If you’re new to the CBD space or an avid enthusiast looking to know more, you may know of the holistic benefits of the compound. You may also be aware that federally legal CBD products available in the United States are created from hemp. What you may not know is that some have dubbed hemp as the mother of all plants. The versatility, history, and benefits of hemp are purported to exceed most other plants on the planet. So for a bit of fun and to educate you more about this wondrous plant, here are ten things you didn’t know about hemp.

#1. Hemp Has Been Used to Make Stuff for a Long, Long Time

We are talking centuries here! Archeologists have found hemp parchment dating back 10,000 years, where it was first known to be cultivated in Mesopotamia. Early use of hemp can be traced back centuries to countries like Italy, Greece, Russia, and China. Ancient Chinese texts refer to the many benefits of hemp, and it has been grown and used in China for over 6,000 years.

#2. Hemp Was a Big Part of the Founding of the United States

When the English first started settling in the New World, they were legally required to grow hemp. In 1619, King James I made it a legal requirement by royal decree for every property owner to grow 100 hemp plants for export. It became such a popular crop that:

• George Washington was a hemp farmer and encouraged other farmers to grow hemp.
• John Adams wrote a lot about hemp cultivation.
• Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills to make hemp into parchment.
• Thomas Jefferson bred different hemp varieties and even owned the first U.S. patent on a threshing machine that could separate the hemp seeds from the stalks.

Hemp was so popular with our founding fathers and the early colonists that the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written on hemp paper.

#3. Hemp Is Legal In the U.S. – No It’s Not – Yes It Is!

As we stated before, property owners were legally required to grow hemp in 1619. Massachusetts and Connecticut soon followed, and between 1763 and 1769, property owners in Virginia could face jail time for not growing hemp. While other states didn’t make hemp production mandatory, they did allow you to pay your taxes with it.

It wasn’t until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that hemp was taxed to the point of not being a viable commodity. Some blame it on pressure from Dupont and other industries that wanted more synthetic-based products on the market. Others blame US sentiment against cannabis and the “wacky weed” marijuana. In either case, hemp became unrestricted and completely legal again in 1942, during World War II, when the U.S. Army and the Department of Agriculture launched the “Hemp for Victory” program. This program encouraged farmers to grow hemp to make things like textiles and rope to be used in the war effort. From that time until the end of the war, 100,000 acres of hemp were grown legally. Unfortunately, as soon as the war ended, so did the permits for growing it.

In the 1970s, hemp got caught up in the War on Drugs and was classified as a Schedule 1 drug along with marijuana and LSD. It wasn’t until The Farm Bill of 2018 that hemp products like our Hemp Flower and Prerolls finally became federally legal across the United States.

#4. Hemp Is Great for the Soil

Most crops will deplete the soil from which they are grown, so farmers have to rotate their crops and let the soil recover before planting the next crop. Not so with hemp! The topsoil is enriched because hemp pulls heavy metals, toxins, and even radioactive materials from the ground where it is grown. Then the plant leaves behind soil-enriching leaves and flowers. Hemp is so good at revitalizing soil that acres of it were grown around the Chernobyl power plant after its meltdown to clean and rejuvenate the soil.

The downside is that these heavy metals, toxins, and radioactive materials can contaminate the plant’s products. If you’re using CBD, remember to buy it only from places that offer a certificate of analysis and American grown hemp with good agricultural practices.

#5. Hemp Is So Very Healthy!

By weight, hemp seed has as much protein as beef and contains all 12 amino acids along with lots of gut-friendly fiber. Those same seeds are loaded with vitamins and minerals like potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, and zinc.

#6. Hemp Make Better Paper Than Trees

Not only is hemp stronger because it has a cellulose level that is three times more than trees, but it also produces four times more pulp than trees. In addition, hemp requires far fewer chemicals to process, so it’s more friendly to the environment. Hemp paper is a lot stronger and more durable as well.

#7. Hemp Has a Future with Automobiles

Henry Ford once recognized the strength of hemp and created a prototype car that was primarily made out of the plant. Since then, auto manufacturers like Audi, Ford, and BMW use hemp to make composite panels. Additionally, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, and Volvo have been using hemp in their cars for years.