The World’s Most Understood Crop: Industrial Hemp and Its Economic Benefits

Ms. Bonner English 290 16 December 2011 The Worlds Most Understood Crop industrial ganja and its Economic Benefits When close to people hear the word halter the first thing that comes to intelligence is marijuana. While hangmans halter and marijuana ar of the same lay out species, ganja Sativa, they be different grounds with their own chemical authorship. haltere has been known as unityness of the military mans greatest agricultural crops of wholly(prenominal) clock with a wide classification of spends. Unfortunately the United States still sees fecesnabis as drug and the manuf take a shit outuring of sensnabisen necktie is still misappropriated today.The United States is outlawing champion of the closely frugal wholey beneficial and functional crops of all times beca character of its full first cousin marijuana. marijuanaen necktie was the servicemans greatest agricultural crop for a lot than 1000 age before Christ until 1883 AD (Herer). The manuf playacturing and cultivation of marihuana has been used for thousands of products and umpteen different industries including producing a majority of the worlds fabric, roughage, oil, written report, and level food. The earliest known fabric was made of hackato a greater extent slightly 8000 BC (Herer).Ninety pct of all ships sails from at least the fifth ascorbic acid BC until long after the invention of the steam engines in the mid- to late-19th blow were made from hackamore (Herer). umteen of the ships logs, maps, and charts were made on hackamore melodic theme from the time of Columbus to the beforehand(predicate) 1900s (Herer). In the first blow AD, the Chinese found that hangmans halter paper lasted 50 to 100 times hourlong than to the highest degree educations of papyrus and that it was 100 times easier and cheaper to nock (Herer).Eighty portion of all humankinds textiles and fabrics for clothes, tents, linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, tow els and diapers were made principally from cannabis fibers in more of the world until the 20th atomic go 6 (Herer). Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew marijuana and Americans were sluice de jure bound to grow during the Colonial Era and Early Republic ( hemp Facts). With all these uses for hempen necktie, from al to the highest degree the beginning of the known world, why would hemp be criminal today? Marijuana and industrial hemp come from the same species of correct, hempen necktie Sativa.The species can yield two different installs, marijuana and industrial hemp. study marijuana and industrial hemp is like comparing field lemon and sweet corn whiskey. While they are both from the same species, the chemical piece of music and final product is very different. marihuana produces two major cannabinoids-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) (West, Hemp and Marijuana). tetrahydrocannabinol is the matchless responsible for th e psychoactive effect that you get from grass marijuana. CBD, on the other hand, has been found to block the effect of THC in the nervous system (West, Hemp and Marijuana).Marijuana usually contains 3 to 15 percent THC, while industrial hemp being grown unremarkably contains little than 1 percent THC (industrial Hemp in the United States). M whatsoever people believe that if industrial hemp was allowed to be grown that m either people would still try and flock it, precisely if one was to fume industrial hemp, which is high in CBD and low in THC, it would actually parry act the THC and block the effect of a marijuana high. This shows that not only is hemp not marijuana except could perchance even be called anti-marijuana. Even with this scientific information and the United States continues to outlaw the manufacturing of hemp. other countries have realized the difference between marijuana and industrial hemp. accredited hemp varieties being grown in Canada and Europe are demonstrate to have THC levels below 0. 3 percent (West, Hemp and Marijuana). The credentials system was originally developed in Europe to allow for the commercialization of industrial hemp and takes into consideration the ratio of CBD to THC as considerably as the absolute percent THC (West, Hemp and Marijuana).The original THC threshold was 0. 8 percent. When varieties with lower levels of THC were developed by french breeders, the breeders were able to persuade the European Union to reduce the tolerance barely (West, Hemp and Marijuana). In the United States, ganja with any(prenominal) measurable account of THC is illegal, CBD concentration is not considered at all. The United States is outlawing this potentially economical beneficial crop with no just cause and they are altogether overlooking all of its uses and benefits. The United States laws have not always interact marijuana and hemp the same.The 1937 Marijuana Tax guess outlawed marijuana. The 1937 hemp Tax fare defined marijuana as (A)ll parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L. , whether growing or not the seeds thereof the rosin extracted from any such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparedness of such plant, its seeds, or rosin but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin xtracted there from), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination. The Act outlawed marijuana and penalizeed people who grew it, without infringing on the rights of hemp growers. The act did not make hemp illegal but simply just put a evaluate on hemp. Dr. Andrew Wright, an agronomist with the University of Wisconsins culture Experiment Station and steward of the Wisconsin hemp industry during the first half(prenominal) of t he twentieth century, wrote in 1918, There are three fairly discrete types of hemp that grown for fiber, that for birdseed and oil, and that for drugs. (West, Hemp and Marijuana). This shows that even in the azoic 1900s, we knew and understood there being a difference between hemp and marijuana. However, in 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act repealed the ganja Tax Act and instead changed its rendering The term marihuana inwardness all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa (L. ), whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin . . The key difference in this prep was that the 1937 Act used a system of valueation that allowed the government to vindicate the marijuana growers without punishing hemp growers. The 1970 Act abolished the taxation approach and in effect made all Cannabis cultivation illegal (We st, Hemp and Marijuana). This act lumped marijuana and hemp into the same category. Why did the United States change their interpretation of the word and make hemp illegal? Why the United States changed its sagaciousness and decided to make hemp illegal is not really clear.There are not any definite practices. It could be that they realized that they couldnt tax it anymore, the war on drugs, or that people that were growing hemp were abusing their rights and as surface as growing marijuana. It is up for anyone to speculate on. The only thing that is clear by hemp being illegal is that the United States is ignoring the economic benefits and uses of one of the most functional crops of all times. Hemp has been used for a wide strain of products for almost 3000 years.Overall, hemp is the strongest, most durable, and longest lasting natural meek fiber on the planet, which makes its fabric long-lasting lasting, tougher, cheaper, cooler, and more absorbent than cotton plant wool ( Herer). Hemp seed can be pressed into a red-blooded oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids of all plants. The byproduct of the pressed hemp seeds can be baked into cakes, breads, and casseroles and contains high quality protein (Hemp Facts). Another use for hemp is that it can be made into send away.Hemp is the Earths minute one biomass resource, capable of producing 10 tons of biomass per acre in only iv months (Hemp Facts). This biomass can be converted into methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost very similar to the cost petroleum (Hemp Facts). It can alike produce 10 times more methanol than corn (Hemp Facts). Since hemp is a natural plant, the use of hemp as a force out makes it better for the environment. It does not add to global warming. Not only is hemp as a fuel better for the environment, but using hemp fiber for paper is similarly better for the environment.One acre of hemp produces as much fiber as 4. 1 acres of trees (Herer). While tree s cut scratch off to make paper usually take about 50 years to grow, hemp is ready to be harvested in about 120 old age (Hemp Facts). Since hemp takes little time to be ready to be harvested and it can produce more fiber per acre, hemp could perchance be the manage to the deforestation problem. Only eight out of about one one hundred known pests cause problem to the plant so hemp is usually grown without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides (Hemp Facts).Hemp is overly a natural weed suppresser gene due to the fast growth of the canopy causing a pulley of the sun that does not allow for the weeds to grow (Hemp Facts). All of these things make hemp a cheaper, more environmentally friendly crop. Hemp has been one of the most widely used crops, all virtually the world, for more than 3000 years. With hemps thousands of uses, it could possibly save our country in this time of deficit. However, the United States still refuses to blemish it has being a potential economically ben eficial crop because of a plant of the same species.Works Citied Hemp Facts. HempUSA. org. HempUSA. org, 1 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Web Herer, Jack. The disregarded History of Hemp. Earth Island Journal 5. 4 (1990) 35. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. Web industrial Hemp in the United States Status and Market Potential. Rep. no. AGES-ERSAGES001. Ers. usda. gov, Jan. 2000. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. Web West, David P. Hemp and Marijuana Myths and Realities. Prescott, Wisconsin North American Industrial Hemp Council, 27 Feb. 1998. PDF.The Worlds Most Understood Crop Industrial Hemp and Its Economic BenefitsMs. Bonner English 290 16 December 2011 The Worlds Most Understood Crop Industrial Hemp and its Economic Benefits When most people hear the word hemp the first thing that comes to soul is marijuana. While hemp and marijuana are of the same plant species, Cannabis Sativa, they are different plants with their own chemical makeup. Hemp has been known as one of the worlds greatest agricul tural crops of all time with a wide variety of uses. Unfortunately the United States still sees hemp as drug and the manufacturing of hemp is still illegal today.The United States is outlawing one of the most economically beneficial and functional crops of all times because of its cousin marijuana. Hemp was the worlds greatest agricultural crop for more than 1000 years before Christ until 1883 AD (Herer). The manufacturing and cultivation of hemp has been used for thousands of products and umteen different industries including producing a majority of the worlds fabric, fiber, oil, paper, and even food. The earliest known fabric was made of hemp around 8000 BC (Herer).Ninety percent of all ships sails from at least the fifth century BC until long after the invention of the steam engines in the mid- to late-19th century were made from hemp (Herer). umpteen of the ships logs, maps, and charts were made on hemp paper from the time of Columbus to the early 1900s (Herer). In the first c entury AD, the Chinese found that hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus and that it was 100 times easier and cheaper to make (Herer).Eighty percent of all humankinds textiles and fabrics for clothes, tents, linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, towels and diapers were made principally from cannabis fibers in much of the world until the 20th century (Herer). Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp and Americans were even lawfully bound to grow during the Colonial Era and Early Republic (Hemp Facts). With all these uses for hemp, from almost the beginning of the known world, why would hemp be illegal today? Marijuana and industrial hemp come from the same species of plant, Cannabis Sativa.The species can yield two different plants, marijuana and industrial hemp. comparing marijuana and industrial hemp is like comparing field corn and sweet corn. While they are both from the same species, the chemical makeup and final product is ver y different. Cannabis produces two major cannabinoids-THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) (West, Hemp and Marijuana). THC is the one responsible for the psychoactive effect that you get from fastball marijuana. CBD, on the other hand, has been found to block the effect of THC in the nervous system (West, Hemp and Marijuana).Marijuana usually contains 3 to 15 percent THC, while industrial hemp being grown normally contains less than 1 percent THC (Industrial Hemp in the United States). Many people believe that if industrial hemp was allowed to be grown that many people would still try and smoke it, but if one was to smoke industrial hemp, which is high in CBD and low in THC, it would actually foreknow act the THC and block the effect of a marijuana high. This shows that not only is hemp not marijuana but could possibly even be called anti-marijuana. Even with this scientific information and the United States continues to outlaw the manufacturing of hemp. anoth er(prenominal) countries have recognized the difference between marijuana and industrial hemp. true hemp varieties being grown in Canada and Europe are demonstrate to have THC levels below 0. 3 percent (West, Hemp and Marijuana). The certification system was originally developed in Europe to allow for the commercialization of industrial hemp and takes into consideration the ratio of CBD to THC as well as the absolute percent THC (West, Hemp and Marijuana).The original THC threshold was 0. 8 percent. When varieties with lower levels of THC were developed by French breeders, the breeders were able to persuade the European Union to reduce the tolerance nurture (West, Hemp and Marijuana). In the United States, Cannabis with any measurable property of THC is illegal, CBD concentration is not considered at all. The United States is outlawing this potentially economic beneficial crop with no just cause and they are entirely overlooking all of its uses and benefits. The United States l aws have not always handle marijuana and hemp the same.The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act outlawed marijuana. The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act defined marijuana as (A)ll parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L. , whether growing or not the seeds thereof the resin extracted from any such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin xtracted there from), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination. The Act outlawed marijuana and punished people who grew it, without infringing on the rights of hemp growers. The act did not make hemp illegal but simply just put a tax on hemp. Dr. Andrew Wright, an agronomist with the University of Wisconsin s tillage Experiment Station and steward of the Wisconsin hemp industry during the first half of the twentieth century, wrote in 1918, There are three fairly hard-hitting types of hemp that grown for fiber, that for birdseed and oil, and that for drugs. (West, Hemp and Marijuana). This shows that even in the early 1900s, we knew and understood there being a difference between hemp and marijuana. However, in 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act repealed the Marihuana Tax Act and instead changed its definition The term marihuana convey all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa (L. ), whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin . . The key difference in this supply was that the 1937 Act used a system of taxation that allowed the government to punish the marijuana growers without punishing hemp growers. The 1970 Act abolished the taxation approach and effectively made all Cannabis cultivation illegal (West, Hemp and Marijuana). This act lumped marijuana and hemp into the same category. Why did the United States change their definition of the word and make hemp illegal? Why the United States changed its brainiac and decided to make hemp illegal is not really clear.There are not any definite answers. It could be that they realized that they couldnt tax it anymore, the war on drugs, or that people that were growing hemp were abusing their rights and also growing marijuana. It is up for anyone to speculate on. The only thing that is clear by hemp being illegal is that the United States is ignoring the economic benefits and uses of one of the most functional crops of all times. Hemp has been used for a wide variety of products for almost 3000 years.Overall, hemp is the strongest, most durable, and longest lasting natural slowly fiber on the planet, which makes its fabric longer lasting, tougher, cheaper, cooler, and more absorbent than cotton (Herer). Hemp seed can be pressed into a level-headed oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids of all plants. The byproduct of the pressed hemp seeds can be baked into cakes, breads, and casseroles and contains high quality protein (Hemp Facts). Another use for hemp is that it can be made into fuel.Hemp is the Earths number one biomass resource, capable of producing 10 tons of biomass per acre in only four months (Hemp Facts). This biomass can be converted into methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost very similar to the cost petroleum (Hemp Facts). It can also produce 10 times more methanol than corn (Hemp Facts). Since hemp is a natural plant, the use of hemp as a fuel makes it better for the environment. It does not add to global warming. Not only is hemp as a fuel better for the environment, but using hemp fiber for paper is also better for the environment.One acre of hemp produces as much fiber a s 4. 1 acres of trees (Herer). While trees cut squander to make paper usually take about 50 years to grow, hemp is ready to be harvested in about 120 old age (Hemp Facts). Since hemp takes less time to be ready to be harvested and it can produce more fiber per acre, hemp could possibly be the answer to the deforestation problem. Only eight out of about one hundred known pests cause problem to the plant so hemp is normally grown without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides (Hemp Facts).Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor gene due to the fast growth of the canopy causing a cloture of the sun that does not allow for the weeds to grow (Hemp Facts). All of these things make hemp a cheaper, more environmentally friendly crop. Hemp has been one of the most widely used crops, all around the world, for more than 3000 years. With hemps thousands of uses, it could possibly save our country in this time of deficit. However, the United States still refuses to recognize it has being a pote ntial economically beneficial crop because of a plant of the same species.Works Citied Hemp Facts. HempUSA. org. HempUSA. org, 1 June 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Web Herer, Jack. The forgotten History of Hemp. Earth Island Journal 5. 4 (1990) 35. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. Web Industrial Hemp in the United States Status and Market Potential. Rep. no. AGES-ERSAGES001. Ers. usda. gov, Jan. 2000. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. Web West, David P. Hemp and Marijuana Myths and Realities. Prescott, Wisconsin North American Industrial Hemp Council, 27 Feb. 1998. PDF.