Hemp products have been in the limelight for the past few years and quite frankly, it has been getting some strange stares here and there. Hemp is a known term for the cannabis drug known as marijuana, which is often used in treatment for cancer or in illegal recreational use, which is likely the reason why the term hemp products gets a raised eyebrow or two. Personally hemp may have gotten it’s bad reputation due to media but again this is something that I really can’t prove too much but have more of a gut feel. Anyways, I wanted to clear up the air about hemp and list down some facts that a lot of people may or may not know about hemp products, these are pretty easily found facts and are established, so I am not being biased or such, well maybe a little, just read on and you’ll learn quite a bit.

1. American presidents grew hemp products – Let’s start off with some fun stuff, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers grew hemp. What they did with it was a little unclear but they did grow it according to their diaries, so that’s kind of fun to know about hemp isn’t it?
2. Rope was made of hemp – For quite some time, about 90% of the world’s ropes and ship’s sails were made of hemp. This just goes to show how versatile the product is and how much it was used in the past. The recreational drug may also have been founded for quite some time ago but probably not longer than rope, don’t quote me on that as I don’t know enough about marijuana to actually dispute this.

   Rope is one of the most common products of hemp.

3. Documents were written in hemp – There are a ton of items written on hemp and made with hemp products, such as maps, Betsy Ross’ flag, the bible and the first few drafts of the document known as Declaration of Independence, once more it shows how powerfully versatile the hemp product is and its many uses.
4. Cars made of hemp? – Henry Ford experimented with hemp in car bodies. The idea was to build and create fuel from farm products. Given that hemp products do come from a plant, it can be renewable and reused for quite some time. BMW is also known to be experimenting with hemp to add into cars, to make the car overall more recyclable.
5. Birdseed and hemp go hand-in-hand – Most birdseed sold in America contains some hemp seed, so if Polly can handle some hemp products you can see how safe it is and how it has been given a bad name due to the fact it comes from the same plant as marijuana.
6. Versatile, versatile, versatile – As I mentioned awhile ago, hemp has been used in a lot of products and has been researched over the years. However did you know that there ware over 25,000 products that can be made from hemp products? Even I was surprised by how awesome and useful hemp is.
7. Marijuana was legal in America – For quite a few years, 162 years in fact, hemp and marijuana was legal that was until the media started spreading false information in 1930s that lead to the prohibition and the ban of marijuana. Although nowadays there are some states keeping an open mind regarding marijuana, hemp is now moving back into the limelight and hopefully can get better image than what has been painted over the years.
8. World War II and hemp plant – During World War II the US relaxed its laws against hemp products and asked many farmers to start growing it in order to support the war effort. It was awhile back that the government denied doing this but researches found proof in 1989 that it actually happened. Surprise, surprise, don’t you think? And no I am no conspiracy theorist, but that’s what I researched about it and thought would share these facts.
9. Levi’s and hemp – While this cannot be proved, it was believed that the very first pair of Levi’s was indeed made of hemp. However the proof that made this possible or that would be able to show that this actually happened, was lost in a fire a long time ago.
10. Hemp is nature friendly – Hemp products are very safe and highly durable. They are anti-microbial, anti-mildew, naturally UV resistant and is very eco-safe, that is why a lot of people used this in sales or in rope a few years back, it also shows that it is quite a few times better than cotton and easier to create clothes or other items.
11. Branded shoes have been made with hemp – Did you know that hemp products are sturdy enough to be included in a ton of products? Nike, Converse and many other brands have been known to use hemp in creating many of their fashion line. Goes to show once more that hemp products are something that can really be depended on for versatility and durability.
12. Preventing deforestation – By planting a hemp plant, it improves and nourishes the soil it was planted in and really helps other plants grow in the area. Not only is it a very biodegradable plant, it can help other plants keep on growing.

    Hemp seed is very nutritious that it had been a staple to some if not many vegans.

13. Hemp seed is very nutritional – While there are a ton of other plants that can be eaten for nutrition, there is barely and other plant that can give the nutritional value that hemp seed can give to most people. As you know a lot of vegans such as myself turn to hemp as a possible add on to their diet, now you can see why. You just can’t fight nutritional facts, and vitamins that support a stronger body is nothing to turn your nose at.
14. Art and hemp – Did you know that some of Rembrandt’s art and even Van Gogh’s to name a few famous artists, have had their work painted on a hemp canvass? At the time most canvass was made of hemp products and can considerably still be used to this day.
15. Hemp is not marijuana – You may or may not know this, but hemp does not contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient that makes people high. Hemp products have a THC level of less than 1% and marijuana usually has a 5 – 15% THC, so if you tried to get high with hemp, and you will fail, you’ll likely develop a headache before reaching that high you are trying to achieve, but hey I won’t judge.

And now there we have it, 15 pretty good facts about hemp and hemp products that are good to know. Hemp has a pretty long history and is coming back to daily use, given how good it is for the body, the environment, I would like to backtrack and say, I am biased towards hemp because it does a lot of good for us but just needs to be given a chance or two. Who knows, you could already be using hemp products such as bird seeds and didn’t know about it, but in the end I am hopeful that it can really be a material that will pave the way for all of us to a better tomorrow. Stay healthy!