“Industrial hemp is not marijuana, but rather a non-intoxicating plant that has been cultivated and used in a multitude of ways around the world for millennia.” - Assembly member Virginia Strom-Martin, California State Assembly
- Hemp is the oldest cultivated fiber plant in the world. It contains no toxins as it does not require pesticides.
- The first Gutenberg bible was printed on hemp paper.
- Christopher Columbus’ sails and ropes were made from hemp.
- The first drafts of the Declaration of Independence were printed on hemp paper.
- Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper.
- The first American flag was made out of hemp.
- George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it.
“Make the most of the hemp seed. Sow it everywhere.”
-George Washington, 1794
- Rembrandt and Van Gogh painted on hemp canvas.
- In the 1930s, Henry Ford made a car from hemp and other crops “grown from the soil”. These days, BMW is reportedly working on its own set of wheels that replaces fiberglass matte with hemp.
- The original Levi’s jeans, made for Sierra Nevada gold rushers, were made of rugged hemp sailcloth. A current vintage line includes 40 percent hemp.
“I feel the industrial hemp crop could very easily be the soybean crop of the new millennium.”
- Jeffrey W. Gain, USDA
- In 1850 the U.S. Census recorded 8,327 hemp plantations of 2000 acres or more and an uncalculated number of small hemp farms.
“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?”
- Henry Ford
MORE INDUSTRIAL FACTS
- One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or two acres of cotton.
- Hemp paper is longer lasting than wood pulp, stronger, acid-free, and chlorine free. (Chlorine is estimated to cause up to 10% of all Cancers.) Hemp paper can be recycled 7 times, wood pulp 4 times. Hemp fabric requires fewer chemicals than cotton and is stronger and longer lasting.
- 5-10,000 Cancer related deaths are caused yearly from pesticide use. Cotton uses as much as 40% of all agricultural pesticides. Hemp uses no pesticides and crowds out weeds without herbicides.
- Cotton has a drinking problem…extensive water subsidies. Hemp requires less water than cotton and grows in cooler climates.
- Hemp should be worth $500 per acre if used for low end products such as particle board. If higher use products can be developed such as specialty paper and fabrics, the value could be even greater.
- Hemp is an excellent rotation crop: it crowds out weeds and its deep tap roots break up hard pan soils.
- Hemp particle board may be up to 2 times stronger than wood particleboard and holds nails better.
- Low-THC fiber hemp varieties developed by the French and others have been available for over 20 years. It is impossible to get high from fiber hemp. Over 600,000 acres of hemp is grown worldwide with no drug misuse problem.
- In 1941 Henry Ford built a plastic car made of fiber from hemp and wheat straw. Anything made from a hydrocarbon can be made from a carbohydrate. The 21st century should be the era of the carbohydrate (sustainable agricultural products.) Hemp plastic is biodegradable, synthetic plastic is not.
- Hemp is the world’s most versatile fiber. Almost any product that can be made from wood, cotton, or petroleum (including plastics) can be made from hemp. There are more than 25,000 known uses for hemp!
Lexington, Kentucky — Three cheers for former Gov. Louie B. Nunn and like-minded folks for their support of the production and use of industrial hemp. The illogical and unrealistic reasons for not growing hemp should be set aside now, as this crop will be a wonderful economic boon for Kentucky. Hemp and its products are environmentally sound, cannot be abused and can be put to multiple uses, saving the destruction of trees and other nonrenewable resources.
State and federal legislators and law enforcement officials need to put aside their misconceptions and expedite the use of this versatile crop. If we do so, Kentucky stands to be at the forefront of a new economic boon, with Kentucky farmers literally and figuratively reaping the benefits.
–Greg Davis, The Lexington Herald-Leader
Achieving a Sustainable Planet
Hemp is among the earth’s primary renewable resources: trees cut down to make paper take 50 to 500 years to grow back while hemp can be cultivated in as little as 100 days, and can yield 4 times more paper over a 20 year period.
Hemp does not require pesticides: while half the pollutants in the U.S. Today are sprayed on cotton plants, hemp is naturally mildew resistant, requires no pesticides, and maintains a healthy environment for the surrounding streams, air, flora and fauna.
Hemp slows ozone depletion: the industrial use of fossil fuels, like petroleum, contributes to global warming by rapidly increasing the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere; however, hemp fuels, derived from the plant itself, maintain the earth’s natural O2/CO2 balance.
Hemp Paper Can Save the Forests! One acre of cannabis hemp, in annual rotation over a twenty year period would produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres of trees being cut down over the same twenty year period. And while hemp reaches full growth and can be harvested every year, the trees which are cut down take hundreds of years to return. The process of making paper from hemp uses only 1/5 to 1/7 as much polluting, sulfer-based chemicals and does not require the use of any chlorine bleach.
Hemp as an Ecological, Renewable Fuel Source. Hemp can also produce 10 times more methanol than corn, the second best living fuel source. Hemp as fuel is renewable whereas oil is not.
Hemp as fuel is environmentally beneficial: It enriches and prevents erosions, it burns clean and sulfur-free while oil’s sulfur content causes acid rain.
Respect the planet, respect the ocean and respect your body, NATURALLY!
