This was true even in the 1700s and 1800s; I’m sure even before that. Hemp was used *everywhere*, and in fact many, many parts of the world continue to use it to this day, including industrialized nations. There is no reason for the THC-less industrial variety of hemp plant to be illegal under drug laws, because it plain and simply can’t be used as a drug.

Don’t even get me started on the seeds and hemp oil, both of which are not only edible (hemp oil’s a great cooking oil), but contain high amounts of healthy compounds including tons of Omega-3s. Wikipedia’s got a short article that describes its healthy compound components.