HEMP PROHIBITION DOES NOTHING BUT HARM

In order to fully understand the opposition to marijuana reform, it
is important to investigate who already benefits from the status quo
prohibition. Besides recreation, there are many other uses for
marijuana. Many people benefit, while many others suffer negative
consequences of prohibition. In most cases it is the corporations who
benefit, while the individual citizens are the ones left out in the cold.

There are three different degrees of possible marijuana reform, all
of which have different ramifications for society. They are the
legalization of hemp, the medicalization of marijuana and finally the
legalization of marijuana. Only the last step is a full repeal of
marijuana prohibition. With hemp and medical marijuana, it is still
possible for prohibition of marijuana as a recreational drug. This
column will discuss the asinine policy of hemp prohibition, while
medicalization and legalization will be discussed in their own
subsequent columns.

When most people think of hemp, they inaccurately think of marijuana.
Specifically, they do not recognize the difference between hemp and
the mind-altering affects of the demonized marijuana plants. The lack
of education has led hemp to be banned by the Controlled Substances
Act of 1970 as a Schedule I drug.

Hemp is not marijuana. Yes, it does come from the Cannabis plant,
like marijuana, but it cannot get a person high, which is the main
difference between the two. Hemp bred for industrial purposes usually
has very low THC content, which is the psychoactive chemical in
marijuana. In many cases, the THC content is so low that is near
impossible to use as a recreational drug. This is because many of the
species and subspecies of Cannabis used in hemp production do not
yield high amounts of THC.

Hemp itself is harvested from the stalks and parts of the plants
other the bud in which the marijuana is located. There are many
benefits to producing hemp which include the speed and ease at which
it grows combine with the environmentally friendly benefits of the
products that can be made from it.

Hemp products encompass almost all parts of the Cannabis plant and
can be used to make foods, fuels, and fibers. The only edible parts
of the plant with any nutritional value are the seeds.The seeds are
extremely nutritious and are a source of carbohydrates, proteins,
fibers and essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are an
important part of a healthy diet and are not harmful like saturated
and trans fats. The seed also is not psychoactive and cannot be used
as a drug. The seeds most resemble a nut and can be shelled and eaten
raw, used to make numerous foods, or can be converted in to hemp seed
oil and used in cooking.

To get an idea of how versatile hemp is, here are a short list of
products that can be made from hemp - food and others: snack bars,
cookies, trail mix, coffee, beer, nutbutter, chips, pasta, tortillas,
hummus, butter, salad dressing, milk, cheese, non-dairy ice cream,
burgers, oils, lotions, lip balms, conditioners, shampoos, soaps,
shaving products, lamp lighting, household detergents, stain
removers, varnishes, resins, paints, twine, cordage, textiles,
clothing, paper, webbing, non-woven matting, auto parts (ie door
panels, dashboards, luggage racks), building materials, animal feed,
plastics, packaging materials, skate boards, and most importantly
biofuel. All in all, there are almost 25,000 environmental friendly
products that can be derived from hemp.

Hemp is also not harmful for the environment. It can be grown
organically because there are very few pests that feed off of it. The
Cannabis plant only has a growing cycle of 100 days and is a natural
weed suppressant so the soil remains weed free for next planning
(that is if one does not consider the Cannabis plant a weed itself).
The short growing cycle of Cannabis, combined with the number of
products that hemp can manufacture, makes it a very viable and
important natural resource that should be utilized.

However, there is a caveat, and that is that the United States
currently forbids people to grow hemp with a permit from the DEA. And
surprise, surprise, the DEA rarely grants permits for large scale
productions. The reasoning, which can be found on the DEA Web site,
is that hemp contains THC. Hence, hemp is a Schedule I substance
under the CSA, as is heroin and LSD, despite that fact that it is
impossible to get high from it. To realize the stupidity of the U.S.
government policy towards hemp, one only has to look at that the fact
the U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not
permit hemp production. The only hemp products that are allowed in
this country are ones that are manufactured outside of it.

So, are there problems with hemp? Maybe farming and irrigating enough
land to grow hemp would be a problem. But the sustainability, short
growing season and ease of manufacturing offset the onetime costs. It
is far better for the environment to use hemp fiber than to
constantly cut down trees, that will never be replaced, to obtain
paper and wood. And maybe the fuel produced by hemp may harm the
environment, but any fuel made will the environment, biofuels just do
at a miniscule rate compared to oil.

So the essential question in the end is - who benefits from hemp
prohibition? Well, it is not the environment or the citizens. Hemp is
a quick growing, renewable, and biodegradable resource, with health
benefits that have been documented in human history for over ten
thousand years. This includes the United States where it was grown
during the colonial era and World War II. So in the end, the winners
are the corporations that would be rivaled by hemp. All companies
including oil refineries, textile mills, paper manufactures, plastic
producing companies and many others who benefit from making
environmentally harmful products would be forced out of business or
would have to change their ways.

The only other beneficiaries are those, such as people at the DEA,
that take on the moral crusade against a product which does not even
result in intoxication. Yes, hemp does contain THC, but there is not
enough to experience any psychological effects. The benefits, which
include the nutritional value of the hemp seed, far outweigh the
negative consequences, if there are any to begin with. Legalization
of industrial hemp will not lead to increased marijuana usage as some
fear, a fear left over the early years of marijuana prohibition in
the 1920s and 1930s, and instead it will only benefit the economy,
environment and individuals of this country.

Weekly columnist Greg Pivarnik is an 8th-semester molecular and cell
biology major. His columns run on Tuesdays.