Hemp: A Resource of the Future?

Whether you have or have not heard of it, it's important to note firstly that no, it is not weed. Hemp is a different variety from the same plant as marijuana, Cannabis Sativa L. The main differences are that while marijuana has a flowering top and yields buds with a high THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) content and a low CBD (cannabidiol, which stops the psychoactive effect of THC in the nervous system) content, hemp has almost the opposite qualities, a very low THC content and a low CBD. Although hemp cannot be smoked, it is a natural and reusable resource with a wide variety of uses. 

Food

Yes, you can eat hemp... and I don't mean edibles. Hemp seed and hemp oil have fibre, minerals, proteins and energy. Hemp is the only plant which contains all of the essential fatty acids and amino acids needed by the human body. This can be the substitute for fish oil supplements which is great news for vegetarians (hooray!). Hemp seed can also be used to feed birds and other animals. Cattle can digest hemp, unlike corn, removing the need for use of antibiotics to prevent sickness.

Body

Various body products like soaps, shampoos, lotions etc. are made from a base of hemp because of its high EFA and GLA content which helps cells rebuild membranes and retain moisture. The Body Shop® has a line of body products created from a base of 100% natural hemp. They don't test any of their products on animals and also plant a tree for everyone they have to cut down, so go Body Shop!

Materials 

Hemp can be used to make any kind of paper, whether it be writing or rolling. What makes hemp so great for a paper alternative (alternative to the traditional tree paper) is that while trees take years to grow back, hemp takes just months (120 days). 1 acre of hemp can produce as much as 2-4 acres of trees. Using hemp to make paper could essentially save the world's forests. The paper is naturally acid free and does not turn yellow or disintegrate over time and is also is recycled with more ease.  

Hemp can be used to make fuel which unlike fossil fuel is renewable and produces less greenhouse gasses than the fuels we use in this present time. The "Lotus Eco Elise" was a prototype car where all the parts (except the sun roof) were created with hemp! Henry Ford also created one of these cars in 1941 where he swung an axe at it to prove the strength of hemp.

Hemp can even be used as an alternative to plastic. Plastic is one of the most used man made materials on the planet, and with cellulose content over 50% hemp is perfect for making plastic. Plastic made from hemp is strong, durable and environmentally friendly.

Clothes

Hemp can be used to make fabrics which are similar to cotton. In comparison to cotton, 1 acre of a hemp field will yield as much as 2-3 acres of cotton. Cotton requires more water, and plenty of herbicide, and pesticide (50% of the worlds herb/pesticides are used on cotton) while hemp requires almost none of either. Hemp can also be used to make ropes and chords. Hemp is one of the strongest and most elastic fibers in nature and is also UV protectant and warm.

 So why is it illegal? (in the US)

So with all the benefits of hemp you must think that the government is dumb for not making use of this plant completely legal, and quite frankly.... you're almost right. 

 Back in the days hemp used to be grown legally in the United States (you could even pay your taxes in hemp!). George Washington was one of the largest hemp producers in the 1700s. However, trees began to be used for paper and cotton for textiles, which were cheaper alternatives. Hemp would have been deemed the highest earning cash crop, if cost of methods of production and collection could be reduced. Hemp seemed to be the future.

Henry J. Anslinger, Lammont DuPont, and William Randolph Hearst, made growing hemp illegal. These men were heads of large chemical and newspaper companies. They feared that hemp, although environmentally friendly and cheap, would steal the business from their paper companies and so set out on a goal to make it illegal. He made false headlines like "Marijuana goads user to blood lust" to spread fear and negativity towards hemp and, as it is a close relative to marijuana, the people also began to not want the plant. All forms of the cannabis plant were then made illegal. Growing hemp was briefly legal during World War II after Japan had cut supplies of raw fibers. It was, however, made illegal again after the war had finished.

And now?

Hemp has a promising future and people are beginning to realise the quantity of benefits that hemp has on the environment, people's health and the industries. Countries across Europe and Asia grow hemp freely and can produce and manufacture products from it. The USA cannot grow hemp and can only consume the products.... for now.

 Remember that hemp.....

• Could potentially end our need for fossil fuels
• Releases almost no ash or sulphur during combustion
• Has a closed CO2 system (does not release more CO2 than it removes from the atmosphere)
• Produces as much pulp per acre in a year than 4.1 acres of wood in 20 years
• Hemp paper can be recycled 7-8 times vs. 3 times with paper from trees
• Could potentially end deforestation
• Most durable and strong natural soft-fiber
• Produce about 2-3 times more per acre than cotton
• Very economical crop (little pesticide etc needed & very fast growing)
• #1 producer of biomass per acre.

                            SUPPORT HEMP!

By: Eva Perrin Fontana