Hemp is Hip, Hot and Happening

National movement to repeal bans on hemp industry. Information, products, grassroots support

Moderator: Super Moderators

Linnea
Moderator
Posts: 14985
Joined: 04-22-2000 02:00 AM

Hemp is Hip, Hot and Happening

Post by Linnea » 05-27-2005 10:58 PM

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.

(article continues on link.....more about hemp textiles, biofuels, foods, care products...)
http://www.thehia.org/news_reports/hemp_is_hip.html


And this:

What Can I Do?
Here are two simple ways to help hemp blossom in the marketplace: Buy hemp! Vote hemp!

Buy hemp! Hemp foods and body care products are carried by large chains such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe's and by thousands of smaller independent natural-food chains, stores, and co-ops, and even by some mainstream grocery stores. Outdoor retailers, ecological specialty stores, and some department stores carry hemp clothing. See the wide range of hemp products, and their makers, listed in the Hemp Industries Association's (HIA) Members Product Directory at http://www.hempindustries.org. Search for local retailers at http://www.hempstores.com.

Vote hemp! Be informed, talk to your state and national representatives, and tell your friends and family about the benefits of hemp for a sustainable economy and healthy environment. Fourteen states have passed legislation supporting industrial hemp. What's the status of your state? See http://www.votehemp.com/state_legis.html.
Activists are working to shift federal regulation of industrial hemp back to the Department of Agriculture and out of the hands of the DEA. Donations to support this effort can be made online at the Web site of Vote Hemp, the industry's lobbying group, where you can also find sample letters and easy ways to contact elected officials; see http://www.votehemp.com.
TestPledge, DEA and the Right to Eat Hemp Foods
Under the Hemp Industries Association's (HIA) TestPledge program (http://www.testpledge.com), U.S. hemp food companies voluntarily observe trace THC limits in hemp nut and oil. These conservative limits protect consumers from workplace drug-testing interference; they are based on a study, jointly commissioned by a Canadian governmental program and industry members, published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology (Nov./Dec. 2001).

Nonetheless, fueled by drug war ideologues and hysteria, the DEA has attempted to ban hemp foods. Hemp food manufacturers and the HIA have won a series of legal battles, culminating earlier this year in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the DEA ignored Congress' specific exclusion of hemp fiber, seed, and oil in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), exempting them from the DEA's control. The court viewed the trace amounts of THC in hemp seed as insignificant and irrelevant, just like the trace opiates in poppy seeds, which are similarly exempted from the CSA and which the DEA hypocritically ignores.
Fighting the DEA's attempted ban has cost hemp companies over $200,000, but they are prepared to spend what it takes to fight any further appeal to the Supreme Court. "The public and the media should question the DEA's waste of tax dollars in trying to crush the legitimate hemp food industry," says Eric Steenstra, president of the hemp industry's lobbying organization, Vote Hemp. "A Bush administration appeal will fail and only further embarrass the DEA. Appealing the decision is a last-ditch effort to save face at the expense of taxpayers and limited law enforcement resources." Visit http://www.votehemp.com for up-to-date information.

User avatar
sayntbrigid
Pirate
Posts: 2695
Joined: 05-04-2005 01:28 AM

Post by sayntbrigid » 05-28-2005 05:13 AM

I'm just visualizing this
Jobs for hemp growers.
People making their own cloth.
People making their own thread.
People making their own clothing.
Jobs for cloth weavers, thread makers, seamstresses.
People growing their own tobacco (per Iris)
Wallmart going out of business
Ok, now we're getting somewhere. :)

User avatar
Devastated
Moderator - Hammock Expert
Posts: 4943
Joined: 12-29-2002 03:00 AM

Post by Devastated » 06-13-2005 06:14 AM

On Art last night (maybe it was the replay from last week) a caller said that if the U.S. manufactured all it could from hemp, the U.S. economy would be boosted by half a trillion dollars a year??!!:eek:
You don't have to believe everything that you think...

Linnea
Moderator
Posts: 14985
Joined: 04-22-2000 02:00 AM

Post by Linnea » 06-13-2005 10:01 AM

I missed that, Dev. Thanks for posting it here. Wonder who the guest or caller was? I knew the hemp industry had the potential to move this country into the 21st century, but not with such an immediate impact. Talk about 'conspiracies'. To deny us the right and ability to grow industrial hemp - has kept the economy enthralled by the elites for almost a century!

User avatar
cns
Pirate
Posts: 792
Joined: 06-14-2005 08:37 AM

Post by cns » 06-18-2005 11:02 PM

When you stop to consider it would be magnificent!
and bamboo also.
Talk about a renewable resource with a ton of uses. This stuff is sooo renewable and grows like crazy.
Why do you think they call it weed?

User avatar
cns
Pirate
Posts: 792
Joined: 06-14-2005 08:37 AM

Post by cns » 06-18-2005 11:06 PM

sayntbrigid wrote: I'm just visualizing this
Jobs for hemp growers.
People making their own cloth.
People making their own thread.
People making their own clothing.
Jobs for cloth weavers, thread makers, seamstresses.
People growing their own tobacco (per Iris)
Wallmart going out of business
Ok, now we're getting somewhere. :)

Oh, Sayntb! not only thread, cloth and material and tobacco, but paper, oil for cooking, soaps and lubrication. Fiber for mats, rugs, furniture.
Just think of all the uses. It is mind boggling and an incredible boost for the economy.
Perhaps if we move to renewable energy, and hemp, jojoba and bamboo we can steal the economy right out from under fossil fuel.
Big woo-hoo!

User avatar
fabzilla
Pirate
Posts: 6548
Joined: 11-08-2004 03:50 AM

Post by fabzilla » 06-22-2005 04:22 AM

Linn, conspiracy anyone?

The Marijuana Conspiracy - THE REAL REASON HEMP IS ILLEGAL

http://100777.com/node/1293?PHPSESSID=5 ... be3cbcc7aa

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger
in the land. Ezekiel 34/2

“THE WONDER PLANT

Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.

ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP SEED OIL.

Hempen plastics are biodegradable!

Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done.

Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.


MEDICINES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP.

We should go back to the days when the AMA supported cannabis cures. 'Medical Marijuana' is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Pot is only healthy for the human body.

WORLD HUNGER COULD END.

A large variety of food products can be generated from hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming pot seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked hemp seeds.

CLOTHES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP.

Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from pot, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make hemp clothing; usually 50% hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Superior hemp products are not allowed to advertise on fascist television.

Kentucky, once the top hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?

The world is crazy...but that does not mean you have to join the insanity. Get together. Spread the news. Tell people, and that includes your children, the truth. Use hemp products. Eliminate the word 'marijuana.'

Realize the history that created it.

Make it politically incorrect to say or print the M-word.

Fight against the propaganda (designed to favor the agenda of the super rich) and the bull****. Hemp must be utilized in the future.

We need a clean energy source to save our planet. INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP!”

“…POT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT TO REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!”


back to the Earth...


"We plant the seed, nature grows the seed, we harvest the seed"

Hippy Neil

The Young Ones



fab
Ah drrr drrr drrr

Linnea
Moderator
Posts: 14985
Joined: 04-22-2000 02:00 AM

Post by Linnea » 06-22-2005 09:47 PM

Good read, Fab - except it lumps industrial hemp with marijuana/pot. Big mistake. They are not the same.
:(

That is one of the problems. The DEA links them, and denies industrial hemp.

The medical marijuana issue should not be linked to industrial hemp - except as the article states - as disinformation.

I do agree with the medicinal - and recreational - use of the mj hemp. It has its own place in the system of things.
;)

*and its own thread
:D

User avatar
fabzilla
Pirate
Posts: 6548
Joined: 11-08-2004 03:50 AM

Post by fabzilla » 06-23-2005 03:21 AM

I realize the difference, so do you and most that carry the flag for this, but the majority is programmed to believe it is all the same, and if that is their tactic of suppression of information then it may be a more effective way to counter.


:cool:
Ah drrr drrr drrr

User avatar
sayntbrigid
Pirate
Posts: 2695
Joined: 05-04-2005 01:28 AM

Post by sayntbrigid » 06-23-2005 05:18 AM

To be honest, after having given this topic a lot of thought, they would still prolly just hire illegal aliens.......it seems to be the trend.

Dont mean to be a party pooper.
Maybe I am just bummed out today.....dunno :(

User avatar
seattlegal
Pirate
Posts: 3043
Joined: 03-23-2004 03:44 AM

Post by seattlegal » 06-23-2005 08:47 AM

fabzilla wrote: I realize the difference, so do you and most that carry the flag for this, but the majority is programmed to believe it is all the same, and if that is their tactic of suppression of information then it may be a more effective way to counter.


:cool:


Anyone have a hemp US flag? :cool:
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.
-- Yoda

drnewel
Pirate
Posts: 785
Joined: 11-08-2004 01:31 AM
Contact:

us constitution

Post by drnewel » 06-30-2005 07:54 PM

The paper that the constitution is written on is hemp.

I think one of the reasons that hemp is outlawed is that there usually are networks of underground radicals circulating the hemp products trying to usurp the government - oh wait: we are the underground radicals trying to usurp the government of Great Britain.

Any how back to the point: The paper that our consitution is on and I believe the Declaration of Independance - is hemp.
Dr. Newel

Linnea
Moderator
Posts: 14985
Joined: 04-22-2000 02:00 AM

Post by Linnea » 07-02-2005 04:41 AM

Wish someone could confirm that. Wondrous if so. Thanks for the info DrNewel.

cherry
Pirate
Posts: 5704
Joined: 05-28-2004 05:15 PM

Declaration of Independence

Post by cherry » 07-29-2005 09:42 AM

They say the first draft of the declaration was written on hemp
paper -- not sure about the final version. Jefferson actually
copied it a bunch of times, but I don't know on what kind of paper. :o

User avatar
joequinn
Magister Ludi
Posts: 8282
Joined: 04-25-2000 02:00 AM

Post by joequinn » 07-29-2005 10:05 AM

Hemp is an abomination before de Lawd! Yeah, yeah, yeah, you commie pinko hopheads will tout the versatility of hemp, yada, yada, yada. But we all know --- and the spy satellites can verify --- that when you go out into the fields to harvest the hemp, ostensibly for a profit (tee-hee-hee!), all of you are going to end up sitting in a peace circle, chant KUMBAYA, and smoke yourselves silly. And this, I repeat, is an abomination before de Lawd!

The Good Book tells us that we should be ever vigilant, like the ten virgins with the lamps, for the return of de Lawd, in fury and righteousness, to pass judgment on the sinners and other liberals. Smoking hemp turns you into one of the ten virgins who let their lamps go out (for which each and every one of them is writhing in the thermonuclear flames of hell to this day)! So down with hemp and up with the righteous zeal of de Lawd in this land of the free and home of the brave! Praise Jaysus!
Last edited by joequinn on 07-29-2005 10:07 AM, edited 1 time in total.
"Fuggedah about it, Jake --- it's Chinatown!"

Post Reply

Return to “Hemp Industry”