Cannabis hemp products improving the health of people and the planet

By Katherine Gagne
Source: deltacollegian.net

Since 1937, when the Dupont Chemical Corporation influenced the federal government to outlaw the Cannabis plant in order to eliminate competition with their petroleum based products, hemp has been illegal to grow in the U.S. but now it’s back! And Hemp can help us save the planet.

Hemp and Marijuana are two types of materials grown from the plant known as Cannabis which has seven sub-species that can be cultivated for specific and diverse attributes.

Hemp is a hardy plant that grows over most of the land on earth. It puts down deep roots, which stabilizes the soil from erosion, and when its leaves drop off, minerals and nitrogen are returned to the land.

Hemp can be harvested after growing 20-feet tall within four months of planting. It naturally repels weed growth and has very few insect enemies reducing the need for harmful pesticides.

When faced with the dire consequences of our headlong dive into progress, America’s ingenuity, creative vision, and talent for innovation can move us towards a clean fuel economy by abolishing fossil-fuels and investing in hemp as the new basis for our 21st century economy.

HEMP AS A SOURCE OF FUEL

Biofuels, which can be used to generate electricity, are produced without environmentally damaging practices like drilling, fracking, or mining.

Plant “biomass” is the fuel for the future. Cleaner than fossil fuels, it can provide gasoline, and charcoal to meet all of our energy needs.

To stop and reverse the greenhouse effect, we need to eliminate the CO2 buildup in the atmosphere. Hemp absorbs high quantities of carbon dioxide, and transfers it into the soil; creating healthier land as it helps to balance global warming by reducing CO2 from the atmosphere.

HEMP AS A FOOD SOURCE

Hemp provides a complete source of vegetable protein, and contains eight essential amino acids.

Its seed, which is low in saturated fat, contains many oils which our bodies can’t make for themselves, but are necessary for our survival.

Hemp protein can be processed and flavored in a variety of ways. Hemp oil can be used to make nutritious tofu, butter, and cheese, as well as other foods.

Companies like Manitoba Harvest, Nutiva and others already offer delicious and nutritious hemp based food products for the American market.

HEMP AS BUILDING

MATERIALS AND PLASTICS

New applications for hemp include the manufacture of strong, long lasting, construction materials like compressed fiber boards which can be used to frame and panel structures, environmentally friendly concrete, as well as composites for automobile manufacturing, and biodegradable soft plastics for home, office and medical use.

HEMP AS A SOURCE

FOR PAPER

The prohibition of hemp led to the unnecessary destruction of forests in The U.S. and the world over. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one acre of hemp can produce four times more paper than one acre of trees.

Hemp offers us an opportunity to make affordable and environmentally safe paper for all of our needs. Paper made naturally from hemp is acid free and will last for centuries.

Substituting hemp for trees, would save forests and wildlife habitats and would reduce the pollution of lakes, rivers, and streams that happen as a byproduct of wood pulp paper manufacturing.

HEMP AS A SOURCE OF FIBER

The hemp plant produces some of the strongest natural fiber known to man.

As hemp is resistant to decay we have evidence of its use beginning over 10,000 years ago when it was cultivated for its long fibrous stems from which rope, paper, cloth and textiles were made.

Hemp fiber is ten-times stronger, softer, warmer and more water absorbent than cotton and can be used to make clothing, bedding, towels, draperies, rugs, tents and sails. It can be spun and woven to be as smooth as silk, or as durable as denim.

Hemp is one of the most valuable, renewable resources that we have, producing over 25,000 different products and it is now currently legal to grow.

Let’s take the initiative in re-establishing a thriving hemp industry.

From farming, to manufacturing, to research, and transportation, the new hemp industry can generate thousands of jobs. Hemp is our best hope for reducing the pollution of our atmosphere and re-establishing a harmonious balance on our planet.