Welcome to Hemp History Week celebrations!Between now and the end of May, we’ll be celebrating our history with hemp farming at local events across the country in a show of support for American farmers who want the right to grow industrial hemp again. Check out our events page to find locations near you and our get involved page to become an event host or volunteer. Hemp History Week (May 17-23, 2010) will also feature educational events around the U.S. exposing our rich American history of hemp farming and hemp products. We will also share a selection of modern hemp products and ask supporters to sign and send postcards urging President Obama and Attorney General Holder to change our federal policy to allow American farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.Take action now!1700sAmerican farmers are required by law to grow hemp in Virginia and other colonies.1776The Declaration of Independence is drafted on hemp paper.1797The U.S.S. Constitution is outfitted with 60 tons of hemp sails and rigging.1790sGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, our founding fathers, grow hemp and extol its benefits.1840Abraham Lincoln uses hemp seed oil to fuel his household lamps.1916USDA Bulletin No. 404 shows that hemp produces four times more paper per acre than do trees.1938Popular Mechanics article "New Billion Dollar Crop" explains that new developments in processing technology could use hemp to manufacture over 25,000 different products, "from cellophane to dynamite."1942Henry Ford builds an experimental car body made with hemp fiber, which is ten times stronger than steel.1942- 1946American farmers from Kentucky to Maine to Wisconsin to Oregon harvest over 150,000 acres of hemp through the USDA's Hemp for Victory program.1957Hemp is last grown in the U.S. due to government confusion over hemp and drug varieties of the plant, while new government incentives for industry replace natural fibers with plastics, ultimately bankrupting key hemp processors.1998The U.S. begins to import food-grade hemp seed and oil.2004Ninth Circuit Court decision in Hemp Industries Association vs. DEA permanently protects sales of hemp foods and body care products in the U.S.2005A bill is introduced in the U.S. Congress for the first time to allow states to regulate hemp farming, but to date no committee hearing or floor vote has taken place.2007The first hemp licenses in over 50 years are granted to two North Dakota farmers.
