Grow hemp to help clean the lake

By Tom Jackson
Source: sanduskyregister.com

Hemp uses little fertilizer, businessman says

Environmentalists discussing how to solve Lake Erie's algal bloom problem don't usually bring up hemp. 

But industrial hemp — made from the same plant used for making marijuana — could be part of the solution for cleaning up Lake Erie, an Ohio businessman said.

Scott Sondles of Columbus says that it's time for Ohio to join much of the rest of the world in allowing the legal cultivation of industrial hemp. Hemp doesn't have enough THC, pot's active ingredient, to be used as an illegal drug but which can be made into many useful products, he says.

Sondles, who wants to separate hemp from its association with marijuana, says that hemp has a long history in the U.S. It was used for making ropes and sails for ships. The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, he said.

Hemp can be grown with little or no chemicals, avoiding the problems with fertilizer that have helped feed algal blooms. In fact, industrial hemp can function as a buffer, helping to filter out harmful chemicals, Sondles contends.

He said he'd like Ohio to join 17 other states in which hemp is allowed to be grown for research purposes. No bills to do that have been introduced in the Ohio General Assembly, but Sondles said his company, HempStrong, is scheduled to meet next week with officials in the Ohio Farm Bureau.

He noted that an activist group mounted a failed effort in Ohio to put legalization of medical marijuana and legalization of hemp on the ballot. Sondles said he didn't agree with that approach, as he believes medical marijuana is a separate issue. 

Sondles is one of the co-founders of HempStrong and also is the author of "Hemponomics," a self-published book, released last year, which discusses the economic possibilities of industrial hemp. 

HempStrong has released a product, Hemp and Honey Plus, a skin care product, and plans to release  food supplement soon.

Sondles said he launched HempStrong to take a different approach to branding hemp. Competitors tend to lean toward a hippie ambiance and to putting marijuana leaves on their products, but Sondles said he is aiming to capture the the attention of soccer moms.