I was reading Pynchon’s last book–“Mason and Dixon”–the other day and I was really entertained by this one scene in which George Washington, Mason, and Dixon sit around sharing a blunt. Martha comes out with a tray full of cookies. She thought she’d whip up a batch after seeing them smoking since they’d be getting the munchies soon…or something to that effect. Very funny scene.
Anyway, Pynchon is playing on the fact–pretty commonly known–
that several founding fathers (farmers like Washington, Jefferson, and Adams) grew hemp. This was considered a valuable crop, useful for making strong rope, clothing, etc. Now, my question is: did they smoke pot? This would hardly be considered scandalous by 18th and early-19th century standards, what with snuff, opium abuse, and the the later popularity of cocaine. And pot was only criminalized in the 20th century during a time of moral hysteria…
(I know it’s unheard of on these boards but if somebody has info on this could they cite their sources so that I can look into it a bit more? A specific book, or instance. Thanks.)