For thousands of years, hemp has been harvested for use as food, clothing, fuel, and medicine. Its turbulent past depicts a multifaceted plant that has aroused debate, uncertainty, and fear and is still seen incorrectly now. We examine the development of hemp and its various uses throughout history as it is once again receiving attention.

Some key moments in the history of hemp use are:

8000 BC: In Asia, there is evidence that hemp was one of the first crops to be produced. It quickly spread throughout Europe, Africa, and South America, where seeds and oil were mostly used for food and pottery.

2000 – 800 BC: Hemp, one of India’s five sacred plants, is revered as a gift and is referred to in Hindu religious texts as “sacred grass.”

600-200 BC: Hemp is still used in northern Europe; hemp rope can be found in southern Russia and Greece, and hemp seeds and leaves are still present in Germany.

100 BC: Hemp is first used to manufacture paper in China.

1533: King Henry VII of England gives hemp priority and fines farmers who don’t grow it.

1606: Hemp was first used in North America to produce clothing, footwear, ropes, paper, and food.

1700s: Hemp is made a needed crop for American farmers, despite the fact that many of the country’s founding fathers opposed its advantages.

To support the naval and colonial development, commercial production of oakum and rope is put into high gear in Europe.

Early 1900s: To connect the plant with the Mexican population, the word “marijuana” has replaced “cannabis” in the United States.

Hemp fiber production is rising globally, with Russia leading the way.

1929: When the prohibition on alcohol is lifted in the United States, Harry Anslinger, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, tells the public that marijuana is “a devil drug” that “turned men into wild beasts,” but his scientific advisers are unable to find any solid scientific evidence to support this claim.

1937: In the United States, the Marihuana Tax Act is approved, taxing everyone who deals with cannabis, without separating hemp from marijuana. It has been argued that businessmen like Andrew Mello, and the DuPont family were involved in the adoption of

the Act to eliminate the hemp sector. Even though hemp is not technically illegal to grow in Europe, commercial hemp farming has been discontinued due to artificial fibers’ increased popularity.

1950s: The largest hemp grower in the world is the Soviet Union. One of the biggest hubs for creating new types has been the Hemp Breeding Department at the Institute of Bast Crops in Ukraine since 1931.

1960s: After the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was ratified, cannabis — without making a distinction between hemp and marijuana — was outlawed in the majority of

nations. The plant is categorized in the US as a Schedule 1 substance, along with heroin and LSD. As a result, many nations follow suit, which hinders production and research.

1971: Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the Home Office in the UK issues cultivation licenses that permit hemp growing for non-drug uses and refer to the plant as industrial hemp.

2007:Two farmers in North Dakota receive the nation’s first hemp licenses in more than 50 years.

2014: President Obama signs the Farm Bill into law, enabling academic institutions to

launch experimental hemp production initiatives. The Farm Bill defines industrial hemp as Cannabis sativa L. plants with 0.3% concentration of THC or below, legally separating hemp from marijuana and legalizing its growth for research (the psychotropic cannabinoid).

2018: Epidiolex, an oral cannabidiol drug, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.