Hemp Highway of Kentucky

From the conference where I presented

Concerns around HB 829 arise during cannabis convention in Frankfort Recent legislative developments have raised concerns among advocates for patient access to medical cannabis.

Check out the Kentucky NORML Cannabis Conference in Frankfort March 7-9.... I will be speaking on Saturday March 9 just before some of my friends from Bickett and Boone, like Robbie Bickett ....
You can also check out my writing in Fat Nugs Magazine, where, personally I think some of my best writing has been published. **p

I submitted my book proposal package to the acquisitions editor at University Press of Kentucky last night. I think the annotated table of contents is really strong. I used this to share my vision of the book with the publisher. The introduction, which was the writing sample, could have been stronger. It's hard to write an introduction when the book is still parts and ideas. I feel like writing the introduction first was forcing form over content. At the same time I did not want to write a full book chapter as the research IS time consuming. (I don't f*ck around when I research, I love it) The quality of my CV/resume, which highlights my published writing, I have no clue. For some reason I feel if I could write a better resume I would have a more lucrative job....
(boring reflective moment)
I read some Carlos Castaneda in college, the first 2 books. In his first book Castaneda says Don Juan instructed him about "plant allies". That resonated with me. I view cannabis as a plant ally. There is a medical and spiritual component that it fills in my life. I think when I figured out cannabis that I became less anxious and more comfortable in my own skin, among other things....but, allies help each other. And, early on I felt the plant trying to communicate through me saying "tell my story". Yeah, I know it sounds like a bunch of hippie bu****it, but how the heck does one end up on this path.
Writing about cannabis started in high school. I remember thinking, "Wow, if you are doing the assignment, and reasonably competent the teachers let you write about this stuff?"
That followed me to the University of Kentucky where I attempted being a student from 1985-86. I was distracted and NOT a good student. I didn't write about cannabis at all when I was a student at Antioch College. Ima be honest, as a "hippie" I didn't rate at Antioch. My first year I was actually a really serious, hide my weird side in the classroom kind of student. I literally had school clothes and play clothes and I behaved differently in each "costume". My last two years at Antioch I was not as divided. But, I was really focused on film studies and video production. Some will argue that I was not a serious student outside my major and I would be hard pressed to mount a plausible defense.
I picked up the "cause" again in graduate school. When I started the program I intended to write my thesis about the Grateful Dead. By the time I was at that point I had already written a really good research paper on cannabis growers as outlaw folk heroes. And, I felt like I had more to say. Sadly, my thesis was never completed. In part because I didn't know what I wanted to say, just that I had more. I had been really blessed when doing previous research papers. There always seemed to be a moment, an epiphany of sorts where what I wanted to say announced itself. That NEVER happened with my thesis...it rambled over 100 pages and said nothing original....had I actually completed it, I am not sure if I would be proud...I think the reason I had trouble finding an angle is I approached my research with confirmation bias. I was looking for proof, not the truth. That's a dead end.
Today, I think there is NOBODY in the state of Kentucky more qualified to write this book. I know the material, know where else I need to dig and I think I am a decent writer. James F. Hopkins, who wrote A History of the Kentucky H**p Industry was a pure historian. The book is a very dry read, big on production numbers but missing some perspective from 30,000 feet. I know I can make an excellent complement to that volume.
So that's my ramble. Fingers crossed, I know I can do this. **p

Just sent the annotated ToC to the Sr. Acquisitions Editor at University Press of Kentucky. Since this proposal is vastly different than the one I submitted for my first book (which was a questionnaire basically) I wanted some feedback before I formally submitted anything.
I still need to finish the introduction which I promised as part of the proposal...a writing sample as it were.
I am at once excited and ready to rock this project and scared sh*tless that the feedback will be the tuba blast when you "go over" on the Price Is Right.
UPK is a serious publisher. I feel qualified, even though I lack the official academic credential that "validates" that assertion. I am sure this contributes to the feeling that I am "punching up" in class.
I am hoping that by putting this out into the world it generates positive momentum and good vibes....yes, a hippie at heart....

Spoke with an acquisition editor at University Press of Kentucky about a follow up to the James Hopkins book about Kentucky h**p history. I have an active proposal in process and wanted to see if my vision for the book coincided with his...it was a GREAT conversation. Our visions seemed very aligned and the proposal as discussed seemed to leave us both enthusiastic about the project... Proposal due in 2 months...
If you would like to show support for this project please buy my current book. You can venmo me $30 to **pHighway for a signed copy or better yet buy several copies from my publisher...buy them for your store, or to give as gifts...hell warm your house or roll a fatty with the pages.... just get a copy...
**p

Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway by Dan Isenstein | The History Press Books Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway

Happy 420 y'all

John Prine Performs “Illegal Smile” In 1972 Underground News Broadcast of us has an illegal smile from time to time... on the day we recorded John, we were high on life and John's mu...

Ima make a prediction. Remember doing limits in algebra you know the equations with a and the answer was a graph with the limit being but never approaching 0 (zero)...that's worst case scenario...almost zero

Scientists evaluate potential human cannabinoid exposure from consuming meat if cattle are fed h**pseed cake Scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Dakota State University (NDSU) recently found that when cattle were fed with the industrial h**p byproduct, h**pseed cake, very low levels of Cannabis chemicals (cannabinoids) were retained in muscle, liver, kidney, and fat tis...

Jorma Kaukonen ... Keep on Truckin' down the H**p Highway of Kentucky with Bickett and Boone CBD ....so Keep on truckin' mama, truck my blues away

Bickett and Boone Cannabis with Jorma

Express Cars UK this meme is manure....do your research...the plastic was phenolic impregnated with a fibrous mix of h**p, ramie and flax among others...h**p being about 5% of the mix.
The fuel was likely a fuel alcohol like "Agrol" which wad being touted as a replacement for gasoline...it was not h**p based....there is no factual evidence to support the "h**p plastic car running on h**p fuel" anywhere....do better.... **p

Henry Ford built a car out of h**p plastic that ran on h**p fuel almost a century ago.

There was once a h**p warehouse approximately where Halls on the River now stands...

DID YOU KNOW? ... back in the late eighteenth century (just down from Hall's on the River), operated the Hieronymus Warehouse and Ferry. Located on the land of Henry Hieronymus, this warehouse was established in 1808 by the Kentucky General Assembly for the purpose of inspecting goods (mainly flour, to***co, h**p and bourbon) destined for shipment by flatboat downriver to markets in New Orleans. Kentucky Bourbon and Bourbon Street have had quite a unique relationship going back to the 1700's.

lesson **p **p

Renowned Scientist And Father Of THC Dr. Raphael Mechoulam Dies At 92 Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, viewed as the most famous cannabis researcher in the world and a professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem died in Israel at the age of 92.

1931, Popular Science
Vol. 118, No. 2

Despised W**d adds value to FARMLAND

Famers of the Imperial Valley, in California, have found wild h**p, a familiar w**d, will in two to three months replenish exhausted soil as thoroughly as alfalfa and go the job more quickly. Wild h**p grows abundantly from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, and from the Mason-Dixon line south to an undetermined point in Central America. In a few weeks it towers seven to ten feet high and is a jungle of thickness. According to D.E. Creighton, assistant farm adviser of Imperial County, discovery of its ablility to enrich soil may prove the greatest advance in farming since water was brought in to irrigate the American Desert.
During the months when the soil is "resting" the depleted land is plowed and seeded with wild h**p. Tractor machinery then plows under the luxuriant crop. stalks and all. The formerly-despised w**d is now said to be adding from ten to twenty-five percent to the $12,000,000 crops of the Imperial Valley.

**phistory

KY h**p farmer 1920s

Kentucky h**p farmer posing next to his field, 1920

Doing a chapter for a book by Angie Roullier. The chapter is ostensibly about Henry Ford's alleged "h**p car", but the research has dropped down a fascinating rabbit hole of Chemurgy and "h**p plastics". And well, here I go again, bah humbug!!!!
Turns out that most of the major players in the nascent Chermurgy movement in the 1930s were pretty messed up guys... there was philosophy of "scientific nationalism" that does not leave me with a warm fuzzy. Additionally, the major players were hard core chemists...they were not really looking for "green" solutions, that concept would not come into vogue until the ecology movement of the late 60s-early 70s.
They weren't environmentalists, they were isolationists. They felt that synthesizing everything and manufacturing products domestically would avoid entangling alliances that lead to foreign war. So whatever "h**p plastic" they were making was designed to be indestructible, not bio degradable.
I will leave the rest of the details until the chapter is completed (soon) and Angie publishes...
In the meantime, this article about Ford's plastic car describes the process used to manufacture the plastic panels... While I am not an engineer, I worked in the thermoplastic injection molding industry for 20 years. This is a much different process, more like a thermoset process, of which I know relatively little. Even then, I am curious if the process described is accurate (or maybe I misread it) but I think it talked about impregnating the fibers with a phenolic resin. Wouldn't the fibers be used inside the resin laid out in a sheet like a woven composite. Or even if the woven part were placed in the mold first, the liquid resin would encapsulate the fibers as it cured.

**p

Henry Ford Demonstrates Plastic Bodies For Cars: Popular Science, March 1941 | Undiscovered Classics Henry Ford Demonstrates Plastic Bodies For Cars: Popular Science, March 1941 Posted on October 26, 2011 by Geoff HackerMay 25, 2020 Caption: Henry Ford, at right, tells the author about his plastic-car plans. The cagelike object is a model of tubular framework proposed for cars. ——————.....

So if his first "prototype" run of his "jeans" were from a roll of canvas he had at the dry good store it is entirely possible this limited run of jeans were indeed h**p.
But it also sounds like he switched to cotton denim pretty quickly. And here's the scoop....h**p based canvas may have been a superior fabric from a wear perspective, but ultimately for mass production he was going to look for a material he could purchase in bulk cheaply that was both easy to work with and durable, cotton denim.
I would even say that if Italy was indeed the source of his bulk denim, it may have been a blend with h**p...I wouldn't swear by it, but I don't always try and be a Debbie Downer.... **p **plife

My article for Black History Month in Fat Nugs Magazine.... enjoy...

Black H**pstory Month: Origins of Western Prohibition Black H**pstory Month: Origins of Western Prohibition February 7, 2023 Dan Isenstein Photo courtesy of Author Photo courtesy of author There seems to be no end to shameless conspiracy theories about the origins of cannabis prohibition. Among the most disseminated are that William Randolph Hearst wan...

Saw my book at Walgreens in Chevy Chase...buy now and help make me world famous....AND give me a review at Amazon if you have read it... **p

With the chaos of "Black Friday" passed, time to order something special for the **pster on your list. "Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway" makes the perfect gift. Venmo $30 to **pHighway for a signed copy or order online from Amazon or other on line retailer. **p

In Louisville Friday or Saturday...stop by say hey and talk h**p history... **p

**p in begins with the first permanent white settlers to arrive on the frontier in 1775. H**p manufacturing would continue to play a role in Kentucky's economy until around 1952 when Kentucky River Mills in Frankfort closed for good. Opened in 1877, on the cusp of the binder twine boom, the history of KRM includes artists, warships and a role in the WWII era USDA educational film "H**p for Victory". Learn more about it in "Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway" on the History Press. DM me for instructions on ordering a signed copy or order direct from the link below. can also get wholesale pricing.

Remember this was 3 years before THC was identified/isolated... in 1958 all trichromes were sinister

**p starts in 1775 with the first settlers on the frontier and weaves it's way through almost every significant Kentucky narrative. Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway explores how h**p binds together the Kentucky story... DM me for info on getting a signed copy or order direct from the link below.
Bulk pricing available

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What to do in Lexington, KY? H**p Tourism perhaps...I am currently holed up at an airBnB in the NoLi district of Lexington. (NoLi=North Limestone).... lining Limestone from 3rd Street to Loudon Ave are the James Wier home (KKA the Carrick House) built in 1835, Wier specialized in water retted h**p...then there is "Rose Hill" the home of John Brand, who along with John Wesley Hunt operated the 1st h**p bagging factory in the nation....then finally there is what remains of a steam powered cordage factory built around 1877...not much h**p history there, it closed soon after...across the street are some remaining buildings from the Bruce family ropewalks...Limestone connects to 3rd Street which forms one of the borders of Gratz park which several h**p industrialist called home...in Lexington you can't throw a stone without hitting h**p history... How much would you pay for a tour? **p **plife

H**p for Victory
Pp. 45-47
1942-45 saw the USDA prepare for a potential shortage of h**p fiber by developing a program to jump start and subsidize the production of h**p fiber. This concern was spurred by the Japanese invasion of the Philippine Islands on December 8, 1941.
Initially proposed as a network of over 70 h**p mills dotting the Midwest and grain belt, the government eventually built 43 h**p mills all designed by Andrew Wright. Of the 43 mills only 1 was built in Kentucky, in Clark county in between Lexington and Wi******er.
Kentucky's role was more strategic. Kentucky was to be the source of all the domestically produced h**p seed. In early 1942 the entire stockpile of Kentucky h**p seed was claimed by the government and redistributed for the coming growing season. Learn more in my book "Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway" available from Arcadia Publishing or through Amazon and other book retailers. **p **pcommunity

Paul Sawyier, Kentucky Artist
Pg 90
One of the principal investors in Kentucky River Mills was a local physician, Dr. Nathanial Sawyier. Outside of Sawyier having used his stock in the company for multiple personal loans, his investment in the mill would not be that noteworthy. However, Nathanial Sawyier relaxed by dabbling in art, a hobby he was reported to have engaged in until his health no longer permitted, often sketching his family. This passion for art was inherited by his son, Paul (1865-1917).
Perhaps to pay for his formal art studies, Paul worked as a travelling binder twine salesman….Paul may not have enjoyed selling binder twine, but several of his paintings pay homage to the h**p industry, most notably The H**p Breaker and Breaking H**p.

Learn more about other famous Kentuckians and their relationship with h**p in Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway available through Arcadia Publishing (link below) or Amazon and other book retailers... **p **pcommunity **pculture

H**p and Slavery
William Christian Bullitt (1793-1877) grew up at Oxmoor (Farm) and took over the family farm after his father passed. He inherited his father’s love of h**p farming but not his political aspirations. William Christian Bullitt served in an elected capacity once, as a reluctant if not vocal delegate at Kentucky’s third constitutional convention in 1849. Where his impassioned speech carried the day.
The free states do not and will not raise h**p and to***co. Kentucky and Missouri have the monopoly of this great article, h**p. This, as long as slavery remains, must be the case…Take away slaves, and you destroy production of that valuable article which is bound to make the rich lands of Kentucky and Missouri still more valuable.

Note: The exploitation of enslaved people is a theme that appears in multiple places in "Tales from the H**p Highway" available through Arcadia Publishing... **p **pcommunity

First H**p Crop in Kentucky
Pp. 22-25
The first attempt at establishing permanent settlements in Kentucky occurred in 1774 when Captain James Harrod led an expedition of 31 men up the Kentucky river in canoes. Near what is now Harrodsburg, in Mercer County, the men started constructing “permanent” cabins.
An ambush but local native American tribes, upset settlers were impinging on their sacred hunting grounds, resulted in the death of one of the settlers. This ultimately resulted in the entire expedition abandoning the settlement and returning to their homes.
A brief military campaign, “Lord Dunmore’s War”, resulted in the native Americans surrendering their sacred grounds south of the Ohio river, opening the Kentucky territory to white settlers. In Spring of 1775 an emboldened, Harrod with a group of men now swollen to 54, returned to their original site and established For Harrod, Kentucky’s first permanent settlement.
Among these settlers was a man named Archibald McNeill who, according to Kentucky historian, Lewis Collins, planted the first seed h**p crop in Kentucky. This event is memorialized on one of Kentucky’s 14 roadside historical markers that discuss Kentucky’s h**p industry. You can find out what happened to Archibald McNeill and more h**p history of Boyle County in Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway.

Order my book "Tales from the Kentucky H**p Highway"

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