What is Hemp?

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

You may have heard about the controversy over the use of hemp for clothing, soap, building materials, bedding, paper, fuel, and even food and medicine. Woody Harrelson has been arrested for planting it. What? Arrested for planting a seed? Well, the problem is that hemp is the common name used to refer to plants in the cannabis family. If that doesn't sound familiar, marijuana is one of the plants in the cannabis family.

More than 30 industrialized countries including Canada, China, and France, have produced an industrial form of hemp. However, the U.S. government doesn't distinguish between the industrial form of cannabis and the form used for recreational drug use.

Here's where things get really sticky - hemp can be imported into the U.S., but cannot legally be grown, hence Woody Harrelson being arrested for planting a hemp seed in Kentucky in 1996. Yet there is a strong demand for hemp. Between 2006 and 2007, the importation of hemp from Canada grew 300%. Some liken this to the idea of Americans being able to buy cigarettes, but it being illegal to grow the tobacco in the U.S.

Now, I am by no means a fan of marijuana. I've never tried it, never wanted to, and for me, if the government says it is illegal to use as a drug, I am fine with that. But, it seems that industrial hemp is almost a wonder plant.

If you are wondering if hemp is being imported as a way for drug dealers to have cannabis for sale, think again. Yes, like marijuana, hemp contains some THC, the drug part of marijuana. But, the strength of marijuana THC can be anywhere from 6 to 20% or more. How much THC does hemp contain? Typically, hemp contains below 0.3% of THC. Can you smoke it? Yes, technically you can, but FlexForm Technologies CEO Gregg Baumbaugh said the only thing you will get from smoking industrial hemp is a headache.

Even former presidential candidate Ron Paul has co-sponsored a bill to legalize production of industrial hemp in the U.S. He points out that the raising of hemp is only illegal in America. The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007 was passed by the state Senate and Assembly, but California is having its own problems with medicinal marijuana. While it is legal to sell medicinal marijuana in California though dispensaries, it is still illegal at the federal level and these dispensaries are often raided. Given that the hemp act was passed, the farmers who grow it may still be under scrutiny by the federal government.

So, what do you think? Wonder plant or drug in disguise?

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Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a web designer/freelance writer located in Memphis, TN. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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