

Cotton in US history was always a cash crop, plantations would not waste that high priced commodity on slaves clothes, there was a mix used, hemp, cotton and wool, sometimes flax was used, but the thread base weave is most always Hemp.

The Crown wanted this land for the Hemp production, it was a law under the Crown, and our largest export. England is a sailing nation, under the pressures of Russia, who stopped all Hemp trade to England at the time. France, who was fighting for Canada, and the Dutch, who founded New York. Fighting all of these enimies took alot of Hemp to rig The Royal fleet.

Medical Marijuana started in Amsterdam at the time the Dutch found America, they still use a strain originally found here in the United States which started their current drug research on Marijuana. They are the world medical leaders on this front and refuse to give into American pressure to stop it. .

France also has American Cannabis Sativa, it is used in cigarette papers there as most of cigarettes bad chemicals are not from the tobacco, but from the paper they are wrapped in. All the awful chemicals found in cigatrette smoke are used to product wood paper. This includes the outside wrapper and the filter.

I am not saying that smoking is good, any form of smoke inhaled is bad, in this case the paper makes it deadly.

The two countries of the EU who refused to sign the Constitution, the Dutch and France have done so for this agricultural reason. They want the opposite of Americas views on Hemp, to still grow it as it is a hugely productive plant.

England, France and the Dutch fought over this land was for what was found on it: HEMP.

KMS

 

[Pacridge]

Cotton in US history was always a cash crop, plantations would not waste that high priced commodity on slaves clothes, there was a mix used, hemp, cotton and wool, sometimes flax was used, but the thread base weave is most always Hemp.

The Crown wanted this land for the Hemp production, it was a law under the Crown, and our largest export. England is a sailing nation, under the pressures of Russia, who stopped all Hemp trade to England at the time. France, who was fighting for Canada, and the Dutch, who founded New York. Fighting all of these enimies took alot of Hemp to rig The Royal fleet.

Medical Marijuana started in Amsterdam at the time the Dutch found America, they still use a strain originally found here in the United States which started their current drug research on Marijuana. They are the world medical leaders on this front and refuse to give into American pressure to stop it. .

France also has American Cannabis Sativa, it is used in cigarette papers there as most of cigarettes bad chemicals are not from the tobacco, but from the paper they are wrapped in. All the awful chemicals found in cigatrette smoke are used to product wood paper. This includes the outside wrapper and the filter.

I am not saying that smoking is good, any form of smoke inhaled is bad, in this case the paper makes it deadly.

The two countries of the EU who refused to sign the Constitution, the Dutch and France have done so for this agricultural reason. They want the opposite of Americas views on Hemp, to still grow it as it is a hugely productive plant.

England, France and the Dutch fought over this land was for what was found on it: HEMP.

KMS

I’m in agreement with you on this, completely. We spent so much money getting rid of this plant it's obscene. I read a report one time about the amount the federal government spent in the early part of the last century eradicating this naturally growing plant. Insane, just freaking insane.

I honestly think we should make MJ legal. Many states have for medical users. Stop harassing pot smokers and go after the meth, coke and smack. I spent 16 years working in law enforcement and think the MJ laws are just plain stupid. It’s waste of money and resources. I’m not alone in that thinking.

http://www.leap.cc/

I don’t agree with everything this group stands for, but I have been a member for several years. Imagine if we locked up violent criminals rather then pot farmers?

 

[CaliNORML]

Wow Thanks, super site, I signed up as a friend, great link.

As a veteran of Law enforcement I would like to know how it is that civil officers in a state which approved their own laws on this issue are still required to enforce Federal laws over the will of the people?

I remember both times after we had our laws in place here in California that the DEA took out plants from WAMM in Santa Cruz.

Do you as a law enforcement officer find this trend of Presidential Power to be overused against the People of this nation?

KMS

 

[Pacridge]

Wow Thanks, super site, I signed up as a friend, great link.

As a veteran of Law enforcement I would like to know how it is that civil officers in a state which approved their own laws on this issue are still required to enforce those laws over the will of the people?

I remember both times after we had our laws in place here in California that the DEA took out plants from WAMM in Santa Cruz.

Do you as a law enforcement officer find this trend of Presidential Power to be overused againt the People of this nation?

KMS

Civil officers? Not sure what you mean by that.

The way it works here in Oregon is the voters passed a law allowing medical use. A person, with the proper paper work, can grow and maintain plants. Each card holder can have *4 immature and 3 mature plants. They can also have 3 Oz. of cured MJ. If a card holder is not able to grow his/her own he or she can assign that task to a care giver. After the SC ruled in favor of the Fed's it left those card holder open to federal prosecution. The state will not and does not arrest or charge card holders. Though they did stop issuing cards for about two months after the ruling while the State's AG reviewed the State's position. In the end the AG decided that the State had no right to over turn the will of it's voter's and again started issuing cards.

Personally I find the Fed's position on this issue to be amazingly stupid. The amount of time, money and resources wasted on MJ users is offensive. I've personally been in the situation where, as parole officer, I had to leave a pot grower in closed custody and release a violent offender. All due to the min. drug sentencing. Pot smoker/grower in the can... armed robber on the street. Never made sense to me. Situations like that are what lead to LEAP.

*This number may have changed some at the first of the year. I know they were talking about making some admin. changes to make it clearer in regards to the mature/immature. Plus there was some concern for a grower who grew outside and thus only had a few months to grow. So they may allow more plants if you grow outside.

 

[CaliNORML]

Yes Cali is the same, however the Civil officers are those elected by the people to enforce laws of our own making and consent upon us, I elect the DA, the Judges and the Police Chiefs and Sherrifs. As such I have the power of my vote over them.

CHP in California will arrest you even if you are within your MJ perscription rights. They are Federal, as is the DEA who took WAMM's plants when the civil officers of their county and state refused to do so. I do not elect the CHP or the DEA head or other Federal Officers on my highway's who have the right to take away my freedoms for this act, as such they do not follow California laws, only the Federal.

This is the difference in civil and Federal officers. The min. sentencing you refered to, was that state legislative or given in Federal Mandate to civil officer as a guideline in the sentencing of these people?

KMS

 

[CaliNORML]

Speaking of money, this seizure of Pot Growers assets is huge money maker for the Government.

Taking away farms, houses, lands, cars, whatever assets Pot growers have are seized and sold to provide quite a nice little return. The amount netted in auctions and fines imposed by the Power That Is. Fighting this war does cost alot, but it nets about what they spend, which makes it even sadder.

The American people should realize it is a war against ourselves, funded for by people who did no harm; but lost everything, their only crime was growing a plant that can help all of us in the long run.

KMS

 

[Pacridge]

Yes Cali is the same, however the Civil officers are those elected by the people to enforce laws of our own making and consent upon us, I elect the DA, the Judges and the Police Chiefs and Sherrifs. As such I have the power of my vote over them.

CHP in California will arrest you even if you are within your MJ perscription rights. They are Federal, as is the DEA who took WAMM's plants when the civil officers of their county and state refused to do so. I do not elect the CHP or the DEA head or other Federal Officers on my highway's who have the right to take away my freedoms for this act, as such they do not follow California laws, only the Federal.

This is the difference in civil and Federal officers. The min. sentencing you refered to, was that state legislative or given in Federal Mandate to civil officer as a guideline in the sentencing of these people?

KMS

I thought the CHP was a state agency?

Min. sentencing is mainly a federal thing now as most state's, to my knowledge, have found out they don't have enough prison beds to lock up every stoner. Many states did jump on that band wagon back in the Reagan days. Remember Nancy took on drug use, called all drug use abuse, thought she could simply tell addicts to "just say no." Worked real well. Smack-heads all across the country were able to beat withdrawals just by saying no. Brilliant I tell you, brilliant! Last time someone connected to the ruling class showed such a disconnect to the problem they lost their head. "Let them eat cake" was the phrase I believe.

 

[Pacridge]

Speaking of money, this seizure of Pot Growers assets is huge money maker for the Government.

Taking away farms, houses, lands, cars, whatever assets Pot growers have are seized and sold to provide quite a nice little return. The amount netted in auctions and fines imposed by the Power That Is. Fighting this war does cost alot, but it nets about what they spend, which makes it even sadder.

The American people should realize it is a war against ourselves, funded for by people who did no harm; but lost everything, their only crime was growing a plant that can help all of us in the long run.

KMS

Actually it's not. LEAP looked at this sometime back. When you take into account the cost of arrest, pros. and housing it's a loss. A big loss over all. The cost of housing one person per day in Oregon can reach upward of $150. You're from Santa Cruz? You could get a nice room, with a view, and a couple fairly decent meals for $150 a day. It's a loser overall. So are DUII and other "vice" related programs.

 

[CaliNORML]

Thanks you are correct, I am looking at this data right now.

Appreciate the setting straight of that belief I once held.

KMS

 

[Pacridge]

Thanks you are correct, I am looking at this data right now.

Appreciate the setting straight of that belief I once held.

KMS

It's a loser. The subject loses a lot but overall the community could be the biggest loser. Of course someone who just lost their house, car and bank account might disagree with me. The amount of money, effort and resources put into this invented problem is simply insane. IMHO

So the bottom line is the government isn't making money by doing this. Though the Feds once ran the Mustang Ranch and loss their a$$ (pun intended.) Only the government could sell sex and lose money at it.

 

[CaliNORML]

What makes me weep is indeed those miners who died. Using Hemp can truly save American lives. Imagine not only a healthier cleaner America, with no more mining, no more of this kind of operation that depletes any natural resource. All we need can be grown in a single plant.

Those men should have been growing Hemp and making jobs for their neighbors, not down with their neighbor mining a hole gashed into our Earth: getting sick if not killed in such a manner and leaving their families behind. Think of the costs of this incident alone to the American Social Programs system.

All for trying to get a little of what everyone needs, instead of everyone having a little of what we all need.

In the name of money.

KMS

 

[Pacridge]

What makes me weep is indeed those miners who died. Using Hemp can truly save American lives. Imagine not only a healthier cleaner America, with no more mining, no more of this kind of operation that depletes any natural resource, all we need can be grown.

Those men should have been growing Hemp and making jobs for their neighbors, not down with their neighbor mining a hole gashed into our Earth: getting sick if not killed in such a manner and leaving their families behind.

All for trying to get a little of what everyone needs, instead of everyone having a little of what we all need.

In the name of money.

KMS

You think we could grow enough hemp to replace all our energy needs?

 

[CaliNORML]

I have a recipe for you to make your own hemp fuel.

The properties of the Hemp Seed are unlike any other seed in what they contain. All parts of that plant is usefull, the seeds make a superb oil.

Recently a car traveled around the USA and Canada, through Santa Cruz too, 100,000 miles all on hemp fuel.

It makes ALL a bio-deisel, Ethanol and Methane as it decomposes. Because of its size it can produce huge amounts of bio mass. Most plant reach almost 20 feet in heigth and grow so close to one another it is possible.

All laden with the heavy chemicals needed in its natural Photo process to produce amazing results.

What I seem to find is this; a tendency to group Hemp in with other "Bio fuels." Hemp seed oil has totaly different properties, they seem not to understand wheat and hemp are different. Corn and Hemp seeds are not the same.

I killed a few debates in here with this very subject. One in ECONOMICS and 1 in SCIENCE. Is Bio Diesel the answer and I have the answer to our Fuel problem. As yet there have been no responces to my information. All the links are there. Thanks for asking this information is fun to share.

Hemp decomposes slowly, sometimes taking up to 60 years in the soil to do so. See the New Orleans link there too?

I want to shout at those Army Corp of Enginers. "HEMP YOU FOOLS, IT'S LACK OF HEMP PLANT." OK that was off subject, but felt good. I may need a trip to the basement.

KMS