# pot smokin presidents



## viper (Sep 26, 2009)

*13 Feb 2009* - todays President political roll model, Abraham Lincoln smoked weed too. Historical documentation leaves little doubt that the 16th president of the u.s  was a proud pot head who praised smoking cannabis to unwind and have fun.

The legendary US leader, who was honored by Obama during his presidential inauguration, loved to play harmonica. Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany learned of this, and had sent a couple of them to Lincoln as gifts. In the thank-you note from 1855 to the harmonica builder the US president not only expresses his fondness of the instruments, but surprisingly also of (what we now know as) marijuana. Lincoln writes: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica."


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## Pepper (Sep 26, 2009)

:smoke1: :aok:


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## OGKushman (Sep 27, 2009)

that is awesome


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## Killuminati420 (Sep 27, 2009)

ya thats badass...but most presidents grew big crops of weed...at one time it was ILLEGAL NOT TO GROW...very interesting story.


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## Rolling Thunder (Sep 27, 2009)

viper said:
			
		

> In the thank-you note from 1855 to the harmonica builder the US president not only expresses his fondness of the instruments, but surprisingly also of (what we now know as) marijuana. Lincoln writes: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica."


 
Which published source is this from, please? I'd like to get it (the book or magazine) that it's found in. Would it be a biography of Lincoln's life, perhaps? - RT


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## viper (Sep 27, 2009)

sorry bro , i just copied and pasted from a celebrety site i was browsing and didnt save the it


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## ishnish (Sep 27, 2009)

bummer...  i was wanting to read the source too...


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## TexasMonster (Sep 27, 2009)

I would like to see some historical documentation on that one myself. That would be cool.

Ishnish- awesome avatar. Did yall see the new "Cleveland" show?


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## Rolling Thunder (Sep 28, 2009)

Well, I'm still thinkin' about the Lincoln 'tale', and it occurred to me that if there was any substance to the claim, then Herer would have definitely referenced it in his book, EDIT. The only problem is, I can't seem to find it; so I'm inclined to believe he never mentions 'it'. And I have to believe, based on the book's content(s), that he must have cracked open at least one or two Lincoln biographies, during his research for this book and life-long crusade against prohibition. What Jack does say about Lincoln, though, is this: 

_"Abraham Lincoln responded to this kind of repressive mentality in December, 1840, when he said, 'Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man&#8217;s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.' "_ (Chapter 2, in the section entitled _'Smoking, Leisure and Creativity'_)

N.B. Since the above excerpt was located in the copy posted on Herer's own website, I cannot provide the precise page number of the book that quote is found on, since the page numbers are not given in that online version of the text. 

However, there is [EDIT in the Google Book Archive, with a very limited access to it, via the word search function. (You type in a word like 'Lincoln', for example, and the search engine will produce a collection of brief passages from the book containing that term.) Click on the above link, and a page should come up showing a few passages, in which Herer claims the following:

1. Lincoln used hemp seed oil lamps.
2. He used cannabis medicine. 
3. He was also a patent medicine junkie. 
4. That Lincoln's wife was prescribed cannabis medicine, to help her deal with her husband's assasination. 

The sigificance of his being a 'patent medicine' junkie would seem to be that he viewed cannabis medicine as every bit as legitimate and effective as 'patent[ed] medicine', so-called, if not more so. 

Now, I think it safe to assume Jack knew about the claim that Lincoln smoked sweet-hemp; and if he is, in fact silent, about that in his book, it is most likely because he did not want to give his opponents any leverage, whatever, for discrediting his book on the grounds of claims not sufficiently supported by the historical evidence. Still, I suspect Jack believes Lincoln smoked his sweet-hemp, but proving that in a court of law is entirely another matter. 

Having said all of the above, there is another book in the Google Archive that does perpetuate the claim that Lincoln was a hemp-hound, of sorts; meaning that he had a nose for burning hemp. It is entitled EDIT Do a word search for appearances of the word 'hemp' in the book, and read pages 26-27. 

Page 143 of EDIT tells us that the 19th century Women's Temperance League (MADD), publically advocated the use of hashish over alcohol; and that John Hay, one of Lincoln`s presidential aides openly experimented with hashish. 

On pages 194-196 of [EDITThe Natural History of Commerce[/URL], you'll find a brief though very interesting description of America's 19th century hemp culture. In another book in the Google Archive entitledEDITA Dictionary[/URL], etc., Illinois (Lincoln`s state of birth) is described as one of the country's leading hemp producers. 

I searched several 19th and 20th century Lincoln biographies in the Google Archive and I could not find one that used the word hemp, or alluded to Lincoln's alleged affection for it. I suspect that is the reason Herer approached Lincoln`s use of hemp from an entirely different angle. 

This EDIT tells a story about Lincoln as a boy, using hemp stalks to fuel a fire. The way it's told gives me the feeling that the boys standing around the fire, breathing in all that hemp smoke, got quite a glow happenin' from it. Read it and tell me what you think? 

RT


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## 2Dog (Sep 28, 2009)

what I want to know is if any of my ancestos grew and smoked...I know they rolled/grew tobacoo...if only we could go back.


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## TexasMonster (Sep 28, 2009)

Thanks. That is pretty cool, I enjoyed reading that.


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## viper (Sep 28, 2009)

the following is a nice LONG read , some interesting facts , some we know some we didnt ,


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## viper (Sep 28, 2009)

The Michael Phelps bong "scandal" has brought new attention to marijuana and those who smoke it, especially those we consider to be "role models." So I decided to gather some quotes from some other "rode models" to gain a little perspective on the issue. And whether the issue is smoking cannabis or growing hemp for food/fuel/fiber, some of our greatest role models have a lot to say on the subject. Consider that back in the early days of the U.S., hemp was grown for both industrial and recreational reasons, as you can see in the quotes below. The fact that Olympians, scientists and Presidents have all achieved great success after or while using marijuana destroys the myths of marijuana danger and the "gateway drug" theory. President Obama is still having a hard time quitting tobacco but had no issues quitting marijuana, while good old Honest Abe Lincoln smoked "sweet hemp" during his presidency! So let's let our greatest leaders and role models speak for themselves:

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."
- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President

"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
- George Washington, U.S. President

"We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption." 
- John Adams, U.S. President 

"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana." - Jimmy Carter, U.S. President 

"I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama, U.S. President

"The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." -Barack Obama, January 2004

"The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan, renown scientist, astronomer, astrochemist, author and TV host

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford, whose first Model-T was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline 

"Prohibition... goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California

Let's end with a quote from one of the most clueless U.S. Presidents, who evidently thought of himself as an authority on cannabis:

"I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast" - Ronald Reagan

Perhaps with all the evidence coming out that marijuana may help prevent Alzheimer's, it is possible that Reagan's affliction could have been halted or prevented by the herb he so vilified. The powers that maintain the illogical status quo for marijuana's illegality are feeling a seismic shift beneath their skewed logic and paranoid rhetoric. When scientific research is unambiguously and evenly applied to marijuana, the current laws and prohibition cannot and will not stand.

On a side note, sales of the bong that Phelps used are through the roof so in case you're in the market for a Roor Little Sista Ice Masta 3.2, you may have a hard time finding one. However, with marijuana being one of the biggest cash crops in our country, you surely won't have a hard time finding something to smoke in it....

"If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."
- Terence McKenna
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A few facts about Hemp, in case you were wondering:

The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp.

80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin. 

It was legal to pay taxes with Hemp in America from 1631 until the early 1800s.

Refusing to grow Hemp in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries was against the law. You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769.

Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen. 

In 1916, the U.S. Government Dept. of Agriculture predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. 

For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis.

The hemp plant produces up to four times more cellulose per acre than trees. Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that Hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. 

Hemp fuel is non-toxic, biodegradable and does not contribute to sulfur dioxide air poisoning.

In Feb. 1938, Popular Mechanics called Hemp a 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars.

The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture's 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing 'patriotic American farmers' to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:

'...(When) Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable...

...Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese...American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries...

...the Navy's rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!' 

Victory indeed  , from the huffington post


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## viper (Sep 28, 2009)

i especially like the part about refusing to grow hemp in america was against the law --- you could be jailed ? wo


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## TexasMonster (Sep 28, 2009)

> "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford, whose first Model-T was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline


 
I am gonna check that one, if its true, I find that to be a very cool piece of history about Henry Ford.


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## Rolling Thunder (Sep 29, 2009)

Pretty amazing stuff, viper. Thanks. Yes, the completge and total reversal by the US Fed on the national hemp cultivation trade is staggering, to say the least, and completely boggles my mind, for sure! - RT


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## ishnish (Sep 29, 2009)

Sweet!  more material for my speech!



			
				TexasMonster said:
			
		

> Ishnish- awesome avatar. Did yall see the new "Cleveland" show?



I caught the end of an episode, not enough to form an opinion yet.
been busy with school and work and growing...  and life in general..

Thanks for the extra info, viper & RT
:48:


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## StoneyBud (Sep 29, 2009)

*12 Presidents Who Allegedly Smoked Weed*

*George Washington*

George Washington grew hemp on his farm. Some people believe he used marijuana to help his chronic tooth aches. He also supposedly preferred his hemp pipe over alcohol and loved how it smelled. 

*Thomas Jefferson*

Thomas Jefferson also grew hemp. He drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. And he supposedly hated smoking tobacco. Some of my finest hours have been spent on the back of my veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as the eye can see. is something Jefferson supposedly said in 1781, according to the Internet. One source even said that Washington and Jefferson exchanged smoking blends as personal gifts. 

*James Madison*

Another early President to grow hemp. We realize that hemp was grown for other purposes, besides smoking Its just seems like you would smoke it if you had a bunch of it growing in your back yard. He also allegedly credited hemp to giving him the insight to create a new and democratic nation. 

*James Monroe*

Monroe began smoking weed as an Ambassador to France and continued smoking it until he was 73.

*Andrew Jackson*

Jackson was a military man who supposedly smoked weed with his troops.

*Zachary Taylor*

Another President listed by Dr. Burke who is oft-sourced as the president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian. 

*Franklin Pierce*

He is the last guy named by this Dr. Burke who (along with Taylor and Jackson) smoked with their military troops. Pierce also allegedly wrote to his family that marijuana was about the only good thing about the war. 

*Abraham Lincoln*

Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.  Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany).

*John F. Kennedy*

Kennedy allegedly used medicinal marijuana for his back pain and planned on legalizing it in his second term. 

*Bill Clinton*

When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn t like it. I didnt inhale and never tried it again.

*George W. Bush*

Bush has hinted at/admitted to smoking marijuana.

*Barack Obama*

Barack Obama has admitted to smoking weed. When I was a kid, I inhaled. That was the point.


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## 141820 (Oct 1, 2009)

The first model ts where run on ethanol made from hemp in which ethanol can be made from alot of diffrent things! so ethanol is what ran it but the ethanol was made from hemp!


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## StoneyBud (Oct 1, 2009)

141820 said:
			
		

> The first model ts where run on ethanol made from hemp in which ethanol can be made from alot of diffrent things! so ethanol is what ran it but the ethanol was made from hemp!


They weren't lucky enough to have Mr. Distiller, which can make about 1.2 liters of 112 Poof ethanol in just a few hours. It's *not* legal to drink the stuff you make, but it's the same thing as "Everclear". You can use it to make your hash oil or even add some to your gas tank. Most places in the USA allow you to make as much as 10 thousand gallons of your own fuel per/year. You just have to apply for the permit.

Drink it? Me? Never! hehe

What a gadget!

Here's the link for a look:

(Just pasted into your browser)

milehidistilling.com/Mr_Distiller_Moonshine_Alcohol_distilling_p/16050.htm


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## HippyInEngland (Oct 1, 2009)

Unusual for you to drop a live link Stoney.

eace:


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## TexasMonster (Oct 1, 2009)

StoneyBud said:
			
		

> They weren't lucky enough to have Mr Distiller which can make about 1.2 liters of 112 Poof ethanol in just a few hours. It's *not* legal to drink the stuff you make, but it's the same thing as "Everclear". You can use it to make your hash oil or even add some to your gas tank. Most places in the USA allow you to make as much as 10 thousand gallons of your own fuel per/year. You just have to apply for the permit.
> 
> Drink it? Me? Never! hehe
> 
> What a gadget!


 
You and I share a hobby. Only I do it in a 15.5 gallon keg, with two water cooled condensors and puts out 185 to 190 proof first run. To be very clear, it aint legal to make here in the States. Also, if you are curious there is a good forum for it too. I do a lot of wine too.


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## StoneyBud (Oct 1, 2009)

HippyInEngland said:
			
		

> Unusual for you to drop a live link Stoney.
> 
> eace:


Thanks for noticing. Fixed.


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## StoneyBud (Oct 1, 2009)

TexasMonster said:
			
		

> You and I share a hobby. Only I do it in a 15.5 gallon keg, with two water cooled condensers and puts out 185 to 190 proof first run. To be very clear, it ain't legal to make here in the States. Also, if you are curious there is a good forum for it too. I do a lot of wine too.


If you acquire a permit to make your own fuel, it's allowed by Federal law. You just not supposed to drink your fuel. 

It's illegal to use it for distilling alcohol to drink. So if you buy one, only use it's output in your car... don't accidentally pour any down your throat, it will get you drunk and it's illegal to make it for that. :hubba:


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## TexasMonster (Oct 1, 2009)

True that. I just dont want to go through the permit thing. I do believe you are supposed to make it denatured alcohol when using it for fuel arnt ya?

No matter, its an awesome hobby and some good lessons are learned in that hobby and you get to drink better alcohol than everybody else.


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## StoneyBud (Oct 1, 2009)

TexasMonster said:
			
		

> True that. I just dont want to go through the permit thing. I do believe you are supposed to make it denatured alcohol when using it for fuel arnt ya?
> 
> No matter, its an awesome hobby and some good lessons are learned in that hobby and you get to drink better alcohol than everybody else.


Did you look at some of the other models on that site? Man!


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## xxdjbud420xx (Oct 1, 2009)

I was watching the history channel the other night and they said on there the only reason tobacco beat out hemp is cuz it was addictive.  go figure!


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## smokeytimes (Oct 2, 2009)

To distil your own alcohol you have to cut it with at least 2 gallons of gasoline. this is what I found out when I was looking into making my own fuel about two years ago. I had the paperwork to send in to get my permit. 

So Much of our country's (USA) history comes from using Canabis, it seems that this prohibition would have never lasted as long as it has.


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## StoneyBud (Oct 2, 2009)

smokeytimes said:
			
		

> To distil your own alcohol you have to cut it with at least 2 gallons of gasoline.


Ruining perfectly good moonshine...


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## ozzydiodude (Oct 2, 2009)

:yeahthat: Stay away from my still. The only gas to be use for moonshine is to pick up the ingredents.


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## SmokinMom (Oct 2, 2009)

StoneyBud said:
			
		

> *James Madison*
> 
> Another early President to grow hemp. We realize that hemp was grown for other purposes, besides smoking Its just seems like you would smoke it if you had a bunch of it growing in your back yard. He also allegedly credited hemp to giving him the insight to create a new and democratic nation.


 
:aok: Awwesome.  I am related to him on my moms side of the family.


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## smokeytimes (Oct 3, 2009)

StoneyBud said:
			
		

> Ruining perfectly good moonshine...



That was the step you had to do to denature the alcohol per the form I was going to send in, They did have on the form that you could keep up to (2) two gallons for personal use. :dunno:


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## TexasMonster (Oct 3, 2009)

StoneyBud said:
			
		

> Did you look at some of the other models on that site? Man!


I've looked at them all and probably looked at all the sites over the years. I would like to get an "all" copper still. Its a skill for sure. You dont drink your whole run. You have to take off the heads and tails of the run. It takes a while to get used to how much cooling to use in the columns. I dont use the old worm stye condensors like everybody sees on the discovery channel and all that. Those are just not efficient. I love that hobby. I make all kinds of spirits but I choose a neutral yet high ABV% in mine. I make a drink that you just about have to beat the women off of you with out of peaches/sugar/neutral alcohol. It takes about a week. I could go on and on but i wont.


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