by Ted Smith Last year was the best year for cannabis activism that I have witnessed in my almost 2 decades in the field. Indeed, the future has never looked brighter for cannabis, both in Canada and abroad. As we work together to make 2015 even better, lets take a minute to reflect upon the […]
Tag: textbook
Lyster Dewey
by Ted Smith One of the most important figures in American hemp history is Lyster Dewey. His efforts to revitalize hemp brought a new wave of interest in the plant at the turn of the 20th century. Farmers and industrialists alike were drawn to his vision. As the person in charge of the USA Department […]
Cannabis and the Foundation of Civilization
(image: Cannabis Digest) By Ted Smith As early hunter-gatherers began to unlock the secrets of civilization, they also began forming symbiotic relationships with the plants that provided the fundamental resources necessary for survival. Primary among these symbiotic plants is Cannabis Sativa, whose relationship with humankind is hundreds of thousands of years old. The seeds of […]
Hemp Machines
by Ted Smith After decades of attempts by inventors around the world, George Schlichten announced the successful creation of a decorticator in the summer of 1917. Just one year after the fact hemp hurds could be used for paper was discovered, this seemed to give hemp the boost it needed to retain its place as […]
Early 20th Century Hemp Paper
By Ted Smith In 1916, the USA Department of Agriculture published Bulletin #404, announcing to the world an important new discovery in hemp processing. This discovery should have lead to a huge wave of interest in hemp, but ironically it was the trigger that lead to Reefer Madness as I will discuss in a later […]
Barriers to Hemp Production Crumpling
By Diane Walsh Why Not Hemp Paper? Half of the world’s forests have been cut to make paper from wood. Sad, don’t you think? Here’s something you can do about deforestation. Seek out an alternative—fibre sources derived from hemp, that are fresh tree-free. Though not widely publicized, the hemp paper market does exist. It […]
Fibre Wars of the 1800’s
By Ted Smith By the end of the 1800s, hemp had fallen from the top of the fibre world. Cotton, flax, jute and other crops had chipped away at the dominant position hemp held in agricultural world trade. Ironically, the strong fibers in the hemp plant made it difficult to harvest and process, something economically […]
Hemp in the United States
In the 1800s, hemp was a vital part of everyday life in America. Indeed, one could speculate that settling North America would have been much more difficult if it were not for the high quality rope, paper and canvas that was made from hemp. From the sailboats that brought Europeans across the ocean, to the […]
Hemp and the Founding of America
Hemp was very important financially and physically to the settlers of America. The fibre was used for rope, canvas and paper, making it highly sought after by old European countries seeking global domination by sea and those on the new frontier. While cotton is often thought to be responsible for the rich fortunes of early […]
Hemp in the Early United States
By Ted Smith There is little doubt the most important crop in the founding of America was hemp. Used for canvas and rope on the British sailing ships, importing hemp fibre was critical to the ambitious monarchs of the UK. Growing hemp to support the British navy was so valuable that from 1631 to the […]