The Powerful Benefits of Hemp Roots: The Hidden Part of Cannabis

By Lara Starr

Cannabis and Hemp (which is the more industrial version of Cannabis) have proven time and time again to be billion-dollar cash crops.

The States that have legalized their use have seen an astounding increase in tax revenue created by the plant.

We know it has at least 50,000 known uses, and we’ve been using Cannabis for many of those things since before we even started recording human history.

We know all about how to use it’s leaves, its fiber, leaves, flowers, oils, resins, etc.. But when it comes to the roots of the plant, they tend to get overlooked.

The first mention of hemp root as medicine can be found in the ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia, the Shen Nung Pên-ts’ao Ching, as early as the third millennium BCE.

It is stated that the juice of the root has diuretic properties, as well as being useful in assisting the cessation of hemorrhage after childbirth.

Beyond its use in medicine, various Chinese texts attest to the importance of hemp root in ‘gunpowder’ preparations — it is roasted and powdered, before being mixed with bamboo root, pine pitch and various other substances, and ignited.

There are several variations on the basic recipe, which result in incendiary powders, balls for catapults (which would ignite upon impact), smoke-powders and hand-grenades.

Elsewhere, it is stated that a paste made from the roots was used to relieve the pain of broken bones and surgical procedures.

The Roman historian Pliny wrote in his Natural Histories, published circa 77-79 CE, that hemp root boiled in water could be used to relieve stiffness in the joints, gout and related conditions.

He also noted that the root could be placed raw on burn wounds, but needed to be changed frequently to prevent drying out.

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