Hemp for Victory

About 4 years ago I bumped into a sea of information regarding hemp.  All my life I thought hemp and cannabis were two different things.  Well, they're not, they come from the same (cannabis) plant.  The word Hemp is used in reference to the industrial/fiber rich variety of the cannabis plant.  It contains no THC (the principal psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant), so, there's no way of being under the influence, never. One of the facts that really surprised me was that in 1942 the Department of Agriculture of the United States issued a short film encouraging farmers to grow hemp in large masses (Hemp for Victory). Even the federal government issued a special stamp to regulate and tax it, like any other crop. Back in that day, Kentucky and Wisconsin were the two largest crops in the U.S.

Hemp was indispensable.

These news are from the 20th century, but the cannabis plant has been used for over 10,000 years and is a very important part of the middle east and oriental culture. All ships, ropes, clothes were made from hemp, even the canvas, which comes from the Arabic word for hemp.

Hemp is a very high yield crop and can be harvested in only 12 weeks. It prevents the growth of weeds, thus, no need to use pesticides or herbicides. It's lighter in weight than a tree, so it requires less heavy machinery, creating a much smaller carbon footprint. It's 100% non toxic vegetable material. Hemp even leaves the soil fertilized for the next crop (trees don't do that).

Hemp Lotion © Syndia Canales 2012

There are over 35,000 products that can be produced out of this single plant, and some of these are:

clothes
shoes
houses (hempcrete, insulation, floors...)
seeds (and protein)

"They are rich in essential fatty acids, with a significant concentration of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are proven to be vital to cardiovascular health. Hemp seeds are particularly rich in alpha and gamma linolenic acid. According to MayoClinic.com, regular consumption of foods and supplements containing these compounds have been shown to reduce blood triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease."

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ropes
canvas
furniture
lotions
soaps/shampoo/shower gel/conditioner
wood sealer
plastic
FUEL
etc. etc. etc.

You can even build a full car out of hemp and run it with hemp fuel.  Henry Ford built hemp cars in the 1930's and it's emissions are as from a human being (CO2 ).

Lotus Eco Elise © transport20.com

I'll just leave you with these facts and please research by yourselves, you'd be amazed.  If it's good enough to eat, it's good enough for everything else.