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Major uses of industrial hemp	Purdue University

Throughout all of human history, societies have ingested a wide variety of plant and animal products with noticeable side effects for medicinal, religious, and recreational use. The book Green Gold The Tree of Life: Marijuana in Magic & Religion by Chris Bennett, Lynn Osburn, and Judy Osburn points out that “hemp has played a prominent role in the development of the religions and civilizations of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.” ¹ Green Gold also notes that renowned scientist Dr. Carl Sagan proposed in his book The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence “that hemp was the first plant cultivated by man, dating back to the time of primitive hunter-gatherers.” ²

The hemp plant – and its intoxicating cousin marijuanaⁱ – have been under scrutiny since at least 1936 when the propaganda film “Tell Your Children” (or “Reefer Madness” as it is commonly known by today) was released demonizing the weed.

The following year in 1937 the United States passed the controversial Marijuana Tax Act upon “hearsay and emotional pleas from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and a few state law enforcement agents,” writes Chris Conrad in his book Hemp Lifeline to the Future. “The law was tied neither to scientific study nor to law enforcement need. The legislative review concluded that Congress had been ‘hoodwinked.'” ³

Neuroscience for Everyone!

Renowned criminologist William J. Chambliss of George Washington University notes in his expos