The October issue Hemp Industries Insider (www.hempindustriesinsider.com) featured a great interview with the producers/directors of “Bringing It Home,” a documentary about a man’s mission to help his daughter who suffers from multiple chemical disorders. His mission was to find the healthiest building material to build a home to minimize his daughter’s symptoms. Can you guess what that material turned out to be? Hemp, of course! One of the producers, Blaire Johnson, shared a great story about a conversation she was having with a gentleman. She told him she was making a documentary on industrial hemp and his response was:
“Oh no, I can’t handle the regular stuff, there’s no way I can handle the industrial version!”
While I like where he was going with that statement, I came to realize that not everyone has taken Hemp 101 (by reading Jack Herer’s book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes). As a matter of fact, our system is pretty much set up so you don’t know the facts about industrial hemp so I figured I would share with you my list of the top 11 things you should know about industrial hemp:
- Industrial hemp has nominal amounts (<3%) of THC which can’t get you stoned.
- Industrial hemp and marijuana cannot coexist since industrial hemp actually serves as the “anti-pot” by lowering the THC in plants that are growing in close proximity.
- There are over 25,000 products that can be made from the hemp plant including: paper, textiles, food, building materials. Hemp can replace anything currently made by petroleum based plastic. If we used hemp for plastic bags, they would actually biodegrade and there would be no need to continue burying third world countries with billions of plastic bags that are destined to roam the earth FOREVER!
- Hemp could easily replace trees for paper. It takes 4.1 acres of trees to produce the same amount of paper as 1 acre of hemp. Hemp could immediately stop deforestation!
- Fifty percent of ALL the world’s pesticides are used on cotton. As an agricultural crop, cotton represents only 1% of all crops in the world , yet utilizes 50% of all chemicals! Think about that for a moment: 50%! All those chemicals go into our dirt and drinking water, not to mention seeping through our skin. Hemp on the other hand, being a weed anyway requires no herbicides, no pesticides and a lot less water than cotton.
- The word “canvass” is derived from the word “cannabis.” For instance, Van Gogh painted on a hemp canvasses.
- The first pair of Levi jeans were made from hemp. Apparently, they were so durable that they wouldn’t wear out easily so they switched to cotton.
- The first American flag was made from hemp
- The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper.
- And finally, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers.
I think my final three facts clearly illustrate that hemp is as American as apple pie! You see, our Founding Fathers were aware that hemp was not prevalent in this new country so they made mandatory grow laws. Back then our government knew that hemp would help us be a self-sustaining country. With our economy in such a dismal state today, it’s such a pity our government refuses to save our country using what worked over 200 years ago: HEMP!
The Hemp Press 
on bullet 2 i think it should just point out the clear distinction between industrial hemp VS Marijuana. my interpretation was it seemed to be pushing a personal opinion for broadcasting instead of clinical fact.
The point I was trying to make here is that when authorities say you can’t grow industrial hemp because you can’t tell the difference between Marijuana and Industrial Hemp, well first of all you can. There is a difference visually, but most important, anyone who grows pot would tell you that cross pollinating with lower TCH plants is the kiss of death. It totally ruins your harvest. Therefore if you truly wanted to get rid of outdoor grows, all you would need to do is plant industrial hemp nearby and voila! Problem solved! Appreciate your input, Oscar!