From at least the 5th century B.C. until the late 19th century, 90 percent of all shipsamp;rsquo; sails were made from hemp. The other 10 percent were usually flax or minor fibers like ramie, sisal, jute, abaca, etc. The word canvas is the Dutch pronunciation (twice removed, from French and Latin) of the Greek word Kannabis. In addition to canvas sails, virtually all of the rigging, anchor ropes, cargo nets, fishing nets, flags, shrouds, and oakum (the main protection for ships against salt water, used as a sealant between the outer and inner hull of ships) were made from the stalk of the marijuana plant. Even the sailorsamp;rsquo; clothing, right down to the stitching in the seamenamp;rsquo;s rope soled and (sometimes) canvas shoes, were crafted from cannabis. An average cargo, clipper, whaler, or naval ship of the line, in the 16th, 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries carried 50 to 100 tons of cannabis hemp rigging, not to mention the sails, nets, etc., and needed it all replaced every year or two, due to salt rot. Additionally, the shipsamp;rsquo; charts, maps, logs, and Bibles were made from paper containing hemp fiber from the time of Columbus (15th century) until the early 1900s in the Western European/American World, and by the Chinese from the 1st century A.D. on. Hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus, and was a hundred times easier and cheaper to make. - Jack Herer
