In this topic I will talk about the history of the hemp plant in our country and around the world, its uses, what it could do for the world, and its future in our country. Hemp is the male cannabis plant that is very different from the female cannabis plant, better known as “marijuana”. These plants not only have socially renowned uses that are very different from each other, they are genetically different, have a different chemical composition, and differ in cultivation. The cannabis plant has been used worldwide for its fiber and medical properties for an estimated 10,000 years of use and is believed to be one of the first cultivated plants. It was used primarily medicinally and ceremonially for centuries before its use as a fiber was discovered. China was also the first to use it as paper in 100 BC. In the following centuries it was used in medicine, as a food and as a fibre, with regular progress. By 1850 it was so widely used in the United States that it could be purchased in most drugstores and drugstores and in about 1/3 of the clothing people wore. In the early 20th century the Mexican Revolution led to an influx of immigrants who introduced the habit of recreational use (instead of its generally medicinal use) into American society. This caused the federal government to view the plant differently and the Harrison Act passed defining the use of marijuana (among other agricultural drugs) as a crime. By 1916 leading scientists (USDA) (can't read) recognized that hemp was much less labor intensive and cheaper to produce than paper, yet mass production of cheap hemp news printing had not yet developed. During the same period, many large investments were made in the cotton, wool, linen, steel, and oil industries. With hemp research and funding slowing sharply, pressure from the industry... middle of paper... prove profits together estimate $107 million for Colorado's economy. If we applied these statistics to other states, the impact on the US economy would be enormous. There is no definite number (that I could find) of jobs that will become obsolete when industrial hemp takes effect, but they would replace those jobs that produce the same thing with hemp and create many more so as not to harm workers. The reason I think there is so much government resistance to hemp is because big companies know it could be a better, cheaper way to produce what they already make and cause them to lose money and power. The hemp industry would eliminate many large companies, which could eliminate much of the corruption in government. Because if I've learned one thing from this report (besides all the benefits of hemp) it's that our government is corrupt.