The Future Is Hemp

Hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant, just like bell peppers and cayenne peppers are different varieties of the Capsicum annuum plant. All varieties of Cannabis are dioecious, meaning plants can be male or female. Though the leaves of hemp and marijuana may look similar, the two plants have significant genetic differences. Hemp grows much taller than marijuana and is an excellent source of nutritious seeds and useful fibers. Hemp, unlike marijuana, only contains a trace amount of THC, the psychoactive compound that produces a high. This tiny amount (less than 0.3 %) of THC cannot be felt by the body and makes hemp products  safe for people and pets.

Growing hemp requires few pesticides, no herbicides and less water than most other crops. Hemp grows fast (like bamboo) and the roots replenish the soil through phytoremediation. The prolific leaf structure of the hemp plant absorbs large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere providing excellent carbon sequestration. The same land can be used continuously to grow hemp making it an easy crop for farmers to rotate.

Fear of this amazing plant was instilled through nearly a century of anti-Cannabis government propaganda. The prohibitive tax on hemp farmers enacted in 1937 was done to protect the paper business of William Randolph Hearst and the petrochemical synthetic products (such as nylon) being developed by Pierre S. du Pont. In order to ensure the illegality of hemp, a fear-mongering yellow journalism campaign was regularly featured in Hearst’s newspapers. The word “hemp” was taken out of parlance and all Cannabis was declared to be “marihuana.” In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act solidified the illegality of hemp by listing it as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD. After 80 years of prohibition, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 finally removed hemp from the drug schedule.

 

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