Hemp for Victory (1942)

Well, i'm off in my Time Machine to witness the incredible resurgence of that Miracle plant, Hemp! Uh, no, i'm going to 1942 USA actually....

United States, 1942-the Nation had declared War on Japan for the Pearl Harbor bombing and was therefore obligated to oppose Germany and Italy as well...with imports of hemp from other nations at an all time low, it was up to the US to gear up its homeland production to meet quota on all of those amazing and vital things we made with it. The US Dept of Agriculture was up for it, employing Director Raymond Evans, Cameraman Walter K Scott and Narrator Reuben Ford to educate the American public on the history of the crop, the many uses of same and the proper cultivation of same. By all accounts Hemp production was at an all time high(ahem!) by the close of 1945, and Post-war America was overflowing with a cheaply-grown fiber that could be used for clothing, construction, paper, reinforced anchor ropes and fire hoses, automotive bodywork, etc etc. Prosperity awaited the revitalized Agricultural industry...

So what happened? Well, the War on Drugs happened, and for no apparent reason Hemp (with less than 1% THC) was classified into the same category as Drug-grade Marijuana(5% and better). I'm absolutely certain that the invention of Nylon and Rayon by the Dupont Bros (made from petroleum products and wood pulp respectively, and hideously expensive compared to cheap hemp fibers) had Absolutely Nothing At All with such inclusion of Hemp in the legislation....

Despite the fact that the Federal Government denied all knowledge in 1990 of ever having supported hemp production or even having released this film (okay.....) this 14 minute feature remains in circulation to this day in order to remind us that not all of our History makes it to the classroom-and never did...Sound, B&W.