Hemp Oil

Of all the products derived from the cannabis plant, my favorite is hemp oil. I have been taking hemp oil for almost a year now and I just love it. I take a shot straight from the bottle first thing in the morning every day and throughout the day I often take another shot just because I can feel my body craving the taste and the immediate health effects on my GI system. When I first tried pure, unrefined, cold-pressed hemp oil, I did not care much for the flavor but within 48 hours I was hooked. I'd find myself craving another shot of the cool green goodness and head straight for the bottle when I got home (sounds like the siren song of the whiskey bottle to an alcoholic).

I have tried all the brands I can find around here (primarily Nutiva and Natural Harvest) but my favorite is Prairie Emerald Oil from Manitoba that I sampled at the Green Expo in San Francisco last fall (thanks, Aandrea!). I can't find it for sale at Whole Foods, Sprouts or Trader Joes, so I have to order it online but it is much cheaper than retail anyway. You can order yours here: Hemp Oil Canada

A great summary of the benefits of consuming hemp oil is below and is copied from the website Fushi UK an organic and healthy food and beauty products company.

Hemp seed oil is one of the most nutritious oils and has numerous health benefits. It is known as one of natures superfoods. Hemp seeds contain the most balanced and richest natural single source of Essential Fatty Acids for human consumption.

It contains all the essential amino acids meaning it provides complete protein. Hemp seed oil has 3 unique nutritional factors. It has an ideal balance of Omega 3 and 6, and it has a massive trace mineral content.

 Hemp Seed oil is most beneficial for skin health, Omega oils are required for healthy skin and hair. Omega oils are nourishing both on a cellular level, and Hemp oil is easily absorbed by the skin and those EFA's begin to work immediately.

Research says that Hemp Seed oil may be beneficial for hormonal balance, Hemp seed contains GLA thus it makes a suitable choice in PMS conditions. The magnesium rich chlorophyll contained in hemp seed oil is also beneficial in PMS conditions.

Hemp Seeds are widely used for maintaining cardiovascular health. Omega 3 oils have been shown in hundreds of studies to lower cholesterol levels. The omega 3 fatty acids in hemp are effective in decreasing blood pressure.

Hemp Seed oil is also thought to have anti-inflammatory properties. Clinical studies have shown good results in using Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) in the treatment of many chronic allergic and inflammatory diseases e.g. eczema, psoriasis and ulcerative colitis.

Hemp seed oil also provides the key fatty acids for long term support and maintenance of arthritic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis. EFAs have been found to enhance immune function and improve cellular energy for removing waste materials within the body. With a pleasant nutty flavour, Hemp Seed Oil is ideal for use in salad dressings... (or taken straight from the bottle like this blogger).

EIHA conference with composites focus

Biocomposites will be the key theme of the 8th Conference of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) to be held from May 18th-19 in Wesseling near Cologne in Germany.

Like bioplastics, composites made from natural fibres such as hemp are achieving double-digit growth in the field of reinforced plastics, says the association, and participants at the conference will range from cultivation consultants, primary and further processors, traders, mechanical engineers and investors, numerous small and medium-sized enterprises and international automotive companies and their suppliers.
 
Proposals for further papers are currently being invited for the conference.
Details: www.eiha.org/8

notes...

Thus, the author argues, the exercise of power by covert means, or parapolitics, often metastasizes into deep politics - the interplay of unacknowledged forces that spin out of the control of the original policy initiators.

-- and --


Kimberly Miller, who points out that "Americans have been consuming, growing and distributing pot from the time settlers set foot on this land, with or without the approval or guidance of anyone else but themselves. ... And those who don't understand or care about the remedies marijuana has to offer, guess what? "You don't have to use it." —Amsterdam, Jan. 13, 2011

  -- and -- 

Recent years have been good to hemp foods, which have gonemainstream, sitting alongside flax and soy in health food stores and appearing in the form of hemp oil, hemp milk and hemp butter, as well as in salad dressings, nutrition bars, breads, cookies, waffles and frozen desserts. It's also in personal care products like soaps, shampoos and lotions.

Sales of hemp grocery and body care products in the U.S. were $37.9 million in 2009, up 11 percent from the previous year, according to market research company Spins Inc., which specializes in the natural products industry (hemp grocery sales surged 42 percent between 2007 and 2008). Those figures exclude data from Whole Foods Market and several other large stores, so the Hemp Industries Association estimates sales are closer to $113 million to $129 million.


  and 



Here's another reader, Justin Kline: "I recently had a friend serve up the idea that 'prohibition' was due to Henry Ford manufacturing cars with newer engines that ran on corn liquor (ethanol). Prohibition was contrived to force the farmers to keep using the output of the fledgling oil industry. i.e., protecting a special-interest group [that] was an entire industry.

"Next, my friend claimed that marijuana was declared illegal nearly to the day that nylon was invented. The grand obfuscation was to word the law with the name 'hemp' as the general scheme of the scam, which is a general category that merely includes marijuana. Almost nobody knows, even now, that the law reads 'hemp.'
"Thus, the true mission was cloaked right from the beginning, i.e., protecting a special-interest group — nowhere close to the claims of health or morals. ... Let me know if this starts to look like something worthy of your time and not just another rant from the 'conspiracy theory squad.'"


  -- and --

Cannabis seeds were brought to the New World on board the Mayflower and also to America by African slaves.

Ma

The Chinese character for hemp is below. The image is a bit like hemp stalks drying. The character is called 'ma' which means plant with two forms (the male and female form). The Chinese people were cultivating hemp over 10,000 years ago.

There is an excellent history of the character here: antique cannabis book

The word 'Cannabis' comes from the  Babylonian word 'canna' meaning stalk or cane and the Babylonian word 'bis' meaning twice, another allusion to the two forms of the plant, male and female.

Here Comes the Hemp Car (Again!)

. Didn't we see this back in the 1940s from Henry Ford?

Well it is about time the next generation of hemp cars is finally in production. To be fair, BMW has been using hemp panels inside the doors of their 300 and 500 series cars for some time, but Kestrel is moving up to the next step and is making the entire shell from hemp fibers.

The article below is from the Salem Oregon online newspaper www.salem-news.com and is all about the new car with a body shell made from hemp. The article was written by Diane Walsh. 


Jan-17-2011 23:06

Canada's Herbal Remedy to the Auto Crisis: the Kestrel Hemp EV

By Diane Walsh Special to Salem-News.com

Kestrel paves the way for sustainable transportation with hemp as a construction material. 

Photos courtesy: Motive Industries

(VICTORIA, B.C.) - Environmentalists speak often, and prophetically, about the need for more industry impetus for cars with low or—even better yet—zero emissions. What’s not centre-stage, and should be, is the fact that hemp fibre can be used effectively as a construction material for a vehicle’s shell. Move over Hybrid. The Kestrel is now the trend setter. (See picture)

Not only is this vehicle fully electric, answering the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) demand, it sports the all—green-to-manufacture—hemp based body panels to boot!

Groundbreaking? Indeed it is. Motive Industries Inc., out of Calgary Alberta, is changing the face of car manufacturing by simultaneously employing Hemp and electric for the vision for the industry’s future in Canada.

The Kestrel was showcased for the first time in Vancouver at last September’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Conference and Trade show. We’ve caught up with Nathan Armstrong, President of Motive Industries, who says this: "It went very well. Huge response and the internet visits went viral. We did get some flack internally for aligning with hemp, but they got over it."

That’s music to our ears. Clearly seeing enthusiasm all around him—needless to say, especially among fibre hemp promoter, Armstrong wants to educate people about what we can hope to see developing into a mainstay trend.

"We’re hoping it will demonstrate Canada’s abilities in technology and vehicle development. Something that hasn’t been highlighted internationally—ever. If successful it will generate a whole bunch of jobs and general industry activity," says Armstrong.

"We had the scale model there [at the trade show] with the first body panel, but not a finished vehicle. We are still in the manufacturing stage and hope to have a finished vehicle by March 2011."

But even in these early days there’s no question the Kestrel answers a number of needs. It is a major shift in thinking that will add more green jobs, creative innovation, and most importantly the key use of our Canadian advantage—the fact that by the year 1998 the Feds declared the legal use of mature hemp stalks for manufacturing, construction, textiles and products, etc. Interestingly, the U.S. is more backward, in not allowing the use of industrial hemp. This lack of vision is good for Canada. The Kestrel demonstrates a new message coming from the auto industry in Canada both economically and environmentally.

"This project was largely started by a group in Ottawa that was calling for the start of a Canadian OEM [original equipment manufacturer]," explains Armstrong. "They were looking to go the traditional route and were looking to raise $500MM to start the project. I came along and said ‘if Canada is going to do this, why not do something advanced to demonstrate our abilities?’ They all agreed hence the direction this program took."

The Kestrel is part of Project Eve, created by MII and Toronto Electric, with the purpose of enhancing electric vehicle production across the country. With the first 20 Kestrels being built by polytechnic schools in three provinces it’s clear the Kestrel is switching it up—moving the auto-industry in a new bold and creative direction.

"We decided to use the schools for two reasons. They’ve been getting amazing investments from Government to expand on applied research facilities, which are essentially the best workshops we could ever hope to find. We’re better off using them than anything else. The second reason is student outreach and education. This is a very important part for us and we hope to inspire many students to go build their own stuff," says Armstrong.

But let’s get right into the facts about hemp as a structural material. It’s thought to have more than twice the strength of other plant fibres. But in addition to not requiring much water, little pesticide, and the crop being high-yielding, is it not part of the green economy by offering ideal sustainability at its best? Armstrong gives a resounding "Yes!"

Hemp is a fibre that has many advantages over other materials. There are numerous merits to processing and then employing a hemp bio-composite.

"Compared to fiberglass, for the same performance, it’s 10 percent lighter and 20 percent less expensive (in the current market) which will swing further in the coming year. It’s also nice and healthy to work with."

"It comes in mat form (kind of like) stiff cardboard. This is processed by the Alberta Research Council using essentially a paper-making process. It is all very green and low energy."

It requires less heat and fewer chemicals to produce the fibres, and uses the natural energy of the sun for what it does need, as opposed to, say, a furnace. Instead, with natural hydro the process is clearly more environmentally friendly—a key point Armstrong and Motive Industries is making with the introduction of the Kestrel.

Armstrong adds that "The true cost of synthetic fibres isn’t known, as the whole industry is subsidized and based on huge economies of scale. To make fiberglass a massive furnace is needed and to make carbon fibre all sorts of nasty chemicals and acids are used—plus big furnaces. Natural fibres = seed+water+sunlight."

In the past, our auto industry’s steel dependence existed largely because it was thought to be the strongest material to use in vehicle production. Hemp bio-composite’s specific merits may well alter this traditional thinking. It has the impact resistance of fiberglass, but its bio-composite is cheaper to produce and presents fewer health risks for workers. Armstrong confirms this.

"It’s not stronger than steel—not even close. It is tougher though, and will not dent. We use the material selectively to provide strength where we need it and aluminum for the main chassis structure. Steel has the stranglehold because of volume. Parts are quick to make. Composite parts are a bit more of an art form and production is slow (at least by Detroit standards)."

For electric-car manufacture, steel’s not exactly light-weight. To make ultra-efficient vehicles (obviously a desired feature) hemp bio-composite fits the need. Plastics are based on oil, and we know the challenges faced there. Composite materials, such as carbon fibre, present challenges both cost-wise and in terms of manufacturing and repair. Hemp solves these problems.

"First, you don’t want to get too light with a car. 2000 lbs is a good spot which works well for bio-composites. Through our research into very advanced materials (nano/crystalline/ceramics) we hope to increase the strength of natural fibres to the point at which they are truly competitive. Their advantage then will be low cost of entry and the ability to make advanced forms." It’s interesting to know from (e.g. a business start-up standpoint) that Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF), under license from the Canadian government, is behind this move in a more forward-thinking direction. "The government supports many programs that get a technology to a prototype phase. Any industry group can access these technologies given maturity and cash."

Most people don’t know this, but the hemp that is turned into a composite material is grown "all over Alberta, B.C., and Manitoba" Armstrong explains. Motive Industries, however, chooses to source from Vegreville, Alberta (near Edmonton).

According to Armstrong, the reason that hemp for auto manufacture hasn’t taken off in a bigger way, considering it has been legal since 1996, is "lack of industry interest and vision." The reason this innovation hasn’t formed the baseline for next year’s electric car body shells is because, as Armstrong puts it, the "supply chain isn’t really in place— yet."

That’s where we, the consumers, come in. It’s up to the people to make the demand for the supply chain. It’s obvious that the Kestrel will be influencing the future of electric-car building, but are there still stumbling blocks and wrongly-placed stigmas operating (a resistance to hemp use) preventing more companies from following suit? That stigma must be busted wide-open—through education.

Motive Industries Inc. is still working with the original scientists from the project in the testing procedures, so there is a good degree of follow-through and safety consistency. The timeline for delivery of the 20 Kestrels is fast-approaching—said to be Q2-3 next year. When asked which Calgary-based energy distribution company is to be the lucky inventory holder, Armstrong answered "I can’t say directly, but they’re the only deregulated utility."

The car will be available "in Canada initially, then other countries. We’re working on distribution models with a few groups."

The burning question for many is: Is it possible to be added to a wait-list? "Not yet," says Armstrong. "We hope to put out a survey to generate public interest next year. You can fill out and help promote our existing survey though." You got it. 

For more information about the history of the industrial hemp campaign in Canada, start with the creative online booklet published by the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) in collaboration with the former leader of the Ontario Green Party at www.caw.ca/assets/pdf/hemp.pdf 

For Ontario sources, try www.ontariohempalliance.org/home/index.html

Darren McKeage is the designer behind the car and you can read his vision for the car on the MII blog http://autodesign-blog.com/?p=5 It carries four passengers including driver, can speed up to 90 km/hr, and boasts a range is 40 to 160 kilometres before recharge is required. Depending on the type of battery, the better the battery the further the range. Battery technology hence is key to EV technology.

_________________________________

 

 

Crailar Organic from NAT

...could revolutionize the processing of natural fibers for textile and composite applications.

Naturally Advanced Technologies

This technology just may represent the process and path to allow hemp to displace water-hogging and pesticide-sucking cotton in the North American (and global) wardrobe for the health of us all. But can it be economical for a modest family farm?

Oregon Marijuana Activists Make OCTA 2012 Official

The interview of Paul Stanford, Executive Director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, was done by Bonnie King and was published in the Salem News website on January 14, 2011. The link goes to the article on the Salem (Oregon) website: salem-news.com

The 2012 Oregon Cannabis Tax Act would give new zest to the old mantra, "Keep Oregon Green!"

(SALEM, Ore.) - Paul Stanford, Executive Director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation walked 2200 signatures in to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office on January 4th, 2011, officially sponsoring OCTA 2012- the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. It could prove to be a historic turning point for a state well known for its grass roots movements. 

Next, the signatures will be verified, and as long as 1000 are from registered Oregon voters, the Office of the Secretary of State will certify a ballot title with the Attorney General, proposing a statutory initiative for the 2012 General Election. “If all goes as expected, activists will hit the streets in March,” said Stanford. “We need to turn in about 140,000 more signatures, or 90,000 registered Oregon voters' signatures, by July 2012 to qualify for the ballot in November 2012.”

If the measure is passed by voters, OCTA 2012 will legalize the sale, possession and personal private cultivation of marijuana in the state of Oregon. People who want to cultivate and sell marijuana, or process commercial psychoactive cannabis, would be required to obtain a license from the state.

Adults could grow their own marijuana and the sale of all cannabis strains' seeds and starter plants would be legalized with no license, fee nor registration.

The profits from the sale of cannabis to adults is projected at hundreds of millions of dollars to add into Oregon's state general fund, as well as drug treatment and education; two percent of the profits from the sale of cannabis in adult-only stores will be set aside for two new state committees to promote Oregon industrial hemp biodiesel, fiber and food.

I spoke to Paul Stanford about the proposed Oregon ballot measure, addressing some fears and misnomers, and discussed in-depth his personal cannabis-driven journey of the last 30+ years.

BK: How do you think OCTA (Oregon Cannabis Tax Act) will change the dynamic here in Oregon overall? 

 

PS: Regulating cannabis and restoring hemp for fuel, fiber and food will put Oregon on the cutting edge of new businesses and industries, creating tens of thousands of jobs. We will, eventually, change the whole economic system by returning local wealth and control. Marijuana produces more fiber, food and fuel than any other plant. Our farmers need this valuable crop.

BK: What is the most important thing for the general public to understand about OCTA?

PS: It will protect our communities and wipe out over 90 percent of drug crime and gangs, and allow authorities to concentrate on real crime. People need to know that marijuana is safer than alcohol and if just 25 percent of people with alcohol problems use cannabis instead, we will save billions in health care, accidents and crime. We should stop driving our kids to drink and have a safer alternative.

BK: Will OCTA make access to marijuana easier for minors?

PS: No, kids are selling cannabis now. This will control this market and take it out of the hands of kids and substance abusers.

BK: Is it a step toward ending marijuana prohibition overall?

PS: Yes. This is a huge first step to ending global cannabis prohibition and restoring industrial hemp. In Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, people are being sentenced to death and hung for small amounts of marijuana. Marijuana produces more fiber, food and fuel than any other plant. Prohibiting the plant that produces more fuel, fiber, food and medicine is evil.

BK: Will OCTA give the police/authorities any rights that they don't have now?

PS: No, except they will have the right to sleep more easily knowing they are no longer enforcing an unjust law.

BK: That’s a benefit that I bet law enforcement hasn’t fully realized yet! So what’s the big risk, do you think, since it’s been proven that there are no harmful effects to your health for using marijuana?

PS: Marijuana prohibition isn't about drugs or health either, it is about money and power, and the fact that marijuana produces more fuel, fiber, food and medicine than any other plant. We have to stop the lies about cannabis that cause so much suffering in the world! 

BK: Paul, your personal battle with prohibition has been published different times, but it’s pretty clear that only part of the story is told. How’d this all get started?

PS: Let's go back for a moment. Please allow me to digress way back, in fact. Thirty-two years ago, in 1978, just a week after my 18th birthday, I attended a rally, a protest for marijuana, the White House smoke-in, in Washington DC, organized by the Yippies and Dana Beal. Then, almost 30 years ago, from 1982-1984, I was the director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws state chapter in Washington state. Twenty-eight years ago, back in 1982, while I was visiting Los Angeles, I first met Jack Herer and his partner, Captain Ed Adair. Later, I read about the wonders of industrial hemp in an article called the 'California Marijuana Initiative White Paper', written by Jack Herer, which was printed by Dana Beal and the Yippies in their newspaper called Overthrow.

On March 22nd, 1983, I was arrested in Washington state beside the Puget Sound at the gate of the Bangor Naval Submarine Base for blocking a train carrying hydrogen bomb warheads from the Pantex Corp. in Amarillo, Texas to the Trident Submarines and I was one of what was then called the Bangor 6.

Jack Herer

In August 1984, I moved to Oregon to help the Oregon Marijuana Initiative, then, a couple of months later, Jack Herer moved from California to Oregon, also to help the OMI. Jack moved in to a house that was just a couple of blocks away from my house in Portland, Oregon. All these years later, I can admit that Jack and I both enjoyed growing some pretty good marijuana in our basements in Portland way back then.

In 1985, Jack Herer was working on his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, and he needed a place to work, away from his young children. This was in the day before computers and printers, back when cut and paste was done with scissors and glue and lots of stacks of paper. I did some research on Thomas Jefferson and George Washington and found quotes from our nation's founding fathers that were included in Jack's book, and, later, as the final chapter of Chris Conrad's first book, Hemp: Lifeline To The Future. Jack came and took over my house in 1985 and put together the first edition of The Emperor... right there in my living room. That and the rest is history.

BK: Did you see an immediate difference in cannabis advocates? There must have been a wave of people coming out of the cannabis closet!

PS: Absolutely, that catalyzed us all. Though I little realized it at the time, Jack's book would go on to motivate untold scores of people around the world to work for global cannabis freedom and to restore industrial hemp. Jack Herer, through the power of his personality, dedication and work for hemp & cannabis, endlessly proselytizing the benefits of cannabis hemp, brought the whole picture into focus for millions about hemp and cannabis. Now we know. Now we can see. Jack is gone now, but his legacy lives on.

BK: Very true, his legacy does live on, especially through those that carry on the message that hemp will save the planet. But over thirty years ago, you were already aware and active in terms of cannabis advocacy, which is pretty progressive for the time. What made you take up this fight for hemp and marijuana?

PS: Marijuana catalyzed me. Marijuana motivates me. I studied Chinese and went to school in China so I could import hemp and I started a hemp paper company called Tree Free EcoPaper. I started and continue to produce and host a television show called Cannabis Common Sense, and we have produced 550 episodes of Cannabis Common Sense TV shows since 1997. I also started and today, I run THCF, The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation. Not only does THCF sponsor many events and organizations, from putting on our annual Hempstalk Festival and THCF is the presenting sponsor of the world's largest pro-cannabis protestival, the Seattle Hempfest for several years too, but, perhaps most importantly, THCF Medical Clinics have helped over 150,000 people across the USA become legal medical marijuana patients who can legally possess, use and grow their own medicine.

BK: Right, those hemp events are a great way to bring cool people together and share factual information at the same time. Education is key, of course. I hope the people that attend are interested in the movement, and not just the trendy clothes or specialty gifts.

PS: Yes, it goes much deeper than that. Cannabis hemp is deeper than its long tap root. Marijuana is deep in every sense of the word.

Cannabis hemp catalyzed civilization itself. Marijuana jump started human civilization. All archeologists agree that hemp was among the first crops purposely cultivated by humans, and it may be the very first.

Over 12,000 years ago, people began growing hemp and its cultivation spread from its indigenous home, high in the Himalayas of Tibet, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Kashmir, to the opposite flanks of its natural home, to the cradles of agriculture itself, the first human settlements that began cultivating their own crops, to the Yellow River, or Huang He, valley in China and the Tigris/Euphrates River valley in Iraq. Humans began planting marijuana so they could have their own stash, a supply of this sacred herb and its fiber, food and fuel. Marijuana could very well be the whole reason our ancestors gave up our hunter/gatherer way of life and began farming and agriculture, starting us down the road to civilization and knowledge.

BK: That’s more than ‘deep’, that’s almost spiritual. Hemp is an integral part of our history, but how does that play into the future? 

PS: I believe that cannabis is the most sacred gift of the Creator to humanity, the holiest of the holy gifts from our Mother Earth. Every part of cannabis hemp is highly useful for a diverse multitude of our needs, and the needs of human civilizations. There is only one plant on this planet that is capable of taking care of most of human civilizations' needs. Marijuana will take care of most of our needs. 

When we restore cannabis hemp to its rightful place, marijuana will produce a great deal of our fuel and energy, without toxic side effects, unlike these fossil fuels we rely on today. Marijuana seeds will produce a great deal of our food and wipe out world hunger. Marijuana stems will produce most of our fiber for clothing, paper and building materials, stopping deforestation and ending a great deal of our pollution.

BK: Jack’s book was 1000% in agreement with everything you are saying. The benefits are so far reaching. What about the oil?

PS: That's a multi-level question. Hemp seeds produce more and healthier oil and protein. Hemp protein and oil are rich in the essential fatty acids, or EFAs, that our brain and cardiovascular system need. Marijuana seeds make Omega 3, 6 & 9, in the perfect ratio for optimal human health. Hemp protein, from marijuana seeds, has all 8 amino acids, again, in just the right balance to meet humans' nutritional needs.

John Trudell, HempStalk 2010

Then, when marijuana seed oil ages and goes rancid, it is no longer useful for food, but it is a productive source for biodiesel fuel. Did you know you can take the pure oil, cold pressed from marijuana seeds and it will run any diesel engine? You can.

Pure marijuana seed oil is not only healthy for us, it will run all diesel engines, with no conversion to the oil nor modern diesel engines. Hempseed oil, marijuana seed oil, will make just about everything that we make from petroleum today. The oil from marijuana seeds is diesel fuel and will make plastics, gasoline and everything else.

I truly believe this is the main reason marijuana is illegal today, so the petro-chemical companies don't have to compete with hemp fuel and can sell us capital intensive petrochemical poisons.

The War on Marijuana is not about drugs, it is about money and the continued centralization of political and economic control.

Hemp stalks produce two types of fiber, the bast fiber, or the outer bark, and the hurd fiber, or the inner woody core of the stalk. Per acre, hemp is the most productive fiber on earth, making 10 tons of bast fiber, for canvas, rope, lace and linen, and 25 tons of hurd fiber, for paper and building materials.

The US Department of Agriculture's own Bulletin No. 404 said that the waste product from making canvas, rope, lace and linen from cannabis hemp, this waste product, the hurd fiber, is more than 4 times more productive than trees for fiber production for paper and building materials. The USDA produced a movie during WWII called "Hemp for Victory" that promoted hemp farming for the war effort.

And that is just from the seeds and stems of marijuana, cannabis hemp. Forget what Cheech and Chong said on their first album about stems and seeds that you don't need. We need these stems and seeds! Our Mother Earth needs us to restore hemp.

The two top hemp fest organizers of the NW: Vivian McPeak (Seattle) and Paul Stanford (Portland)

BK: Beyond the industrial value of the hemp plant and all those stems and seeds... what about the medical side of cannabis? It’s all part of the same plant, but the blooms have special properties that go back 5,000 years or so.

PS: That’s right, the flowers. Hemp flowers, or buds, make human brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, and medicines that help fight cancer, multiple sclerosis, neuro-degenerative diseases, and gastro-intestinal disorders; it relieves chronic pain, helps glaucoma, seizures and spasms, and restores homeostasis, or restores balance in our bodies. Marijuana increases longevity and using it as an edible food additive will make you live longer. The flowers of hemp also make people laugh, feel good and relieve depression, post traumatic stress, anxiety and much more. Cannabis is truly a cure for many forms of cancer. It is the non-toxic miracle drug for an incredible array of physical and mental ailments, and, when we return cannabis hemp to its rightful place, for our planet's ailments too. As my friend, Native American activist, poet, song writer and, in my humble opinion, a true American hero, John Trudell says, ‘hemp is Earth medicine’.

BK: A lot of people don’t consider that prohibition affects them, but in the big picture, it matters not whether someone even uses cannabis for their lives to be impacted. And the more you learn, the more frustrating it is that this failure of a law is allowed to continue. Why? 

Marc Emery is in US Federal prison

PS: The forces of ignorance, evil and darkness are afoot. The laws against marijuana are wrong. Marijuana prohibition is a conspiracy from the rulers of this world today, the very wealthy, the oligarchy, to keep the wealth in their hands. Petroleum is capital intensive, hemp is naturally decentralized. Very few people in this world have enough capital, enough money, to compete in the petrochemical industries. You can buy 10 hemp seed presses for the price of one small car. It takes billions of dollars to build an oil refinery, and they are incredibly toxic. Hemp will create untold multitudes of jobs and return economic control to the people. No more wars for petroleum when we start to use hemp again, instead. Hemp can lead the way to economic and ecological sustainability, and help save the remnants of our biosphere's precious heritage, the diversity of life that we should bequeath to future generations. Cannabis freedom is dawning with votes and hard won freedoms across Western North America. California's Prop 19, both in 1972 and 2010, was a groundbreaking step to legalize possession & cultivation of a small amount of herb and allow California cities to legalize and regulate the newly legal sale of cannabis to adults, and has greatly advanced our cause and its debate. We must continue to expand upon this work with education and political and economic activism. Eventually, with persistence, truth and justice must and will prevail.

BK: Why is this common sense answer so difficult for people in power to accept?

PS: Freedom of consciousness and thought should be a fundamental liberty, yet this is what truly frightens those who favor the drug war. Cannabis is a powerful tool in exploring consciousness and reality, one that is healthy and safe for the vast majority. Those who would punish and imprison us for cannabis have been lied to and misled. Our task is to educate them with truth and love. The key to so many problems in our world today is cannabis, which may be the ancient Tree of Life. If any plant on our planet is sacred and of spiritual significance, it is surely cannabis. Cannabis hemp will displace the petrochemical & pharmaceutical corporations that dominate our politics today, and hemp will decentralize wealth and influence at a time of growing technological advancement.

BK: What is your response to the cannabis prohibition-caused personal security issue that hundreds of thousands of Americans are facing, even today? 

PS: Stop the drug war before they kick in your door! We must stand together for what is right. This is what I ask: For those facing execution for anti-cannabis laws in Malaysia and elsewhere, work for global cannabis freedom. For those languishing in jails and prisons for anti-cannabis laws everywhere, like Roger Christie, Marc Emery, Eddy Lepp and untold hundreds of thousands more every year, work for global cannabis freedom. For our forests, the web of life and our Mother Earth, which suffers from extraction of her resources and poisoning of our environment, work for global cannabis freedom. For economic and political justice, work for global cannabis freedom. For our brothers and sisters and all that have fallen along the way, like Jack Herer, Dr. Tod Mikuriya and so many others, work for global cannabis freedom. With the exponential growth in technology and artificial intelligence, establishing and protecting each natural individual’s right to privacy and freedom of consciousness are critical for humanity's future. Please, work for compassion and evolution to a more just and free future for our biosphere and for the diversity of life and culture.

BK: 'Humanity’s future'. That’s something to pay a lot more attention to than we have, that’s for sure. Kudos to all the cannabis freedom fighters, past and present, including Dana Beal, who is facing new charges for cannabis, and Dr. Phil Leveque, whose license to practice medicine was his sacrifice for the cannabis cause. They join over 800,000 Americans who are jailed, imprisoned or sanctioned every year, while prohibition stays in force. Here’s to a smarter, more enlightened, healthy and secure future for us all. Thanks to Paul Stanford for his straight-forward answers to some tough questions, and good luck to OCTA 2012.