The History of Hemp

Plastic, oil, paper, food, fuel, and clothing.

No, that isn’t a shopping list, it’s just a handful of the long list of products that can be made from the versatile hemp plant.

Increasingly, people are waking up to the plentiful benefits of the hemp plant and the ways in which it may be used for our benefit. Hemp is far from a new discovery. In fact, estimates show that humans have been using it for roughly 10,000 years.

From the Declaration of Independence being drafted on hemp paper to some of the founding fathers cultivating hemp plants for industrial use, hemp has been deeply interwoven into human history.

What is Hemp?

First things first, let’s make a few things clear.

Hemp and marijuana both fall under the umbrella, or genus of Cannabis Sativa — though they are very different. A similar comparison would be a German Shepherd and a Chihuahua. While they both fall under the ‘Dog’ category, they’re clearly on opposite ends of the family.

A key difference between hemp and marijuana comes down to THC — Tetrahydrocannabinol.