Of hemp’s many uses, one of the most promising could be in construction
Writer Nate Berg , sourced from Ensia under the terms of Creative Commons’ Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license. “Hempcrete,” made from the woody core of hemp, is showing promise as an environmentally friendly building material. October 6, 2020 — It has become almost a cliché to discuss the benefits of hemp, the supposed wonder plant with almost endless uses — from woven fibers to edible seeds to bioplastics. “Of course, hemp is that magic crop that does everything,” says Nicholas Carter, an environmental researcher who, along with Tushar Mehta, a Toronto-based doctor, runs the website Plant Based Data. His work involves reading through scientific papers and studies and summarizing the most important work supporting plants as a source of food and other important uses. Given the hype, Carter wondered just how much power hemp really had. “I wanted to see the research out there on it, to see what’s actually real, what’s…
4:20, 4/20, 420…it’s four twenty…what does that mean?
4:20 or 4/20 is a term used in North America as a discreet way to refer to the consumption and/or support of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with the drug subculture around cannabis. Phrases such as “420 friendly” sometimes appear in roommate advertisements indicating that the current occupants are tolerant of cannabis users. Although many diverse theories exist to explain the origin of the term, one central root of the phrase stems from a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California in 1971; the teens would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke cannabis at the Louis Pasteur statue. The term became part of their group’s salute, “420 Louis!”, and became popularized in the late 1980s by fans of The Grateful Dead. Many North American cannabis users continue to observe 4:20 as a time to smoke communally. By extension April 20 (“4/20”)…
Industrial Hemp use in ancient India discovered
Industrial Hemp use has been around for thousands of years, in varied forms. In my opinion, we should still be using #hemp today industrially, it’s reliable, affordable and sustainable. #RediscoverHemp Hemp Helped Preserve Ancient Sites in India
Hemp fabric among the most sustainable textiles in existence
First hemp-weaved fabric in the World found wrapped around baby in 9,000-year-old house Latest excavation work in the ancient city of Çatalhöyük in Turkey has revealed the world’s first hemp-weaved fabric, which was found wrapped around a baby skeleton in the ground of a burned house. The city of Çatalhöyük is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date. At a time when most of the world’s people were nomadic hunter-gatherers, Çatalhöyük was a bustling town of as many as 10,000 people. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is known as one of the best sites for understanding human Prehistory. The linen, which dates back 9,000 years, was found as part of the latest dig, which involved 120 people from 22 different countries, and was one of the most striking findings of the season, particularly due to its high level of preservation. The hemp-weaved fabric found in…
Industrial Hemp use Time-Line
Just because the #hempweek is ending doesn’t mean the rediscovering and celebration needs to end as well. Being a contributor to Hemp History Week 2015 I offer this timeline of industrial hemp history * Download this free time-line of industrial hemp history and use it as a talking point, as a base to your research to verify if the information is accurate, as a reference to milestones and history of Industrial Hemp history of hemp timeline on RediscoverHemp 2015 pdf
Happy Earth Day
Industrial Hemp: A Tribute to Earth Day Energy. Fuel. Food…all are becoming more expensive. One crop has great potential as a solution to some of our climbing costs and declining natural environments, but only if it’s made legal again. During my Master Gardner classes last fall, we inevitably talked about crops — which species are best for which soils, how to rotate crops to prevent nutrient depletion, which species produce the most output for the least energy input, etc. During these discussions, the overall benefit of one plant in particular stood out to me: cannabis. Industrial hemp, ( cannabis sativa ), has more than 25,000 uses, from textiles to birdseed to health and beauty products. However, in the United States, hemp is illegal to grow, even though our founding fathers grew it and drafted our Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. The reasons hemp is illegal are…
Don’t Just Smoke a Joint on 4/20 — Take Action Against Hemp Prohibition
4/20 ( Four Twenty ) For people who prefer to relax with a joint instead of a beer or martini , April 20th is a time to celebrate, especially if you live in the states of Washington or Colorado. Or the country of Uruguay. For those who don’t use cannabis of use hemp products it’s a time to stand up in support of their friends, family, and fellow citizens who face arrest for nothing more than what they put into their body. For the Drug Policy Alliance and the drug policy reform movement 4/20 represents something even bigger. Fortunately, the tide is quickly turning against the war on cannabis & hemp. The movement to end cannabis prohibition is very broad, composed of people who love cannabis, people who hate cannabis, and people who don’t have strong feelings about cannabis use one way or the other. We all agree on one thing though – cannabis…
The Power Of Hemp Seeds: A Powerful Source of Nutrition
Did you know that hemp seeds are one of the most nutritional and highest/most digestible protein sources that exist? And the best part? It tastes amazing! I know what you’re thinking. Either, come on dude, you’re just a hippy who likes to get high and eat at the same time; hemp seed just kills two birds with one stone. Or, c’mon dude, shut up and pass it. Well hear me out happening hipster, because hemp seeds might just end up blowing your traditional diet right out of the cosmos. First, hemp seeds will not get you high. Industrial hemp itself contains extremely little THC (.05% – 1%), the compound that destroys food pantries and makes CSPAN hilarious. Most commercial hemp products, like Nutiva brand hemp seeds, contain no THC at all. As a comparison, ‘marijuana’ has a THC content of somewhere between 3% and 20% (depending on if your dealer…
Hemp paper can be used in a wide variety of common everyday products
Art Papers Hemp paper still makes for a fine variety of art papers, which is rather appropriate when you consider that the word canvas is derived from the word cannabis. Heavyweight and durable, hemp fibers makes for a very strong, yet soft canvas. Hemp’s durability compares with the finest linen used for the same purposes, and is usually sold off white and un-primed. Acid-free processing is used to produce these paper due to the low lignin content. Hemp papers make a fine long-lasting medium for prints and posters of value. Filter Paper Things such as coffee filters, oil filters, and vacuum cleaner bags, for example. Some paper uses need to be permeable and still maintain their integrity. Filter papers are made of very small filaments, about 20 micrometers long, that allow liquids to pass through and solids to be trapped. Paper filters also absorb compounds that metal screen filters cannot.…
What is the difference between marijuana and hemp?
My quick, somewhat concise answer 🙂 To break the stigma associated with HEMP, it is important to understand the difference between “marijuana “, and hemp and what the word cannabis refers to. Cannabis is the genus of the plant species. Cannabis Sativa L. to be exact. Marijuana and Hemp are related through the same genus of plant, cannabis sativa L. They are like cousins. They are related and look somewhat similar, but behave very differently and are not the same thing. While Hemp is a rather helpful resource in the world, due to it’s many industrial uses it lacks the stimulating, intoxicating power of the substance known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or for short, THC. It is this active chemical of THC that brings about most of the “high” associated with marijuana. While Hemp usually contains less than 1% of this substance (THC ), “marijuana” possesses between 4 % and 20%.…
The book on Hemp that got the movement rolling. Free to read online
This is the book that started the cannabis hemp revolution. Jack wanted this information to be available to everyone, so he published the text of the book on the internet for free. Though Jack Herer passed on from this life in 2010, his words, research, and influence continue to positively affect the hemp movement.
Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity
For centuries, industrial hemp (plant species Cannabis Sativa) has been a source of fiber and oilseed used worldwide to produce a variety of industrial and consumer products. Currently, more than 30 nations grow industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity, which is sold on the world market. In the United States, however, production is strictly controlled under existing drug enforcement laws. There is no known commercial domestic production and the U.S. market depends on imports. Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa and is of the same plant species as marijuana. However, hemp is genetically different and distinguished by its use and chemical makeup. Hemp has long been cultivated for non-drug use in the production of industrial and other goods. Some estimate that the global market for hemp consists of more than 25,000 products. It can be grown as a fiber, seed, or other dual-purpose crop. Hemp fibers are…
Hemp and Marijuana, what’s the difference?
What is the difference between Hemp and Marijuana? An overall overview: The cut to chase answer is: the difference is in its use. The two are related through the same species of plant, both are forms of the plant Cannabis Sativa L. They are essentially weeds that will grow in a wide variety of conditions, climates, and soil types. Over the years both plants have been used for a wide variety of uses. However, they are not the same. While industrial-grade hemp is a rather helpful resource in the world, it lacks the stimulating power of the substance known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or for short, THC. It is this active chemical of THC that brings about the “high” associated with marijuana. The term ‘Hemp‘ commonly refers to the industrial/commercial use of the cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods, papers, body care products, detergents, plastics and building materials. The term…
The Hemp Plant, Humankind’s Savior
“The Hemp Plant, Humankind’s Savior – 50,000 Uses and Counting” Written By: Jeff Meints The hemp plant was one of humankind’s first cultivated plants and there is quite a lot to educate oneself about this greatly historical plant. With the help of the hemp plant we, as a society could eliminate smog from current fuels, create a cleaner energy source that can replace nuclear power, remove radioactive waste from the soil, and eliminate smog from our skies in more industrialized areas. The hemp plant could assist in eliminating non-biodegradable plastics and cars by reintroducing Henry Ford’s 100 year old dream of building cars made from hemp with a plastic hemp car body that can withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting, weighs 1 thousand pounds less than steel, hence improving gas mileage, can run on a vegetable oil based all natural hemp fuel, and has…
Hemp “Eats” Chernobyl Waste, Offers Hope For Hanford
An explosion at a nuclear reactor on April 26th, 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine created the world’s worst nuclear disaster – so far. The blast heavily contaminated agricultural lands in a 30 km radius around the reactor. The few people still living there must monitor their food and water for radiation. However the combination of a new technology (phytoremediation) and an old crop (industrial hemp) may offer the Ukraine a way to decontaminate it’s radioactive soil. In 1998, Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP), PHYTOTECH, and the Ukraine’s Institute of Bast Crops began what may be one of the most important projects in history – the planting of industrial hemp for the removal of contaminants in the soil near Chernobyl. CGP is an ecologically-minded multinational corporation which finances the growing and processing of sustainable industrial crops such as flax, kenaf, and industrial hemp. CGP operates in North America, Europe and the Ukraine.…
The US Hemp Market
The US Hemp Market: An economic examination of the hemp industry. By Richard A. Adams Abstract An examination and evaluation of the hemp industry in the United States of America with particular emphasis on current issues involved in the agricultural production of hemp both domestically and internationally. Discussion of the economic benefits of a re-evaluation of the legal issues, in particular those laws which necessitate importation versus domestic production of raw hemp for production purposes. A brief examination of the history of the hemp industry and hemp agriculture in the United States of America provides a background against which the current legal and economic status of hemp may be viewed. Discussion of various hemp products, the suitability of the product to American agricultural and production capabilities, and the potential of the market provide an economic understanding of the question. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study is to…
An Amazing Plant
AN AMAZING PLANT by Bill Leuders From ISTHMUS, “the weekly newspaper of Madison” Feb 8-14, 1991 Reprinted by permission. Further reprints permitted with credits. There aren’t many things upon which long-haired radical Ben Masel, state Department of Agriculture official Erwin “Bud” Sholts, agronomy researcher Pat LeMahieu and corporate head George Tyson can be expected to agree. Among them: kicking puppies is mean, Drano should not be taken internally, and hemp – commonly known as marijuana – could become a major cash crop for Wisconsin. According to these and other participants in a, ahem, budding scientific discussion, the hemp plant could be cultivated not just for such traditional uses as rope and fabric, but also as a readily renewable resource for making paper, construction materials, high protein food, and safe, clean fuel. Masel, director of the Wisconsin Chapter of NORML, (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), in 1990…