On December 19, 1606 three small ships commanded by Captain Christopher Newport, departed London, England bound for America, where 120 persons established the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States at Jamestown, Virginia. For years the settlers struggled to make a go of it. Food was scarce and the colony was nearly abandoned.

Eventually they established farms, growing much-needed crops. One of these crops was hemp. In 1619 Jamestown made growing hemp a mandate for farmers. If a farmer refused, he was thrown in prison.

Today, farmers are thrown in prison if they do grow hemp, even industrial varieties. In fact, the U.S. is the only developed nation that has not established hemp as a crop, the Congressional Research Service says. But ideas are blooming in Congress as lawmakers look at industrial hemp as a cash crop that could save many US farmers.
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When Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker sported an outfit made from hemp, many people took note. Yes, sales of hemp products is booming, increasing by 50 percent per year. Industrial hemp is finding its way into food, clothing, paper, and cosmetics. The increased demand is great news for farmers, if they're not from the United States. It's legal to import hemp seeds and fiber into the U.S., but it's illegal for U.S. farmers to grow industrial hemp. But this may be changing. Support for industrial hemp is taking root in Congress...

To listen to the 2-minute audio article, subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file.  [NOTE: Information for this article originated from USA Today (November. 22, 2005) and Organic Producer magazine.]