Industrial Hemp

Alex Albuagh

“A tall, coarse plant, Cannabis Sativa, that is native

to Asia but naturalized or cultivated in many parts
of the world and is the source of a valuable fiber as
well as marijuana and hashish.”
History
Illegal in every state since 1937 due to the Marijuana
Tax Act.
Over 25,000 useful products made from hemp
Can be used to make products such as paper, fabric,
rope, food, building supplies, cosmetics, plastics, fuel,
etc.
Cultivated for over 12,000 years
Required to grow hemp in the early colonial days
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it
Benjamin Franklin owned a hemp paper mill
Uses
Seeds
Food
 Nuts, protein powder, oils, cereal
Chemicals
 Sun-block, lip balm, lotions

Fiber
Textiles, rope, cordage, composite fibers, aerospace and
aviation (less flammable)
Hurds
Paper, animal bedding, oil absorbent, soil amendment,
chemicals, plastics, fuels
Why Is It Illegal?
April 29, 1863- August 14, 1951
William Randolph Hearst
Newspaper chain owner as well as large investor in
timber industry
Worried hemp paper would overtake paper from
timber
Became large advocate in fight against marijuana
Propaganda schemes to frighten public to seeing the
plant as evil
“makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing” –
William Randolph Hearst
THC vs. CDB
THC is the psychoactive ingredient in medicinal
marijuana that gets users “high”
CBD is an anti-psychoactive ingredient that is found in
the hemp plants
Medical marijuana can have up to 20% THC and no
CBD, where hemp has less than .3% THC and high
levels of CBD
Government and DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency)
refuse to see a difference in the two plants despite the
two being as similar as a cousin is to oneself
Can You See the Difference?
The Debate Today
Farmers and politicians are trying to convince the
government as well as the DEA to separate the two
plants and allow the cultivation and production of
hemp for economic and natural resource benefits
Hempsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEURedlE4k
For Legalization
Produce paper- 9 months vs. 20 years
Hemp contains 70% cellulose and paper contains only 30%
CDB is an “anti-marijuana”
Marijuana and hemp look very different and harvest at
different times of the year
.3% vs. 20%
“You would have to smoke a joint the size of a light pole to
get high off hemp”- Hempsters
USA would produce instead of consume
29 other countries already grow hemp
Against Legalization
Whether “distant cousins” or not, is still marijuana
Claim no difference in hemp and marijuana
Won’t be able to distinguish differences in fly overs
Farmers will grow high potency plants in hemp fields
Use hemp to get high
Kids will think it is okay to use marijuana because
hemp is legal
Mediation
The kids are most important
Teach the drastic differences and educate the effects of
smoking marijuana
Educate the kids, as well as public, the differences
between THC and CBD
Education is crucial to the movement
Mediation Cont.
Permit
Must have appropriate land and intentions
Background checks for felonies and drug related
offenses
Highly detailed records of growth and sale
Taxed accordingly
Must account for how much to be used for seed, grain,
or fibers
Mediation Cont.
No hemp plant may exceed .3% THC
Random examinations will be made to test potency
Made clear the law change is for economic and natural
resource benefits only
Random flyovers and any suspicious findings will
result in examinations
No field within 5 miles of a school
Geographic locations of fields and holding centers
must be given for any necessary examinations
Picture Credits
http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/dea/EP01036415
http://thefreshscent.com/tag/washington /
http://www.voteindustrialhemp.com/
http://www.rolledtootight.com/tag/hemp /
http://www.nndb.com/people/446/000024374 /
http://www.rense.com/general49/could.htm
http://1kids.net/blog/2010/06/page/2 /
http://www.tobacco-news.net/illegal-marijuana-busines
ses-may-abound-in-boulder
/
http://www.newvideo.com/new-video-digital/hempsters
-plant-the-seed/