Tetrahydracannibinol), the ingredient that causes the user to be high. Whereas industrial hemp typically has a THC level less than one percent, marijuana can have levels up to twenty percent (Washuk 1). Med Byrd, head paper scientist at NCSU said, "You couldn't get high off hemp even if you smoked a joint the size of a telephone pole." Hemp is also contains a substance called cannibidiol, which actually inhibits THC. Under current U.S. law the hemp plant is considered a narcotic, which makes it illegal to possess the plant, parts of the plant, or live unsterilized seeds. Under the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, there was no chemical distinction made between the two substances. Because of this, hemp eventually became illegal when marijuana did. (Williams 4). While industrial hemp has been used for centuries to make rope, clothing, and other materials, it has never been used for smoking due to its lack of THC.
             Cannabis was used first in about 8000 BC for cloth and textiles, and by 2700 BC it was incorporated into most cultures for fabric, cordage, food and medicine. From 1000 BC to 1883 AD hemp was considered the world largest agricultural crop (Schreiber 159). Hemp didn't just have its roots in other cultures either; it has been used in America for a very long time. The first recorded hemp plot in North America was planted in 1606 by a French botanist named Louis Hebert (Jenkins 1). From the early 1600's to 1859 hempseed oil was the most used lamp oil in the world. In early America, most colonies enacted "must grow" laws that made it illegal for farmers not to grow hemp. The first U.S. flag was sewn with hemp fabric in 1777 (Schreiber 161). Famous people such as Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington were avid hemp farmers. George Washington was once quoted saying, "Make the most of the Indi
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