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Did you know that approximately 30 countries allow farmers to grow hemp (but not the US)?
"Approximately 30 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America currently permit farmers to grow hemp, although most banned production for certain periods of time in the past. The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop. Great Britain lifted its ban in 1993 and Germany followed suit in 1996. In order to help reestablish a hemp industry, the European Union administered a subsidy program in the 1990s for hemp fiber production.
In 1998, Canada authorized production for commercial purposes, following a three-year experimental period and a 50-year prohibition. As a condition of receiving a license to grow industrial hemp, Canadian farmers are required to register the GPS coordinates of their fields, use certified low-THC hemp seed, allow government testing of their crop for THC levels, and meet or beat a 10ppm standard for maximum allowable THC residue in hemp grain products. Agriculture Canada (the Canadian department of agriculture) estimates that more than 100 farmers nationwide are growing hemp, with the majority in central and western Canada."
Source: Rawson, Jean M., Congressional Research Service, "Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity" (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, January 5, 2005), p. CRS-3, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RL32725.pdf(via the DrugWarFacts.org Hemp chapter).
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Hemp and Marijuana - both are big money makers
Ending the drug war and legalizing marijuana isn't just about consuming THC rich cannabis. It is also about lifting the ban on hemp. A number of people have argued that America could make millions, possibly even a couple billion, by legalizing marijuana and taxing it. I believe America could make hundreds of billions by 1) growing hemp 2) using that hemp to make products - like food, biofuel, oils, clothes, and thousands of other products 3)THEN EXPORT the hemp itself and the products we make from it - America could finally become a nation that produces something, instead of just consuming. Right now, we import much more than we export, overall. We need to shift that, and hemp will grow very well U.S. We could employ more workers in factories and business that deal with hemp products.
But hey, I am not saying anything new. This is all common knowledge among those who do a little research.
common sence
Not only common knowledge,but also something even more common that the United States politicians seem to lack,and that is common sense.
Growing Hemp
and did you know that tens of thousands of Europeans -maybe over 100,0000 now - grow their own hemp at home? Its easy and you don't have to visit a drug dealer and pay lots of money to feel good. While we are waiting for the world's democracies to catch up with the fact that drug use is a victimless crime and that prohibition is pointless and counter-productive, many many people are just getting on with growing and making their own drugs. Laws? Just guidelines for behaviour when there is no victim other than yourself - you can take or leave them. Prohibition is a stupid nasty dog that doesn't have the time to bite everyone it meets haha
Um, why isn't hemp saving the world then?
All these hempster claims: hemp can provide fuel, food, fiber, hemp can do this, hemp can do that. Well there is clearly no shortage of countries growing hemp! So why hasn't hemp saved the world already?
No, I'm not a troll seeking to antagonize drug policy reformers. I think it's a legitimate question. As far as I'm concerned, hemp should remain illegal. Cross-pollination of hemp will lower the THC content of outdoor marijuana. After all that prohibition has done to encourage high THC cultivation, we can't have that!
To be fair, high THC products have existed for millennia. Think hashish. And cartel weed is nothing special. But prohibition has put a premium on primo bud.
Yay Hemp Omega 3s!
Hemp is a miracle food product. Make some hemp milk and substitute it for some high quality Omega 3s. Its so good for you!
Growing Hemp
To Harry, First, growing hemp and having a full supply and logistics line are 2 different things. Currently the US is still the worlds largest economy by orders of magnitude. This marginalizes hemp as long as the US has an anti hemp policy.
Second, (and this plays off of number 1) hemp products need approved outlets as well. It is not just about growing, it is about putting hemp in the supply chain on as many levels as were popular for hemp prior to it's current restriction. (To get an idea, google Hemp and USS Constitution, the ship, not the document although the document was written on hemp paper as well).
Third is research and development. This includes crop rotation or replacement with hemp. There will need to be a leveling of the agricultural playing field in order to bring hemp into it's full potential. New potential uses for hemp will automatically follow. Hemp is to farming as pigs are to meat production everything but the squeal can be processed and sold.
Fourth is savings. Hemp is essentially a weed. It grows in most climates with little or no help. It actually replenishes the soil it grows in. To figure hemps financial benefits you have to look at the savings for other agricultural crops as well as hemps "easy" signature on the ecology.
Your concerns about cross pollination are possibly justified in a far distant and utopian future. Even there, ditch weed has been growing for all of history with little effect on consumable cannabis.
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