Essay Legalizing the Growth of Industrial Hemp

Where Cannabis hemp differentiates from Cannabis marijuana is the amount of THC (Tetrahydrocannabiniods, what gives you the high) each contain. Hemp contains at most 1.5% and as little as 0.3% THC where marijuana can contain from 5% to 20% THC. Cannabis hemp also contains a higher amount of Cannabidiol also known as CBD which counteracts the effects of THC and reduces the neurological effects of THC. The hemp plant itself cannot contain more than the 1.5% THC because of its composition addressed on Hempethics.weebly.com, "The reason for the low THC content in hemp is that most THC is formed in resin glands on the buds and flowers of the female cannabis plant. Industrial hemp is not cultivated to produce buds, and therefore lacks the primary component that forms the marijuana high." Some dispute that if hemp is legalized it will be made to produce marijuana products which is scientifically impossible. Besides its chemical breakdown, the fibers in hemp are so durable they can be used as a substitute in place of wood materials. Its density is like that of bamboo and produces four times as much fiber per acre as pine trees which can help with problems like deforestation and green house effects.

“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.

In ** Hemp was banned In the states. Marijuanas none physcoactive cousin was banned for a simple reason. It's easier and cheaper to use as paper. A fact that William Randolph Hurst hated. The newspaper tycoon could've replaced his traditional printing press. Instead he made up a bunch of lies. That ultimately outlawed cannabis and hurt society

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.

Central Idea: Due to the war on drugs, hemp production is severely limited; however, with the proper legalization and regulation of this plant the U.S. economy would prosper due to job creation and the environment would benefit by the amount of tress saved.

While marijuana was not actually outlawed until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 it was a part of the country and society since before the arrival of its current transplanted inhabitants. Hemp is the name of a species of Cannabis that has been used throughout history for many things including rope, clothing, medicine, oils and other such novelties. Marijuana and hemp are both of the species Cannabis Sativa and occur naturally along with a score of other variations of the plant. Marijuana is simply a form of hemp that is higher in delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s naturally occurring psychoactive chemical. Today we hear many nicknames for marijuana including: weed, pot, budda, grass, and bud to name a few. Marijuana has long been used by the indigenous peoples of North and South America for many things, from medical to religious purposes. Of course a select few Europeans exploited narcotics and different types of marijuana. However, in Europe it was not a widespread phenomenon, and neither was it from the time of colonization or even industrialization in America. It was not until the era of the 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution, known as prohibition, that marijuana became a widely used substance in the U.S..

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

Canada, which legalized the production of industrial hemp in 1998, might be considered a good measure of America’s potential future in industrial hemp production. As of 2015, 1,135 licenses were issued in Canada to grow 34,262.6 hectares of hemp (84,664.7 acres). Those numbers are down from 2011, when Canadian hemp farmers reaped an approximate profit of at least $30.75 million. By way of comparison, Canadian farmers saw at least $990 per acre of hemp while Indiana farmers can expect approximately $736 per acre of corn, and Californian farmers can expect approximately $630 per acre of

Hemp was legal tender in most of the Americas from 1631 to the early 1800s, you could buy anything with hemp, even pay taxes. (Herer, 1) The first law passed on Marijuana in the

On October 1, 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was enacted and it prohibited all forms of cannabis sativa. Although the bill was targeted towards the banning of marijuana and both forms of cannabis on separate ends of the sativa spectrum, there was no specification on which form was directed for the ban. Thus both were prohibited from being grown in the United States of America. In November of 2016, marijuana officially became legal to grow in all fifty states, yet industrial hemp is still currently legal to be grown in 13 states within the USA.  Hemp is largely exported to the US from other countries. It is imperative that hemp becomes legal to be grown around the entire country, for hemp will help retain the USA’s revenue by using hemp grown in America, has can be used for many different purposes such as clothing or food for example, has the potential to reduce American citizen’s carbon footprint as a substitute for paper and gasoline, and has no major threat to the industrialization of hemp in factories.

First, founding fathers were very secretive of hemp paper in the U.S. Constitution, and they made in this material. “In reality the word ‘marijuana’ or ‘marihuana’ chopped up in the according to research at Kingston University in the United Kingdom” (“Busting Some Myths about the Founding Fathers and Marijuana”). Founders had discovered the hemp in the United States of America, and they had smoked a weed. This article

Hemp used to be, and can be again, a useful resource for america. It was used to make sails, rope, paper, and clothes. Since marijuana grows faster than trees, would it not be smarter to make paper out of hemp rather than cutting down entire forests. In St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture it is stated that “Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson advocated a hemp-based economy.” (Tony Brewer. Page 459) If important people like our past presidents prefered a hemp-based economy it would not be

Industrial Hemp has received an extensive amount of legislative attention in the past 20 years. Early Vermont legislation on the subject includes ACT176 (1996) requesting the commissioner of agriculture, food and markets as well as the University of Vermont do research into the viability of the industry, ACT222 (1998) urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to review the new Canadian hemp policies, and ACT333 (2000) “urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reconsider federal policies that restrict the cultivation and marketing of industrial hemp and related products.”

William Randolph Hearst began a smear campaign against hemp in the 1920s and 1930s. Through the use of ‘yellow journalism’ Hearst manufactured a new threat to America in a campaign to have hemp outlawed. “For example, a story of a car accident in which a “marijuana cigarette” was found would dominate the headlines for weeks, while alcohol-related car accidents (which outnumbered marijuana-connected accidents by more than 10,000 to 1) made only the back pages.” (Herer Chap 4) “From 1910 to 1920, Hearst’s newspapers would claim that the majority of incidents in which blacks were said to have raped white women, could be traced directly to cocaine. This continued for 10 years until

Under the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, there was no chemical distinction made between the two substances. Because of this, hemp eventually became illegal when marijuana did. (Williams 4). While industrial hemp has been used for centuries to make rope, clothing, and other materials, it has never been used for smoking due to its lack of THC. Cannabis was used first in about 8000 BC for cloth and textiles, and by 2700 BC it was incorporated into most cultures for fabric, cordage, food and medicine. From 1000 BC to 1883 AD hemp was considered the world largest agricultural crop (Schreiber 159). Hemp didn't just have its roots in other cultures either; it has been used in America for a very long time. The first recorded hemp plot in North America was planted in 1606 by a French botanist named Louis Hebert (Jenkins 1). From the early 1600's to 1859 hempseed oil was the most used lamp oil in the world. In early America, most colonies enacted "must grow" laws that made it illegal for farmers not to grow hemp. The first U.S. flag was sewn with hemp fabric in 1777 (Schreiber 161). Famous people such as Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington were avid hemp farmers. George Washington was once quoted saying, "Make the most of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere." Back then, hemp was recognized as a versatile crop, yet today, with other countries allowing the production of hemp, the U.S. still considers this