The Question of Hemp

Farmers across America are taking another look at hemp farming. 

Outlawed in the '30s in a broad swipe at drug use, hemp has unfairly suffered from the bad reputation of its cousin marijuana. Now, as corn, wheat, and soybean profits continue to hold many farmers at the poverty line and as tobacco farmers face decreasing demand for their crop, many farmers are seeking new options. They see that foreign nations and even Canada grow hemp with profits from $220 to $600 per acre.  

As American farmers have begun work for the right to grow hemp. the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has lobbied furiously against hemp farming. DEA agents have spoken before various state legislatures where hemp initiatives have begun. In spite of these protests, the states of North Dakota, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Maryland have so far passed laws permitting hemp farming. Several other states such as Illinois, New Mexico and Kentucky are close behind. 

While the DEA points out that hemp is a variation of the Cannabis sativa plant and therefore first cousin to marijuana, hemp activists argue that hemp contains such small amounts (1% or less) of psychoactive ingredients (cannabinoids) that a person smoking even large amounts cannot become intoxicated. 

The U. S. Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey and the DEA complain that hemp farming would create significant complications in law enforcement's efforts to identify and eradicate marijuana crops. However, the fact is that anyone trying to produce marketable marijuana would never plant marijuana near a hemp field, since cross pollination with hemp would significantly reduce marijuana's psychoactive ingredients.  

Former CIA Director James Woolsey, representing the North American Industrial Hemp Council, recently stated, "If you want to get rid of marijuana, there's nothing better to do than plant a lot of industrial hemp."  

Hemp and marijuana have significantly different growth configurations. The densely sown stalks of hemp shoot straight and tall, yielding maximum fiber and seeds. But marijuana potency depends on small stalks and heavy budding tips which are kept from seeding.  

Increasing public interest in hemp goes far beyond farmers anxious for more profitable  crops. Hemp farming is low impact and poses no environmental threat. Hemp fiber is versatile, durable, and cheap to produce. Hemp seeds serve as an important animal food source and hemp seed oil offers significant health and nutrition benefits for humans. Hemp products are 100% biodegradable. And hemp is a renewable resource, producing two crops per year in the South.  

Arkansas farmers deserve a chance to get in on the ground floor of hemp farming. Hemp production, processing, and manufacturing offer a remarkable economic opportunity for the State of Arkansas.  

A Little Hemp History

Since at least 8000 BC in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, the Cannabis sativa L. plant has been exploited for human benefit. Hemp is a particular variety of Cannabis, and has served as an important resource in the production of durable goods. The ancient Chinese credited the Emperor Shen Nung for introducing the Cannabis plant they called ma in the 28th century BC. The wild Cannabis ancestor is believed to have grown somewhere in a general area between western China and the eastern Caucasus, north of the Hindu Kush. This ancestral species is not found today.   

Cannabis grows just about anywhere, even in poor soils, without much need for fertilizer. Insect pests mostly leave it alone. Its roots push deep into subsoil, bringing up important nutrients and moisture even in dry seasons. Its six- to eight-foot-tall main stalk sends off multiple side branches, all of which contain long, strong fibers. At the end of the growing season, each branching tip contains hundreds of seeds.  

Before cotton, hemp and flax were the principal crops used for fabric in temperate cultures. In antebellum America, hemp homespun called "Kentucky jeans" was commonly used to clothe the slave population. But hemp's major use was as a cordage fiber. Its natural resistance to rot and salt damage made it especially ideal for maritime uses. So critical was hemp to naval powers that laws were passed in England and in the American colonies requiring farmers to allot a portion of their acreage to the production of hemp. For a time following the War of Independence, farmers could pay their taxes in hemp. George Washington admonished: "Sow it  everywhere." 

Hemp's excellence as a paper-making fiber was discovered by the ancient Chinese. Both the U. S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drafted on hemp paper, then copied onto parchment. Paper made of hemp lasts many times longer than if made of wood and is considered a specialty paper (archival paper, parchment, cigarette papers) with high strength even if wet (coffee filters, tea bags).

In ancient times, people added handfuls of hemp fiber to their clay to strengthen bricks for building. At least one medieval French bridge made of hemp cement still stands.   

Hemp seed, 30% oil by volume, has been used throughout history for animal feed and to produce oil. Hemp seed oil has been an important source of lamp oil, cooking fuel, and human food.

Modern proponents of hemp expect to revive long lost usages of hemp in addition to exploring many possible and as yet undiscovered applications of this versatile plant's inherent properties.  

Hemp for Farmers

Before prohibited for its kinship with marijuana in 1937, hemp was a thriving part of the American agriculture community. As with any crop, optimum hemp production requires good fertile soil. However, it may be successfully cultivated even in marginal soils in harsh conditions. Its strong roots control erosion. Hemp's rapid growth suppresses weeds such as thistle and Johnson grass and its resistance to insects and fungal diseases eliminates the need for pesticides. A 120-day maturity cycle means that in many parts of the country, farmers could harvest two or more yearly crops.

Industrial hemp produces three main raw materials: bast fiber, hurds, and seeds. The stalk of the plant is called "straw," and is separated (decorticated) into two components -- the long strands from the outer stalk is the fiber and the inner part is the hurd. Farmers market certified hemp seed for planting and/or seed (grain) for hemp oil and meal. Highly absorbent hemp hurd is ideal for animal bedding. 

Switching to hemp production would not require that farmers invest in expensive new equipment. Hemp serves as a low-maintenance, high volume rotation crop. And when other crops are rotated on acreage that has grown industrial hemp in the previous year, crop yield for the next crop can increase by 10 to 20%.   

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that the demand for industrial hemp worldwide would increase from $75 million in 1997 to $250 million in 1999. In 1998, the total amount of industrial hemp imported to the United States was over 546 tons. While history has shown wide application for all parts of hemp, modern technology promises an even greater utilization of this natural cornucopia. The fledgling U. S. hemp industry has begun to attract significant investment interest. 

Responding to pressure from farmers, legislators in North Dakota, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Maryland have recently passed laws encouraging the cultivation of industrial hemp. Virginia and Montana have petitioned the federal government to end the ban. State legislation authorizing study of hemp has passed or is pending in New Mexico, New Hampshire, Montana, Vermont, Iowa, Maryland, Wisconsin, California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Oregon, and Arkansas.  

The board of the North American Industrial Hemp Council (NAIHC) includes leaders from agriculture, manufacturing, ag research, conservation, and politics. NAIHC receives support from a wide assortment of interests, including the Wallace Genetic Foundation, which sees hemp as a vital component of sustainable farming. 

When delegates for the American Farm Bureau met in January 1999 for their annual convention at Albuquerque, New Mexico, they dropped their opposition to hemp farming because "farmers are in need of alternative crops."    

The Economics of Hemp

In July 1998, the University of Kentucky released a study entitled the "Economic Impact of Industrial Hemp in Kentucky." The following excerpts come from the study's conclusion.

"The primary finding regarding economic feasibility was that industrial hemp appears to be a potentially profitable crop for farmers as well as a profitable input into a number of high value added products in the United States. Industrial hemp appears to be useful for higher value products in industries ranging from health supplements, nutraceuticals, food products, animal feed, and animal bedding to paper, carpets, and automobile parts.   

"Products made with industrial hemp were expected to capture a share of the higher end of markets where consumers were willing to pay a higher price in order to receive a higher quality product, a product for some specialized use, or out of environmental concern. ... Given current technologies and uses for industrial hemp, sales of hemp products in these industries were estimated to support the cultivation of up to 82,000 acres of industrial hemp [in Kentucky]. 

"It is estimated that Kentucky could grow certified seed to supply up to 41,000 acres of industrial hemp planted for straw alone ... This production would have an economic impact of 69 full time jobs and $1,300,000 in worker earnings.  

"Kentucky may also be able to capture one or several decorticating facilities and the attendant hemp acreage. .. If one decortication plant and one industrial hemp paper pulp plant were to locate in Kentucky, cultivation would rise to 27,600 acres ... [with] an economic impact of 771 jobs and $17,600,000 in worker earnings. 

"Finally, it should be pointed out that the current role for industrial hemp in high value or specialty markets does not preclude its future use in bulk markets. ... Research is now underway on how to use industrial hemp in bulk plastics and cattle feed markets, to name some key areas." 

The North American Industrial Hemp Council has developed a broad base of support in American agriculture. Bud Sholts, the current NAIHC chair, states. "Many large Fortune 500 companies have told us privately of their interest, but they fear getting involved in the "marijuana" issue.... I am confident that tens of millions of dollars will be spent on hemp research and product development and marketing -- just as soon as it is relegalized in the U.S."  

For more information, the full University of Kentucky study is available on-line at www.hemptrade.com/hemptrade/menu.htm   A wealth of other research is also available at this  site. To contact NAIHC, go to http://naihc.org 

Hemp and the Environment

Forestry Issues: Paper and paper products are currently made primarily of wood (93%), causing wholesale slaughter of forests worldwide. In 1988 alone, 226 million tons of wood were pulped for paper. Not only is pulp wood forestry devastating to tourism, wildlife habitat, and natural ecosystems, but it also creates mono-forests of pine -- susceptible to epidemics of pests such as the gypsy moth -- where healthy hardwood and mixed vegetation forests once thrived. U. S. Department of Agriculture studies show that hemp crops would yield more than four times as much pulp per acre as timber.   

Hemp can substitute for other timber uses besides paper, such as fabricated construction materials. Since 1935, technology has been available to produce particle board from hemp stalk chips and natural glues, heated for tensile strength. Improvements on this method have led to products such as Envirocor® paneling and boards, strong enough to be used for primary load-bearing at only 40% the weight of wood. These products are immune to termites and produce no toxic fumes.   

French construction entrepreneurs have rediscovered hemp cement, which they call "Isochanvre." Used as a finished surface, both interior and exterior, and impervious to rodents and insects, Isochanvre provides thermal and sonic insulation, is fire retardent, weighs one-seventh of concrete, and costs about the same as traditional materials.  

Water and Soil Quality Issues: Hemp crops are a low-impact, sustainable resource. Few if any pesticides or fertilizers are needed. Hemp improves soil because its roots dig deep into hard pan and subsoil to bring up trace nutrients and prevent erosion. Hemp will grow even on marginal lands, and its natural habit of shedding leaves throughout the growing season reduces soil moisture evaporation and provides a layer of rich organic matter.  

Processing hemp for paper uses significantly fewer chemicals and acids than does wood pulp. Since it requires less bleach, hemp also reduces dioxin pollution.  

German firms have introduced a 100% hemp oil-based laundry detergent with environmentally-friendly production and high biodegradability. It can be made into an industrial cleaner that removes oil and tar from textiles.   

Highly contaminated soils have been targeted by a new technology called phytoremediation, wherein plants are grown in contaminated places to break down or degrade organic pollutants and stabilize metal contaminants by acting as filters or traps. Phytoremediation can be used to remove radioactive elements from soil and water, as well as to clean up metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, crude oil, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and toxins leaching from landfills. A Russian research scientist working with phytoremediation field tests recently stated: "Hemp is proving to be one of the best phyto-remediative plants we have been able to find."  

Solid Waste Issues: The following consumer products would be 100% recyclable and biodegradable if manufactured from hemp fibers: 

• Canvas for furniture coverings, bags, backpacks, hats, sails, and more. Very long lasting, resistant to wear, tear, salt, and sunlight. 

• Fabric for clothing, woven heavy as burlap or thin as silk. Stronger, more insulative, more absorbant, and more durable than cotton. Holds shape like polyester.  

• Carpeting, either mixed with wool or 100% hemp. Serving either as a face fiber and/or backing, hemp does not shed fuzz, is naturally resistant to fire, mold, mildew, and decomposition, and does not "off gas." 

• Automobile parts, such as headliners, rear window shelving, door panels, matting under carpets, air bag parts, and trunk liners. Parts are lightweight and fire resistant  

• Fiberglass replacement (for "chopped" figerglass, interior uses). Safer and more desirable alternative, lightweight, holds a better surface finish.   

Air Quality Issues: Hemp oil and hemp biomass could serve as a domestic source of renewable, low-pollution fuel. Seed oil can be combined with 15% methanol to create a substitute for diesel fuel which burns 70% cleaner than petroleum diesel. 

Hemp cellulose can be polymerized to make any type of plastic product. Manufacturing processes using hemp would produce significantly less pollutants than processes involving petrochemicals.  

Seed oil can produce an industrial cleaner that removes oil and tar from textiles, and makes a better printing ink than soybeans.  Paints and varnishes made with hemp oil produce no volatile organic compounds.  

"Why use the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the fields?"  

Henry Ford, on the use of hemp celluloid in automobile production. 

Hemp for Consumers

Food: Hemp seed, 30% oil by volume, can be used for fuel or cooking oil. Its quality is as good as whale oil and jojoba.  The seed is about as nutritious as soya, but is more digestible, gives higher yields, and is easier to harvest. It is a complete source of vegetable protein, in the particularly human-friendly form of albumin and edestin.  Already on the shelf is a tasty assortment of snacks, salad oils, non-dairy cheese, milk, ice cream, and butter, hemp-pesto salad dressing, hemp hot sauce, pretzels ("hempzels"), hemp soda, and hemp beer.  

Nutraceuticals: Food products made of hemp seed are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and Vitamin A. Major U. S. corporations are gearing up for what they believe will be a "booming" business in hemp products, including hemp oil (higher in anti-oxidents than Vitamin C or E), high-nutrient foods, and supplements. 

Personal Hygiene: Hemp oil's high "essential fatty acids" content makes it ideal for cosmetics, lip balm, shampoo and conditioner, lotions, oils, and soaps. 

Absorbents: Cat litter, barn bedding, oil cleanups. Very absorbent, fast to compost.

Textiles: Clothing, diapers, hats, bags, belts, wallets, backpacks, upholstery fabric, carpeting, shoes . Hemp is washable, strong, durable, breathable, holds its shape, is fire resistant, won't mildew or mold, and will accept various dyeing methods. A "natural" fiber. 

Paper products: "Tree-free" paper, stationary, bags, filters, fiberboard, matting. Strong, long-lasting. 

Construction Materials: Paint, paneling, composite board, concrete, brick. Biodegradable, non-toxic. 

Plastic: Natural hemp cellulose can serve as a petroleum replacement and can produce a biodegradable plastic. Already used to manufacture biodegradable plastic eating utensils, shopping bags, and other consumer items. 

What Hemp's Opponents Say

Law enforcement agencies such as the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) complain that hemp farming will significantly compromise helicopter surveillance efforts to eradicate marijuana cultivation. "As far as our laws are concerned, hemp, marijuana, whatever you want to call it, it's the same plant. An illegal drug under a different name is still an illegal drug."  Tim McCormick, head of the Minneapolis DEA
office.

In the Clinton Administration, U.S. Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey, took an aggressive approach to hemp.  Speaking before a June 16, 1999, hearing of the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources:   "Growing numbers of farmers, rightfully or wrongfully, believe that hemp may offer a new crop that can help the farm economy. However, there are those who want to use de-regulation of hemp to erode America's disapproval of drugs. Still others with criminal intent see hemp as providing a new way to conceal the production of marijuana plants.  

"If we allow farmers to test the viability of this crop in the marketplace, we must not do so in a manner that allows the normalization of marijuana. Products that market their hemp content with marijuana leaves do so only to sell their product's relationship to marijuana. ...The hype built around these marijuana-related products serves only to glamorize the counter-culture appeal of a drug that has serious consequences for our young people who use it.   

"We cannot allow our policies toward hemp to directly or indirectly increase the use of marijuana among our young."  

Rebuttal 

States which have approved or are considering approval of hemp farming include regulations requiring licensing of hemp crops, with additional provisions for crop inspection. 

Hemp farming advocates argue that prohibition of hemp has not prevented young people from having easy access to marijuana. Recent surveys show that in 1975, 87% of high school seniors said it was "very easy" or "fairly easy" to obtain marijuana, and in 1995, the number was 89.6%. (Source: NIDA, 1997) 

Furthermore, there is evidence the significant drug war resources are routinely wasted on mistaken eradication of wild hemp. From the March 15, 1999, issue of U. S. News Online:   "[T]he U. S. government continues to spend money uprooting hemp. According to DEA figures, 98 percent of the $7.3 million the government spent on marijuana eradication programs last year went to kill ditchweed, a type of industrial hemp that grows wild."  

Utne Reader article on hemp

Hemp is Hip, Hot and Happening
So Why Are American Farmers Being Left Out?

To download a PDF copy of this article click here.

American farmers are prohibited by law from growing a low-input, sustainable crop common in Europe and Canada with tremendous economic potential: industrial hemp.

Hemp cannot be commercially grown in the United States because it is erroneously confounded with marijuana. In fact, industrial hemp and marijuana are different breeds of Cannabis sativa, just as Chihuahuas and St. Bernards are different breeds of Canis familiaris. Smoking large amounts of hemp flowers can produce a headache but not a high, or as Ruth Shamai of Ruth's Hemp Foods says, "I've personally stood in a burning field of hemp, and if you wanted a buzz you'd have to drink a beer."

Most Western countries distinguish industrial hemp from marijuana on the basis of THC (the chief intoxicant in marijuana) content and permit the growing of non-psychoactive low-THC hemp for fiber and seed. Straightforward European Union and Canadian regulations prevent attempts to camouflage marijuana in hemp fields and limit THC levels in hemp flowers to 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively; THC levels in marijuana flowers are generally between 3 percent and 15 percent.

But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lumps low-THC hemp with marijuana. As a result, although the United States permits trade in nonviable hemp seed, oil, and fiber, it is the only major industrialized nation that prohibits the growing and processing of hemp.

It is time to clear up the misunderstanding, change the law, and clear the way for ecologically sustainable, economically viable opportunities for American farmers and businesses.

Why Industrial Hemp?
Notoriety obscures the history and value of hemp. Hemp has a long history in America, from the first plantings in Jamestown, where growing hemp was mandatory, to the hemp sails of 19th-century clipper ships and the hemp canvas covers of pioneer wagons, to World War II's massive "Hemp for Victory" program. Hemp is a major part of humanity's agricultural and commercial heritage, having been used extensively for millennia in cultures around the world.

Hemp seed was known long ago for its healthy protein and rich oil. The stalk's outer fiber was used for clothing, canvas, and rope, and textile rags were recycled into paper pulp. The Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, and the finest Bibles are still printed on hemp-based paper. The woody core fiber of hemp stalks was used for construction and fuel. In the early 20th century, hemp-derived cellulose was promoted as an affordable and renewable raw material for plastics; Henry Ford even built a prototype car from biocomposite materials, using agricultural fiber such as hemp.

Beginning with the passage of the "Marihuana Tax Act" of 1937 and continuing after the World War II "Hemp for Victory" program, misplaced fears that industrial hemp is marijuana and harassment by law enforcement discouraged farmers from growing hemp. The last crop was grown in Wisconsin in 1958, and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 formally prohibited cultivation.

Today, driven by entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to build a new industry for a new age, hemp has reemerged. A diverse but increasingly unified and politically influential group of interests supports the commercial growing of hemp, including farmers, businesses, nutritionists, activists, and green consumers.

Hemp is not a panacea for the world's social, economic, and environmental woes—- no single crop can do that. But with focused and sustained research and development, hemp could spur dramatic change. Renewable, fast-growing hemp could allow major industries to reduce their dependence on nonrenewable, fast-disappearing resources and move toward sustainable production.

Hemp Textiles
Today's hemp-based fabrics are nothing like 18th-century canvas sailcloth (canvas derives from the Latin cannabis). Hemp fiber, blended with everything from Tencel to organic cotton, can be used to create textiles as different as terrycloth, flannel, and luxurious satin brocades. Hemp fiber offers greater durability and breathability than cotton, which accounts for 25 percent of the pesticides sprayed on the world's crops. Hemp-based textile products on the market include apparel and accessories such as T-shirts, pants, dresses, baby clothes, bathrobes, and shoes; housewares such as blankets, shower curtains, and rugs; and sundries such as hammocks and pet supplies.

Technical Hemp Fiber and Core Products
The most successful emerging industrial use of hemp fiber is in the automobile industry. "Biocomposites" of nonwoven hemp matting and polypropylene or epoxy are pressed into parts such as door panels and luggage racks, replacing heavier and less safe fiberglass composites. European hemp fiber made into biocomposites by Flexform in Indiana has been used in more than a million cars and trucks in North America. Automotive applications alone are expected to push European hemp cultivation to over 100,000 acres by 2010. Emerging technology for injection molding of natural fibers is expected to accelerate growth of this sector. Hemp fiber is also used for insulation and horticultural growth mats, and hemp core is used in animal bedding, mortars, and horticultural mulch.

Hemp Paper
The low impact of the farming and processing of hemp stalks and the high strength, length and yield of the bast fibers make hemp, a traditional source of high-strength specialty paper, a favorite in today's ecologically aware market. Pulp made from hemp's bast fiber is superior to short-fiber wood, and is an ideal additive to strengthen recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) pulp, thus expanding PCW's use. Tough and durable, hemp content paper can be finished to a smooth-surfaced sheet with as good as or better print qualities than virgin wood-based paper. The markets for hemp content paper are growing, including not only high-quality PCW printer paper, but also ecological product packaging, brochures and promotional materials for progressive businesses.

Hemp Biofuels
Ethanol—- ethyl alcohol, currently produced by fermenting cornstarch from kernels—- is gradually replacing toxic Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) in the United States as a high-octane, pollution-reducing gasoline additive. As a source for ethanol, corn kernels are economically viable only because of high federal subsidies. In the next two to five years, the energy-efficient production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass such as wheat and rice straw, hemp, flax, and corn stalks will become commercially viable. This process also generates much lower overall emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2, and because most automobile engines can run on 15:85 ethanol:gasoline blends without modification, ethanol will help nations worldwide meet their greenhouse gas reduction goals. Hemp grown for both seed and biomass has a stalk yield of up to 3.5 tons per acre, which would make it an economical source of cellulose for ethanol production. Farmers in the Midwest could welcome hemp as a pofitable addition to their marginally profitable soybean and corn rotations.

Hemp Foods
Increasingly found on store shelves, shelled hemp seeds ("hemp nuts") and cold-pressed oil have exceptional nutritional benefits and rich flavor. They are used in salad dressings, nutrition bars, flour, breads, cookies, granola, meatless burgers, nut butter, protein powders, chips, pasta, coffee blends and frozen desserts. Virtually all hemp nut and oil in U.S. foods are imported from Canada.

An impressive 33 percent of the hemp nut is high-quality protein, providing all essential amino acids in a reasonable balance, making it an attractive component of a meat-free diet. Hemp also contains significant amounts of the vitamin E complex and trace minerals such as magnesium, iron, and manganese.
But hemp seeds are valued primarily for the exceptional fatty acid composition of their oil, which makes up 30 percent of the whole seed and 44 percent of the nut. Studies link many common ailments to an imbalance and deficiency of essential fatty acids (EFAs) in the typical Western diet: too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3. Consuming sufficient omega-3 in the right EFA ratio has impressive benefits, including: reducing cholesterol, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and sudden cardiac death, reducing the need for insulin among diabetics, decreasing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, promoting mood improvement in bipolar disorders, and optimizing development in infants.
Hemp oil contains the most EFAs of any nut or seed oil, with the omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs occurring in the nutritionally optimal 1:3 ratio. As a bonus it offers the higher-potency omega derivatives GLA and SDA. Fish and fish oils are recommended because they provide the omega-3 derivatives SDA, DHA, and EPA. But concern over the contamination of fish by mercury and other environmental toxins has led the FDA to warn pregnant women and nursing mothers to restrict their fish intake. Hemp's omega profile means that using hemp nut and oil as a staple food is a good alternative to fish: One tablespoon of hemp oil in a shake, salad, soup, or sauce provides 3 grams of omega-3, more than the 2 grams per day recommended by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Virtually all common vegetable oils, such as soy, corn, sunflower, safflower and olive oil offer a much less desirable omega balance, i.e., not enough omega-3. Even walnuts, touted in recent media due to the FDA's qualified endorsement of their omega-3 health benefits, contain significantly less omega-3 and in a lower ratio to omega-6 than hemp seed. Of the commodity vegetable oils, only flax seed contains more omega-3, but flax does not have hemp's optimal EFA balance. Because it is more easily digestible with a longer shelf life and a nutty natural flavor, hemp nut also offers a greater range of culinary options than flax seeds.

Hemp Body Care Products
Hemp oil's high and balanced EFA content also makes it an ideal ingredient in body care products. The EFAs soothe and restore skin in salves and creams and give excellent emolliency and smooth after-feel to lotions, lip balms, conditioners, shampoos, soaps, shaving products, and massage oils. Recent Canadian research shows that hemp oil has potential as a broad-spectrum ultraviolet skin protector.

What Can I Do?
Here are two simple ways to help hemp blossom in the marketplace: Buy hemp! Vote hemp!

Buy hemp! Hemp foods and body care products are carried by large chains such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe's and by thousands of smaller independent natural-food chains, stores, and co-ops, and even by some mainstream grocery stores. Outdoor retailers, ecological specialty stores, and some department stores carry hemp clothing. See the wide range of hemp products, and their makers, listed in the Hemp Industries Association's (HIA) Members Product Directory at http://www.hempindustries.org. Search for local retailers at http://www.hempstores.com.

Vote hemp! Be informed, talk to your state and national representatives, and tell your friends and family about the benefits of hemp for a sustainable economy and healthy environment. Fourteen states have passed legislation supporting industrial hemp. What's the status of your state? See http://www.votehemp.com/state_legis.html.
Activists are working to shift federal regulation of industrial hemp back to the Department of Agriculture and out of the hands of the DEA. Donations to support this effort can be made online at the Web site of Vote Hemp, the industry's lobbying group, where you can also find sample letters and easy ways to contact elected officials; see http://www.votehemp.com.
TestPledge, DEA and the Right to Eat Hemp Foods
Under the Hemp Industries Association's (HIA) TestPledge program (www.testpledge.com), U.S. hemp food companies voluntarily observe trace THC limits in hemp nut and oil. These conservative limits protect consumers from workplace drug-testing interference; they are based on a study, jointly commissioned by a Canadian governmental program and industry members, published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology (Nov./Dec. 2001).

Nonetheless, fueled by drug war ideologues and hysteria, the DEA has attempted to ban hemp foods. Hemp food manufacturers and the HIA have won a series of legal battles, culminating earlier this year in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the DEA ignored Congress' specific exclusion of hemp fiber, seed, and oil in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), exempting them from the DEA's control. The court viewed the trace amounts of THC in hemp seed as insignificant and irrelevant, just like the trace opiates in poppy seeds, which are similarly exempted from the CSA and which the DEA hypocritically ignores.
Fighting the DEA's attempted ban has cost hemp companies over $200,000, but they are prepared to spend what it takes to fight any further appeal to the Supreme Court. "The public and the media should question the DEA's waste of tax dollars in trying to crush the legitimate hemp food industry," says Eric Steenstra, president of the hemp industry's lobbying organization, Vote Hemp. "A Bush administration appeal will fail and only further embarrass the DEA. Appealing the decision is a last-ditch effort to save face at the expense of taxpayers and limited law enforcement resources." Visit www.votehemp.com for up-to-date information.

Links

Drug Policy http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/hemp/

For Mother Earth Beads~HEMP~Gems

News Release from the 2003 Commercial Hemp Symposium

To lend your voice to the protest, go to www.votehemp.org

University of Kentucky study on hemp www.hemptrade.com/hemptrade/menu.htm 

North American Industrial Hemp Council http://naihc.org

Hemp Industries Association http://thehia.org

Global Hemp News www.globalhemp.com

Hemp US Flag "Free For All Directory" http://www.hempusflag.com/links.html