Hemp is one of the most desirable industrial plants on the planet. The plant is also one of the most versatile plants known to man and can be used for the purposes of feed, clothing, paint, paper, and plastic, but cultivation is still illegal. More importantly, hemp is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable resources that can improve people’s lives with minimal environmental impact.
Hemp is more commonly referred to as Cannabis, which is the entire genus. Cannabis sativa is what is grown for industrial/commercial use. Mainly the cannabis stalk and seed is used for products such as textiles, food, fuel, building materials, personal hygiene, paper, and biodegradable plastics. Hemp is different from marijuana, specifically in the THC
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More importantly, hemp has some of the most useful sustainable material nature has to offer. It is evident that humanity is living in an unsustainable fashion; the earth’s resources are being depleted at a rate at which it cannot be replenished. Still, some of these products (paper, plastic, fuel, building material, etc.) are essential for modern day living and, therefore, practices and processes continue as they are. That is why it is so crucial to explore alternative products to promote a more sustainable world. Hemp has the ability to maintain ecological processes, functions, and biodiversity in the future, which current processes cannot manage.
One of the major benefits of hemp farming is that the hemp plant grows in a short period of time. A plant can mature in 70-90 days, producing a very large bulk of plant material. The plant is highly resistant to most insects and diseases, which largely eliminates the need for pesticides and herbicides. The plant is a natural weed suppressor. By producing its own shade the plant shades out weeds, leaving the fields weed-free at harvest. The tall stalks drop its leaves creating a self-mulching eco-system (Hemp Facts, n.d). In contrast, logging is a major cause of global deforestation. Additional consequences of deforestation include killing of animals and plants, wiping out species, and polluting the environment. Although the timber industry is recognized as being essential to creating
Hemp can single-handedly improve our world 's environment by cutting down our dependency on timber, cut our use of water, and eliminate greenhouse gases. Forty percent of our forests are use to create timber stated by hempethics.weebly.com. As referenced
Marijuana, more botanically referred to as “Cannabis sativa” or “Hemp,” is a multiuse plant valued for its tough hemp fibers
“Each year the world loses up to 58 thousand square miles of forest for paper, construction materials, firewood, and agriculture (Deforestation).” Yet a much more sustainable crop that has been cultivated for thousands of years can greatly remedy this issue. Hemp, the cousin of the marijuana plant; banned back in 1937 through the “Marihuana Tax Act” which made possetion of hemp and marihuana as well as transfer, illegal. However, as of 2015, congress has passed “The Industrial Hemp Farming Act”, and now it is up to the individual states on what to do next. People are still unsure about hemp due to the similarities to its cousin. However, I know that hemp is the key to save the world’s forests because it is a much more sustainable source of paper, clothing, and construction materieals.
Just the mention of the word Cannabis in today’s society brings about all types of negative connotations. This is understandable due to the major propaganda campaign that has been waged by the U.S. government on the plant. Most citizens have no idea what a mature Cannabis plant looks like, and close to none recognize the thousands of uses it has. This is paper will not discuss whether drug-type Cannabis should be legalized for recreational or medicinal purposes, what it will discuss is the many environmentally friendly products that can be made from non-psychoactive hemp.
Specific Purpose: To provide my audience with a better understanding of how useful industrial hemp could be for the economy.
Do any of you know the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana? Would you like to? The purpose of this speech is to explain the differences in marijuana and industrial hemp, and to show the need to reform the present hemp laws in the United States in order to make hemp available for industrial purposes. The hemp plant shows its unique versatility by having many uses in industry and hemp has many distinct benefits over its counterpart in industry today. The usage of hemp would result in cleaner and more efficient industry. I will first discuss the differences between hemp and marijuana to avoid confusion, and then state the many ways that industrial hemp can help our economy such as; the use for fiber, the use in foods, and
One of the first things about marijuana history that the American public still doesn 't understand is that cannabis, was once very legal to grow in the United States. In fact, up until 1883 it was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world, including America.(The Union) But it wasn’t grown for the psychoactive plant cannabis sativa. Cannabis hemp, which carries a fraction of the amount of THC, (the compound in marijuana that attributes to the high feeling) was and is used all over the world, producing the overall majority of Earth’s fiber, fabric, paper, and medicines.(Herer,20) Hemp has a deep American History as well, from the gardens of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to the 8,327 American hemp plantations counted in the 1850 census.(Herer,15) Yet the Federal government now recognizes cannabis as a Schedule I drug with no medical value, and 23 States have legalized cannabis for medicinal use. (The Union) Even though some western states such as Oregon and Colorado are making legal changes to marijuana policy at the state level, the most beneficial marijuana law we could pass is and always has been the Nationwide legalization of industrial Cannabis Hemp.
The benefits of hemp give reasons that farmers should be permitted to grow the crop in the United States. Seed that the plant produces are very high in nutritional benefits when used in food products. The seed is high in both the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These fatty acids are important to nutrition because the body can not produce them; they also are used to produce the hormone progesterone, which is found in the body. The plant itself is useful for many different products from clothing to car parts. The pulp from the hemp stalks is used in the place of wood on homebuilding projects. Four acres of hemp produces more pulp than four acres of trees. Trees are a very valuable renewable resource and if farmers were allowed to grow hemp, which is more efficient than trees, they wouldn’t have to timber much of the forests. Hemp is a biodegradable substitute for plastic. Some car manufactures use the hemp-fiber plastic for door panels and trunk panels. The United States already uses products from hemp that is imported from other countries. Why shouldn’t the U.S. farmers be able to grow industrial hemp and partake in economic profit?
Hemp is the perfect substitution for making paper than trees. There are about 220 million pounds of toxic pollution that are let out into the air and water annually during the process of making paper from trees. At the same time, deforestation also drives climate change and reduces the filtration of carbon dioxide to oxygen. Most species of trees can take up to thirty years to be grown to harvest opposed to hemp that can be grown within the span of months. Also, because hemp is a reusable resource, hemp paper can be recycled up to 7 times, when paper made from trees can only be recycled a maximum of 3 times. By using hemp paper could have a tremendous effect in the way the war on global warming is
crop with a vivid history spanning centuries. However, the hemp plant has been faced with controversy in the last 70 years. The industry is experiencing restrictions that are thought to be imposed by the current social, economic and political atmosphere surrounding key stakeholders, rather than any technical inferiority. Education regarding this subject seems inadequate and appears restricted to those who actively research the topic themselves. As a fiber and oilseed crop, hemp offers agricultural potential as well as the ability to be manufactured into valuable end uses. Possibilities exist for expanded growth in hemp markets and a closer look should be taken to reexamine the current situation
Cannabis is a plant that has been around for 38-million-years (Heilig, S., 2011). Before the 20th century cannabis had been used in a multitude of ways, one of which included medicinal practices. Up until the 1940’s Cannabis was listed in America’s pharmacopeia (Heilig, S., 2011). According to historical records, it was used for medicinal purposes dating back to 2800 BCE (Heilig, S., 2011). The tops, or flower of the plant are used for medicine or as a relaxant. The stocks also known as hemp, can be used in a variety of ways. Hemp is a renewable energy source that has the potential to replace fossil fuels without causing harm to the environment as it is biodegradable (Heilig, S., 2011). As well, hemp could be used for raw material to create paper and this could help end deforestation (Heilig, S., 2011). Not only paper, but it has the ability to replace plastic bags and styrofoam; this would be known as a hemp based cellophane (Heilig, S., 2011). Examining the plant further, cannabis seeds are a complete high protein and vegetarian food for humans, as well as livestock or poultry (Heilig, S., 2011). Hemp seed oil has the exact ratio (3:1) of essential fatty acids omega 6 and
Marijuana comes from the plant Cannabis. Cannabis is a type of flowering plant and is categorized by three different species: Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis. Cannabis Sativa and Indica produce most of the dried leaves that we known as Marijuana. Cannabis Ruderalis also has Tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive element in marijuana (also known as THC), but is much lower in concentration so it is rarely ever used recreationally. Cannabis has been used for hemp, seeds and oil among its medical and recreational uses. Hemp is used for many practical functions and is found in many everyday products. Some uses of hemp include paper, paint, oil, food, rope, and is also used in textiles for clothing. The remarkable thing about hemp is its unmatched growth cycle. The uses for hemp are numerous but its 120-day growth cycle makes it one of
Industrial Hemp is an ancient crop, which has a multitude of diverse uses. The earliest uses of Hemp can be traced back to the Sumerians and probably even earlier in man’s unrecorded history. Industrial Hemp is not Marijuana though the two plants are of the same family and have passing resemblance to one another. Industrial Hemp’s myriad uses are being rediscovered and at the forefront of research in diverse fields. I will be attempting to dispel some of the myth, and providing history and proven uses of this amazing plant.
When people talk about marijuana or hemp people instantly think about smoking it. What people do not know is hemp is one of the most widely used materials. Before 1883 seventy-five to ninety percent of the worlds paper was made out of hemp. The department of agriculture proposed to make paper out of hemp in 1930, the only problem was separating hemp pulp from the fiber cheaply. Six years later big companies like
Throughout American history our country has come to rely on many different natural resources. With technology and the population increasing, the number of fossil fuel reserves and natural forests are going down. What America needs is a renewable source of fuels and fibers that will meet the growing needs of the future, but will not damage our environment. One of the most promising sources of fiber, fuel, and natural oil is hemp. Hemp, also known as Cannabis Sativa L, has been used in our country since the early 17th century (Schreiber 160). Although hemp is considered an illegal drug, many people forget that it is a part of our country’s history. Despite its negative connotations, hemp has the potential to revolutionize the paper,