Historical CCGUIDE material on hemp fibre, seed, oil, practical uses, medicine, law and politics.
CCGUIDE · Cannabis Campaigners Guide
An updated presentation of the original CCGUIDE hemp page.
Hemp is one of the most versatile plants on the planet. It has been used since prehistoric times. It has been used throughout history until the first quarter of the twentieth century. Its use was then prohibited. This was at the same time that large American pharmaceutical and petrochemical companies were ready to replace hemp with synthetics ranging from diesel to nylon, plastic to drugs. This has produced huge profits for these companies at the cost of the environment and of personal freedom.
Hemp has been grown for its fibre, for its seeds and for the tops, heads, flowers and leaves.
The original page groups hemp’s uses around the different parts of the plant.
The fibrous parts of the hemp plant are the stringy threads from the stalk and the woody part of the stalk, called the hurd. The page lists paper, sails, rope, clothes, shoes, nets, building materials, packing material, bedding, furniture, lace, fuel blocks and charcoal among their uses.
The page describes hemp seed as food for people and animals and as a source of oil. It lists salad dressing, lamp and engine fuel, lubricants, paint, sealant, varnish, lotions, ointments, lacquer and soap as uses of the oil.
The original text describes these parts as having sacramental, medicinal and recreational uses, and names a number of religious traditions associated historically with cannabis.
The wording and claims below are preserved from the historical page. Statistics, legal descriptions and health claims may reflect the period in which the page was written and should not be read as current guidance.
Religious use. The original page states that traditions using parts of the hemp plant included Coptic Christians, Essenes, Buddhists, Sadhus, Sufis, Zoroastrians and Rastafarians.
Medicinal use. The page lists multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, asthma, epilepsy, pain relief, painful labour and menstruation, migraine, herpes, arthritis, rheumatism, spasticity, depression, anti-nausea, neuralgia, loss of appetite, insomnia and anxiety among historical or claimed uses.
Estimated use. The original page states that more than six million people in the UK consumed hemp for medicinal or recreational use.
Law and prohibition. The historical text discusses UK prohibition from 1928, the Dangerous Drugs Act, later cultivation and possession controls, the International Opium Convention and the 1961 UN Single Convention. It presents the campaign’s view that cannabis was wrongly classified and that UK law was built on those classifications.
Cannabis and health. The source page argues that cannabis should not be treated in the same way as other drugs and makes strong claims about dependence, toxicity and smoking. These statements are retained here as part of the archive and are not presented as current medical guidance.
Criminal justice. The original page states that more than 72,000 people in Britain were convicted of cannabis offences in 1994, in addition to cautions, and argues that enforcement caused social and financial harm.
Campaign position. The page asks, “HOW CAN THIS PROHIBITION BE JUSTIFIED?” and encouraged readers to write to their MP and support the Campaign to Legalise Cannabis International Association (CLCIA).
Quotations reproduced from the historic CCGUIDE hemp page.
“The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.”
The Lancet, November 1995 — as quoted on the original page
“Marijuana is one of the least toxic substance.”
Professor Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School — as quoted on the original page
“Make the most of Indian Hemp seed.”
Attributed on the original page to George Washington
“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging than the use of the drug itself.”
Attributed on the original page to Jimmy Carter
“I'm impressed by what's happened to MS patients who have used it.”
Dr. James Malone-Lee, Consultant, St Pancras Hospital, London — as quoted on the original page
“Cannabis too has discomforting side effects, but these are not physical they are political.”
The Economist, 28 March 1992 — as quoted on the original page