Women and Hemp: A Celebration of Ingenuity and Perseverance
For Women’s History Month, we celebrate the women who have championed hemp, from ancient healers to modern pioneers.
Reviewed by Jessica Flowers, Certified Clinical Herbalist
Women have long been the caretakers of society, whether in the home or on the front lines of the fight for human rights.
From Eunice Newton Foote, the early climate science pioneer whose 1856 experiments shed light on the greenhouse effect more than a century before climate change entered the global conversation, to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose landmark brief in Reed v. Reed helped establish that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment protects against sex discrimination, women have always pushed society forward.
This Women’s History Month, Moon Mother Hemp is celebrating women as healers and innovators who have championed hemp.
Women and hemp through history
Women’s relationship with hemp goes back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian medical texts mention hemp among their remedies, and in the 19th century, Queen Victoria is said to have been prescribed a hemp tincture by her royal physician, during one of the most socially restrictive periods in England’s history.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead also spoke out on cannabis policy, testifying before a Senate hearing in 1969 at the height of her career. She was ahead of her time in warning against the harms the drug war would go on to cause, especially in targeted minority communities.
Modern pioneers
Women continue to champion hemp today. Valerie Corral co-founded the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz, the country’s oldest continuously operating medical cannabis collective, and became a champion for patients and families, breaking down the stigma around the plant.
“When I opened Green Leaf Lab in 2011, my goal was to support consumer safety, quality control testing, and the legitimacy of an emerging industry.”
Rowshan Reordan, founder and CEO, Green Leaf Lab
Green Leaf Lab was the nation’s first woman-owned laboratory specializing in cannabis and hemp CBD analytics, and the first cannabis and hemp laboratory to be licensed and accredited by a state agency, a true commitment to consumer safety through quality science.
The many gifts of hemp
- Hemp fabric. Hemp crops absorb carbon as they grow, need little irrigation and help keep soil healthy, and hemp fiber is lightweight and absorbent yet much stronger than cotton.
- Hemp seeds. A nutritious snack with a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, plus fiber and plant protein.
- Hemp extracts. Hemp is cannabis with very low levels of THC, so it doesn’t produce a high, and its extracts are used in wellness products like ours.
Each of these women understood the value of this abundant plant, and women have always been quick to recognize and cultivate its gifts.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
