SEPARATING HEMP FACT FROM FICTION

Hemp -- A Short History Of The Most Misunderstood Plant And Its Uses And Abuses

Because of its potent cousin, marijuana, a great deal of confusion has
evolved surrounding the plant hemp.

Today, hemp is grown for food, used for insulation in clothes and
buildings, burned as fuel, made into medicine and distilled into hemp oil
for lotions, soaps and cosmetics.

In short, hemp is one of the wonder plants of nature that can be adapted
for use in endless possibilities.

The Canadian government is already on record as supporting the commercial
growing of hemp and regards it as a legal, regulated industry in our country.

But it always comes back to hemp's relationship to marijuana that seems to
garner the greatest debate.

So author Mark Bourrie has set out with the literary challenge of
separating fact from fiction.

Bourrie declares in his new book that "marijuana resembles hemp about as
much as a garden rose resembles its cousin, the strawberry."

Not only are the two visibly different, Bourrie writes that fibre hemp is
tall while high-grade marijuana plants are shot and bushy, and they are
used for different things.

Essentially, the difference between the two comes down to the cultivation
and breeding processes, the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) gives
marijuana its drug properties.

Bourrie fills his book with quirky, interesting facts about hemp, such as
how to dodge drug tests, how to grow outdoor and indoor plants, and stories
about some celebrities today who have become strong advocates of hemp, such
as film actor Woody Harrelson and director Oliver Stone.

The strength of the hemp fibre is one reason the plant has been cultivated
for 10,000 years, dating back to when it was the main cash crop of New France.

Louis XIV directed colonial farmers to grow hemp for rope for his navy--a
man-of-war used 60 tons of hemp rope for its rigging, including the 25-inch
thick anchor cable. And despite the efforts of U.S. lawmakers to curtail
hemp in recent decades, industrial hemp cultivation was once carried out by
among others George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. As
well, Levi Strauss jeans were once made of hemp fibres.