Long before the current Mary Jane craze, hemp was a major crop pushed by the government. It was grown primarily for rope used in naval vessels as well as other places. It also has many other non-medical uses to include fiber for clothing. According to Wiki, it can be refined into a variety of commercial items including paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food, and animal feed.
It is also refined into cannabidiol, or CBD which sells for $35 to $50 a jar for pain relief. A multi-billion dollar market.
More @ With OK From Congress, US Hemp Market Set to Boom
An aside. When I was married to my second wife, we visited her family’s farm in northeast Iowa. They had acres and acres of tall corn but, in the hollows and creek beds, one found the distinctive plant growing like weeds. Government agents routinely prowled the area, moving in to burn down the poor plant with flamethrowers.
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