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He's right. Each sailing ship required many tons of hemp. Pretty much all paper and fabric was made from hemp (including our founding documents). The nations that controlled the most hemp ruled the world.

In America's early days, Thomas Jefferson went on a mission to buy the best Chinese hemp seeds from a smuggler in France. China kept tight controls on their hemp since it was so valuable for military and commerce. The first law regarding hemp in the Colonies MANDATED all farmers to plant some due to its military value.

So what happened? The cotton gin made cotton a cheaper source of light fiber but hemp was still used for heavy shipping applications. As the hemp requirements for ships went down, the hemp industry came up with their own “gin”, the decorticator, in 1936. It was going to revolutionize the textile industry. Then in 1937, “reefer madness” propaganda and the crooked stamp tax conveniently stopped it for the cotton industry.

Then once again in WW2, the government promoted growing hemp due to its many practical uses. Find the video “hemp for victory” from the federal government. Hemp produces the most fiber and renewable oils per acre per year.