Much of theprejudice against growing hemp is caused by the confusion between hemp andother cannabis plants. Hemp is a member of the cannabis genus but with distinctdifferences.

Cannabis is a genuscontainingcannabis sativa, cannabis indicaand cannabisruderalis. Hemp is cannabis sativa – a tall single stalkedplant, which has been cultivated for centuries for use as an industrial fibre,seed oil, food and medicine. Mostly used for its long fibres, each part of theplant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. Cannabisindica is a much shorter, many branched plant and is more widely knownas recreational cannabis. Cannabis ruderalis is considered bysome biologists to be a sub-species of cannabis indica whichevolved in Northern Europe for shorter seasons as a quick-flowering variety.Recently it has been used to develop strains of recreational cannabis becauseof this ability. Cannabis sativa has never been used asrecreational cannabis.

Perhaps the mostimportant difference between hemp and recreational cannabis (marijuana) is thatmarijuana has a high delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content, or THC, whichsupplies the sought-after psychotropic effect, but it’s

low in cannabidiolcontent, or CBD, which has medicinal properties. Hemp is just the opposite,being typically high in CBD and low in THC, meaning it’s not going to getanybody high.

In the Past

The history of hempgrowing is pockmarked by politics, ignorance and the machinations of bigbusiness. Once it was grown on every continent, and was worth more than goldbecause it supplied so many everyday needs as well as fitting out our armiesand ships. Farmers were required to grow it for ropes, sails, oil and for food.But in the 30’s American industrialists, who’d begun processing petroleum forplastics and nylon, became disgruntled by the way hemp cut into their marketshares and started putting pressure on various government officials to limitits growth.

The marijuana actin the USA outlawed cannabis. Films and posters were made to demonise cannabisand this caused complete confusion between Cannabis sativa andCannabis indicus. This propaganda spread across Europe with only Franceholding out and continuing to grown hemp. Then a prohibitive tax on hempcompletely ended its production and sale of the plant in the US but by 1942 thesecond world war and a shortage of imported materials turned hemp’s fortunesaround. Farmers were then made to ‘Grow Hemp for Victory’.

Unfortunately thewar demand for hemp ended before full production and new processing plants werebuilt but possibly hemp farming would have slowed anyway as people took to thenew man-made fibres.

Every bit of thisancient plant known, as Hemp, is useful for manufacturing rope, textiles, autoparts, cosmetics, dynamite, supplements, food, medicine and plastic. It is soversatile that hemp was once called the ‘Billion Dollar Crop’ for its potentialto produce 25,000 different products.

Hemp plastic

Henry Ford himselfmanufactured the body of an automobile from hemp-based plastic in 1941. Theplastic was much lighter than steel and could withstand ten times the impactwithout denting. The car was even fueled by clean-burning hemp-based ethanolfuel. Modern hemp plastic can be produced to biodegrade in the time suitablefor the product or not to degrade at all.

Present Day

Recently Americanlegislators have tried to support the growing of hemp. All over the worldpeople are realizing its potential. France and the EU in general are actuallyencouraging farmers to grow hemp and there is a subsidy available from the EU.Hemp is now cultivated in at least 30 countries worldwide,

In the UK KevinMcCloud built a small housing estate out of hemp which was grown close to thebuilding site cutting the environmental footprint of the houses to nearlynothing. He promotes hemp building materials because they are light and safe touse.

Hemp as a food

The mainnutritional sources of hemp come in the seeds and the oil although, as it caneasily oxidize, it is not recommended for frying or baking. Hemp is consideredto be a “superfood” as it contains a highly concentrated balance of an easilydigested protein, a balanced 1:3 ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fattyacids (more than any fish) also super omega-3 stearidonic acid and superomega-6-gamma-linolenic acid. Hemp seeds are also high in fibre, antioxidants,and minerals like iron, zinc and copper as well as calcium, magnesium,potassium, carotene, thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B6and vitamin E. If that’s not enough, there’s also chlorophyl, sulfur,phosphorus, phospholipids, and phytosterols.The essential fatty acids in hempoil do not serve as energy sources, but as raw materials for cell structure andas precursors for biosynthesis for many of the body’s regulatory biochemicalsas well as giving us healthy hair, skin, and nails.

The benefits ofHemp

§  Hemp removes more CO2 from the atmosphere than the sameacreage of trees.

§  It needs much less water to grow than cotton.

§  Unlike the vast amount of chemicals needed to keep cottonweed and pest free, hemp needs very few chemicals in its cultivation.

§  Hemp grows on many types of soils and in a widertemperature range.

§  It also benefits the soil needing only one manuring formany years growth also

§  it has an amazing ability to be used as a healer of soilsand has been utilised around much of Chernobyl.

§  Hemp’s long strands are superior to cotton.

§  It has anti-mildew and antimicrobial properties.

§  Its products can be biodegradable.

§  It is a safe alternative to fibreglass.

§  It also has much less susceptibility to insect damage anddisease.