[CraigX]

It was a tight election and in the state of Minnesota you can register at the polls. Jesse had an article come out in Hemp Times right before the election and he says that the few thousand people that registered that day voted for him....he thought according to my source at HT, that the pro-Hemp stance had something to do with it...food for thought. CraigX.com

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MacG', 'I')ndustrial hemp is a rather remarkable plant. It is extreme in most respects. It readily yield 20 metric ton dry substance per hectare, defend itself against pests of almost all kinds, capture and convert up to 50% of the photons which hit a field, and completely suffocate all weeds. There are about 12 strains which are legalized within the EU now.

[Caoimhan]

Hahaha...

It contains like 1/350th the amount of THC, depending on the exact strain, as marijuana.

That would require quite a bit of concentrating.

I'm all for industrial hemp growing. We've even got strains now that yield such fine fibers, you can make cloth with the traits of silk taffeta, but much more durable.

Hemp is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the history of mankind. It's truly remarkable stuff. It also grows in a very wide variety of climates and soil conditions.

I need to double-check, but I thought I heard once that it is useful for soil re-conditioning.

[The_Toecutter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') need to double-check, but I thought I heard once that it is useful for soil re-conditioning.

[CraigX]

My friend John Trudell intoduced me to people on the Pine Ridge rez, so that I could speak to them about hemp. I worked with Tom Cook and Joe American Horse and made a presentation to the council. They were looking at economic development for the tribe and felt that they were too far from any population centers to make gaming successful, so they were considering hemp.

Joe American horse compared the Natives to the plant, "The government has been trying to get rid of both of us for some time, but the creator wants us here, so here we are just like the plant."

It is difficult to get rid of hemp. It grows wildly in South Dakota on the rez. This is left over from hemp cultivation during WWII, when the slogan was, "Hemp for Victory" because it was such a useful natural product.

And, yes, I tried smoking the hemp when I was in South Dakota...it smelled great, like good weed, but there was no medicine in it other than for the earth.

[katkinkate]

I read that during the world wars and food rationing many people relied on the hemp seeds as staples. Saved a lot of people from going hungry.

[bentstrider]

Looks like the US government done shot a hole in its foot on this issue.

[katkinkate]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bentstrider', 'L')ooks like the US government done shot a hole in its foot on this issue.

[The_Toecutter]

At least the politicians recieved those kickbacks, not the government as a whole.

Those industries are a strain on the national budget, receiving billions of dollars from hard working taxpayers each year courtesy of Uncle Scam.

[CraigX]

Glad to see this has created a discussion. CraigX.com

[Pfish]

I guess if you can smoke pot, who gives a shit about PO anyways...

[dooberheim]

I hope this is in the right forum - forgive me as I'm new...

I read in various environmental and peak oil articles about the advantages of growing hemp for oil and fiber, and even food. I know there are higher yielding oil crops, and hemp rope doesn't compare to oil based rope (dacron or nylon) in terms of strength and weatherability. Is there some combination of properties that makes hemp uniquely advantageous?

I am sure there are some that have the additional agenda of legalizing marijuana (not that I care one way or another about that, but it seems that if you want to legalize marijuana, you state that directly instead of doing an end-around). I read a lot of conflicting information on this and would like to know what people here think.

[Caoimhan]

Hemp fiber can be used for far more than rope. Do some searches online for companies that sell hemp fabrics. There are some hemp fibers so fine that they resemble silk. I found one site a while back that sold bright white wedding-dress fabric made of hemp. But hemp is DURABLE. Denim made of hemp instead of cotton will last 3x as long. Hemp canvas for bags works extremely well, too. Oil-based nylon or dacron rope may be stronger and more lightweight, but in applications where weight isn't so much an issue, I'd rather be using a renewable product. I've used old, worn out hemp rope as tinder for starting fires on camping trips. Just twist a few inches of it open and pull it some with your fingers to fray it out... works great!

Hemp seed meal and oil are among the most nutritious foods in the world. Along with sunflower oil, flax seed oil, and olive oil, we could all stand to get better quality oils in our diet.

Hemp also grows like no-body's business. It grows fast and dense, providing a lot of biomass in a short amount of time. It'll also grow in an extremely wide variety of climates and soil conditions with little irrigation.

I need to do research on this again, but I think it'll grow in soil with high salt content, and will actually help extract salts from the soil. If true, this is something direly needed in over-irrigated parts of the country, like California's San Joaquin Valley.

Some people are naturally hestitant to legalize the hallucenogenic variety of marijuana. But only the ignorant think that industrial hemp has anything to do with drugs.

I personally am in favor legalizing both, but the arguments for each are completely different. I don't mix the two up in the same argument.

[threadbear]

And is crack all it's hemped up to be? Actually just bought a hemp shirt today. It's like a cross between linen and cotton.

[EdF]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'A')nd is crack all it's hemped up to be? Actually just bought a hemp shirt today. It's like a cross between linen and cotton.

[NEOPO]

I read that hempseed was #2 in protein and soybean was #1 and that clothes made from hemp were basically "made for a lifetime" or would last upto 10x a normal similar article of clothing.

I agree that all varieties should be legal but yes that is two different discussions indeed.

Hemp for victory!!!

[Macsporan]

Yes.

[The_Toecutter]

Hemp can also be grown without fertilizers or fossil fuel inputs. It also helps prevent soil erosion and actually restores the topsoil it is grown on. It can be grown in highly arid climates as well and doesn't need prime farmland of which should be reserved for food production anyway.

If we are to maintain any semblence of our living standard post peak, hemp will end up being a major crop. In fact, if we have cars post peak(albeit with reduced useage), hemp biodiesel would be a major fuel source for midsized and fullsized cars that get 70-120 miles per gallon off that stuff with attention paid to aerodynamics.

However, politics persist. It was William Randolph Hearst who saw threats to the wood paper industry he was heavily vested in, along with the petroleum, petrochemical, and phamaceutical industries that lobbied the government to prevent its use in America. While hemp growing is legal, the government has refused to grant anyone the necessary permit to grow it(Of course, if you go by the constitution, it's legal anyway regardless of use). Today, the big pharmaceutical industries don't want either industrial hemp or marijuana legalized, both of which can be grown in your own home, marijuana of which can be an excellent pain killer without all these adverse effects. The oil industry obviously doesn't want its use in things like diesels and plastics and other petrochemical replacements. The timber industry would be mostly shut down due to the ability to use hemp to replace use of timber. The steel industry doesn't want hemp to act as a replacement for steel body pieces on cars, even though it is over 10 times more dent resistant and entirely rust proof. A car body made of hemp would literally outlast the chassis itself(Unless we used aluminum chassis which are rustproof).

It all comes back to the centralization versus decentralization, dependency versus self reliance.

The government and corporations want our money to keep flowing to them so they can continue their unlimited growth fantasy. Hemp, which you can grow yourself and make many products with limited tools and skills(fuel, soap, clothes, ect.), threatens their control. Either we change now towards a decentralized society with a similar standard of living to the one today but with far less consumption, or peak oil will do it for us with a big reduction in living standard due to everything getting too expensive to implement(and perhaps the worst dieoffs imaginable).

[dooberheim]

Toecutter wrote:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he timber industry would be mostly shut down due to the ability to use hemp to replace use of timber. The steel industry doesn't want hemp to act as a replacement for steel body pieces on cars, even though it is over 10 times more dent resistant and entirely rust proof. A car body made of hemp would literally outlast the chassis itself(Unless we used aluminum chassis which are rustproof).