HISTORY:

   Although some authors contend that hemp originated in central Asia, most now agree that China was the original home of hemp (Dewey, 1913). Because the greatest diversity of hemp germplasm is found there, Vavilov placed the center of origin of hemp in China (Vavilov, 1992).

   Cultivation and use of hemp for fiber predates written history. Chinese writings from the Sung dynasty (about 500 A.D.) state that the emperor Shen Nung first taught the people of China to cultivate hemp and make cloth around 2,800 B.C. Later Chinese texts indicate that hemp stalkswere also used for fuel and the seeds for food and oil, but there are no early records of hemp production for drug use in China. According to Herodotus (about 450 B.C.) hemp fiber was used by the Thracians and Scythians beyond the Caspian Sea and was probably introduced to Europe during the westward Scythian migration around 1500 B.C. Hemp remained virtually unknown to the Greeks and Romans, however, until the beginning of the Christian era (Dewey, 1913).

   The earliestwritten record of hemp use in Europe states that "Heiro II, King of Syracuse (270 B.C.), bought the hemp used for the cordage of his vessels in Gaul" (De Candolle, 1886). By the sixteenth century hemp was widely distributed in Europe where it was cultivated for fiber and the seeds were cooked with barley or other grains and eaten. In 1537 Discorides named the plant Cannabis sativa and wrote of its use for cordage as well as its medicinal properties (Dewey, 1913).