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,
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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
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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
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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-businesses-may-
abound-in-boulder/
 http://www.newvideo.com/new-video-digital/hempsters-plantthe-seed/