A Founding Father and his Marijuana

This might be a bit hard to swallow. The founding father of the United States of America, George Washington, grew marijuana on his farm, also promoting its growth mainly for its industrial value as hemp and for soil stabilization. Cannabis has been grown in the States soon after the British arrived there. In fact, from as early as 1619, the Crown ordered the colonists at Jamestown to grow hemp to satisfy England's ceaseless demand for maritime ropes. Washington imported hemp seeds from all over the world and planted them in his vineyard at Mount Vernon from 1765 to 1796. The president had hoped to establish an American hemp industry that could compete with those of England, Russia and Italy. His high ambitions were not to be realised as the harvesting and use of marijuana and hemp was outlawed in most states of the country by the early 20th century.