Since the US Constitution was written on hemp paper does that mean it is invalid?

[Toots]

Hemp being the "Devil weed" and all.

[Tellurian]

1. And the lamp light by which it was signed was filled with hemp oil.

Hemp should be the resource used for renewable fuel rather than corn or soybean.

[wildbilln864]

Absolutely! Legalizing hemp would help this country's economy in so many ways!

Check this out! Hemp Houses

:hi:

[wildbilln864]

2. Well Georgie thinks so....

after all he said, "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

[zbdent]

14. true ... but you burn a piece of cloth ...

and Republicans want to throw you into Gitmo ...

[DearAbby]

3. Hemp is like the miracle plant...

can be used for building, fuel, paper, medicine, food, to name some uses. Why it is outlawed is perverse, while tobacco and booze is legal.

[BearSquirrel2]

17. Not a miracle ...

It's not a miracle. But it definitely has some great industrial uses that may impact the planet less then other commodities. Personally, I would be most interested in it as a substitute for cut lumber. It could provide great relief to our forests and strengthen natural habitats.

I do wish that the lumber companies would invest in this alternative instead of squashing it. Of course, anyone can grow hemp. You have to have rights to cut lumber.

[melody]

4. Actually, it wasn't written on hemp

That's an urban legend. It was written on parchment, which is treated animal skin, usually sheepskin.

[wildbilln864]

6. I disagree!

But I could be wrong. Do you have a link for that assertion?

[melody]

8. Disagree all you like, it's a fact

Here is one.
http://www.usconstitution.net/constfaq_a8.html

[wildbilln864]

16. well thank you melody....

you've put a wrinkle in my brain, lol. :hi:
Didn't mean to offend, just was ill informed about that fact myself. Sorry.

[Cerridwen]

11. From "The Hemp Campaign" - first *draft* written on hemp paper

"the first draft of the Constitution was written on hemp paper" and from the National Archives "The five pages of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation are written on parchment."

I'm 100% pro-hemp; but I want to keep our arguments accurate; they're harder to dispute if we stay with the facts.

:hi:

edit subject for emphasis on *draft*

[wildbilln864]

15. thanks Cerridwen... eom

[melody]

18. This would make sense

John Adams was very active with the drafts and would have been very thrifty in its writing.
Hemp was cheaper than parchment (still is), being from plant sources instead of animal ones.

[wildbilln864]

5. Henry ford built the bodys for his first autos from hemp!

Rudolph Deisel's engine ran on hemp oil. All overtheroad trucks and government vehicles should be required to use biodiesel IMHO!

[Warpy]

7. No, it means that once they've finally gotten their dictatorship

this administration will roll it up and smoke it.

[MonkeyFunk]

9. It was written on sheepskin parchment

so the Republic survives another day.


But I'm curious as to how the substance on which it was written would determine its validity?

[melody]

10. Actually, I wish it had been written on hemp

It would have made for a much better story.

But it wouldn't have lasted as long. They have a helluva time preserving those documents as it is.

[EST]

12. Here is a source:

The Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are currently housed in the National Archives. All three are written on parchment, not hemp paper. Parchment is treated animal skin, typically sheepskin. The Declaration was inked with iron gall ink. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was commissioned to create a system to monitor the physical status of all three. The Charters of Freedom Monitoring System took digital photos of each sheet of parchment in 1987, each document divided into one-inch squares. Over time, the photos are retaken and compared to the original to look for signs of deterioration. Before the charters were recently reencased for display, a small tear in the Declaration was repaired by adding Japanese paper to the gap. This is the only paper in any of the documents. This is not to say that a copy of any of the documents was never written on hemp paper - just not the copies we see in the Archives Rotunda.

www.usconstitution.net/constfaq_a8.html

[Wildewolfe]

13. There won't be any movement on this...

...until tobacco is finally on it's last legs and the tobacco companies need a replacement product. When that happens the move to legalize it all will suddenly gain new legs.

[DemGa]

19. The gist of illegal hemp

Hemp = conceptual thought

Conceptual thought = feminine aspect

Conservatives fear and therefore hate feminine power =

Hemp must be destroyed.

That's IMHO.