THE CASE FOR HEMP

For reasons I do not fully understand, Americans seem to have lost
the common sense that has always been a hallmark of our culture. Once
again, we seem to be routinely shooting ourselves in the foot by
adopting public policies that run counter to our own best interests.

A good example is outlawing the use of hemp -- one of the most
beneficial crops in the history of the world -- by burdening it with
unnecessary and restrictive regulation in the name of fighting the
so-called War on Drugs.

Hemp is a harmless plant that is the source of an almost endless list
of benefits. Wikipedia notes that it can be used in everything from
food products to clothes, as well as having multiple industrial or
commercial uses such as "paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics,
construction, health food and fuel."

China, France and Canada are all major producers of hemp, and
although more hemp is exported to the U.S. than to any other country,
our government generally does not distinguish between marijuana and a
type of hemp that is used only for industrial and commercial purposes.

The North American Industrial Hemp Council, Inc. (NAIHC) notes, "The
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies all C. sativa varieties
(of hemp) as 'marijuana.' While it is theoretically possible to get
permission from the government to grow hemp, DEA would require that
the field be secured by a fence, razor wire, dogs, guards and lights,
making it cost-prohibitive."

The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 "placed an extremely high tax on
marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp
.. (and) the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped industrial hemp with
marijuana, as its successor, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, does to this day." As Groucho Marx famously quipped,
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."

Other facts about hemp offered by NAIHC include: "Hemp has been grown
for at least the last 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food."

Much of the bird seed sold in the U.S. has hemp seed (it's sterilized
before importation), the hulls of which contain about 25% protein."

Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to run on hemp oil." "Construction
products such as medium density fiber board, oriented strand board
and even beams, studs and posts could be made out of hemp. Because of
hemp's long fibers, the products will be stronger and/or lighter than
those made from wood."

Over 25,000 products can be made from hemp. "To receive a standard
psychoactive dose (of hemp) would require a person to power-smoke
10-12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The
large volume and high temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be
almost impossible for a person to withstand."

Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more
mildew-resistant than cotton." "Fabrics made of at least one-half
hemp block the sun's UV rays more effectively than other fabrics."

Hemp can be made into a variety of fabrics, including linen quality."

Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is
naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for
pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so
herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a
following crop."

Hemp can yield 3-8 tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an
average forest can yield."

The bottom line is that by treating hemp as a drug, the United States
has effectively shut down one of the most profitable and useful crops
in history and has once again essentially abandoned the market to
other nations that have a more realistic attitude.

We are preventing our farmers from growing a crop that has almost
unlimited uses. It's cheap and easy to plant and cultivate, and could
potentially rejuvenate the small farming industry in America.

While spending billions of dollars in what has been an almost
fruitless effort to keep small farmers on the farm, we have also been
unwilling to simply let them to do it for themselves by allowing them
to cultivate perhaps the best cash crop they could grow.

By stubbornly refusing to change or adapt our thinking, we are once
again preventing one of our own industries from producing an
important product and leaving a major market to our competition.

But, that's just my opinion.