THE STORY OF HEMP
(sponsored by Shhmokewear.com)
Hemp use dates back to the Stone Age, with hemp fibre imprints found in pottery shards in China and Taiwan[60] over 7,000 years old. They were also later used to make clothes, shoes, ropes, and an early form of paper.[60] Contrary to the traditional view that Cai Lun invented paper in around 105 AD, specimens of hemp paper were found in the Great Wall of China dating back 200 years earlier.[citation needed]
The classical Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 480 BC) reported that the inhabitants of Scythia would often inhale the vapours of hemp-seed smoke, both as ritual and for their own pleasurable recreation.[61]
In late medieval Germany and Italy, hemp was employed in cooked dishes, as filling in pies and tortes, or boiled in a soup.[62]
Hemp in later Europe was mainly cultivated for its fibres, and was used for ropes on many ships, including those of Christopher Columbus. The use of hemp as a cloth was centred largely in the countryside, with higher quality textiles being available in the towns.
The Spaniards brought hemp to the Western Hemisphere and cultivated it in Chile starting about 1545.[63] However, in May 1607, “hempe” was among the crops Gabriel Archer observed being cultivated by the natives at the main Powhatan village, where Richmond, Virginia is now situated;[64] and in 1613, Samuell Argall reported wild hemp “better than that in England” growing along the shores of the upper Potomac. As early as 1619, the first Virginia House of Burgesses passed an Act requiring all planters in Virginia to sow “both English and Indian” hemp on their plantations.[65] The Puritans are first known to have cultivated hemp in New England in 1645.
In the late 1800s, John D. Rockefeller owned Standard Oil, a petroleum company operating out of Cleveland, Ohio. He recognized that other types of fuel could be used to power engines. So began his attack on competitive fuels. His first target was alcohol, which could be used as ethanol. So, he funded church-related groups to crusade against the sinfulness of drinking alcohol. Rockefeller, who drank alcohol, wasn’t interested in what was good for the churchgoers, he was interested in what would grow his vast wealth.
As time went on, the auto industry and affiliated interests became tied in with the petroleum industry, and the pressure mounted to rid competitive fuels from the market. One key target was the hemp plant, which was being used to make ethanol for gasoline engines and oil for diesel engines.
The steel industry also became interested in ridding hemp from the market, especially after finding out that Henry Ford’s company was successful in creating fiberglass out of hemp, which could be used to manufacture the body panels of automobiles. The body panels Ford produced proved to be lighter weight, stronger, and would last longer than body panels made of steel, thus hemp body panels were superior to steel.
The DuPont company also took interest in the hemp issue, especially because DuPont developed chemicals for petroleum additives (those chemicals weren’t needed for hemp ethanol or hemp diesel oil), chemicals for wood paper pulp production (higher quality paper can be made of hemp pulp, and hemp paper production didn’t use the DuPont chemicals), and chemicals for paint made from petroleum (paint can also be made from hemp).
To establish petroleum as the fuel-of-choice for the rapidly-growing automobile industry, the petroleum industry, and affiliated interests took action and successfully got alcohol off the market for over ten years. Thus: alcohol prohibition was law in the U.S. during the 1920s.
In 1937, the petroleum industry, its affiliates in the automotive industry, the chemical industry, the steel industry, the financial industries, and the tree-pulp paper industry successfully got Congress and the U.S. president to place a prohibition on industrial hemp farming. The ban still stands, and has been strengthened – making it illegal for farmers and anyone else to grow industrial hemp within U.S. borders. Through international politics, the U.S. also forced many other countries to outlaw the farming of hemp.
Hemp is not a drug. But, it is the world’s most useful plant. It can be used to make ethanol for gas engines, oil for diesel engines; paper, fabric, food, fiberboard, a special form of concrete; insulation, paint, ink, soundproofing, fiberglass, and hundreds of other items. The U.S. imports hundreds of millions worth of hemp materials every year, while struggling family farmers across the U.S. are not permitted to grow it.
HISTORY FACTS
(the word “canvass” is rooted in “cannabis”)
Hemp has been grown for at least the last 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food. It has been effectively prohibited in the United States since the 1950s.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.
Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. Because of its importance for sails and rope for ships, hemp was a required crop in the American colonies.
When US sources of “Manila hemp” (not true hemp) was cut off by the Japanese in WWII, the US Army and US Department of Agriculture promoted the “Hemp for Victory” campaign to grow hemp in the US.
The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and U.S. farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.
HEALTH FACTS
Hemp seed is nutritious and contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is a good source of dietary fiber.
Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug (learn more at TestPledge.com).
If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get ‘a buzz’, it would be the equivalent of taking 2-3 doses of a high-fiber laxative.
At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the “good” fats). It’s quite high in some essential amino acids, including gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother’s milk.
While the original “gruel” was made of hemp seed meal, hemp oil and seed can be made into tasty and nutritional products.
Cannabis preparations were still widely available in legend and over-the-counter forms in the 1930s. Crump (Chairman, Investigating Committee, American Medical Association) in 1931 mentioned the proprietaries “Piso’s Cure,” “One Day Cough Cure” and “Neurosine” as containing cannabis.[44] In 1937 Sasman listed twenty-eight pharmaceuticals containing cannabis.[36] Cannabis was still recognized as a medicinal agent in that year, when the committee on legislative activities of the American Medical Association concluded as follows:
. . . there is positively no evidence to indicate the abuse of cannabis as a medicinal agent or to show that its medicinal use is leading to the development of cannabis addiction. Cannabis at the present time is slightly used for medicinal purposes, but it would seem worthwhile to maintain its status as a medicinal agent for such purposes as it now has. There is a possibility that a re-study of the drug by modern means may show other advantages to be derived from its medicinal use.[32] Meanwhile, in Mexico, the poor were smoking marijuana to relax and to endure heat and fatigue. (Originally marijuana was the Mexican slang word for the smoking preparation of dried leaves and flowering tops of the Cannabis sativa plant-the indigenous variety of the hemp plant.)
The seeds can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, made into hemp milk (akin to soy milk), prepared as tea, and used in baking. The fresh leaves can also be eaten in salads. Products include cereals, frozen waffles, hemp tofu, and nut butters, to name a few.
A survey in 2003 showed that more than 95% of hemps seed sold in the EU was used for animal feed (bird seed, bait for fishing)
Approximately 44% of the weight of hempseed is healthy edible oils, containing about 80% essential fatty acids (EFAs); i.e., linoleic acid, omega-6 (LA, 55%), alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 (ALA, 22%), in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 (GLA, 1–4%) and stearidonic acid, omega-3 (SDA, 0–2%). Protein is the other major component (33%), second only to soy (35%), but more easily digestible because it’s primarily globular proteins, 33% albumin and 65% edestin (a Greek word meaning edible)
Hempseed is an adequate source of dietary fiber, calcium and iron, and contains antioxidants and chlorophyll. Whole hempseeds are also a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese.
Hempseed is usually very safe for those unable to tolerate nuts, gluten, lactose, and sugar. In fact, there are no known allergies to hemp foods.[citation needed] Hempseed contains no gluten and therefore would not trigger symptoms of celiac disease.
INDUSTRY FACTS
More hemp is exported to the United States than to any other country!
According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of bio-fuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power. Algae is the ideal solution but emergency use of Hemp oil serves as the preferred back up source.
The stalk can also be used to make methanol and ethanol
Hemp oil can spontaneously oxidize and turn rancid within a short period of time if not stored properly; it is best stored in a dark glass bottle, in a refrigerator or freezer (its freezing point is –20 °C). Preservatives (antioxidants) are not necessary for high quality oils that are stored properly.
The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers, which are among the Earth’s longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose. The cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.
Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. He wanted to build and fuel cars from farm products.
BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an effort to make cars more recyclable.
Much of the bird seed sold in the US has hemp seed (it’s sterilized before importation), the hulls of which contain about 25% protein.
Hemp oil once greased machines. Most paints, resins, shellacs, and varnishes used to be made out of linseed (from flax) and hemp oils.
Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to run on hemp oil.
The woody core, known as hurds, can be mixed with lime, sand, plaster and cement to create a very strong concrete or building bricks
Kimberly Clark (on the Fortune 500) has a mill in France which produces hemp paper preferred for bibles because it lasts a very long time and doesn’t yellow.
Construction products such as medium density fiber board, oriented strand board, and even beams, studs and posts could be made out of hemp. Because of hemp’s long fibers, the products will be stronger and/or lighter than those made from wood.
The products that can be made from hemp number over 25,000.
Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. Hemp paper can also be recycled more times than wood-based paper.
Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard. No additional resins are required due to naturally-occurring lignins.
Hemp “hurds” for paper –77% of the hemp stalk’s weight, which is left after fiber-stripping process can be used for paper. In 1916, USDA Bulletin #404, reported that ONE ACRE OF CANNABIS HEMP, in annual rotation over a 20-year period, WOULD PRODUCE AS MUCH PULP FOR PAPER AS 4.1 ACRES OF TREES BEING CUT DOWN over the same 20 year period. This process would use only 1/4 to 1/7 as much polluting sulfur-based acid chemicals to break down the lignin that binds the fibers of the pulp, or even none at all using soda ash. The problem of dioxin contamination of rivers is avoided in the hemp making process. HEMP PROVIDES FOUR TIMES AS MUCH PULP WITH AT LEAST 4-7 TIMES LESS POLLUTION. As an example: If the new (1916) hemp pulp paper process were legal today, it would soon replace about 70% of all wood paper, including computer printout paper, corrugated boxes and paper bags.
Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name a very few examples. Over two million cars on the road today have hemp composite parts for door panels, dashboards, luggage racks, etc.
NatureWorksLLC.com in Blair Nebraska makes hemp INGEO platic Resin for MNF
Pinch Hitters for Defense – Popular Mechanics – December 1941
After 12 years of research, the Ford Motor Company has completed an experimental automobile with a plastic body. Although its design takes advantages of the properties of plastics, the streamline car does not differ greatly in appearance from its steel counterpart. The only steel in the hand-made body is found in the tubular welded frame on which are mounted 14 plastic panels, 3/16″ thick. Composed of a mixture of farm crops and synthetic chemicals, the plastic is reported to withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting. Even the windows are of plastic. The total weight of the plastic car is about 2,000 lbs., compared with 3,000 lbs. for a steel auto of the same size. Although no hint has been given as to when plastic cars may go into production, the experimental model is pictured as a step toward materialization of Henry Ford’s belief that some day he would “grow automobiles from the soil”.
When Henry Ford recently unveiled his plastic car, the result of 12 years of research, he gave the world a glimpse of the automobile of tomorrow, it’s tough panel molded under hydraulic pressure of 1500 lbs. per square inch from a recipe that calls for 70% of cellulose fibers from wheat straw, HEMP, and sisal plus 30% resin binder. The only steel in the car is its tubular welded frame. The plastic car weighs a ton less than a comparable steel car. Manufacturers are already taking a low-priced plastic car to test the public’s taste by 1943.
HEMP Oil was Primary base of all paints/varnishes
Congress and the Treasury Dept. were assured through SECRET TESTIMONY given by DuPont in 1935-37 directly to Herman Oliphant, Chief Counsel for the Treasury Dept., that hemp seed oil could be replaced with synthetic petro-chemical oils MADE PRINCIPALLY BY DUPONT.
Oliphant was solely responsible for drafting the Marijuana Tax Act that was submitted to Congress.[Richard Bonnie and Charles Whitebread, “The Marijuana Conviction”, Univ. of Virginia Press 1974].
Hemp can be used as a “mop crop” to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals. Eco-technologist Dr. Keith Bolton from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, is a leading researcher in this area. Hemp is being used to clean contaminants at Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.
Hemp, because of its height, dense foliage and its high planting density as a crop, is a very effective and long used method of killing tough weeds in farming by minimizing the pool of weed seeds of the soil.[48] Using hemp this way can help farmers avoid the use of herbicides, to help gain organic certification and to gain the benefits of crop rotation.
SCIENTIFIC FACTS
Industrial hemp and marijuana are both classified by taxonomists as Cannabis sativa, a species with hundreds of varieties. C. sativa is a member of the mulberry family. Industrial hemp is bred to maximize fiber, seed and/or oil, while marijuana varieties seek to maximize THC (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana).
Hemp can be grown organically. Only eight, out of about one hundred known pests, cause problems, and hemp is most often grown without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor due to fast growth of the canopy.
While industrial hemp and marijuana may look somewhat alike to an untrained eye, an easily trained eye can easily distinguish the difference.
Industrial hemp has a THC content of between 0.05 and 1%. Marijuana has a THC content of 3% to 20%. To receive a standard psychoactive dose would require a person to power-smoke 10-12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The large volume and high temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be almost impossible for a person to withstand.
If hemp does pollinate any nearby marijuana, genetically, the result will always be lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp. If hemp is grown outdoors, marijuana will not be grown close by to avoid producing lower-grade marijuana.
Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant than cotton.
Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun’s UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.
Many of the varieties of hemp that were grown in North America have been lost. Seed banks weren’t maintained. New genetic breeding will be necessary using both foreign and domestic “ditchweed,” strains of hemp that went feral after cultivation ended. Various state national guard units often spend their weekends trying to eradicate this hemp, in the mistaken belief they are helping stop drug use.
A 1938 Popular Mechanics described hemp as a “New Billion Dollar Crop.” That’s back when a billion was real money.
Hemp can be made in to a variety of fabrics, including linen quality.
Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp’s low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy color lends itself to environmentally-friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products.
CANNABIS DOES NOT CAUSE CANCER
BOSTON, Jan. 30, 1997 (UPI) –
The U.S. federal government has failed to make public its own 1994 study that undercuts its position that marijuana is carcinogenic – a $2 million study by the National Toxicology Program.
The program’s deputy director, John Bucher, says the study “found absolutely no evidence of cancer.” In fact, animals that received THC had fewer cancers. Bucher denies his agency had been pressured to shelve the report, saying the delay in making it public was due to a personnel shortage.
The Boston Globe reported Thursday (1-30-97) that the study indicates not only that the main ingredient in marijuana, THC, does not cause cancer, but also that it may even protect against malignancies, laboratory tests on animals show.
The report comes on the heels of an editorial in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine that favors the controlled medical use of marijuana, and calls current federal policy “misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane.”
The Clinton administration has said that doctors prescribing marijuana could be prosecuted for a federal crime. Marijuana has been reported to ease the pain, nausea and vomiting in advanced stages of cancer,
AIDS and other serious illnesses, but the federal government claims other treatments have been deemed safer than what it calls “a psychoactive, burning carcinogen.” However, The Boston Globe says the government’s claim appears to be undercut by its own $2 million study.
LEGAL FACTS
The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all C. sativa varieties as “marijuana.” While it is theoretically possible to get permission from the government to grow hemp, DEA would require that the field be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards, and lights, making it cost-prohibitive.
The US State Department must certify each year that a foreign nation is cooperating in the war on drugs. The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow industrial hemp. Those nations are not on this list, because the State Department can tell the difference between hemp and marijuana.
Hemp was grown commercially (with increasing governmental interference) in the United States until the 1950s. It was doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp. While Congress expressly expected the continued production of industrial hemp, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped industrial hemp with marijuana, as it’s successor the US Drug Enforcement Administration, does to this day.
Over 30 industrialized democracies do distinguish hemp from marijuana. International treaties regarding marijuana make an exception for industrial hemp.
Canada now allows the growing of hemp.
ECOLOGY FACTS
Hemp growers can not hide marijuana plants in their fields. Marijuana is grown widely spaced to maximize leaves. Hemp is grown in tightly-spaced rows to maximize stalk and is usually harvested before it goes to seed.
Hemp can be made into fine quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow such paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.
Hemp can be planted as a crop for restoring the fertility of fields in the process of stock rotation.
Given its fast growth, hemp may also be useful in carbon sequestration – taking carbon out of the air and putting it back into the earth.
Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.
Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.
Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world’s pesticides are sprayed on cotton.
Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.
Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.
Hemp is a water miser and can be processed into useful products with little energy and without requiring toxic chemicals.
DRIVING
Crancer Study, Washington Department of Motor Vehicles
“Simulated driving scores for subjects experiencing a normal social “high” and the same subjects under control conditions are not significantly different. However, there are significantly more errors for alcohol intoxicated than for control subjects”
U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT HS 808 078), Final Report, November 1993:
“THC’s adverse effects on driving performance appear relatively small”
Professor Olaf Drummer, Forensic Scientist, Royal College of Surgeons, Melbourne, 1996
“Compared to alcohol, which makers people take more risks on the road, marijuana made drivers slow down and drive more carefully…. Cannabis is good for driving skills, as people tend to overcompensate for a perceived impairment.”
CANNABIS AND TOBACCO
Cannabis in Costa Rica: A Study of Chronic Marijuana Use; Institute of Human Issues.
“Users in our matched-pair sample smoked marijuana in addition to as many tobacco cigarettes as did their matched non-using pairs. Yet their small airways were, if anything, a bit healthier than their matches. We must tentatively conclude either that marijuana has no harmful effect on such passages or that it actually offers some slight protection against harmful effects of tobacco smoke.”
PREGNANCY AND CANNABIS BABIES
Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An Ethnographic Study Melanie C. Dreher, PhD; Kevin Nugent, PhD; and Rebekah Hudgins, MA
“Measurements and main results. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3.
At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy marijuana using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers.”
ADDICTION /DEPENDENCY
The Shafer Commission of 1970
Marijuana does not lead to physical dependency, although some evidence indicates that the heavy, long-term users may develop a psychological dependence on the drug”
Canada: In 1997, (R. v Clay), Ontario Justice John McCart ruled;
“Cannabis is not an addictive substance; does not cause a motivational syndrome; and health related costs of cannabis use are negligible when compared to the costs attributable to tobacco and alcohol consumption.” His findings were confirmed by B.C. Justice F.E. Howard in a similar case in 1998.
TESTIMONIES – SAFETY STUDIES
Peter Bourne, President Carter’s Drug Czar
”We did not view marijuana as a significant health problem–as it was not….Nobody dies from marijuana. Marijuana smoking, in fact, if one wants to be honest, is a source of pleasure and amusement to countless millions of people in America, and it continues to be that way.” Source: PBS’s Frontline: ”Drug Wars,” October 2000
Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church Study, 1980
“Some participants had smoked at least two to four large cigarettes (each containing 1/4 to 1/2 ounce of cannabis) over 16 hours a day for periods of up to 50 years….the most impressive thing… is the true paucity of neurological abnormalities. Heavy cannabis consumers suffered no apparent psychological or physical harm.”
LaGuardia Commission Report, 1944
“Cannabis smoking does not lead directly to mental or physical deterioration… Those who have consumed marijuana for a period of years showed no mental or physical deterioration which may be attributed to the drug.”
1968 UK Royal Commission; The Wooten Report:
“Having reviewed all the material available to us we find ourselves in agreement with the conclusion reached by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission appointed by the Government of India (1893-94) and the New York Mayor’s Committee (1944 – LaGuardia)that the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects”
“the long-asserted dangers of cannabis are exaggerated and that the related law is socially damaging, if not unworkable”
Testimony of Professor Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, before the Crime Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., October 1, 1997:
“Cannabis is remarkably safe. Although not harmless, it is surely less toxic than most of the conventional medicines it could replace if it were legally available. Despite its use by millions of people over thousands of years, cannabis has never caused an overdose death.”
Dr J. H. Jaffe, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. L.Goodman and A Gillman, 3rd edn. 1965.
“There are no long lasting ill-effects from the acute use of marijuana and no fatalities have ever been recorded … there seems to be growing agreement within the medical community, at least, that marijuana does not directly cause criminal behaviour, juvenile delinquency, sexual excitement, or addiction.”
The USA Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy 1987
“Cannabis can be used on an episodic but continual basis without evidence of social or psychic dysfunction. In many users the term dependence with its obvious connotations, probably is misapplied… The chief opposition to the drug rests on a moral and political, and not toxicologic, foundation”.
Cannabis in Costa Rica: A Study of Chronic Marijuana Use
Institute of Human Issues:
“No significant health consequences to chronic cannabis smokers”
US Jamaican Study 1974
“… as a multipurpose plant, ganga is used medicinally, even by non-smokers. ….There were no indications of organic brain damage or chromosome damage among smokers and no significant clinical psychiatric, psychological or medical) differences between smokers and controls.”
“No impairment of physiological, sensory and perceptual performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting ability, and cognitive style, and tests of memory”
“[Cannabis smoking] does not lead directly to mental or physical deterioration… Those who have consumed marijuana for a period of years showed no mental or physical deterioration which may be attributed to the drug.”
POLITICAL
Countries Growing Industrial Hemp Today
The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that supports politicians who do not recognize the value of industrial hemp & permit its production at a Federal LEVEL. (9) states in 2011 do not regulate or stop Industrial Hemp growers and Medical Marijuana and Federal (DEA) Agents mostly only intervene when high levels are reported.
http://www.votehemp.com/state.html
To date, twenty-nine states have introduced hemp legislation and seventeen have passed legislation; nine (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia) have removed barriers to its production or research.
To date, eight states have passed hemp resolutions: California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.
To date, six states have passed hemp study bills: Arkansas, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina and Vermont.
(15) and the District of Columbia have legal marijuana USE laws.
2011 Legislative Session
California had a hemp farming bill, SB 676, introduced on 2/18/2011 and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules for assignment.
Kentucky had a hemp farming bill, SB 30, introduced on 1/4/2011 and it was referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Illinois had a hemp farming bill, HB 1383, introduced on 2/9/2011. It was referred to the House Rules Committee on 2/14/2011. Assigned to the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee 2/15/11. Do Pass / Short Debate by a vote of 11-2 on 3/1/2011.
Minnesota had a hemp farming bill, HF 759, introduced on on 2/28/2011. It was referred to the House Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Finance Committee.
New Hampshire had a hemp farming bill, HB 101, introduced on 1/5/2011. A public hearing was held on 1/18/2011. An executive session was held on 1/25/2011. Committee report issued with a recommendation of Inexpedient to Legislate (the full House should vote the bill down) with a vote of 11-7 on 1/25/2011. Inexpedient to Legislate: MA RC (Motion Adopted, Regular Calendar) by a vote of 304-51 on 2/9/2011, thus the bill is dead.
2010 Legislative Session
Colorado had a hemp resolution, HJR10-1027, introduced on 4/23/10. The resolution was passed in House on 5/5/10, introduced in Senate on 5/6/10 and passed in Senate as amended on 5/12/10.
Kentucky had a hemp farming bill, SB 14, introduced in Senate 1/5/10. The bill was referred to Senate Agriculture committee 1/6/10 and was in committee on adjournment in April and thus it died.
Michigan had a hemp resolution, HR 314, introduced on 7/28/10, which was referred to Committee on Commerce, a hemp farming bill, HB 6480, introduced on 9/22/10, which was referred to Committee on Agriculture and a hemp study bill, HB 6479, introduced on 9/22/10, which was also referred to Committee on Agriculture. All three bills died in committee upon adjournment.
Minnesota had an omnibus agriculture and veterans policy bill introduced on 2/22/10, which includes authorization for an Industrial Hemp Report, and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Signed by the Governor on 5/13/10. No later than February 15, 2011, the commissioner of agriculture shall present the report.
Wisconsin had a study bill, AB 206, introduced on 4/14/09. The bill was re-referred to the committee on Agriculture. In the 2010 session a substitute bill was offered and accepted making AB 206 a hemp farming bill. The bill failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 on 4/28/10. A hemp farming bill, AB 740, was introduced on 2/11/10. Read first time and referred to committee on Agriculture on 2/11/10. Public hearing held on 2/24/10. Fiscal estimate received on 3/3/10. Report passage recommended by committee on Agriculture, Ayes 6, Noes 5 on 4/20/10. Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 on 4/28/10.
North Dakota is now issuing licenses to farmers to grow hemp under existing state law and North Dakota Department of Agriculture rules. There are also two new bills this year. HB 1549 is a bill to amend and reenact section 4-41-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to industrial hemp, the other is a concurrent resolution, HCR 3026, urging the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to allow North Dakota to regulate industrial hemp farming. In June 2007 the two North Dakota farmers granted state hemp farming licenses, Rep. David Monson and Wayne Hauge, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in an effort to end the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) obstruction of commercial hemp farming in the United States. The case was dismissed by the District Court in November 2007. The prospective hemp farmers have appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the opinion was delivered in December 2009. On May 18, 2010 Monson and Hauge filed a legal action against DEA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Please see the Vote Hemp North Dakota Case page for the latest information on the case.
A federal hemp bill was introduced in Congress on 4/2/09. The bill excludes industrial hemp from the definition of “marihuana” in the Controlled Substances Act and gives states the exclusive authority to regulate the growing and processing of industrial hemp under state law. Please see our Federal Legislation page for much more information on H.R. 1866, the “Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009.” This bill died in committee at the end of the 111th Congress in January 2011. It had 26 co-sponsors, including Rep. Ron Paul, the most ever! We hope to have a bill introduced to replace it in the 112th Congress early in 2011.
(15) Medical Marijuana States and DC Laws
http://medicalMarijuana.procon.org
(see chart below for full details)
Below is a list of other countries that are more rational when it comes to hemp policy.
AUSTRALIA began research trials in Tasmania in 1995. Victoria commercial production since1998. New South Wales has research. In 2002, Queensland began production. Western Australia licensed crops in 2004.
AUSTRIA has a hemp industry including production of hemp seed oil, medicinals and Hanf magazine.
CANADA started to license research crops in 1994. In addition to crops for fiber, one seed crop was licensed in 1995. Many acres were planted in 1997. Licenses for commercial agriculture saw thousands of acres planted in 1998. 30,000 acres were planted in 1999. In 2000, due to speculative investing, 12,250 acres were sown. In 2001, 92 farmers grew 3,250 acres. A number of Canadian farmers are now growing organically-certified hemp crops (6,000 acres in 2003 and 8,500 acres in 2004, yielding almost four million pounds of seed).
CHILE has grown hemp in the recent past for seed oil production.
CHINA is the largest exporter of hemp textiles. The fabrics are of excellent quality. Medium density fiber board is also now available. The Chinese word for hemp is “ma.”
DENMARK planted its first modern hemp trial crops in 1997. The country is committed to utilizing organic methods.
FINLAND had a resurgence of hemp in 1995 with several small test plots. A seed variety for northern climates was developed called Finola, previously know by the breeder code “FIN-314.” In 2003, Finola was accepted to the EU list of subsidized hemp cultivars. Hemp has never been prohibited in Finland. The Finnish word for hemp is “hamppu.”
FRANCE has never prohibited hemp and harvested 10,000 tons of fiber in 1994. France is a source of low-THC-producing hemp seed for other countries. France exports high quality hemp oil to the U.S. The French word for hemp is “chanvre.”
GERMANY banned hemp in 1982, but research began again in 1992, and many technologies and products are now being developed, as the ban was lifted on growing hemp in November, 1995. Food, clothes and paper are also being made from imported raw materials. Mercedes and BMW use hemp fiber for composites in door panels, dashboards, etc. The German word for hemp is “hanf.”
GREAT BRITAIN lifted hemp prohibition in 1993. Animal bedding, paper and textiles markets have been developed. A government grant was given to develop new markets for natural fibers. 4,000 acres were grown in 1994. Subsidies of 230 British pounds per acre are given by the government to farmers for growing hemp.
HUNGARY is rebuilding their hemp industry, and is one of the biggest exporters of hemp cordage, rugs and fabric to the U.S. They also export hemp seed, paper and fiberboard. The Hungarian word for hemp is “kender.”
INDIA has stands of naturalized Cannabis and uses it for cordage, textiles and seed.
ITALY has invested in the resurgence of hemp, especially for textile production. 1,000 acres were planted for fiber in 2002. Giorgio Armani grows its own hemp for specialized textiles.
JAPAN has a rich religious tradition involving hemp, and custom requires that the Emperor and Shinto priests wear hemp garments in certain ceremonies, so there are small plots maintained for these purposes. Traditional spice mixes also include hemp seed. Japan supports a thriving retail market for a variety of hemp products. The Japanese word for hemp is “asa.”
NETHERLANDS is conducting a four-year study to evaluate and test hemp for paper, and is developing specialized processing equipment. Seed breeders are developing new strains of low-THC varieties. The Dutch word for hemp is “hennep.”
NEW ZEALAND started hemp trials in 2001. Various cultivars are being planted in the north and south islands.
POLAND currently grows hemp for fabric and cordage and manufactures hemp particle board. They have demonstrated the benefits of using hemp to cleanse soils contaminated by heavy metals. The Polish word for hemp is “konopij.”
ROMANIA is the largest commercial producer of hemp in Europe. 1993 acreage was 40,000 acres. Some of it is exported to Hungary for processing. They also export hemp to Western Europe and the U.S. The Romanian word for hemp is “cinepa.”
RUSSIA maintains the largest hemp germplasm collection in the world at the N.I. Vavilov Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) in St. Petersburg. They are in need of funding to maintain and support the collection. The Russian word for hemp is “konoplya.”
SLOVENIA grows hemp and manufactures currency paper.
SPAIN has never prohibited hemp, produces rope and textiles, and exports hemp pulp for paper. The Spanish word for hemp is “cañamo.”
SWITZERLAND is a producer of hemp and hosts one of the largest hemp trade events, Cannatrade.
TURKEY has grown hemp for 2,800 years for rope, caulking, birdseed, paper and fuel. The Turkish word for hemp is “kendir.”
UKRAINE, EGYPT, KOREA, PORTUGAL and THAILAND also produce hemp.
UNITED STATES granted the first hemp permit in over 40 years to Hawaii for an experimental quarter-acre plot in 1999. The license was renewed, but the project has since been closed due to DEA stalling tactics and related funding problems. Importers and manufacturers have thrived using imported raw materials. 22 states have introduced legislation, including VT, HI, ND, MT, MN, IL, VA, NM, CA, AR, KY, MD, WV and ME, addressing support, research or cultivation with bills or resolutions. The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) has endorsed industrial hemp for years.
MISC. / OTHER
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth…” – Genesis 1:29
DEA Success Update: Let’s see. After 20 years of relentless federal Drug War activity, while the price of world-class marijuana has gone from $60 an ounce to $450, the price of quality cocaine has plummeted from $125 a gram to $30, and 30%-pure heroin has dropped from $700 a gram to about $100. Way to go, boys!
– High Times, April 1995
“The biggest killer on the planet is stress and I still think the best medicine is and always has been cannabis.
– Willie Nelson, High Times, January 1991
“The greatest service that can be rendered to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.”
-Thomas Jefferson
“Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed and sow it everywhere.”
-George Washington
ANTI HEMP PROPAGANDA
HARRY J. ANSLINGER QUOTES
“How many murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries and deeds of maniacal insanity it causes each year, especially among the young, can only be conjectured…No one knows, when he places a marijuana cigarette to his lips, whether he will become a joyous reveller in a musical heaven, a mad insensate, a calm philosopher, or a murderer…” HARRY J ANSLINGER Commissioner of the US Bureau of Narcotics 1930-1962
Marijuana is taken by “…..musicians. And I’m not speaking about good musicians, but the jazz type…” Harry J. Anslinger Federal Bureau of Narcotics 1948
“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” Harry J.Anslinger
“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.” Harry J. Anslinger
“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.” Harry J. Anslinger
“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing” Harry J. Anslinger
“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.” Harry J. Anslinger
“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.” Harry J. Anslinger
There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. — Harry Anslinger, 1937 testimony to Congress in support of the Marijuana Tax Act.
SOURCES
Chris Conrad, “Hemp: Lifeline to the Future”
Jack Frazier, “The Great American Hemp Industry”
Hemptech, “Industrial Hemp” and “Hemp Horizons”
John McCabe, “Hemp: What The World Needs Now”
Jack Ferer, “Emperor Wears No Clothes” (June 18, 1939 – April 15, 2010)
Wikipedia
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