1972The plant has many names: marijuana, hemp, ganja... The list is almost endless. To the ancient Hebrew it was Kaneh Bosm, a name that can still be found in the Hebrew version of the Holy Bible (Exod. chapter 30, verse 23; Isa. chapter 43, verse 24; Jer. chapter 6. verse 20; Ezek. chapter 27, verse 19; Song of Solomon chapter 4, verse 14). The Chinese were using the plant as a medicine 6,000 years ago. The first American law concerning hemp commanded all land-owning citizens to grow a certain amount per year; and taxes could be paid with hemp in all 13 of the original British-owned American colonies. George Washington grew hemp on his estate, as can be seen in a letter he sent to the gardener at Mount Vernon: "Make the most of the Indian hempseed, and sow it everywhere!" Hemp has over 60,000 different uses. Anything that can be made from petroleum can be made more cheaply and cleanly from hemp. The government's own USDA Bulletin 404 states that an acre of hemp will produce 4.1 times as much paper as an acre of trees. The plant that our own great-grandfathers grew, used, and depended on for food, fiber, medicine, and paper is today illegal to grow or possess in all 50 states. One of the largest issues concerning hemp is its usefulness as medicine. Today research shows its effectiveness in treating ulcers (Bateman, D.N., 1987. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and gastric emptying. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 15: 139., Glaucoma Colasanti, B.K. et al., 1984. Intraocular pressure, ocular toxicity and neurotoxicity after administration of cannabinol or cannabigerol. Exp. Eye Res. 39: 231-259.), Parkinson's Disease Frankel, J.P. et al., 1990. Marijuana for Parkinsonian tremor. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 53: 436., Multiple Sclerosis Meinck, H.M. et al., 1989. Effect of cannabinoids on spasticity and ataxia in Multiple Sclerosis. J. Neurol. 236: 120-122. Asthma Tashkin, D., et al., 1973. Acute pulmonary physiologic effects of smoked marijuana an...
