Tonight, I come to the defense of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, for it is said they smoked marijuana.
They raised hemp (which can used to make paper, ropes and other things), there is no question of that. But, unless you cultivate it right, the plant will not become marijuana. To get marijuana, you have to separate the male and female plants before the males pollinate the females. If the females are pollinated, they go to seed and produce but very, very little THC. If the females are not pollinated, they bloom and produce a good amount of THC.
THC, as you know, is what makes you high. It is said that if you smoke hemp, you won't get high, you'll just get a headache.
So, did George Washington smoke marijuana? Writing in his diary, he says, "Began to separate the male and the female . . . rather too late." The quote is, of course, used to argue that he was a marijuana user. I think, though, the quote might indicate just the opposite. If Washington enjoyed marijuana, he would not have been late at separating the plants, but would have made sure he cultivated some into marijuana. Nor do we know, to begin with, that the reason he thought to separate the male and female plants was to cultivate marijuana.
Now, let's consider this quote -- this supposed quote -- from Thomas Jefferson: “Some of my finest hours have been spent sitting on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.” The quote doesn't appear to be authentic, not being found by monticello.org in any of the online papers of Jefferson. The indication is that the quote likely is a complete fabrication.
http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/some-my-finest-hours-have-been-spent-my-back-veranda-smoking-hemp-quotation
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