Paper has been around for over 3,000 years being invented in China, rags and natural fibres were often used to make paper. in the early 20th Century Dupont developed a technique to make paper from trees, this patent came out in 1937 the same year hemp was banned in the US. With a shift from annual crops being used to supply the pulp vast areas of forest have been cut down to make paper.
US Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 404 – Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material, 1937 (LINK) showed that annual crops of hemp would be a far more efficient source of the fibre required to make paper, as it produces more dry matter and is stronger, it is a great source for making paper as both the primary/secondary bast fibre (long fibre) and the hurd/shiv (short fibre) can be used. The polluting wood-pulp paper sulfide process was patented in 1937, the same year hemp was prohibited under the Marijuana Tax Act.
BULLETIN 404 – Download PDF (2MB)