"It would be wryly interesting if in human history the cultivation of marijuana led generally to the invention of agriculture, and thereby to civilization."
Carl Sagan
HEMP HISTORY: TIMELINE
HEMP & FLAX IN COLONIAL AMERICA
THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION
Colonial planters gushed of the crop's promise. Col. William Byrd II called its cultivation “the Darling of all my Projects.” Robert Beverley predicted the plant “will be of the greatest consequence to us.” Thomas Jefferson directed that “an acre of the best ground” at his Poplar Forest estate be kept for a permanent patch of the stuff.


THE MARIHUANA TAX
ACT OF 1937
JAMA PSYCHIATRY
The anti-marihuana law of 1937 was largely the federal government's response to political pressure from enforcement agencies and other alarmed groups who feared the use and spread of marihuana by "Mexicans." Recent evidence also suggests that the Federal Bureau of Narcotics resisted the enforcement burden of the antimarihuana law until mounting pressure on the Treasury Department led to a departmental decision, probably in 1935, to appease this fear, mostly in the Southwest and West, by federal legislation.

AMERICA'S LONG
HISTORY OF HEMP
MERRY JANE
The current national prohibition against cannabis in all its useful forms is a modern concept. Up until 1937, hemp was not only used in a variety of products, but was also cultivated on American farms across the nation.

HEMP'S DEEP
AMERICAN ROOTS
HEMP MAGAZINE
Hemp has been a part of America’s history since before this land was called America. It has played a vital role for both the indigenous people of North America and for the European colonists who arrived and took their lands from the indigenous people.


THE BOGG'S ACT
OF 1951:
NARCOTIC DRUGS ACT
AMERICAN STATUTES
The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 deemed Hemp and Cannabis as an illegal substance, but it was not until 1951 that criminal charges were written for use, possession, or sale of Hemp and Cannabis.
HEMP'S HUMBLE
ORIGINS
MINISTRY OF HEMP
The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 deemed Hemp and Cannabis as an illegal substance, but it was not until 1951 that criminal charges were written for use, possession, or sale of Hemp and Cannabis.


1938 Hemp Breaker

FAMOUS PASSAGES IN HISTORY THAT MENTION HEMP
HEMPOLOGY.ORG
A collection of experts that mention hemp that span from 550 BCE to 1992. Authors from Aesop to William Shakespeare are cited.