Originally posted by SaburoS
Wasn't it a law then that property owners had to grow at least two marijuana plants ( I read that somewhere but am too lazy to search for it.)? The main reason of course was for the extremely hardy, fast growth or the plants and the very strong hemp fibers for the manufacture of rope (mainly for ship rigging) and manufacture of clothing, paper, bags, blankets, etc. The by-product of the buds and leaves was very mild compared to today's types of plants. They used the the very tree-like Sativa variety as compared to the very short and very bushy Indica variety today grown specifically for the buds. The THC (particularly Delta 9) content of those plants in Washington's time is a mere fraction of the stuff coming out of today's plants.
Judge for yourself, personally I think it's rather dodgy ground to assume it was just for rope etc and no Indica:
May 12-13: Sowed Hemp at Muddy hole by Swamp. August 7: Began to separate the Male from the Female at Muddy hole - rather too late."
George Washington
Diary 1765
Now I've read elsewhere that George wanted the males because were more hardy for rope etc than the females and that's why he wanted them separate - but "rather too late" is fairly questionable in a purely rope-related context. Personally, I can't think up a scenario for that other than wanting unfertilized female plants. And there's really only one reason for wanting unfertilized female plants.
What was done with the seed saved from the India Hemp last summer? It ought, all of it, to have been sewn again; that not only a stock of seed sufficient for my own purposes might have been raised, but to have disseminated the seed to others; as it is more valuable than the common Hemp.
George Washington
Writings of Washington, Vol. 35, pg. 72
Fairly clear evidence that George grew "the very short and very bushy Indica variety today grown specifically for the buds." Note how he mentions that it is "more valuable than the common hemp"
As to the "THC (particularly Delta 9) content of those plants in Washington's time is a mere fraction of the stuff coming out of today's plants." This quote from the book Marijuana by Dr. Walton, 1869 is interesting:
“Hemp grown for fiber in Kentucky has been shown to contain a substantial degree of potency. Houghton and Hamilton concluded from animal experiments that the Kentucky hemp was fully as active as the best imported Indian product. It is clear that the potentiality of hashish abuse has always existed with this type of hemp production.”
All that said, I'm unsure as to whether George smoked or not - but he certainly grew it. I suppose, in his favour, in these enlightened times we now know that American Presidents are wont not to inhale.
