Marijuana-The Perfect Plant?
             Prior to the twentieth century, the marijuana plant (then more commonly referred to as hemp) was the single most important industrial plant, or non-food producing crop in America and the world (Getpman 1990). Archeologists report that marijuana was possibly the first plant cultivated by humans. They estimate that date at approximately 8000 BC (Columbia University). As early as 4000 BC, pottery with marijuana markings and hemp textiles were found in North Central China. In those years, such things as clothing, rope, fishnets, pottery, and oils were made from the marijuana plant. The early Chinese also knew about the medicinal uses of marijuana. 2737 BC was the first recorded use of marijuana for medical purposes by the Chinese emperor Shen-nung. Also, in 105AD, the world's first paper, made from hemp, was invented by a Chinese man, Ts 'a Lon. The first ships to come across the Atlantic Ocean used a lot of materials made from marijuana.
             To say that America was founded on marijuana would not be at all untrue. Many historic people and items that, to us, symbolize freedom are, or were, closely related to marijuana. The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were both written on hemp paper. Betsy Ross used hemp cloth to make the first American flag. Hemp canvas (the word canvass comes from cannabis, Latin for hemp) covered the pioneers' wagons as they headed west to settle America. Abraham Lincoln was said to have used a hemp oil lamp to read and study by.
             In the 1930's, a corporation called Du Pont and a man named William Randolph Hearst were two major leaders in a quest to make marijuana illegal. They were both afraid that hemp would compete with certain paper and synthetic products of theirs. Since Hearst owned newspapers, he had a perfect opportunity to write and publish many false stories about hemp and give it an evil face in the eyes of Americans. When Hearst ac...