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Hemp was introduced into Chile about 1545, where it was grown for fiber. It was introduced in New England soon after the Puritan immigrants settled, noting that it grew "twice so high." In Virginia, the early legislature passed many acts to promote the hemp industry. Before the revolution, hemp flourished in the area around Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hemp was first grown in Kentucky in 1775. In 1802, two extensive rope walks were built in Lexington Kentucky. There was also announced a machine that could break "eight thousand weight of hemp per day," a huge quantity for the time. Hemp spread to other states including Missouri by 1835, Illinois by 1875, Minnesota by 1880, Nebraska by 1887, California by 1912, Wisconsin and Iowa by the early 1920's. The cultivation of hemp was stalled by federal action in 1937 by the imposition of heavy regulations on producers known as the Marijuana Tax Act. By 1940, the US government reduced the regulations so production could take place during World War II. After World War II, with the regulations reinstated, cultivation declined until the 1950's when the last commercial crop was grown in The United States.
