The Role Of Industrial Hemp In The US

“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.

General Purpose: To inform the class on why industrial hemp is illegal and the benefits of legalizing industrial hemp.

The Marihuana Tax Act passed through the Senate just as easily. Senate leaders brushed off thorough testimony from hemp farmers who warned that the bill would end their business. They lobbied for an exemption for hemp from the bill. One of those of those hemp farmers, Matt Rens, grew quite frustrated with the proceedings:

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

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.

Hemp has so many uses and positive attributes that it could be considered a “super plant” the same way pomegranates are a “superfood”. But, rather than figure out a way (not hard) to implement production in America and generate organic growth, literally and figuratively, the push to legalize hemp production remains

Instead of restricting the production of hemp, the United States government should legalize the planting of hemp due for its beneficial value to society.

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.

Moved by what Mr. Peter Drucker in 1985 called as “sources of opportunity” (cited in Mitra, 2012, p.40), Mr. Shan Crew, owner and founder of Hemp Oil Canada Inc in March of 1998 took the opportunity to produce and sell hemp products after the decision of the Canada’s government in favor of the hemp’s legalization for consumption as food or medicine. In addition, the unexpected end of what he called in his interview to CannaInsider as “crow subsidies” (CannaInsider, 2015) which were subsidies that allowed farmers in the middle of Canada send their products to the ports with reduced rates, where without this subsidy for transportation, the products of those farmers became too expensive, making expensive to ship to the ports, creating the opportunity for Mr.Crew to move on.

Today’s society is becoming more accepting of the industrial, medicinal, and research uses of marijuana. There is no need to ignore what is given to us. The future plans consist of more farming of marijuana crops, more discussion about marijuana, legal systems that one could buy marijuana from, faster transportation of pot all over the world legally so others can share it’s benefits, and all 50 state to allow growth of industrial hemp. In the future we can hope to see more progress towards using cannabis effectively and responsibly. If we continue to educate others; the sky’s the limit on what we can accomplish and what misconceptions we can eliminate. Education starts with introducing small amounts of hemp into our learning communities at

Legalization of marijuana will greatly simplify the regulatory burden on hemp and the cultivation in the United States.

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,