Jane Fonda Talks Cannabis, Is Hot On Hemp For The U.S.
An exclusive interview with the cross-generational icon Jane Fonda.
Jane Fonda talks cannabis: “Needless to say, I have smoked pot in my life,”
An exclusive interview with the cross-generational icon Jane Fonda by
Javier Hasse Senior Contributor
Vices: A column about cannabis, hemp, CBD and psychedelics.
A New Found Love For PotThe evolution of cannabis science and the increasing variety of intake methods available has opened up a whole new world of possibility for cannabis consumers. People can now select the right varieties and ways to ingest them to achieve very specific, desired effects.
And in this new paradigm, Jane too has reconciled with cannabis.“At dispensaries, they know how to steer you,” she explains.“About four years ago, to help me go to sleep at night, I would take a very microdose of Valium. And I would always have to take a short nap in the middle of the workday during the lunch break because I would have a kind of hangover,” she remembers.
“One day, my very good, progressive doctor said, ‘I would like you to stop taking the sleeping pill, and I suggest that you move over to a CBD that helps you sleep.’”And so, she did.With the help of her local dispensary and its budtenders, Jane found the product that was right for her: a Dosist-brand vape pen. headtopics.com
See also:YouGov Study: 25% Of Americans Now Consume Cannabis, Use Grew 56% Since 2018“And boy, does it work for me,” she says, with a smile on her well-rested face. “I mean, you have to want to go to sleep; you have to be already in bed… But then, I’m out and I have no hangover the next day.”
And A Long-Standing Fascination With HempWhile weed was neverJane’s thing, hemp is a completely different story.Thatplant, she loves; and has done so for a very long time.“I wear hemp clothes,” she says. “I’m sorry to say that all of my clothes come from China because fabric made from hemp was outlawed in the United States. Big industry, I think, was behind that.
“I am really, really interested in having the U.S. bring back hemp as a major part of its materials economy,” Jane adds.But why does a Hollywood star like Jane Fonda choose to wear clothes made out of hemp? At least in the popular imagination, hemp fabrics feel more like a burlap wrap than like something a fashion icon would strut about in.
Well, times have changed. Nowadays, beautiful, soft, silk-like fabrics are made from hemp as well.“I fell in love with some pieces of clothing and then found out they were made of hemp and I was like: ‘Hemp? I thought it would be like a potato sack!’“But they weren’t. They were lovely and soft, and flexible and pliable.” headtopics.com
Beyond fashion, hemp can help change the world for the better, Jane continues.“You asked me why I think hemp is important. I’ll tell you why: We have to stop fossil fuels; we have to phase out fossil fuels from our economy, and we have to do it quickly. We need to be looking for things that can be integral to a national economy that is democratic.”
Under The Influence (Of Winona)
As Jane’s activism starts to show in the conversation, one name begs to be brought forward: Winona LaDuke.
Long-time friends Jane and Winona are currently protesting the $7.5 billion crude oil pipeline being constructed by the Canadian company, Enbridge, in Minnesota.
The project, Jane explains, poses a major threat to the environment; the pipelines would traverse two hundred bodies of water, including the headwater of the Mississippi River.
“These pipes transport tar sands, the most poisonous, damaging, dirty oil. And when it leaks, it sinks to the bottom of the water. It’s very toxic and very hard to clean up,” she says. “Tens of millions of people depend on the Mississippi for their water. I went up there to try to bring national attention to this Enbridge Line 3, and I succeeded in that.”
Interestingly enough, it was Winona LaDuke who brought the Enbridge issue to Jane’s attention, just as she had done in the past with hemp.
“She’s the one who told me about Henry Ford’s hemp car. She’s the one who made me understand the value of a hemp economy,” the artist declares.
Then, she moves on to quote her dear friend: “There was a moment in North American history when we had a choice. We could have chosen a carbohydrate economy, or a hydrocarbon economy. And we chose the wrong one.
“Now we have a chance to decide over. We should choose a carbohydrate economy in which hemp would figure centrally. I love that,” Jane adds.
She really does love hemp. Her face lights up as she mentions the tens of uses hemp has.
“Hemp is a magical plant,” she concludes. READ MORE