Long-term Athens community member, Don E. Wirtshafter, has been collecting cannabis memorabilia for almost 50 years. Wirtshafter’s mission is to show the importance of hemp and resurface all the knowledge that has been lost over the past 40 years.
To share the in-depth history of hemp and its uses, Wirtshafter educates through the Cannabis Museum, which is located in Athens at 16050 Canaanville Road. Wirtshafter is the curator of the museum and has been working to educate the masses on his vast collection. He said that cannabis was the spark that united his generation; however, when cannabis became illegal, all the history was lost.
“People didn't understand the whole history of cannabis and how we grew most of our clothing,” he said. “(They didn’t understand) how we were using it in all kinds of consumer products, how it was being used in 25,000 different medicines, how it was taken away one day in 1937 and how it was all related.”
Wirtshafter has been spreading the knowledge of hemp history for the past six years and opened the museum as a project during the COVID-19 pandemic. He wanted to show that cannabis was not as scary as mainstream media made it out to be. Traveling the world, he not only learned more about the plant but also collected numerous artifacts that he still showcases today.
“The need for the museum was apparent 40 years ago because this was such a taboo subject,” Wirtshafter said. “Cannabis was removed from the museums of America and the libraries of America.”
The current exhibit at the Cannabis Museum is called “Hemp and Hackles,” and showcases the full history of the plant and its uses. It starts with either indica or sativa seeds, which can grow up to 15 feet tall. Once harvested, the plants go through a process called flood irrigation, in which the plants are kept under water for a period of time and tied down with rocks. Once the plants are brought up, a break, or a wooden tool, is used to separate the fibers from the bark. Lastly, the bark and fibers are made into various items such as clothing, wood and rope.
The museum's collection consists of various books, jars, tools, postcards and more. These items can date anywhere from the late 1890s to the early 1990s. Wirtshafter’s favorite piece, however, is his wooden break.
“The most unique and most important for the story I'm trying to tell is that big wooden break from Kentucky,” he said.
As Wirtshafter was trying to raise awareness for this lost part of history, he struggled with the different aspects of opening a museum.
“We tried to get an automated payroll service to pay the employees and because we have cannabis in our names, they wouldn't deal with us,” Wirtshafter said.
Not only does Wirtshafter have a vast collection of artifacts, but he also has some good advice for staying safe while using cannabis.
“If someone's feeling too high, the answer is lemon juice,” he said. “The smell of lemons, more than anything, is something that kind of brings you back to earth.”
According to Wirtshafter, lemon juice can bring someone off their high and calm them down. Before starting the museum, Wirtshafter said he helped start an organization that would assist people dealing with the negative side effects of cannabis use at concerts.
Wirtshafter hopes to bring back the normality of hemp and share its history. For more information about the Cannabis Museum, visit https://www.cannabismuseum.com/.
