Hemp Information & Uses

[illegal smiles]

Hemp

   1. According to David West, PhD, "The THC levels in industrial hemp are so low that no one could ever get high from smoking it. Moreover, hemp contains a relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid, CBD, that actually blocks the marijuana high. Hemp, it turns out, is not only not marijuana; it could be called 'antimarijuana.'"

      Source: West, David P, Hemp and Marijuana: Myths and Realities (Madison, WI: North American Industrial Hemp Council, 1998), p. 3.


   2. Although opponents of hemp production claim that hemp fields will be used to hide marijuana fields, this is unlikely because cross-pollination between hemp and marijuana plants would significantly reduce the potency of the marijuana plant. On March 12, 1998, Canada legalized hemp production and set a limit of 0.3% THC content that may be present in the plants and requires that all seeds be certified for THC content.

      Source: West, David P, Hemp and Marijuana: Myths and Realities (Madison, WI: North American Industrial Hemp Council, 1998)., pp. 4, 21.


   3. In a July 1998 study issued by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, researchers concluded that Kentucky hemp farmers could earn a net profit of $600 per acre for raising certified seeds, $320 net profit per acre for straw only or straw and grain production, and $220 net profit per acre for grain only production. The only crop found to be more profitable was tobacco.

      Source: Tompson, Eric C., PhD, Berger, Mark C., PhD, and Allen, Steven N., Economic Impacts of Industrial Hemp in Kentucky (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, Center for Business and Economic Research, 1998), p. 21.


   4. In a July 1998 study issued by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, researchers estimated that if Kentucky again became the main source for industrial hemp seed (as it was in the past), the state could earn the following economic benefits:

      Scenario                                                                                                     Full time jobs created    Worker Earnings
      Main source for certified industrial seeds only                                                            69 jobs    $1,300,000.00
      Certified seeds, plus one processing facility                                                             303 jobs    $6,700,000.00
      Certified seeds, plus two processing facilities                                                             537 jobs    $12,100,000.00
      Certified seeds, one processing facility, one industrial hemp paper-pulp plant          771 jobs        $17,600,000.00

      Source: Tompson, Eric C., PhD, Berger, Mark C., PhD, and Allen, Steven N., Economic Impacts of Industrial Hemp in Kentucky (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky, Center for Business and Economic Research, 1998), p. iv.


   5. In February 2004, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration cannot ban hemp products. The Associated Press reported that "On Friday, the court said that though the DEA has regulatory authority over marijuana and synthetically derived tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the agency did not follow the law in asserting authority over all hemp food products as well. 'They cannot regulate naturally-occuring THC not contained within or derived from marijuana,' the court ruled, noting it's not possible to get high from products with only trace amounts of the mind-altering chemical. Hemp is an industrial plant related to marijuana. Fiber from the plant long has been used to make paper, clothing, rope and other products. Its oil is found in body-care products such as lotion, soap and cosmetics and in a host of foods, including energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese, veggie burgers and bread." The case is Hemp Industries Association v. Drug Enforcement Administration, number 01-71662.

      Source:  Terence Chea, Associated Press, "Appeals Court Rejects DEA Bid To Outlaw Hemp Foods," Feb. 6, 2004, from the web at http://www.mapinc.org/newscsdp/v04/n231/a07.html , last accessed Feb. 18, 2004.


   6. "Other than Maryland, only Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota have laws allowing hemp production. All were passed last year. Both Minnesota and North Dakota allow farmers statewide to grow hemp."

      Source: Montgomery, Lori, Washington Post Staff Writer, Maryland Authorizes the Production of Hemp, The Washington Post, May 19, 2000, p. B1, B5.


   7."In Virginia, lawmakers passed a resolution last year urging federal officials to 'revise the necessary regulations' to permit experimental hemp production there."

      Source: Montgomery, Lori, Washington Post Staff Writer, Maryland Authorizes the Production of Hemp, The Washington Post, May 19, 2000, p. B5.

[ziggyzagman]

"Other than Maryland, only Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota have laws allowing hemp production. All were passed last year. Both Minnesota and North Dakota allow farmers statewide to grow hemp."

But i thought the bill hasn't been approved or rejected yet?  This thread is over a month old and says in ND hemp is legal to grow but there is a newer thread that says its going to be voted on. I'm confused.

[Lyndi]

Hemp Sun-Screen Story Wrong on Drug Testing
TestPledge Program Assures Consumers Hemp Products Do Not Cause Positive Drug Tests

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico — A report first published April 23rd in Mach Meter: The Online Publication of Cannon Air Force Base has spread across the Internet through a poorly researched Associated Press story. It raises unfounded concerns that sun-screens, tanning lotions, and other personal care products made with hemp seed oil could cause false positive drug tests because they contain trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana. These concerns are not based on scientific research and contradict earlier studies on this issue. There are no documented cases of a person failing a drug test after using hemp oil or hemp oil containing personal care products, such as soaps, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, tanning lotions, and sun-screens on the skin.

“Whether you work for the Air Force, police or local transit authority, Americans who are subject to workplace drug-testing will never fail a test because they use a personal care product made with hemp oil,” says David Bronner, chair of the Hemp Industries Association’s (HIA) Food and Oil Committee and President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. “My soaps are made with hemp oil because it contains an extraordinary amount of omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids that restore and moisturize the skin, and is an effective natural alternative to chemical-based skin care ingredients,” says Bronner.

The April 2004 issue of the Medical Review Officer Update, a leading publication serving drug-testing professionals, addressed the question of whether hemp oil used on the skin can cause positive drug tests by referring to a scientific study conducted by Dr. Gero Leson. Dr. Leson determined that even in an unrealistic worst-case scenario, in which a person with highly compromised skin uses pure hemp oil as massage oil and leaves it on for 24 hours, the amount of THC potentially absorbed is insignificant compared to the amount required for producing a positive drug test. Consequently, the publication’s editor, Dr. Swotinsky advised that “commercial hemp oil skin products contain minuscule THC concentrations, and use of these products does not create the right conditions for THC-positive urine drug test results.”

In recent years a handful of people have alleged that they failed workplace drug tests as a result of using hemp oil products on the skin. Such allegations were routinely proven to be false, and there has yet to be a case in which someone was excused due to use of a hemp oil personal care product. U.S. hemp companies voluntarily observe THC limits similar to those adopted by European nations and Canada. These limits protect consumers, with a wide margin of safety, who use hemp-content personal care products and routinely and extensively consume hemp food products from the risk of a positive drug test. Please see the hemp industry’s voluntary standards regarding trace THC at http://www.testpledge.com.

“Concerns reported in the story that drug-sniffing dogs could target a person wearing hemp sun block are ridiculous,” says Bronner. He adds, “Thousands of gallons of hemp seed oil are legally imported into the U.S every year, yet drug sniffing dogs on the border have never confused these raw materials with marijuana. News organizations need to do a better job of reporting the facts about hemp before they do greater damage to legitimate businesses by airing unfounded allegations.”

For more information, contact:
Adam Eidinger, 202-744-2671
Eric Steenstra, 703-615-3666

[Lyndi]

Hemp is Hip, Hot and Happening
So Why Are American Farmers Being Left Out?

American farmers are prohibited by law from growing a low-input, sustainable crop common in Europe and Canada with tremendous economic potential: industrial hemp.

Hemp cannot be commercially grown in the United States because it is erroneously confounded with marijuana.  In fact, industrial hemp and marijuana are different breeds of Cannabis sativa, just as Chihuahuas and St. Bernards are different breeds of Canis familiaris. Smoking large amounts of hemp flowers can produce a headache but not a high, or as Ruth Shamai of Ruth's Hemp Foods says, "I've personally stood in a burning field of hemp, and if you wanted a buzz you'd have to drink a beer."

Most Western countries distinguish industrial hemp from marijuana on the basis of THC (the chief intoxicant in marijuana) content and permit the growing of non-psychoactive low-THC hemp for fiber and seed. Straightforward European Union and Canadian regulations prevent attempts to camouflage marijuana in hemp fields and limit THC levels in hemp flowers to 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively; THC levels in marijuana flowers are generally between 3 percent and 15 percent.

But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lumps low-THC hemp with marijuana. As a result, although the United States permits trade in nonviable hemp seed, oil, and fiber, it is the only major industrialized nation that prohibits the growing and processing of hemp.
It is time to clear up the misunderstanding, change the law, and clear the way for ecologically sustainable, economically viable opportunities for American farmers and businesses.

Why Industrial Hemp?

Notoriety obscures the history and value of hemp. Hemp has a long history in America, from the first plantings in Jamestown, where growing hemp was mandatory, to the hemp sails of 19th-century clipper ships and the hemp canvas covers of pioneer wagons, to World War II's massive "Hemp for Victory" program. Hemp is a major part of humanity's agricultural and commercial heritage, having been used extensively for millennia in cultures around the world.

Hemp seed was known long ago for its healthy protein and rich oil. The stalk's outer fiber was used for clothing, canvas, and rope, and textile rags were recycled into paper pulp. The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, and the finest Bibles are still printed on hemp-based paper. The woody core fiber of hemp stalks was used for construction and fuel. In the early 20th century, hemp-derived cellulose was promoted as an affordable and renewable raw material for plastics; Henry Ford even built a prototype car from biocomposite materials, using agricultural fiber such as hemp.

Beginning with the passage of the "Marihuana Tax Act" of 1937 and continuing after the World War II "Hemp for Victory" program, misplaced fears that industrial hemp is marijuana and harassment by law enforcement discouraged farmers from growing hemp. The last crop was grown in Wisconsin in 1958, and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 formally prohibited cultivation.
Today, driven by entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to build a new industry for a new age, hemp has reemerged. A diverse but increasingly unified and politically influential group of interests supports the commercial growing of hemp, including farmers, businesses, nutritionists, activists, and green consumers.

Hemp is not a panacea for the world's social, economic, and environmental woes—- no single crop can do that. But with focused and sustained research and development, hemp could spur dramatic change. Renewable, fast-growing hemp could allow major industries to reduce their dependence on nonrenewable, fast-disappearing resources and move toward sustainable production.

[Lyndi]

Okay I am really trying to get more info to you guys on hemp, in easy and clear format..no..huge long ass paragraphs that most people wont read through anyways...I wanted to get a pic of some soft looking hemp as opposed to just twine..I am not dogging on twine I use it all the time..its just let it be known that hemp is actually very soft about as soft as cotton...but because most people only relate to to twine they dont know that...
Anyways..as I was "googling" lol...I came across a site call www.twojupiters.com...pretty cool but they had a page on there that listed the top ten reasons to be and use hemp...

Pretty interesting stuff!

Two Jupiters Hemp T'Shirts and Sweatshirts

Top Ten Reasons you should buy hemp.
Here are the top ten reasons why Two Jupiters uses hemp:

10.) It's Proven Strong - Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 B.C.


9.) Kings and Queens grow and grew hemp. Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.


8.) Good health. Organic hemp seed is more nutritious than even soybean, 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 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed does not contain THC.


7.) Hemp is the Worlds longest and strongest natural fiber. 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 hemicellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk contains no THC. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.


6.) Hemp is a natural renewable energy. According to the Department of Energy and Dr. Brooks Kelly, 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 and gas. Development of biofuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.


5.) Hemp is ORGANIC. Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. Almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on crops in the United States of America are applied to cotton.


4.) Hemp can help keep our Rivers and Oceans healthy. 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 waste-water contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and it's creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products in our air and water.


3.) Hemp helps in preventing deforestation. 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. It can also be recycled more times than wood paper.


2.) Hemp makes good paper. Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard.


1.) Hemp Plastic? Eco-friendly organic hemp can replace most toxic petro-chemical 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 few examples.

Two Jupiters Hemp T Shirts and Sweatshirts cost more because they are built
from the strongest fiber and with the best craftmanship money can buy. Our products
strength is guaranteed to make you a customer for life.

Robert E. Jungmann, President

[illegal smiles]

great post, modified it a little hope you don't mind, but excellent info, i think i'll merge it with another basic hemp info thread (if there is one, i can't remember right now  )

[illegal smiles]

8.) Good health. Organic hemp seed is more nutritious than even soybean, 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 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed does not contain THC.

Wow i didn't know it was better for you than soybeans!  Thats crazy how many things cannabis / hemp can be used for and so well, healthy, eco-friendly, etc, its truly the greatest plant ever!

[Lyndi]

For sure!! Why do you think I love it so much?

[illegal smiles]

For sure!! Why do you think I love it so much?

I merged a bunch of threads here hope its all orderly.

[Lyndi]

What would it matter?

[rastaman]

   3. In a July 1998 study issued by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky, researchers concluded that Kentucky hemp farmers could earn a net profit of $600 per acre for raising certified seeds, $320 net profit per acre for straw only or straw and grain production, and $220 net profit per acre for grain only production. The only crop found to be more profitable was tobacco.

That's incredible!  If they legalized hemp (which would ruin a crop/garden of female cannabis plants if planted near the hemp and hemp is useless on its own for getting high it just doesn't work) so it would create a few hundred jobs and a multi-million dollar a year business second in crop profitability to tobacco (as seen in the quote above) !  Hemp is an amazing plant, as well as her sister, lady cannabis

[illegal smiles]

^ yes it is, and only reason tobacco is more profittable is because it contains the most addictive substance on earth IMO, nicotene.  forget your benzos or heroin/oxycontin/opiates or speed.  nicotene is the most difficult to quit because its SO socially acceptable and you can buy it pretty much anywhere on earth you go unlike cannabis or other drugs.