All About Hemp
Hemp is one of the most useful, renewable crops on planet earth. It’s beneficial to soil and people alike, it’s responsible for the hemp-derived CBD we use in our products, and it’s a renewable resource that grows like, well, a weed. Read on and learn a little bit about one of our favorite plants!
1. It’s Very Old
Hemp was first discovered about 10,000 years ago. Ancient people recognized the plant’s usefulness, and spun the plant’s tough fibers into rope, clothing, paper and more.
2. Every Part Of The Plant Is Useful
Every single part of the hemp plant can be used for something great. In its raw form, hemp is great for mulch, animal bedding and even kitty litter. The seeds can be pressed into CBD oil, which can then be made into various topical, and ingestible treatments. Hemp stalk fibers are harvested for textiles, plastics and more.
3. It’s A Powerful Purifier
Did you know that hemp actually purifies dirty waste water and filthy soil? It’s such a powerful detoxifier, it can even reduce the effects of radioactive material. Hemp was planted after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, to help clear radioactive isotopes and other impurities out of the soil.
4. Your Car Could Run On Hemp
Hemp can be turned into biofuel that’s powerful enough to run a diesel engine! This hemp “gasoline” would be a most renewable, biodegradable and non-toxic fuel source. In fact, Henry Ford’s first Model-T was constructed from hemp and was meant to run on biofuel derived from hemp plants. This car “grown from the soil” had hemp plastic panels with an impact strength 10x stronger than steel.
5. It Used To Be Illegal To NOT Grow Hemp
While some states still eschew the production of hemp and cannabis plants, this wasn’t the case in 17th and 18th century America. Back then, refusing to allocate some of your farmland to growing this useful crop could actually land you some jail time in the state of Virginia from 1763 to 1769!
6. It’s Worth It’s Weight In Gold
Or, I should say it used to be. From the year 1631 to the early 18002, Americans could actually pay their taxes with hemp! (We sure wish this was still the case!).
7. Hemp Was Popular With Our Founding Fathers
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers all proudly grew hemp. In fact, the first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag and the first draft of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were all made from hemp!
*The Apothecary LLC are not doctors and we do not provide medical advice. None of the information on this site, including information in any press release or blog post, constitutes legal or medical advice by us.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
Jesse Richardson is a brother and co-founder of The Brothers Apothecary. Jesse studied Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles and Medicinal Plants & Ethnobotanical Research at Cornell University. He is an avid student of nature and is always working on something new at The Apothecary!
