Robert Celt
New Member
Did America's founding fathers use cannabis?
It's safe to say most of America's political leaders today do not embrace cannabis as an everyday crop. But back in the day, cannabis was all over the place.
The United States' founding fathers had a very different relationship to cannabis than lawmakers and leaders do today.
That's because cannabis (or hemp, as it was known) used to be one of this country's biggest cash crops.
Hemp dates back to the early English days in Colonial America. It was a common crop used to make cloth for fabrics, rope and canvas products for ships and pulp for paper, according to the National Constitution Center.
Hemp was so important in early America that in the 1600s and 1700s, farmers were even required by law to grow hemp in Virginia and other colonies.
George Washington wrote extensively about growing hemp in his diaries, and some report that Ben Franklin used hemp in his paper mills. Even the Declaration of Independence itself was drafted on hemp paper.
There is some disagreement over whether or not the founding fathers actually used cannabis to get high.
The National Constitution Center doubts the founding fathers actually smoked cannabis for its psychoactive or medicinal effects, since the hemp they were growing contained very little THC — the psychoactive component in marijuana.
Still, some of Washington's "meticulous diaries" indicate he may have used cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Founding Fathers And Cannabis: A President's Day Special Report
Author: Emily Grey
Contact: Sun Times
Photo Credit: Spencer Platt
Website: Sun Times
It's safe to say most of America's political leaders today do not embrace cannabis as an everyday crop. But back in the day, cannabis was all over the place.
The United States' founding fathers had a very different relationship to cannabis than lawmakers and leaders do today.
That's because cannabis (or hemp, as it was known) used to be one of this country's biggest cash crops.
Hemp dates back to the early English days in Colonial America. It was a common crop used to make cloth for fabrics, rope and canvas products for ships and pulp for paper, according to the National Constitution Center.
Hemp was so important in early America that in the 1600s and 1700s, farmers were even required by law to grow hemp in Virginia and other colonies.
George Washington wrote extensively about growing hemp in his diaries, and some report that Ben Franklin used hemp in his paper mills. Even the Declaration of Independence itself was drafted on hemp paper.
There is some disagreement over whether or not the founding fathers actually used cannabis to get high.
The National Constitution Center doubts the founding fathers actually smoked cannabis for its psychoactive or medicinal effects, since the hemp they were growing contained very little THC — the psychoactive component in marijuana.
Still, some of Washington's "meticulous diaries" indicate he may have used cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Founding Fathers And Cannabis: A President's Day Special Report
Author: Emily Grey
Contact: Sun Times
Photo Credit: Spencer Platt
Website: Sun Times
