http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp
Most of the Stumblers commenting on this article are of the 420 persuasion. In my usual status as lame-o, I’m more interested in the potential of hemp to affect heavy-polluting industries like paper and clothing. Sadly, it’s still considered an illegal crop in the US, apparently thanks to the selfish politicking of William Randolph Hearst:
The decision of the United States Congress to pass the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act was based in part on testimony derived from articles in newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, who, some authors stress, had significant financial interests in the forest industry, which manufactured his newsprint.
The background material also included that from 1880 to 1933 the hemp grown in the United States had declined from 15,000 to 1,200 acres (4.9 km2), and that the price of line hemp had dropped from $12.50 per pound in 1914 to $9.00 per pound in 1933. In 1935, however, hemp would also make a significant rebound. Hearst began a campaign against hemp, and published stories in his newspapers associating hemp with marijuana and attacking marijuana usage. As a result of the act, the production and use of hemp was discontinued.