Leading Hemp Advocacy Groups Applaud Introduction of California Hemp Farming Bill SB 676

California Businesses and Farmers Await Passage of New Bill to Allow Commercial Farming of Industrial Hemp

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leading hemp advocacy organizations Vote Hemp and the Hemp Industries Association are applauding the introduction two weeks ago of SB 676 in support of hemp farming in the state of California. The bill clarifies that industrial hemp is separate and distinct from forms of Cannabis used to produce marijuana and if passed will allow commercial farming of industrial hemp, which occurred in the state up until shortly after World War II. Industrial hemp is the non-psychoactive, low-THC, oilseed and fiber varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant. Hemp has absolutely no value as a recreational drug.

SB 676 was introduced on Friday, February 18th by state Senator Mark Leno. Senator Leno believes that hemp farming will help revitalize California's economy, "The time is long over due for California farmers to be allowed to grow this sustainable and profitable crop once again. The passage of SB 676 will create new jobs and economic opportunities for many farmers and manufacturers throughout the state."

A variety of products made from industrial hemp, including healthy food and natural body care products as well as eco-friendly clothing, are made in California. "There are over 50 member businesses of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) that make or sell hemp products in the state of California alone that could benefit from an in-state source of hemp seed, fiber and oil," says Eric Steenstra, Executive Director of the HIA. "Because of an outdated federal policy these businesses are forced to import millions of dollars of industrial hemp from Canada, China and Europe."

"Dr. Bronner's currently purchases twenty tons of hemp oil each year from Canada. We look forward to the day that we can meet our supply needs from hemp produced right here in our home state," says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps of Escondido.

To date, 17 states have passed pro-hemp laws or resolutions, including the California Assembly in 1999, when it passed a resolution declaring that "the Legislature should consider action to revise the legal status of industrial hemp to allow for its growth in California as an agricultural and industrial crop."

SB 676 would only allow farmers to produce and enter into the marketplace the parts of the industrial hemp plant already legal to import under state and federal law: its seed, oil, fiber and woody core. "SB 676 would not conflict with federal law or interfere with the enforcement of marijuana laws," explains Patrick Goggin, California Legal Counsel for Vote Hemp.

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) represents the interests of the hemp industry and encourages the research and development of new hemp products. Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop.  More information about hemp legislation and the crop's many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com and www.TheHIA.org.

SOURCE Vote Hemp

RELATED LINKS
http://www.votehemp.com/
http://www.thehia.org/

Hemp for Fuel

I just came across a great website that is all about hemp for fuel. The tagline used on the website banner says it all: "Renewable Energy Is Homeland Security."

The website is located here: Hemp4Fuel.com

Below is one of the hemp fuel articles from the website.

Hemp as a Fuel / Energy Source

By Jeremy Briggs - Radio Free Exile Blog

Biodiesel fuel from Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed oil can be used as is in bio-diesel engines. Methyl esters, or bio-diesel, can be made from any oil or fat including hemp seed oil. The reaction requires the oil, an alcohol (usually methanol), and a catalyst, which produces bio-diesel and small amount of glycerol or glycerin. When co-fired with 15% methanol, bio-diesel fuel produces energy less than 1/3 as pollution as petroleum diesel.

Energy and Fuel from Hemp Stalks through Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the technique of applying high heat to biomass, or organic plants and tree matter, with little or no air. Reduced emissions from coal-fired power plants and automobiles can be accomplished by converting biomass to fuel utilizing pyrolysis technology. The process can produce, from lingo-cellulosic material (like the stalks of hemp), charcoal, gasoline, ethanol, non-condensable gasses, acetic acid, acetone, methane, and methanol. Process adjustments can be done to favor charcoal, pyrolytic oil, gas, or methanol, with 95.5% fuel-to-feed ratios. Around 68% of the energy of the raw biomass will be contained in the charcoal and fuel oils -- renewable energy generated here at home, instead of overpaying for foreign petroleum.

Pyrolysis facilities can run 3 shifts a day, and since pyrolysis facilities need to be within 50 miles of the energy crop to be cost effective, many new local and rural jobs will be created, not to mention the employment opportunities in trucking and transportation.

Hemp vs. Fossil Fuels

Pyrolysis facilities can use the same technology used now to process fossil fuel oil and coal. Petroleum coal and oil conversion is more efficient in terms of fuel-to-feed ratio, but there are many advantages to conversion by pyrolysis.

1) Biomass has a heating value of 5000-8000 BTU/lb, with virtually no ash or sulfur emissions.

2) Ethanol, methanol, methane gas, and gasoline can be derived from biomass at a fraction of the cost of the current cost of oil, coal, or nuclear energy, especially when environmental costs are factored in. Each acre of hemp could yield about 1000 gallons of methanol.

3) When an energy crop is growing, it takes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, and releases an equal amount when it is burned, creating a balanced system, unlike petroleum fuels, which only release CO2. When an energy crop like hemp is grown on a massive scale, it will initially lower the CO2 in the air, and then stabilize it at a level lower than before the planting of the energy crop.

4) Use of biomass would end acid rain, end sulfer-based smog, and reverse the greenhouse effect.

Coal

Unlike petroleum reserves, America has enough coal to last 100-300 years, but burning it for electricity puts sulfur (toxic to every membrane in which it comes in contact, especially the simplest life forms - into the air, which leads to acid rain, which lills 50,000 Americans, and 5,000 - 10,000 Canadians, annually, and destroys the forests, river, and animals.

Charcoal can be created from biomass through pyrolysis (charcoaling), which has nearly the same heating value in BTU as coal, virtually without sulfur. Biomass can also be co-fired with coal to reduce emissions.

Ethanol and Methanol

Ethanol is a water-free, high-octane alcohol which can be used as fuel to drive cars. Under current conditions, use of ethanol-blended fuels such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) can reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases by as much as 37.1%. Ethanol-powered vehicles do suffer in performance (barely), but ethanol is effective as a fuel additive because it helps engines burn cleaner.

Once pyrolysis facilities are up and running, converting biomass into charcoal for electrical power plants, it will be more feasible to build the complex gasifying systems to produce ethanol and/or methanol from the cubed biomass, or to make high-octane lead-free gasoline from the methanol using a catalytic process developed by Georgia Tech University in conjunction with Mobil Oil Corporation.

Ethanol is currently being used as a fuel additive, replacing toxic methyl tertiary ether (MTBE). Ethanol producers are currently providing only 1% of America's liquid fuel. Soon though, as new development processes are researched, and with the use of hemp, the plant worlds number one producer of biomass, the cost of this alternative fuel will give petroleum vigorous competition.

Hydrolysis: A process whereby cellulose is converted to fermentable glucose, which holds the greatest promise for production and feedstock, because it could produce 100 gallons/ton. Tim Castleman and the Fuel and Fiber Company are researching this technology. Their method extracts the high-value bast fiber as first step. Then the remaining core material (mostly hurd) is converted to alcohol (methanol, ethanol), and then to glucose. Hydrolysis could produce 300,000 to 600,000 tons of biomass per year per facility, if each facility could process input from 60,000 to 170,000 acres.

Gasification: A form of pyrolysis which converts biomass into synthetic gas, such as ethanol, and low grade fuel oil with an energy content of about 40% that of petroleum diesel. This process is good for community power-corporation and people seeking self-sufficient energy needs. A small modular bio-powered system is in place in the village of Alaminos in the Philippines, using gasification techniques for energy.

Anaerobic Digestion: A process of capturing methane from green waste material (biomass). This process is toxic, but well suited for distributed power generation when co-located with electrical generation equipment.

Boiler: Biomass can also be burned in a boiler, but this energy has a value of $30-50 ton, which makes it impractical due to the higher value of hemp fiber, unless used on a local small scale, and in remote rural applications.

Hemp Produces the Most Biomass of Any Plant on Earth.

Hemp is at least four times richer in biomass/cellulose potential than its nearest rivals: cornstalks, sugarcane, kenaf, trees, etc.

Hemp produces the most biomass of any crop, which is why it is the natural choice for an energy crop. Hemp converts the sun's energy into cellulose faster than any other plant, through photosynthesis. Hemp can produce 10 tons of biomass per acre every four months. Enough energy could be produced on 6% of the land in the U.S. to provide enough energy for our entire country (cars, heat homes, electricity, industry) -- and we use 25% of the world's energy.

To put which in perspective, right now we pay farmers not to grow on 6% (around 90 million acres) of the farming land, while another 500 million acres of marginal farmland lies fallow. This land could be used to grow hemp as an energy crop.

Conclusion

The most important aspect of industrial hemp farming, the most compelling thing hemp offers us, is fuel. Right now we are depleting our reserves of petroleum and buying it up from our Arab enemies. It would be nice if we could have a fuel source which was reusable and which we could grow right here, making us completely energy independent.

Petroleum fuel increases carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and contributes heavily to global warming and the greenhouse effect, which, the EPA has warned, will lead to global catastrophe in the next 50 years if these trends continue. Do you want to find out if they are right, or do you want to grow the most cost effective and environmentally safe fuel source on the planet?

Using hemp as an energy and rotation crop would be a great step in the right direction.

Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed oil has historically been used as lamp oil. It is said to shine the brightest of all lamp oils. Hemp seed oil lit the lamps of Abraham Lincoln, Abraham the prophet, and was used in the legendary lamps of Aladdin.

Anything which can be made from fossil fuels can be made from an organic substance like hemp. Toxic petrochemicals can be replaced with hemp oil.

Hemp oil can be made into anything with an oil base, including paint, varnish, detergent, solvent, and lubricating oil. The advantage of these product is that they are earth friendly and biodegradable, and do not destroy ecosystems around them like petrochemicals do.

Until the 1930s most paint and varnishes were made with non-toxic hemp oil. Hemp paint provides superior coating because hemp oil soaks into and preserves wood, due to its high resistance to water.

Hemp oil is a good base for non-toxic printing inks. Soy is currently made into inks, but soy ink requires more processing and takes longer to dry than hemp oil based inks.

Million Marijuana (and Hemp) March 2011

Ditch will headline Million Marijuana March 2011

DITCH will headline the Million Marijuana March 2011

Ditch will headline with 2 nights of different performances at the 2011 Million Marijuana March May 7th and 8th at Leimert Park in Los Angeles, CA. The festival will feature a march on Los Angeles in support of marijuana legalization, decriminalization and safe access for medicinal users. For 2 days Leimert Park will be transformed into a concert a street festival of peace, music and education. Now in its 13th year the Million Marijuana March has been dubbed the "West Coast Hempfest" with an and estimated 20,000 people or more expected to attend. The 2 day festival and march on Los Angeles will also feature an enormous vendor village, arts and crafts made of hemp, educational areas, celebrity guests, guest speakers, movie premieres, food and more. The event is all ages and is free to attend. Ditch will perform 2 different 1 of a kind sets over the 2 days, other performers confirmed as of press time: 40 Glocc, Legend Indovizualz, comedian Bruce Jingles and more. The event is to raise awareness to marijuana decriminalization and legalization. California legalized medicinal marijuana in 1996 under proposition was won over by voters. The Million Marijuana March 13th anniversary event will be held May 7th and 8th 2011 10:00am - 8:00pm both days. Leimert Park is located at Crenshaw Blvd. and 43rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90008. For more information log on to www.lethaltendermusic.com Ditch's official website. Ditch's 2009 release "Public Intoxication" and this years release "Self Made, Self Paid" can be found on I Tunes.

Hemp Produces Viable Biodiesel, UConn Study Finds

Source: uconn.edu


By: Christine Buckley

Of all the various uses for Cannabis plants, add another, “green” one to the mix.

Professor Richard Parnas. File photo

Researchers at UConn have found that the fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel – sustainable diesel fuel made from renewable plant sources.

The plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food, says Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering who led the study.

“For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel,” says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. “It’s equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won’t need the high-quality land.”

Industrial hemp is grown across the world, in many parts of Europe and Asia. Fiber from the plant’s stalk is strong, and until the development of synthetic fibers in the 1950s, it was a premier product used worldwide in making rope and clothing.

Today, there are still parts of the world that rely on Cannabis stalks as a primary fiber, mainly because of its ability to grow “like a weed,” without requiring lots of water, fertilizers, or high-grade inputs to flourish. But the seeds, which house the plant’s natural oils, are often discarded. Parnas points out that this apparent waste product could be put to good use by turning it into fuel.

Hemp plant.

“If someone is already growing hemp,” he says, “they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce.” The fact that a hemp industry already exists, he continues, means that a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment.

With his graduate student Si-Yu Li and colleagues James Stuart of the Department of Chemistry and Yi Li of the Department of Plant Sciences, Parnas used virgin hemp seed oil to create biodiesel using a standardized process called transesterification. The group then tested the fuel for a suite of characteristics in the Biofuels Testing Laboratory at UConn’s Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.

The hemp biodiesel showed a high efficiency of conversion – 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to biodiesel – and it passed all the laboratory’s tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market.

Although growing hemp is not legal in the U.S., Parnas hopes that the team’s results will help to spur hemp biodiesel production in other parts of the world. UConn holds a patent on a biodiesel reactor system that could be customized to make biodiesel from a range of sustainable inputs, hemp included.

“Our research data could make buying a reactor system with our technology more attractive,” says Parnas. “If we have data for the production of many different feedstocks, we can tailor the system to meet the company’s needs.”

Parnas, Yi Li, and colleagues Steven Suib of the Department of Chemistry, Fred Carstensen of the Department of Economics, and Harrison Yang of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment are preparing to build a pilot biodiesel production facility using a two-year, $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy.

The reactor will be capable of producing up to 200,000 gallons of biodiesel per year, and while this production rate is small in comparison to commercial biodiesel reactors, the main use of the facility will be to test new ways to produce biodiesel, including catalysts and feedstocks. Ultimately, the team will perform economic analyses on commercializing their methods.

As for other industries that utilize Cannabis plants, Parnas makes a clear distinction between industrial hemp, which contains less than 1 percent psychoactive chemicals in its flowers, and some of its cousins, which contain up to 22 percent.

“This stuff,” he points out, “won’t get you high.”

Shoes Made From Hemp

A company called OAT is producing a shoe made from 100% compostable materials including hemp. Their website is here.

People may joke about their dirty old sneakers turning into science projects or mini ecosystems, but once OAT Shoes' compostable sneakers become commercially available within the next several weeks ... let's just say, those same people may no longer be joking when they make those kind of statements. Made using hemp, chlorine-free bleach and other nontoxic, biodegradable materials, the shoes are designed to completely break down when buried in the ground – the first batch will even come with seeds that users place in the tongues of their expired shoes, so that wildflowers will sprout up in commemoration of their kicks.

OATS is the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneurs Christiaan Maats and Dirk-Jan Oudshoorn. "Our future lies in a reconciliation between industry and nature, between mankind and nature," they state on the company website. "We have to close the loop, come full circle and realize we're an integral part of the whole thing." Part of the duo's green philosophy includes manufacturing the shoes in Europe, to limit shipping-related carbon emissions.

After a reported two years of research and development, the launch of their Virgin Collection of sneakers is now imminent. Although the shoes are not yet available to the public, they have already won second prize at last month's Green Fashion Awards in Amsterdam.

The sneakers will initially be sold through the OATS webshop, with prices yet to be announced. So far, they will only be available to buyers within Europe.

Furniture Made From Hemp

Below is an image of a bed made out of abaca or Manila hemp. The bed was featured in a music video by the band Maroon 5. The bed is constructed of abaca with a metal frame.

You can read about the project and about the designer Kenneth Cobonpue at this blog.

So I guess we can add furniture as yet another category of goods that can be made from hemp, the world's most amazing and versatile plant.

Hemp.com Letter to President Obama

Below is a copy of a very well written letter to President Obama by Josh Davis, Senior Editor at hemp.com, arguing for the re-legalization of industrial hemp.

Dear President Obama,

Last evening I received an email from you after your State of the Union address, as did millions of Americans.

Reading this, I was struck by five of your statements which I believe bear repeating:

1. “It is a future that is ours to decide, ours to define, and ours to win.

2. “We see an economy growing again.”

3. “Overcoming the challenges we face today requires a new vision for

tomorrow.”

4. “Moving forward, America’s economic growth at home is inextricably

connected to our competitiveness in the global community. The more

products American companies can export, the more jobs we can create at

home.”

5. “This vision for the future starts with innovation, tapping into the creativity

and imagination of our people to create the jobs and industries of the

future.”

The last two statements especially resonated with me where you mention the importance of creating innovative new products and utilizing our citizens to create “jobs and industries of the future.”

Mr. President if we want to stay competitive, to offer something to the world, and to provide a better life for the men, women and children of our nation – it is imperative that the federal government remove existing barriers and allow US farmers to once again grow Industrial Hemp.

More hemp is imported to the United States then any other country in the world – yet the United States Federal Government continues to prohibit its cultivation even though 20 states have introduced legislation that would allow Farmers to grow industrial hemp.

There are over 30 countries, including Canada, Great Britain, Spain, France, Germany, Romania and China (which is the world’s leading producer of hemp) that currently grow or have moved towards growing hemp as an agricultural/Industrial crop.

How are we supposed to compete with other countries if we cannot even grow the same commodities as they do? How do we step into the future with you when we are shackled with laws that prohibit new industries to grow?

In 2009 we imported roughly $340 Million worth of Hemp products into the United States. That is $340 Million that could have gone back into our economy, back into the pockets of the very people that you are asking to help build our nation.

$340 Million in terms of the economy is not that much, however the potential for growth is staggering.

According to Nathan Armstrong, President of Motive Industries Inc.,

“Out of the total Bio-Mass on Earth that is available, only 3.5% is actually used. And from that 3.5%, 70% is gone to make food and 2.5% is used to make plastics and chemicals.  In terms of wealth about $400 Billion is generated out of the food side and about $400 Billion generated out of the plastics and chemicals side. So the potential for bio-materials in the market place is absolutely enormous.”

The modern hemp industry is extremely new. It has only been within the past 10-15 years that most countries have allowed their farmers to grow this plant. Innovation has been slow. Research has been slow.

That is up until now.

Hemp is growing in the minds of researchers, scientists and businesses.

It is and will continue to be an ever growing and important part of the world economy and I promise that you will hear more and more that countries are turning to hemp to help them with environmental and technological needs.

Bio-Fuel, Paper, Injection Molded Plastics, Food, Construction Materials, Bio-Composites, Textiles – all can be made utilizing the hemp plant.

So why is it illegal to grow hemp? Because it is considered marijuana by the DEA.

First let me address this issue:

• Hemp is not marijuana. It is in the same family, but it is not Marijuana.

• The THC content (the active drug in Marijuana) of hemp is less than 3% while marijuana plants typically have 15-30% THC. The content in hemp makes it useless as a drug.

• You cannot hide marijuana plants in a hemp field as the DEA and law enforcement officials would have you believe.  The hemp will pollinate the marijuana and lower the THC content, rendering it useless as a drug.

The Federal Government must understand and concur that hemp is NOT a drug and cannot be used as a drug

We do not need to live blindly behind ignorance any longer.

Here are just a few facts about Hemp and its place in our economy.

• Hemp is a sustainable resource.

• It requires no pesticides or herbicides that lead to poisoning our waters and soil.

• It feeds nutrients back to the earth so farmers can grow other crops on their land and reap higher yields.

• The seeds of the industrial hemp plant contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids as well as a highly digestible protein that the body needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• The oil from hemp seeds can be converted into a Bio-Fuel that can be used to power engines.

• One acre of hemp is equal to three acres of cotton and is four times more water absorbent and has three times the tensile strength of cotton.

• Because of its high cellulose content hemp can be made into injection molded plastics as well as a material similar to Fiber-Glass.

• The Fiber material is one of the strongest naturally occurring materials known to man. It is currently being used in the automobile industry to create the body for cars.

• BMW and Mercedes are using hemp plastics in their high-end vehicles.

• A concrete made from a mixture of hemp and lime has been used recently to build the first hemp house in Asheville, NC. The “hempcrete” has amazing thermal properties and the homeowner, the former Mayor of Asheville, has spent less than $100 a month on energy bills over the 2010 summer for a 3400 sq ft house.

• The inside of the hemp plant, the hurd, can be used as a highly absorbent animal bedding for horses, poultry and livestock. It can decompose twice as fast as current products when thrown away.

Literally thousands of products can be made using the hemp plant!

And yet it is illegal for US farmers to grow this plant!

Mr. President it makes no sense – in fact, it is economically and environmentally illogical that Hemp is currently illegal to be grown here.

You are a smart man and I believe a rational one as well and we are a resourceful nation that has made amazing progress over the centuries.

But we have also made some mistakes. We allowed hemp to get lumped in with marijuana. We allowed our Government to lie to its citizens about the hazards of Hemp. In 2001 the DEA tried to make food containing the hemp seed Illegal – thankfully they failed. As a result of this manipulation US Citizens have collectively forgot how important hemp has been in the growth of America.

During World War II the Federal Government was so in need of hemp for the war effort that they created a film called Hemp For Victory and distributed it to farmers across the country.

After we won the war, hemp was made illegal again and the ignorance about its myriad of uses spread throughout the country.

We are a different nation than we were back then. We live in a different time.

We are faced with different enemies now and one of those enemies is ignorance.

The people of the United States will continue to suffer economically if this campaign of ignorance perpetrated by government organizations like the DEA, Law Enforcement and Politicians that have a vested interest in certain mainstream industry continues.

The United States will fall behind as other countries continue to make strides in hemp technology.

We will continue to import our hemp instead of growing, processing and creating new products to be exported.

We will give other countries more of our hard earned money.

And frankly, we will lose any chance to be an industry leader in this field.

In the words of Henry Ford – “Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?”

Why indeed?

President Obama, I ask you to support and actively campaign for our country’s farmers to have the right to once again grow Industrial Hemp on our fertile soil.

I will leave you with two quotes:  One from the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who said, “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country.”

Those words still ring true today.

The second quote is from our forty-fourth President: ” It is a future that is ours to decide, ours to define, and ours to win….This vision for the future starts with innovation, tapping into the creativity and imagination of our people to create the jobs and industries of the future.”

Mr. President, those are your words and I believe in them.

Our only hope as a nation, is if you believe in them too.

Sincerely,

Josh Davis

US Citizen and Senior Editor at hemp.com

The Marijuana Conspiracy: The Reason Hemp Is Illegal

Below is (most of) an outstanding column by Doug Yurchey found at lewrockwell.com.

They say marijuana is dangerous. Pot is not harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does not pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people. The truth is, if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about the plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.

Where did the word ‘marijuana’ come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant – as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in theEncyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years. 

1) All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s. (Jack Frazier. Hemp Paper Reconsidered. 1974.)

2) It was legal to pay taxes with hemp in America from 1631 until the early 1800s. (LA Times. Aug. 12, 1981.)

3) Refusing to grow hemp in America during the 17th and 18th centuries was against the law! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769 (G. M. Herdon. Hemp in Colonial Virginia).

4) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers grew hemp. (Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.)

5) Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America, and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow’s export to England. (Jack Herer. Emperor Wears No Clothes.)

6) For thousands of years, 90% of all ships’ sails and rope were made from hemp. The word ‘canvas’ is Dutch for cannabis. (Webster’s New World Dictionary.)

7) 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc., were made from hemp until the 1820s, with the introduction of the cotton gin.

8) The first Bibles, maps, charts, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp. (U.S. Government Archives.)

9) The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th century. (State Archives.)

10) Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.

11) Rembrandt’s, Van Gogh’s, Gainsborough’s, as well as most early canvas paintings, were principally painted on hemp linen.

12) In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs. (U.S. Department of Agriculture Archives.)

13) Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935. (Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before the U.S.Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.)

14) Henry Ford’s first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the car itself was constructed from hemp! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, ‘grown from the soil,’ had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel. (Popular Mechanics, 1941.)

15) In 1938, hemp was called ‘Billion-Dollar Crop.’ It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars. (Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938.)

16) Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled ‘The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.’ It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture’s 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing ‘patriotic American farmers’ to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:

“…[When] Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable… Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese… American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries… The Navy’s rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!”

Certified proof from the Library of Congress, found by the research of Jack Herer, refutes claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film Hemp for Victory did not exist.

Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces four times as much pulp with at least four to seven times less pollution.

From Popular Mechanics, February 1938:

“It has a short growing season… It can be grown in any state… The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year’s crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds. …Hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.” In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.

THE CONSPIRACY

William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst’s grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp.

In 1937, DuPont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. DuPont’s Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of DuPont’s business.

Andrew Mellon became Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury and DuPont’s primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J.Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion-dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: ‘marijuana’ and pushed it into the consciousness of America.

MEDIA MANIPULATION

A media blitz of ‘yellow journalism’ raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst’s newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marijuana. The menace of marijuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like Reefer Madness (1936), Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (1935) and Marijuana: The Devil’s Weed (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marijuana laws could be passed.

Examine the following quotes from The Burning Question, aka Reefer Madness:

• a violent narcotic;
• acts of shocking violence;
• incurable insanity;
• soul-destroying effects;
• under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax;
• more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marijuana!

Reefer Madness did not end with the usual ‘the end.’ The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: ‘Tell your children.’

In the 1930s, people were very naive, even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children, and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby boomers.

On April 14, 1937, the prohibitive Marijuana Tax Law, or the bill that outlawed hemp, was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the U.S. Senate, Ways and Means Committee, at the time, Robert Doughton, was a DuPont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.

Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marijuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marijuana was hemp.

Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst’s front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a medicine found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.

In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.

Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Harry Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marijuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger then said the exact opposite: marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.

Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet’s energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

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. 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 bullshit. Hemp must be utilized in the future. We need a clean energy source to save our planet. Industrialize hemp!

The liquor, tobacco and oil companies fund more than a million dollars a day to Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other similar agencies. We have all seen their commercials. Now, their motto is: ‘It’s more dangerous than we thought.’ Lies from the powerful corporations, that began with Hearst, are still alive and well today.

The brainwashing continues. Now, the commercials say: If you buy a joint, you contribute to murders and gang wars. The latest anti-pot commercials say: If you buy a joint… you are promoting terrorism! The new enemy (terrorism) has paved the road to brainwash you any way they see fit.

There is only one enemy: the friendly people you pay your taxes to, the war-makers and nature destroyers. With your funding, they are killing the world right in front of your eyes.

Half a million deaths each year are caused by tobacco. Half a million deaths each year are caused by alcohol. No one has ever, ever died from smoking pot!

In the entire history of the human race, not one death can be attributed to cannabis. Our society has outlawed grass but condones the use of the killers: tobacco and alcohol.

Hemp should be declassified and placed in drug stores to relieve stress. Hardening and constriction of the arteries are bad, but hemp usage actually enlarges the arteries, which is a healthy condition. We have been so conditioned to think that smoking is harmful. That is not the case for passive pot.

Ingesting THC, hemp’s active agent, has a positive effect: relieving asthma and glaucoma. A joint tends to alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You are able to eat on hemp. This is a healthy state of being.

[one personal note. During the pregnancy of my wife, she was having some difficulty gaining weight. We were in the hospital. A nurse called us to one side and said: “Off the record, if you smoke pot… you’d get something called the munchies and you’ll gain weight.” I swear that is a true story.]

The stereotype for a pothead is similar to a drunk, bubble-brain. Yet, the truth is one’s creative abilities can be enhanced under its influence. The perception of time slightly slows and one can become more sensitive. You can more appreciate all arts, be closer to nature and generally feel more under the influence of cannabis. It is, in fact, the exact opposite state of mind and body as the drunken state. You can be more aware with pot.

The reason this amazing, very sophisticated, plant is illegal has nothing to do with how it physically affects us.

Pot is illegal because billionaires want to remain billionaires!

“And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land.” – Ezekiel 34:29.

p.s. I think the word ‘drugs’ should not be used as an umbrella-word that covers all chemical agents. Drugs have come to be known as something bad. Are you aware there are legal drugstores? Yep, in every city. Unbelievable. Each so-called drug should be considered individually. Cannabis is a medicine and not a drug. We should dare to speak the truth no matter what the law is.