Hemp History Timeline

Hemp is one of Earth’s most sustainable, versatile and profitable crops. It’s also among the oldest, going back more than 10,000 years. Here is a look back into hemp’s history.

• 4500 B.C. - China uses hemp for ropes, fishing nets, paper, cloth, food and oil.
   
• 1700’s - American farmers are required by law to grow hemp in Virginia and other colonies.
   
• 1776 - The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper.
   
• 1791 - Founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, grew hemp.
   
• 1797 - The U.S.S. Constitution is outfitted with 60 tons of hemp sails and rigging.
   
• 1840 - Abraham Lincoln uses hemp seed oil to fuel his household lamps.
   
• 1916 - USDA documents shows that hemp produces four times more paper per acre than trees do.
   
• 1928 - The Canadian House of Commons encourages farmers to grow hemp.
   
• 1937 -The U.S Government creates The Marijuana Tax Act that makes growing hemp prohibitive for U.S. farmers.
   
• 1938 - Popular Mechanicsarticle, “New Billion Dollar Crop” explains that with new developments in processing technology over 25,000 different products could be manufactured from hemp.
   
• 1941-1942 - Henry Ford develops a car that runs on hemp ethanol fuel. Ford also builds an experimental car body made with hemp fiber, which is ten times stronger than steel and four times stronger than metal.
   
• 1942-1946 - American farmers harvest over 150,000 acres of hemp through the USDA’s “Hemp for Victory” program.
   
• 1957 - Hemp is banned in the U.S. due to misconceptions around different types of cannabis plants.
   
• 1992 - Martin Moravcik begins importing and manufacturing handmade hemp items, and starts “The Emperor’s Clothing Company,” with business partner Alex Chwaiewsky.
   
• 1993 - Alex travels the world sourcing hemp items,while Martin conducts research and establishes important relationships with farmers and governmentleaders.
   
• 1994 - Martin organizes industrial hemp events and helps establish the University of Manitoba Hemp Awareness Committee (UMHAC).
   
• 1995 - UMHAC becomes the Manitoba Hemp Alliance, and lobbies the provincial government for assistance in advancing hemp agriculture. Harry Enns, Manitoba’s Agriculture Minister at the time, approves a funding grant and offers the services of a New Crops Agronomist. In less than nine months, the first hemp crops are harvested.
   
• 1996 - Martin holds a hemp symposium releasing publically for the first time the results of the 1995 Manitoba Hemp Trials. Results indicate that hemp can be grown with undetectable amounts (less than 0.001%) of THC.
   
• 1997 - Local farmers start growing hemp.
   
• 1998 - Hemp is legalized in Canada. Another hemp expert and enthusiast, Mike Fata aligns with Martin and Alex to form Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods.
   
• 1999 - Local stores start carrying hemp oil. North Dakota, Minnesota and Hawaii legalize the growing of industrial hemp at state level. Other states urge the federal government to allow hemp agriculture. The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of industrial hemp products but cannot grow hemp because of the federal ban.
   
• 2000 - Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods finds distribution partners and exports their first hemp food products into the U.S.
   
• 2001 - The United Stated Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) begins a campaign to make sales of all hemp foods illegal in the U.S. Companies that make hemp products along with the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) take legal action against the DEA.
   
• 2004 - A three-year battle ensues until February 6. The 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues a permanent ruling blocking the DEA regulations and thwarting their unfoundedprohibition policy.
   
• 2010 - Hemp foods are an essential staple in millions of individual’s diets. Tens of thousands of hemp acres are grown in Canada. Over 30 countries produce industrial hemp including Australia, China, Great Britain, France, Russia and Canada.
   
• 2012 - Hemp foods gain mainstream acceptance. Hemp food products can be found in mass-market retailers and are frequently featured in the mainstream media.