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To: Supernatural
Sorry in advance for length.

I'd expect to see in his financial papers sale of hashish or cannabis leaf, or a mention where he explicitly says that hemp grown one way is more medically strong than another way. There also is no evidence he or his household used hemp medicinally- it was uncommon at the time.

Merely separating the plants is not evidence that he even considered the potential to use it to get high. Separating males from females prevents monoectic plants, as described below. Also, male stalks were used for one purpose, and females for another, so Washington separated the two for this reason.

http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/hemp/hempbiol.htm

Fiber Types

Total fiber content is approximately 25-35% of the stem dry matter, depending on the variety.

* Primary bast fiber – long and low in lignin

* Secondary bast fiber – intermediate and high in lignin

* Libriform – short and high in lignin

According to Dr. Ivan Bocsa, industrial fiber varieties can be classified into two basic sexual types: monoecious and dioecious. Monoecious varieties have both male and female flowers on each plant, while Dioecious varieties have entirely separate male or female plants.

The dioecious trait is the natural condition for hemp while monoecism occurs infrequently in hemp populations. The incorporation and stabilization of monoecism in fiber hemp call for the skills of a competent plant breeder. It was a Russian hemp breeder who first recognized the utility of monoecism in solving two of the plant’s critical problems: low seed yield and uneven maturation of the sexes.

Monoecious hemp varieties require yearly selection to prevent the increasing return of separate male and female plants (dioecism) over successive generations of open-pollinated seed production. Also, because seed from successive reproductions gives progressively lower seed yield in the dual-purpose (fiber and seed) monoecious crop, it is customary to label monoecious hemp seed according to the number of generations that have been grown since a new supply of seed was obtained from the breeding source.

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Stalks

Hemp stalks are dependent upon two things: the sex of the hemp plant and how closely they are planted together. Male stalks are generally 10-15% taller than female stalks, even though the female vegetative period is 6-7 weeks longer. Stalks planted in close proximity to each other average 4-8 inches and increases as available area increases. Male plants also have thinner stalks while female stalks are shorter and thicker.

Historically, farmers pulled up male plants on their small plots separately from the female plants and used the male plant fibers for fine linens (bedding, hand towels, and clothing). The female plant fibers were used to make coarser fabrics (bags and tarp). Today, precise tests reveal that male plants surpass female ones in all qualitative parameters except tensile strength. Common fiber hemp in a mixed plot takes a median position between both sexes. In terms of quality, its fibers are closer to male fibers than female fibers.

When separated from the roots and leaves, the stalk constitutes about 65-70% of the total mass of a fully grown plant. If fiber hemp is densely sown, the leaves fall off during the developmental phase and tiny calluses form at these points. The crop loses most of its leaves, and fiber hemp does not have many branches. However, the area available for one plant to expand is two square feet; meaning roughly five plants per square meter or a 3-foot square plot.

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If medical cannabis is to become accepted by the voter, a better argument than "George Washington and the Chinese used it to get high" should be used, don't you think?

Doctors and hospital administrations must be convinced it's a good idea, then they can lean on the politicians.

An interesting side note- what becomes possible when three quarters of the States all pass medical marijuana laws? So working to get good people in the House is important.

146 posted on 02/26/2006 7:17:34 PM PST by DBrow
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To: DBrow
"Merely separating the plants is not evidence that he even considered the potential to use it to get high. Separating males from females prevents monoectic plants, as described below. Also, male stalks were used for one purpose, and females for another, so Washington separated the two for this reason."

"Seed. To make hemp seed, make hills of the form & size of cucumber hills, from 4 to 6 ft. apart, in proportion to the strength of the ground. Prick about a dozen seeds into each hill, in different parts of them. When they come up thin them to two. As soon as the male plants have shed their farina, cut them up that the whole nourishment may go to the female plants. Every plant thus tended will yield a quart of seed. A bushel of good brown seed is enough for an acre."
-- Thomas Jefferson

164 posted on 02/27/2006 7:39:01 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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