I always get a little irritated whenever I have to defend industrial hemp from those who think it is part of the war on drugs. The prohibition against industrial hemp is but one manifestation of the gross irrationality that animates larger marijuana prohibition. Despite that fact that they are qualitatively different plants, industrial hemp is guilty of the sordid crime of looking like psychoactive marijuana.
USA Today ran an article today (“‘Industrial’ Hemp Support Takes Root“) noting the advocacy of one David Monson, a conservative Republican legislator from North Dakota. Having grown up in Hawai’i, GOP support of industrial hemp is not all that novel, as the leading advocate for reform there has been longtime state Senator Cynthia Thielen. A former Republican governor of Kentucky is also an industrial hemp supporter. This year, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005.
The bottom line is that industrial hemp is not a drug in any sense. In fact, it actually makes psychoative cannabis less so were the separate plants grown in proximity to one another.
The Hemp Industries Association provides a good rundown of the plethora of benefits related to industrial hemp. Among them, hemp oil is a superior source of omega-3 fatty acids. The Body Shop sells a line of hemp personal care products, as does Dr. Bronner. Hemp also provides durable fibers that can be used for clothing, rope and other more industrial uses (like paper, biocomposites, and insulation).
Today’s news article also provides some much needed historical context:
Growing hemp used to be legal in the USA. During World War II, the government urged farmers to grow it for much-needed rope and textiles. But in 1970, Congress designated hemp — along with marijuana and heroin — as a “Schedule 1” drug under the Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal to grow hemp without a license from the DEA.
Today, the USA is the only developed nation that has not established hemp as a crop, the Congressional Research Service says. Great Britain lifted its ban in 1993; Germany did so in 1996 and Canada followed two years later. The European Union has subsidized hemp production since the 1990s.
Washington’s drug war foolishly shortchanges American farmers and consumers.
Posted by Nikos Leverenz.
