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Production of hemp originated in Central Asia thousands of years ago.
There is evidence of the use of hemp and marijuana in almost all ancient,
and many modern civilizations. In fact, the oldest surviving piece of paper
in the world, discovered in China and dating back over 2000 years, was
made from hemp.[3] From the 16th to the 18th century, hemp and flax were
the major fiber crops in Russia, Europe and North America. Ropes and sails
were made of hemp because of its great strength and its resistance to rotting.
Paper and textiles were other important historical applications.
As early as 1801, the Lieutenant Governor of the province of Upper Canada,
on behalf of the King of England, distributed hemp seed free to Canadian
farmers. The government offered to pay premiums and bounties to the "deserving
cultivators and exporters of hemp in the Province." As a result hemp
became an important Canadian cash crop. The London, Ontario region was
especially well suited to the cultivation of hemp. At its peak, several
thousand acres of hemp were grown in Western Ontario alone.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, increasing labour costs
encouraged a shift away from hemp to cotton, jute, and tropical fibers
which were less labour intensive. The decline which continued with the
advent of synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon was accelerated
by changes in legislation. Because of its association with marijuana, the
cultivation of hemp was declared illegal during the 1930's in many industrialized
as an extension of newly imposed bans on marijuana.
Prior to its prohibition, hemp made a significant contribution to the economic
and social fabric of society. It was used extensively for ropes, twine,
tough thread, textiles, paper, building materials, cellulose plastics and
resins, as well as food and oil from the seeds. World production peaked
in 1940 at about 832 000 tonnes of fibre.
Since 1992, a number of European countries including France, the Netherlands,
England, Switzerland, Spain, and most recently Germany have passed legislation
allowing for the commercial cultivation of low-THC hemp. In fact, the E.U.
has recently been promoting hemp cultivation by providing subsidies of
approximately C$1400 per hectare to grow hemp.[4] In 1992, world production
of hemp fiber was 124,000 tonnes with India, China, Russia, Korea and Romania
as the major producers. In these countries, the cultivation of hemp has
never been prohibited.
In 1937, the United States government imposed a heavy tax on hemp producers
under the Marijuana Tax Act. Canada prohibited marijuana, and thus hemp
production in 1938 under the Opium and Narcotics Control Act. Production
restrictions were lifted from 1943 to 1945 in support of the war effort,
when hemp supplies from the Far East became scarce. In 1961, the Canadian
Narcotics Control Act (CNCA) allowed Cannabis to be grown at the discretion
of the Health Minister for research purposes only.
In 1994, under the CNCA, one license was granted to a Canadian company,
Hempline Inc., to grow low-THC hemp in Canada under the strict supervision
of the authorities, for research purposes only. This was the first time
that a such license had been granted under the CNCA to a private sector
organization. As a condition of receiving this approval, the originally
planned crop of 12 plots covering approximately 100 acres was reduced to
one experimental field totaling 10 acres in size. The license granted to
Hempline was valid for one growing season only. Reapplication was required
on an annual basis for permission to grow subsequent experimental crops.
A second condition of licensing by the government was that the produced
crop was to be donated to interested parties (that also required government
permits in order to process hemp) for experimentation and research only
and Hempline was prohibited from receiving revenue from any of the hemp
crop. Also, the permit required Hempline to hire police officers to keep
constant surveillance on the crop, and the authorities retained the right
to periodically and randomly test the plants to ensure that they fell below
the allowable THC level of 0.3%.
In 1995-1997, research licenses were granted to a number of groups across Canada, under identical conditions. A number of these studies were joint efforts between private industry, academics and government.
Canadian Situation (exerted from Health Canada’s Publication of Schedule of Amendments)
"The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), which came into force on May 14, 1997, replaces the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drugs Act. However, the existing Narcotic Control Regulations, as well as Parts G and J of the Food and Drug Regulations dealing with the controlled and restricted drugs requirements remains in force, under the authority of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. While Narcotic Control Regulations do not permit the issuance of licences to cultivate industrial hemp for commercial purposes, the recently proclaimed Controlled Drugs and Substances Act does provide the authority to create regulations to permit the commercial cultivation of industrial hemp.
"Non-viable cannabis seeds and mature stalks that do not include leaves, flowers, seeds or branches; and fibre derived from such stalks are excluded from Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Thus the fibre and products made from such stalks may be imported, processed or sold in Canada without restriction."
As of March 1998, Health Canada has passed their proposed regulations, and as a result hemp can be grown commercially in Canada for the first time in sixty years. The growing, importing, exporting, processing and distribution of industrial hemp though permitted remain quite heavily regulated.