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The Stop
Industrial Hemp, or Cannabis sativa, is a plant cultivated for both its bast fibre and its edible seeds.1 It is commonly believed that industrial hemp is a different species of cannabis from marijuana, but there is actually no taxonomical difference between them. Both hemp and marijuana are members of the family Cannabaceae; what separates them is that the variety of cannabis cultivated for hemp contains only small amounts of THC2 in comparison with that grown for the production of marijuana. Scientifically there is no difference between ‘hemp’ and ‘marijuana’, but legally the former must have a THC threshold below 0.3 percent.3
Fifty thousand years ago, hemp fibre was gathered to make cloth - long before the advent of agriculture - and its prevalence and usefulness meant it became one of the world’s first cultivated plants. Originating in Central Asia, there are records showing its cultivation for fibre in China as early as 2800 BCE, and in the early years of Christianity it was being grown in the Mediterranean countries of Europe. By the Middle Ages, hemp production was widespread throughout Europe, and it arrived in Chile via Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. By the middle of the next century, hemp had established itself in North America as an immanently useful, easy to grow crop.
The fibre of the plant, which is longer and less flexible than flax, is remarkably strong and durable and is used to make cordage (twine, yarn, rope, cable, and string) and coarse fabrics such as burlap and canvas. When specially processed, hemp is used to make a fabric similar to linen, and hemp textiles are frequently employed in the manufacture of shoes. Today, the fibres are used to make recyclable and biodegradable bioplastics, and hemp is becoming a popular alternative to wood pulp when making paper. In the construction industry, research into the plant has led to the creation of ‘hempcrete’ - a composite material composed of hemp and a lime binder - which can take the place of concrete in non-load-bearing applications, and over the last few years it has become an attractive alternative to fibreglass insulation.
The seeds are edible, containing about 30 percent oil, and are a good source of protein, fibre, and magnesium. Sold as a health food and eaten raw, they also find themselves in countless culinary applications which belie the seed’s chief historical use as caged-bird feed. Cold-pressed hemp seed oil is suitable for cooking purposes (though if not stored correctly it will quickly go rancid), and through various processes can be used to make paints, varnishes, soaps, and even different types of biofuels.
Despite its deep history and myriad uses, in the United States the public perception equating hemp to marijuana blocked the plant from becoming a useful crop, especially in the years after World War II.4 Years of misunderstandings, misclassifications and inappropriate drug laws kept hemp from being recognised as a legitimate, sustainable and highly useful crop until 2005 when the first of a series of Acts - including the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009 (H.R. 1866), which ‘sought to clarify the differences between marijuana and industrial hemp as well as repeal federal laws that prohibit [its] cultivation’ - was introduced, and - after years of debate and change - finally signed into law in 2018.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to a training video (23:50) for Waffle House employees in the use of the restaurant chain’s ‘Pull Drop Mark Order Calling Method’ - basically, the way your order gets called out by your server to be cooked. It might work (and from my experience, it does) but it’s frankly nuts - especially when there are many alternatives (including those little tickets that get printed out for the kitchen in every other restaurant). Absolutely worth a watch/skim - but be warned: I had a headache coming on about five minutes in! And that’s largely because I kept asking why
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is Homegrown (1998). Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starring Billy Bob Thornton, John Lithgow, Kelly Lynch, Ted Danson, Hank Azaria and Jon Bon Jovi, the film is a dark comedy/thriller about a group of minor marijuana growers in Northern California who - in order to keep their business running - attempt to make their biggest ever clandestine deal. At first things go well, but when their ‘silent partners, the Mafia, the police, and other meddlers crash the party,’ they discover they’ve bitten off far more than they can chew. Released to mixed - mostly favourable - reviews, it was described by the New York Times as a heady mixture of ‘murder mystery, rustic comedy, outlaw sociology, plant husbandry, lusty romance and layers of old-fashioned avarice, which is to say old-fashioned business.’5
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is a selection of five cannabis-related tracks: ‘Smoke Two Joints’ (Sublime, 1992), ‘Doobie Ashtray’ (Devin The Dude, 2002), ‘Crumblin’ Erb’ (Outkast, 1994), ‘Brown Sugar’ (D’Angelo, 1995) and ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’ (The Beatles, 1966).6 Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from George Washington - yes, that George Washington. A farmer long before he became history, Washington grew hemp for industrial purposes. A quote commonly attributed to him is ‘Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed, and sow it everywhere.’ But, always the farmer, he actually wrote:
‘I am very glad to hear that the Gardener has saved so much of the St. foin seed, and that of the India Hemp. Make the most you can of both, by sowing them again in drills. . . Let the ground be well prepared, and the Seed (St. loin) be sown in April. The Hemp may be sown any where.’7
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
Bast fibre is the soft woody fibre in the stems of flowering plants used for textiles and cordage.
Tetrahydrocannabinol - the compound that produces psychoactive effects in humans.
At least, in the EU, UK, and USA. This is the second in the Cannabis miniseries (the first was The Bus 3.7 (Cannabis I)) and there are others to come at random times. Sources for today’s Stop include Hemp (Britannica), Bast Fibre (Britannica), and titular Wikipedia articles.
This is a different story entirely, one about the end of Prohibition and the subsequent need for a new social ill on which to refocus Prohibition’s legal resources; racism, big money and a fear of ‘subcultures’. It’s also a topic for other Stops.
I can’t find it referenced anywhere as a source, but I’ve always thought this film owes more than a lot to TC Boyle’s brilliant novel Budding Prospects (1984), a Recommendation from an early Stop - The Bus 1.38 (Miles Davis). If you haven’t read it, do.
The first three are rather obvious (the first four if you know your strains), but the Beatles track came as a surprise - according to McCartney, it wasn't a person the singer wants in his life, but this new floral discovery. Which suddenly makes the lyrics make sense. I missed that connection for 40+ years, but new discoveries is what music is all about.
There is, of course, a debate as to whether Washington was sowing some seeds for industrial and others for recreational purposes. Elsewhere he writes about separating the male plants from the females - an essential technique to prevent the female plants from being pollinated so they can produce higher levels of THC. Of course, he might have been doing it for other agricultural reasons, but I think this clip from Dazed and Confused (1993) sums it up: George Toked Weed (Dazed and Confused). Martha Washington - a hip, hip lady.
I heard a story one time about a man who grew such plants near a mountain camp near Cold Mountain
OK, let me get this straight. 'Crumblin' Erb', then 'Brown Sugar', then 'Got to Get You Into My Life'? All that's missin here is Sabbath's 'Sweet Leaf' and you're baked.