Hemp used to be a staple of life in America. King James I demanded that colonists produce it. Hemp rope and fabric were ubiquitous throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The USDA even produced a WWII newsreel called “Hemp for Victory.”
But other materials came to replace hemp – wood pulp for paper, and cotton and synthetics for fabric. Why?
For that matter, what is hemp? Is it different from weed? And does it actually have 25,000 uses as its proponents claim?
This episode originally aired in April, 2024.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Learn more about the new hempcrete plant the Lower Sioux Indian Community opened in 2024. (MPR)
An expected end-of-year federal ban puts hemp businesses in jeopardy. (NPR)
The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' by NPR’s Code Switch explores the etymological origins of “marijuana”: does it come from the Chinese word ma ren hua? Or the Bantu word for cannabis: ma-kaña? Or something else?
Hemp for Victory! (YouTube)
For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.
