Legalization of Hemp Farming for Agricultural and Textile applications in The United States.

Legalization of Hemp Farming for Agricultural and Textile applications

in The United States.

There are many textile and agricultural uses for hemp. In this paper I will discuss the uses of hemp seed oil for gas in combustion engines. Also, I will talk about how hemp can be used for all sorts ropes, twine, paper products and fabrics and how it can be grown without the use of pesticides, or herbicides, and requires little fertilizer, which is good for the environment. I will also give some brief history, and review the differences between, industrial hemp and marijuana. This essay will give the reader a better understanding of what industrial hemp can do not only for the farming and textile industries but for the well being of country and the people who live in it as well.

Hemp and Marijuana do come from the same plant (Cannabis Sativa) but are different in a few ways. One being the psychoactive ingredient Delta9 Tetrahydrocannabinol, or more commonly know as T.H.C. The level of T.H.C in industrial hemp is less than one percent where Marijuana is a much higher percent somewhere around 30 to 40 percent. Hemp cannot be consumed for a psychoactive effect. The physical differences are that hemp grows lean and tall, up to six meters with a canopy of flowers. Where as Marijuana grows to only one meter and is bushy with resinous buds.

Hemp in the 18^th century was such a valued commodity that Tomas Jefferson, the ambassador to France at the time, illegally smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to the colonies. Later these seeds where hybridized to make the famous Kentucky strain of hemp. In a letter to his farm manager George Washington wrote “Make the most you can of the Indian hemp. Sow it everywhere”(Kane, Mari). When Christopher Columbus sailed to the new world, it was hemp sails that brought him here. Up until the early 1900's thousands of acres of hemp were being grown all over the Midwest; and was being treated like any other crops and required no licensing to grow. However, in 1931 all this would change, with one man by the name of Harry Anslinger. Harry Anslinger was appointed head of the Bureau of Narcotic and Dangerous Drug by the chief financial backer for DuPont, Andrew Mellon; Mellon was also Anslingers future uncle- in- law.

DuPont viewed any advances in the hemp industry as a threat. In 1937 Anslinger introduced a Marijuana Tax Act witch meant farmers had to have license to grow hemp. After Anslinger testified that Marijuana was a dangerous drug that made adolescence and anyone else who indulged in it would become extremely violent. The Marijuana Tax Act was passed by congress even after many protests from the American Medical Association and many others. In 1938 the government began distributing the Marijuana Tax stamps. This put Hemp and Marijuana in the hands of the DEA who classified both as schedule one drug according to the federal list of controlled substances. In spite of the “Hemp for Victory” slogan during world war II, in 1957 industrial hemp farming was put to rest.

During the time hemp was being used in the U.S it was used to make sails, ropes, clothes, even the uniforms worn by the soldiers where made from hemp. According to Mike Beirne “ Hemp has been on the rise since the U.S. Government ruled it was not a controlled substances in 2004.”(Mike Beirne). As a result many small companies are developing a multitude of textile applications for hemp. Unfortunately hemp must be imported to the U.S because it's still illegal to grow for industrial uses hear in the U.S. In today's consumer market, hemp can be found in all sorts of products which include paper, inks, ropes, clothes, plastics, oils, cosmetics, cars and many more. According to an article in USA Today, “hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest -free and flame resistant.”(Wendy Koch). Hemp homes are affordable, even when importing hemp can be expensive. One of the ways to build hemp homes, witch is being done in Asheville North Carolina is by making a mixture of four parts ground hemp to one part lime and one part water, sounds a lot like concert right that's because basically it is. Just like concert you build a frame and fill it up let set, pull frame and wall la. This technique was in an experimental stage in 2010. ” The owners of the first hemp home say it cost $133 a square foot to build, not including land and excavation.”(Wendy Koch). Imagine if industrial hemp farming was legal in the United states. All the homes lost in hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters could have been rebuilt cheep and efficiently and because no skilled labor is needed, anyone with a construction background can use the mixture to build homes. Think of how much money the government could have saved instead of sending a check once a month we could have been building hemp homes instead of F.E.M.A villages. We could have been making cheep warm clothes too.

Then there's the issue of the worlds forests being cut down largely for paper consumption. In September of 1994 the Wall Street Journal published an article stating that “ The annual worldwide consumption of paper has risen from 14 million tons in 1913 to over 250 million tons in the 1990s.”( John W. Roulac. Pg.18) It's now 2011 that's 12 years later and I can only imagine that consumption has gone up, way up. Imagine a tomorrow where our kids have no trees to climb, no clean air to breathe and no forests to hick or camp in. Now if you imagine a tomorrow with hemp, there is no need to cut down a forest for paper. Hemp makes a better paper because hemp is around 77 percent cellulose and wood pulp is only about 30 percent and has to be processed with chemicals that are toxic to the environment. The paper industry is a multi billion dollar industry and would continue to be even if they made the switch to hemp. Who knows they might even make more. Hemp is a great in between crop, after harvesting a crop of hemp the soil is free of weeds for the next crop. Another benefit of industrial hemp is hemp's ability to enhance soil. Because hemp grows so thick and tall, the soil stays cooler. As the hemp grows the leaves fall to the ground, mimicking a self-mulching forest ecosystem. leaving an ideal growing medium. Industrial hemp is ideal for ropes and twines because of it's long tough fibers. Hemp can even be made into a delicate fabric for fine linen and cloths, and because hemp is so cheep to grow and relatively easy to process, the product's made from it should be inexpensive.

“ Imagine a crop more versatile than the soybean, the cotton plant, and the Douglas fir combined—one whose products are interchangeable with those made from timber, cotton, or petroleum; one that grows like jack's beanstalk with minimal tending. Industrial hemp is such a crop.”(John W. Roulac. Pg 10.) Up until this point I have only discussed the history, housing, and textiles. In the process of making things out of industrial hemp you are left with a bi-product or bio-mass.

This bio-mass can be burned to make energy. The seeds from this highly versatile plant can be ground into a substances know as seed mill, and because the seeds contain large amounts of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids the seed mill can be fed to live stock and can even be substituted for flour and consumed by humans. Seeds from Industrial Hemp also supplies a renewable bio-fuel. There are two kinds of fuel that can be made from the hemp plant. One is hemp bio-diesel that is pressed out of the seeds, and the other is hemp ethanol/methanol which is made from the fermented stalk. In an article written 2010 from the University of Connecticut author Christine Buckley writes “ the Hemp bio-diesel showed a high efficiently of conversion – 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to bio-diesel – and it passed all laboratory's tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any bio-diesel currently on the market.”( Christine Buckley). Here's something to consider imagine your a small time farmer you have some livestock that includes a few milk cows, a few meet cows, some pigs, goats and chickens, also a large garden for food. If you plant a few acres of industrial hemp you could feed the livestock, run the farm equipment, make paper and clothes. Hell you could even make the house and barn from hemp.
It seems to me that industrial hemp is a way to solve many problems that the U.S. Is facing. From one plant comes sustainable housing, a plethora of textile products, a carbon neutral fuel, ropes, fabrics, cloths, and livestock feed. It seems unfair that the testimony of one man in the 1930s, “Harry Anslinger” has kept hemp illegal even with many states legalizing marijuana for medical use. Therefore we can hope that the law's becoming more and more lenient, and hopefully with some campaigning we can get industrial hemp legalized here in the united states.

Harley Monroe 5

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Koch, Wendy. "On cutting edge of building green homes -- with hemp." USA Today 13

Sept. 2010: 04A. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 May 2011.

Roulac W. John “ Hemp Horizons, The Comeback of the World's Most Promising Plant.”

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