MASH IT UP

Campus Group Hopes To Educate Others

The hemp plant has long been associated with its flora family member - the
marijuana plant. Both, however, are very different.

Marijuana is an illegal drug in the United States. The hemp plant feels the
same judicial heat. But as a resource, the hemp plant can offer the world
alternative sources of food, fuel and clothing. The plant is still illegal
to grow in United States, however.

Residents of Bloomington-Normal have taken notice and formed the activist
group MASH - Mobilizing Activists and Students for Hemp. According to the
group, they are talking about the injustices against the hemp plant, and
people seem to be listening.

"Both hemp and marijuana are members of the same species, cannabis sativa,
but that does not make them the same plant," Dan Moriarity, MASH
coordinator, said.

The differences are visible as well as internal.

"Marijuana is a smaller, bushier crop with high THC levels and is grown [in
a] completely different way than hemp is," Moriarity said.

THC, tetrahydroncannabinol, is an active ingredient in marijuana.

The hemp plant is grown in tightly packed rows that resemble corn stalks,
Moriarity said.

"Marijuana needs a lot more room to bud and spread out and absorb
nutrients," he said.

The hemp plant is also known for its ability to grow quickly under any kind
of weather.

"I don't think there is another plant that produces as much biomass as hemp
in a year," Gregg Brown, ISU alumnus and MASH activist, explained. "It is
as close to an 'instant forest' as this world is capable of producing."

Despite hemp's positive aspects, there is still tension between people of
political prominence and the social stigma of the plant.

"I think that there are two sides to the opposition. The first is that
people think it is a drug," Moriarity said.

"The other obvious reason I feel, is industry. The main opposition is
coming from timber and cotton industries, both of which can be replaced by
hemp," Moriarity added.

Hemp could start an entire industry of its own, Brown added.

"Hemp has tens-of-thousands of uses, so it is not like there is no money in
this industry, it is just a means of making a commitment," he said.

"There will be a tremendous amount of work involved, and that's a good
thing. There will be thousands of jobs for people," Brown added.

There have been some breakthroughs in the exploration of what hemp can do.

Daniel G. Paquin P.E. at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources is studying phytoremediation.

"We've done a small scale field test using hemp," Paquin said. " The
results are to be published in the International Journal of
Phytoremediation soon."

Phytoremediation is the act of having plants clean up polluted soil, Paquin
explained. Plants remove harmful chemicals from the ground when they take
water into their roots.

The process is new and the study has the backing of Hawaiian congresswoman
Cynthia Thielan.

Cars burn nonrenewable fuels that cause pollution. Industrial hemp can
offer an alternative.

"Hemp fuel, or bio-diesel, can be burned in any unmodified diesel engine
and mixed with petrol-diesel in any ratio," Moriarity said. "Bio-diesel is
an ecologically sound fuel with drastically fewer emissions than its
petroleum counterparts."

The idea of the hemp car is nothing new. MASH pointed out that Henry Ford
had a vision of a line of cars that would run on hemp oil as well as the
oils of other plants.

"There is really a downside to running our country on resources that we
need to extract from other people's countries," he said. "We need the
resources of other nations [or] we will inevitably be stepping on other
peoples toes.

"If we were powering our society using what grows here, we would not be
stepping on other peoples toes," Brown continued. "To me, it is a step
towards a more peaceful world."

Canada's government recently took a second look at its current cannabis
laws. According to the Associated Press, the Canadian parliamentary
committee called for the legalizing of marijuana use among adults.

In the article, Canadian Senator Pierre Nolin of the Progressive
Conservative Party said, "There is no good reason to subject the consumers
of cannabis to the application of criminal law."

"If changes in Canada do come about, I think that will send shock waves
through the world," Brown said.

Currently, marijuana possession is illegal in Canada, though last year
medical use of the plant was legalized.

In Illinois, there have been a series of bills concerning the legalization
of cannabis as well.

Matt Vanover, assistant press secretary to Governor George Ryan, provided
The Daily Vidette with letters written by Ryan and addressed to the Ill.
House of Representatives, explaining why Ryan vetoed a series of
hemp-legalizing legislation.

Bill 3377 would have authorized the University of Illinois to study the
feasibility and desirability of industrial hemp production. Bill 3377 was
vetoed for a number of reasons, the first being the infamous tie with
marijuana.

"Though I believe the sponsor's sole purpose is to promote this research in
an effort to benefit legitimate agricultural producers in Illinois," Ryan
wrote, "this legislation nonetheless plays into the national strategy of
groups seeking to remove existing criminal penalties for cannabis/marijuana
possession and use."

Ryan's letter put forth his own statistics to back up his case. According
to the statement:

"A United States Department of Agriculture study concluded that industrial
hemp production will be unable to sustain adequate profit margins for a
large scale production sector to develop," Ryan wrote. "For every proposed
use of industrial hemp, there already exists an available product or raw
material that is cheaper to manufacture and provides better market results."

The tug of war - presumably not with a hemp-made rope - will continue.

_____SIDEBARS______

HEMP ECOLOGY:

Hemp can be made into high quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow
hemp paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.

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 next crop. Hemp can displace wood
fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and
oxygen production and other values.

HEMP HEALTH

If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get a 'buzz,' it would be
the equivalent of taking two to three doses of a high fiber laxative.

At a volume of 81 percent, hemp oil is the richest known source of
polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, or "the good fats." It is also quite
high in essential amino acids.

HEMP SCIENCE

Industrial hemp has a THC content of between .05 and 1 percent. Marijuana
has a THC content of 3 to 20 percent. To receive a standard psychoactive
dose, a person would have to smoke 10 to 12 hemp cigarettes over an
extremely short period of time. The large volume of vapor, gas and smoke
would be too much for a person to take.

HEMP INDUSTRY

Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. Ford wanted to build
and fuel cars from farm products.

BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an
effort to make cars more recyclable.

Construction products such as medium density fiberboard, oriented strand
board, beams, studs and posts could be made from hemp. Because of hemp's
strong fiber, these products would be stronger and lighter than ones made
from wood.

HEMP HISTORY

Hemp has been grown as fiber and food for at least the last 12,000 years.
It has been effectively prohibited in the United States since the 1950s.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a
mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of
Independence on hemp paper. Because of its importance for sails and rope
for ships, hemp was a required crop for the American colonies.

Hemp can yield three to eight dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four
times what an average forest can yield.

Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant
than cotton.

- - Source: The North American Industrial Hemp Council