Industrial Hemp

You would not believe what can be made out of this miracle stuff... The smear campaign in the 1920s-30s is akin to the one that Edison 'did to' Tesla regarding A/C (Tesla) vs. D/C (Edison) power... Today, we use A/C... Why? See the bottom of this page. It is interesting history - those mistakes which we are doomed to repeat... Anyway, the gasoline, cotton, and wood industries were, justifiably, I suppose, frightened of what would become of their industries, as new technologies for harvesting hemp more efficiently (i.e. faster) had recently come out (machinery mentioned in a 1920s/30s Popular Mechanics or Science, I forget which; in any case, the excerpt can be found on the web, probably on one of the last two links listed...). With the preservation of their industries foremost in mind, they set about to demonize the weed... I believe that, despite this, the government temporarily made it legal again to grow hemp - in your War Garden - in support for the Second World War! Hemp was needed: both for canvas (a bastardization of the latin name of hemp, cannabis), for ropes, etc. etc.

I have not yet begun to fight... but you can.
  • Vote Hemp
  • North American Industrial Hemp Council
  • HEMPTECH: The Industrial Hemp Information Network
  • "The Ultimate Web Resource for [Industrial] Hemp"
  • UKCIA - the industrial potential of hemp


    (07-15-04) Really good cover article in the National Review, July 12 2004 issue; it discusses the futility - the expensive -to-taxpayers futility - of the War on Drugs (i.e. marijuana.)
    Prohibition is an awful flop.
    We like it.
    It can't stop what it's meant to stop.
    We like it.
    It's left a trail of graft and slime
    It don't prohibit worth a dime
    It's filled our land with vice and crime,
    Nevertheless, we're for it.

    This is a poem quoted in the aforementioned article because it so nicely mirrors what is going on today. Small wonder? It was written by Franklin P. Adams of the New York World , neatly summing up the findings of the 1931 Wickersham Commission, a report on the Prohibition which "included a dedvastating critique of the Prohibition's failures and costly consequences" (in the words of the article's author, Ethan A. Nadelmann).

    ...And for those who are interested, here is a link to the [presumeably] full text of the Wickersham Commission.
    [http://www.drugtext.org/library/reports/wick/Default.htm]

    "Never let it be said that I do not quote my sources fully and give them credit in their entirety."
    - Me, written just now.

    Update (3-29): (Tesla & Edison google searchers read please) It's funny, really; most of the people linking to this page are searching for "tesla vs edison" - and, having just inserted that string yet again in this page, it may show up even more prominently in such a search (however, I am glad for them doing so as it confirms a hope that this page actually exists to the outside world); so, while it is not exactly relevant to hemp (excluding the aforementioned allusion), I will attempt to placate those coming here to seek that admittedly interesting information... I am too lazy to make a separate page, and people searching for this information will be directed to this page anyway, so with out further ado....

    (7-20-04)...And if you're interested in genetic / evolutionary algorithms, or are now because I just mentioned it, check out my new page (under heavy construction):
    Here

    The Battle of Two Great Minds: Tesla vs. Edison

    Edison:

    "As an inventor Edison was stubborn and inefficient, and his preeminent status was due more to his bullying and propaganda than his inventiveness. In the heat of the alternating vs. direct current war, Edison stooped to a particularly low campaign of misinformation about Tesla's AC. He paid children 25 cents for every animal brought to him, which he then electrocuted on stage to show the 'inherent danger' of alternating current. Playing off the ignorance of the public, he sent an assistant on the road electrocuting dogs, cats, and cows to frighten people into supporting direct-current. Despite his repugnant attempts to defame Tesla and his work, Edison slowly and grudgingly lost the battle to the clearly superior AC. Not suprisingly, it wasn't long before Edison began incorporating Tesla's work into his own, profiting from the very technology he claimed to be so dangerous. "
    [quoted - or plagarized, depends on how you look at it (but I did quote my source) - in almost complete entireity from http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/meninblack/meninblackmag/Volume2/edison.html]
    Click here to go there...

    Here, you can read a review on a book which has information on the "War of the Currents" - or at least, I think it does. If you wish to actually purchase it, however, I would recommend "Books A Million" - www.bamm.com - for, if they have it, it is doubtless at a good price... Review and Seller
    Books A Million booksellers

    Here is more; for now, it is unfortunately just snippets...
    In 1884, Tesla left Europe for the United States and went to work for the inventor Thomas Edison. Edison respected the young engineer but the American inventor was a strong supporter of direct current (DC), and so he had little interest in Tesla's alternating current (AC) generation, transmission, and motor system. Tesla quit working for Edison after one year. [http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.fall2000.web.projects/Heather%20Eide/03.htm]
    Click here to go there...

    ----Under Construction---- UPDATE [pertaining to actual information] (4-30) Here are some links which pertain to the "War of the Currents". I would like to consolidate the info and post it on this page, but for now, I'll just give you a couple of the links.
    Excellent synopsis of a PBS show about Telsa (which includes info on the AC/DC fight...)
    [http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_warcur.html]
    PBS page

    For a more or less comprehensive history of Edison vs. Tesla, read the first half of this post/article...

    Here is a website that appears to be some college student's project regarding the "War of the Currents"; it's printed a little big, but hey, that way it's easier to read, right? Some pretty good stuff...

    [http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/dept/Courses/E-24/E-24Projects/MariaChang/The_War_of_Currents/The_War_of_Currents.htm]
    College student's page

    (5-10) On another note, if one were doing a research paper on this subject and had some time (i.e. was not doing it at the last minute), an autobiographical view of the patent fights and such, if available, would lend [an] interesting point of view(s) - especially if you can get it from both sides (i.e. Tesla and Edison). I am sure that this is possible/feasible.

    (6-07) For a series of interesting articles on how Edison liked to suppress the just-starting movie industry, and essentially the creation of the gross conglomerate of sorts the MPAA, visit MP3 Newswire . I have no guarantee on how long these articles will stay; I will soon post the actual links so even after they are no longer 'linkable' from this site's main page, you can still see them...
    I don't have a particular grind against the man; he was a genius in many respects, and don't get me wrong, I like my DC and incandescent lights (though fluorescent is more efficient :), but I am beginning to see that he was rather close-minded, which is in a sort of way ironic, considering how the dispostion of an inventor is, and how he in general ran things [i.e. Menlow - is it spelled Menloe? - Park]... but I digress.

    MORE LINKS:
    http://acad.bryant.edu/~ehu/h364proj/sprg_98/buckley/

    http://www.teslasociety.com/ac.htm

    [Descriptions of links and their contents, as well as my patented brief reviews, will soon follow.]


    (6-26)
    Here is one website that popped up as of late, and which I believe is one listing or so ahead of me on Google - but I am not sure. It is written by one "Ariel Amir" for an American history project, apparently. I am surprised that I have not seen it, as it was written about six years ago....It is alright, but the pictures dispersed throughout are rather unrelated and unneccessary, and some of the data may be incorrect - although I believe a large amount of it is ancedotal to begin with, so that probably contributes to the problem...
    [http://www.leyada.jlm.k12.il/proj/edsntsla/hist1.htm]
    American history project page

    (7-4): Dammit all to hell - I could have sworn I wrote a review - no, scratch that, I KNOW I wrote one for the previous page....and it's not here...... .....Anyway, here are three new links: "Tesla shows off AC motor as Edison scoffs", "A Small Introduction to Nikola Tesla", and "Edison vs Tesla: An Imaginary Debate". http://www.zdnet.co.uk/athome/feature/1999/xmas/news/10.html
    http://flyingmoose.org/truthfic/tesla.htm
    http://www.nextekpower.com/world/world_t2.html

    .... I will write reviews to these links eventually as well, unless I become afraid that they will !@#(*&% disappear on me again...