Jane Fonda Thoughts on Pot and Hemp Clothes
The successful actress and former fashion model is noted also for her resolute political and environmental activism. In the photo, Fonda attends an anti-Vietnam War conference in the Netherlands in January 1975. Photo credit: Mieremet, Rob / Anefo, Dutch National Archives, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
In a recent interview for Forbes, the American actress has likened munchies to "Hollywood stars' worst enemies," and has praised "all the scientific approaches to cannabis," saying "it's really amazing what's happened, the way they've been able to segment out different parts of the weed."
I don't know about you, but I already have a new favorite among the celebrities. You're no stranger to Jane Fonda, a seven-time Academy Award nominee who also has a rich life of public appearances as a political and environmental activist. When needed, she has used her right to civil disobedience. For that reason, she was arrested in 2019 at the U.S. Capitol climate protest, which mobilized people thanks to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Jane Fonda has, throughout her decades-long career, engaged in activism many times. She has most recently protested the $7.5 billion crude oil pipeline construction in Minnesota, which appears to threaten various water systems, including the Mississippi. The pipeline transports tar sands, the most hazardous dirty form of oil, which, if it leaks, it's very poisonous to the environment and difficult to clean.
At the age of 83, Jane has also opened up about Mary Jane! In an interview with Javier Hasse, a senior contributor for Forbes, the actress has admitted she has smoked pot in her life, although she has never been much of a consumer. She is currently vaping CBD to help her sleep, and she loves wearing hemp clothes.
Smoking pot in the past has never been Jane's favorite, it's obvious from the interview. She said cannabis has always made her feel paranoid and overly hungry, but the evolution of science and devising all the new methods of consuming weed has helped her change her mind about it.
She said focus had been a problem for her when smoking pot before. "I've never been able to work: either act, or write, or read, or go to the movies. I've never been able to really do anything that I wanted to focus on if I was stoned."
"Then came along all the scientific approaches to cannabis. And it's really amazing what's happened, the way they've been able to segment out different parts of the weed. It's very impressive," Fonda said.
The star recalled in the interview that until a few years ago, she used "a very microdose of Valium" to aid her sleeping, however, the medication made her "to take a short nap in the middle of the workday during the lunch break because I would have a kind of hangover."
Upon her doctor's suggestion, Jane switched to CBD, which is how she ended up with her Dosist-brand vape pen that budtenders at her local dispensary helped her pick it. Having moved to CBD products, the hangover issue the following day disappeared, the actress acknowledged.
On hemp clothes, Jane said, "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."
Hemp stem showing fibers. In the past, hemp was commonly used to manufacture rope and sail canvas. Today the material is used to produce various consumer goods such as clothes, pants, shoes, bags, and similar accessories.
Fonda continues with even more enthusiasm on hemp: "I am really, really interested in having the U.S. bring back hemp as a major part of its materials economy."
"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."
"A lot of the hemp that is currently being grown, is being grown by indigenous women in northern parts of this country. But in the formation of this country, our forefathers, including George Washington, grew hemp in Washington, D.C. It can grow in a lot of different places. It was a major part of life and the economy back in the seventeen hundreds."
"It can be a homegrown, local, decentralized product that can be in the control of people who've been marginalized in the past. And that's why I like it."
Fonda debuted as an actress with the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, after which followed a decade of success on the big screen with titles like Period of Adjustment (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), and Barefoot in the Park (1967). Her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination followed in 1969 for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. She nabbed an Academy Award twice, for Klute in 1971 and Coming Home in 1978. While these might not exactly be the stoner flicks you want to feature on your movie night list, those firm views on pot and hemp this amazing woman has certainly are. Plus, she knows how to crack a joke of how George Washington probably stoned too.
Long live Jane Fonda!
S
Stephen Andrews
