Originally published April 12 2004
The ban on growing industrial hemp in the U.S. hurts farmers and
consumers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Here's a page of industry facts on hemp. Hemp is perhaps the most
promising crop in the world, and yet it remains injustifiably outlawed
in the United States thanks to disorted Drug War laws that have nothing
whatsoever to do with industrial hemp. Some of the many uses of hemp
include nutrition and health (hemp seeds are very high in omega-3 oils
and phytochemicals), making paper (hemp fibers produce paper at a far
lower cost than tree pulp), clothing and textiles (hemp clothes are
strong, comfortable, and have excellent air circulation), and even fuels
(hemp can be converted to biomass fuels and can power fuel cells to
generate electricity). Hemp can also be grown without pesticides and
could be a highly profitable crop for many U.S. farmers thanks to hemp's
ability to be grown almost anywhere.
So why is hemp still illegal to
grow in the United States? Opinions differ, but the "official"
explanation that hemp contains a hallucinogenic drug (THC) is utterly
baseless. You'd have to smoke 40 pounds of industrial hemp to inhale
enough THC to get any sort of "high," and you'd find yourself vomiting
well before you could smoke all that.
The real reason behind the
outlawing of hemp is that the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) wants to
feel really important and control as much as possible. By outlawing
industrial hemp, they can conduct cool-looking raids on people who try
to grow this harmless crop, and they can claim success that results in
more federal funding. Making the growing of hemp legal would require the
DEA to give up control over this crop, and no government agency ever
wants to give up control over anything. Rather, they all push for more
control, more funding and bigger egos.
The real issue with hemp is
about ego and control, not any sort of drug threat. And the cost of this
needless war on hemp is tremendous: U.S. farmers are prevented from
growing a highly profitable sustainable crop and U.S. consumers are
denied the numerous advantages of products derived from hemp. So instead
of allowing U.S. farmers to grow this crop, we buy all our hemp from
Canada, where hemp is perfectly legal to grow and so far nobody has been
caught trying to inhale an acre of hemp plants.
Make no mistake: the
U.S. War on Drugs is really just a war on the people. There is
absolutely no justification for outlawing industrial hemp. We need this
crop on U.S. soil. If anything, the DEA is smoking crack.
The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of
human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately
8,000 BC.
The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and
US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.
Almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied
to cotton.
Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable
plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with
hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to
name just a very few examples.
CANADA started to license research crops in 1994 on an experimental
basis.
CHINA is the largest exporter of hemp paper and textiles.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml