The Executive Harvest: A Presidential History of Hemp

As we approach Presidents’ Day on February 16th, we find ourselves reflecting on the legacy of the figures who shaped this nation. At Dragon Hemp, we believe history isn't just a record of the past—it is a roadmap for the resilience and wellness we seek today.

While many observe the holiday as a simple day of rest, we see it as an opportunity to honor the "Presidential Practitioners" who recognized a fundamental truth: that the health of a nation is rooted in the quality of its soil.

To understand the connection between the Oval Office and the apothecary, one must first understand the profound history of hemp itself. For millennia, Cannabis sativa L. has served as one of humanity’s most vital allies. Long before it was a subject of modern debate, it was the literal fabric of civilization.

• It provided the sails that crossed the Atlantic.
  
  

• It was the paper that recorded the Enlightenment.
  
  

• It was the medicine that sat on the shelves of every 19th-century village healer.

In the American colonies, hemp was so essential to the survival of the republic that it was often used as legal tender. This plant was never a "trend"—it was a strategic pillar of independence. Our founders turned to it because it was effective, hardy, and sustainable. They were seeking treatments and materials that addressed root causes, refusing to settle for the "good enough" options provided by distant empires.

From the first seeds sown at Mount Vernon to the modern legislative breakthroughs that allowed us to bring you our proprietary herbal remedies today, hemp has been a constant companion to the American Presidency.

The birth of the American republic was woven from the very fibers we cultivate today. For our first leaders, hemp was not a trend—it was a strategic necessity for a nation seeking independence. They looked to the soil to solve the root causes of a young country’s struggles, establishing a legacy of botanical pragmatism that still guides our apothecary.

• George Washington: The Meticulous Practitioner
  
  

• John Adams: The Advocate for "Home-Spun" Virtue
  
  

• Thomas Jefferson: The Botanical Innovator
  
  

• James Madison: The Architect of Insight

George Washington was far more than a military general; he was a dedicated agronomist who viewed the health of his soil as synonymous with the health of his nation. At his Mount Vernon estate, Washington cultivated hemp across all five of his farms, driven by a desire for strategic self-sufficiency.

His interest was born of a practitioner’s mindset—obsessing over harvest timing and botanical quality to ensure the highest efficacy of the crop. His diaries reveal a man who refused to settle for "good enough," meticulously documenting his process:

"I began to separate the male and female plants rather too late..." — George Washington, 1765

This dedication to precision—the understanding that timing, strain, and purity are the difference between a common crop and a "first necessity"—is the same spirit we bring to our formulations today. Just as Washington viewed hemp as the literal rigging required to hold a new republic together, we view our proprietary hemp-based remedies as the essential framework for your own resilience. We don't just source ingredients; we curate a lineage of effectiveness that began in the soil of Mount Vernon.

John Adams, our second president, was an outspoken proponent of the domestic hemp industry. Writing under the pseudonym "Humphrey Ploughjogger," Adams used wit to champion hemp as a mark of true patriotism. For Adams, wearing "homespun" cloth—often a blend of hemp and flax known as tow-linen—was a political statement against foreign imports and a testament to American resilience.

His vision was clear: the strength of the American character was reflected in the strength of its fibers. This belief in quality and local integrity remains a cornerstone of the Dragon Hemp ethos. We believe your wellness journey should be supported by the same uncompromising standards Adams demanded for his country.

Thomas Jefferson was perhaps the most adventurous of the "Hemp Presidents." A lifelong student of botany, he famously smuggled high-quality hemp seeds from China to the United States while serving as ambassador to France. He believed that hemp was essential to the "wealth and protection of the country."

Jefferson also developed a hemp-threshing machine—a "brake" that simplified the separation of fibers. He refused to patent it, wanting all farmers to benefit from the efficiency.

At Dragon Hemp, we channel this innovation into our pillars, ensuring every Warming Balm and Recovery Tincture is as effective as it is refined.

James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," viewed hemp as a sustainable alternative to volatile crops. Beyond the fields, Madison’s legacy is physically linked to the very paper that holds our founding ideas. The early drafts of the Constitution and the Federalist Papers were likely penned on durable hemp-rag paper.

Madison’s connection touches on the cerebral. He viewed the plant as a partner in deep thought and the structuring of democratic concepts. We reflect this focus in our Essential Wellbeing Collection, designed to help you maintain balance and clarity in a demanding world.

As the nation expanded and faced its greatest trials, hemp evolved from a local staple into a symbol of rugged reliability. From the frontier to the front lines of global conflict, these presidents leaned on the plant’s indestructible nature to support a people who refused to settle for "good enough."

• Andrew Jackson: The Frontier Producer
  
  

• Abraham Lincoln: The "Tow-Linen" Candidate
  
  

• Franklin D. Roosevelt: Hemp for Victory

As the 19th century dawned, hemp production moved west. Andrew Jackson became a large-scale producer at his Tennessee estate, The Hermitage. For Jackson, hemp was about performance—it was the material that bound the goods moving through the Port of New Orleans.

Jackson understood that to survive on the frontier, one needed tools that were "virtually indestructible." This rugged reliability is what we aim for in our Aches & Pains Collection. Like the hemp ropes of Jackson's era, our formulas are designed to stand up to the rigors of an active life.

Before he was the "Great Emancipator," Abraham Lincoln was a man of the soil. Growing up in Kentucky and Indiana, Lincoln wore "tow-linen"—a rugged fabric woven from hemp and flax. When he first ran for the Illinois state legislature, he famously campaigned in a pair of flax and tow-linen pantaloons.

For Lincoln, hemp was the fabric of the common man—durable, honest, and hardworking. At Dragon Hemp, we honor this by ensuring transparency and effectiveness in every bottle, making premium, plant-based therapeutics accessible to everyone who refuses to settle for "good enough."

The mid-20th century brought a dramatic resurgence under Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1942, as World War II cut off foreign supplies, the administration launched the "Hemp for Victory" campaign, urging farmers to grow hemp for the war effort.

FDR understood that in times of crisis, we must return to what works. This era proved that hemp is a crop of ultimate resilience. We see our Rest & Restoration Collection in a similar light: essential tools for recovery and resilience during life's most taxing battles.

After decades of absence, the 21st century marked a pivotal return to our herbal roots. This era represents the transition from "forbidden" plant to a legitimate resource for the modern wellness seeker. Through strategic legislative breakthroughs, the door was reopened for practitioners to finally bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern relief.

• Barack Obama: The Architect of Research
  
  

• Donald Trump: The Catalyst of Legitimacy

Before the modern wellness revolution, there was a quiet return to the soil. In 2014, President Obama signed the Farm Bill that allowed for the first authorized research into industrial hemp. This was the crack in the door—the moment practitioners were finally given the green light to explore the therapeutic potential of this ancient botanical.

At Dragon Hemp, we view this as the era of curiosity and foundation. It allowed us to bridge the gap between ancient Eastern wisdom and modern Western validation, ensuring our formulas are grounded in more than just tradition, but in the rigorous pursuit of truth.

In 2018, the "forbidden" status of hemp was officially dismantled. By signing the subsequent Farm Bill, President Trump descheduled hemp, transforming it from a restricted substance back into a legitimate botanical resource for the American apothecary. This was the final step in a journey toward self-reliance and wellness autonomy.

This legislative breakthrough is the reason Dragon Hemp exists today. It was a return to the values of our founders—choosing natural, root-cause treatments over the "good enough" standard of modern symptom management. We believe in the freedom to work toward the life you desire, supported by the plants that were always meant to be part of our journey.

The journey toward optimal wellness is rarely a straight line. Today, we face a new era of uncertainty. In November 2025, a provision was added to a federal spending bill that threatens to reclassify nearly all hemp-derived products as Schedule I—placing them in the same restrictive category as heroin.

This is more than a regulation; it is a potential erasure. This move could wipe out up to 95% of the hemp industry by November 2026, removing the very tools our community relies on to feel like themselves again.

Signals of Shift: Regulation vs. Prohibition

While the threat is real, we are seeing powerful signals that the tide is shifting toward a more reasoned, science-based future:

• The Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act: Introduced by Senators Wyden and Merkley, this bill proposes a framework that prioritizes consumer safety and transparency over outright bans.
  
  

• The Move to Schedule III: The President’s executive order to expedite the reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III recognizes the plant's medical value and opens the door for expanded research—a goal Dragon Hemp has championed since its founding.

A Unified Message to Congress

At Dragon Hemp, we view these restrictions as a call to action. We recently joined a coalition of farmers, business leaders, and industry advocates in Washington, D.C., to deliver a clear, bipartisan message: We need regulation, not a ban. The efforts on Capitol Hill are moving with urgency:

• 100+ Strategic Meetings: Engaging both House and Senate offices to protect the 2026 planting season.
  
  

• The Two-Year Moratorium: We are advocating for a federal extension to allow for thoughtful, bipartisan regulations that prioritize your safety without compromising innovation.
  
  

• Protecting the Source: Our farmers are weeks away from deciding whether to plant. Without clarity, the local economies and natural wellness solutions we rely on are at risk.
  
  
  

Your Voice is the Modern "Homespun"

Just as John Adams championed "homespun" cloth as a mark of American resilience, your advocacy today is a testament to your commitment to peak personal care. We refuse to settle for "good enough" legislation that limits your access to the plant-based therapeutics you deserve.

Take Action in Under a Minute:The movement is gaining traction, but your engagement is the final ingredient. We’ve made it simple to tell your representatives that banning progress is not the answer.

👉 Click Here to Send a Pre-Written Letter to Your Representatives (Or click the countdown banner at the top of our website at any time.)

We are the stewards of this presidential lineage. We take the resilience of Washington’s harvests and the clinical expertise of modern practice to ensure you never have to settle for the life you’re resigned to now.

Let’s stop the hemp ban—together.

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, we invite you to view these historical figures as pioneers of botanical wellness. They understood that to lead effectively—and to live fully—one must be supported by the best that nature provides.

We are the stewards of this presidential lineage. We take the resilience of Washington’s harvests and refine them with the clinical expertise of a modern practitioner.

This holiday, honor the past and protect your future. Don't settle for the life you’re resigned to now.

Every ingredient is selected for its clinical efficacy and ecological impact. We utilize organically grown hemp and time-honored herbs, partnering with farmers who prioritize ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration. Our goal is to provide transparency and education, helping you make informed decisions for your long-term health.

To learn more, explore our Ingredients Index.

Dragon Hemp was established by Kevin Menard, LAc, a leading practitioner of Sports Medicine Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. After years of integrating cannabinoids and native botanicals into his treatments for pain, musculoskeletal injuries, and insomnia, Kevin developed these formulas to support his patients’ recovery beyond his clinic walls.