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Article #6878

Marijuana/Hemp--Environmental Benefits

#6878
From: tornado
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 00:00
282 lines
15816 bytes
  

        ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF HEMP (MARIJUANA)
        -------------------------------------------------------

    Hemp is the same plant as marijuana, its scientific name is
    "cannabis sativa."  For thousands of years hemp was used to make
    dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles.
    In fact, the very name "canvas" comes from the Dutch word meaning
    cannabis, which is marijuana.  That's correct, real canvas is made
    from marijuana.

    Many years ago hemp/marijuana was unjustly banned.  However, hemp has
    recently been rediscoverd as a plant that has enormous environmental,
    economic, and commercial potential.  What follows are some fascinating
    facts about hemp/marijuana--facts that will shock most people.

    * The potential of hemp for paper production is enormous.  According to
      the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, one acre of hemp can produce 4 times 
      more paper than one acre of trees!  All types of paper products can
      be produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary,
      cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons.

    * FACT: THERE IS NO TREE OR PLANT SPECIES ON EARTH CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
            AS MUCH PAPER PER ACRE AS HEMP!  HEMP IS NUMBER ONE!

    * Paper production from hemp would eliminate the need to chop down
      BILLIONS of trees!  MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of
      wildlife habitat could be preserved.

    * Trees must grow for 20 to 50 years after planting before they can be
      harvested for commercial use.  Within 4 months after it is planted,
      hemp grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting!  Hemp
      can be grown on most farmland throughout the U.S., where forests
      require large tracts of land available in few locations.  Substituting
      hemp for trees would save forests and wildlife habitats and
      would eliminate erosion of topsoil due to logging.  Reduction of
      topsoil erosion would also reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams.

    * Fewer caustic and toxic chemicals are used to make paper from
      hemp than are used to make paper from trees--LESS POLLUTION!

    * Hemp can also be substituted for cotton to make textiles.  Hemp fiber
      is 10 times stronger than cotton and can be used to make all types of
      clothing.  Cotton grows only in warm climates and requires enormous
      amounts of water.  Hemp requires little water and grows in all 50
      states!  There are now many stores in the U.S. that sell hemp-derived
      products such as clothing, paper, cheese, soap, ice cream, cosmetics,
      and hemp oil.  Demand for these products--not even in existence in
      1992--is growing rapidly.

    * Hemp naturally repels weed growth and hemp has few insect enemies.
      Few insect enemies and no weed problems means hemp requires
      NO HERBICIDES and FEW or NO PESTICIDES!

    * Cotton requires enormous pesticide use.  50% of all pesticides used
      in the U.S. are used on cotton.  Substituting hemp for cotton would
      drastically reduce pesticide usage!

    * Hemp produces twice as much fiber per acre as cotton!  An area of
      land only 25 miles by 25 miles square (the size of a typical U.S.
      county) planted with hemp can produce enough fiber in one year to
      make 100 MILLION pair of denim jeans!  A wide variety of clothing
      made from 100% hemp (pants, denim jeans, jackets, shoes, dresses,
      shorts, hats) is now available.

    * Building materials that substitute for wood can be made from hemp.
      These wood-like building materials are stronger than wood and can
      be manufactured cheaper than wood from trees.  Using these hemp-
      derived building materials would reduce building costs and save
      even more trees!

    * Hemp seeds are a source of nutritious high-protien oil that can be
      used for human and animal consumption.  Hemp oil is NOT intoxicating.
      Extracting protein from hemp is less expensive than extracting protein
      from soybeans.  Hemp protein can be processed and flavored in any way
      soybean protein can.  Hemp oil can also be used to make highly
      nutritious tofu, butter, cheese, salad oils, and other foods.  Hemp
      oil can also be used to produce paint, varnish, ink, lubricating
      oils, and plastic susbstitues.  Because 50% of the weight of a mature
      hemp plant is seeds, hemp could become a significant source for these
      products.

    * Most hemp-derived products are NONTOXIC, BIODEGRADABLE, and RENEWABLE!

    * Unlike virtually all hemp substitutes, growing hemp requires very
      little effort and very few resources.  Most substitutes for hemp
      (sisal, kenaf, sugar cane) grow in limited geographical areas and
      none have the paper/fiber potential of hemp.  Hemp can be grown in
      all 50 states!

    * Unlike many crops, hemp puts little strain on the soil and requires
      only moderate amounts of fertilizer.  Less fertilizer use results
      in less runoff into waterways and groundwater; therefore, less water
      pollution.

    * Hemp produces more biomass than any plant that can be grown in the
      U.S.  This biomass can be converted to fuel in the form of clean-
      burning alcohol, or no-sulphur man-made coal.  Hemp has more potential
      as a clean and renewable energy source than any crop on earth!  It
      is estimated that if hemp was widely grown in the U.S. for
      fuel/energy, it could supply 100% of all U.S. energy needs!

    * Marijuana has dozens of proven medicinal uses.  Marijuana is more
      effective, less toxic, and less expensive than alternative synthetic
      medicines currently used.  A recent poll revealed that over 50% of
      U.S. physicians would prescribe marijuana to their patients if it
      was legally available.  People who suffer from arthritis, AIDS,
      rheumatism, leukimia, multiple sclerosis, cancer, glauocoma, and
      other ailments can benefit from marijuana as medicine.  But because
      of our insane marijuana laws, people in need of this medicine are
      denied it.  Marijuana is classified by the U.S. government as a
      dangerous drug with no medicinal value, a classification that is
      absolutely ludicrous!  Marijuana is widely accepted by the medical
      community as having numerous proven medicinal uses--it is NOT
      a dangerous drug.

    * Hemp for rope, lubricating oil, shoe material, and other materials
      was in such short supply during World War II that the U.S. government
      temporarily re-legalized hemp so U.S. farmers could grow it for the
      war effort.  Hemp helped us win World War II!  Hemp was a common crop
      that was grown legally in the U.S. for commercial use until 1937.

    * Hemp was NOT banned because it was a harmful drug.  Hemp was banned
      because it was a competitive threat to the wood products industry
      and newly developed synthetic fibers that were patentable, and
      therefore more profitable than hemp.  Corporations that profited from
      the demise of hemp propagated a smear campaign against hemp by
      claiming that marijuana use was a major drug problem (it was not) and
      that marijuana use caused people to become extremely violent--another
      falsehood.  Unfortunately, these false claims went unchallenged and
      Congress outlawed hemp in 1937.  Unfortunately, millions of Americans
      still believe the lies spread about marijuana/hemp.

    * On the eve of marijuana prohibition in the U.S., two articles
      about hemp appeared in major U.S. magazines.  They were:

      "The Most Profitable And Desireable Crop That Can Be Grown"
       From: Mechanical Engineering, February 26, 1937

      "New Billion Dollar Crop"  From: Popular Mechanics, February 1938

      These articles reveal that hemp was on the verge of becoming a
      super crop because of new hemp processing technologies that were
      recently developed.  Unfortunately, the potential of hemp was never
      reaped because of marijuana prohibition.

    * Hemp is legally grown for commercial use throughout much of Europe,
      India, China, Russia, Ukraine.  In 1994 the Canadian government
      approved one experimental hemp field--its first legal hemp crop in
      40 years. In 1995, there will be 11 government-approved hemp fields
      in Canada!  If the U.S. does not legalize hemp for commercial use,
      a significant economic and environmental opportunity will be lost;
      the benefits will be reaped only by our economic competitors.

    * Literally millions of wild hemp plants grow throughout the entire
      Midwest today.  Wild hemp, like hemp grown for commercial use, is
      USELESS as an intoxicant.  It makes no sense to ban growing a plant
      that has enormous economic and environmental potential, grows
      naturally by the millions, and is impossible to exterminate.  But
      yet, our draconian drug laws state that one acre of hemp grown on a
      person's property can result in the owner being sentenced to DEATH!
      That's correct, the DEATH PENALTY exists for growing one acre of
      nonintoxicating weeds!

    * U.S. Presidents and founding fathers George Washington and Thomas
      Jefferson grew hemp, used hemp products, and were hemp advocates.
      Today's political leaders--as well as the public that favors
      marijuana prohibition--would treat George Washington and Thomas
      Jefferson with disdain, brand them criminals, and throw them in
      prison!

    Some products that can be manufactured from hemp/marijuana are...

    * animal bedding          * dynamite              * paneling
    * auto/boat covers        * erosion control       * pants
    * backpacks               * fabrics               * parachutes
    * bags (paper and canvas) * fire hoses            * particle board
    * balms                   * fiberboard            * pasta
    * bandages                * fishnets              * pet foods
    * baseball caps           * flags                 * pharmaceuticals
    * baskets                 * floor mats            * pillows
    * bed linens              * flooring              * plaster
    * belts                   * flour                 * plywood
    * bioplastics             * fuels                 * polymers
    * birdseed                * furniture             * protein
    * books                   * futons                * purses
    * boots                   * gloves                * quilts
    * bread                   * glues                 * roofing materials
    * butter                  * hammocks              * rope
    * candlewick              * harnesses             * sails
    * candy                   * hats                  * salad oils
    * canvas                  * ice cream             * salves
    * cardboard               * inks                  * sandals
    * carpeting               * industrial coatings   * scarves
    * caulking                * industrial oils       * shampoos
    * cellophane              * insulation            * shirts
    * cement                  * jackets               * shoes
    * chairs                  * jeans                 * skirts
    * cheese                  * linen                 * slippers
    * cloth/paper napkins     * livestock feed        * soaps
    * cloth/paper towels      * lubricants            * socks
    * coffee filters          * luggage               * sofas
    * compost                 * magazines             * stationary
    * cosmetics               * medicines             * tablecloths
    * curtains                * moisturizers          * tables
    * cushions                * mulches               * tea
    * denim                   * natural pesticides    * tents
    * desks                   * nets                  * thread
    * detergents              * newsprint             * tissue paper
    * diapers                 * note pads             * toilet paper
    * dolls                   * oil-spill absorbants  * twine
    * draperies               * packaging             * varnishes
    * duffel bags             * paints                * wallets
                                                      * wallpaper

    * FACT: NO TREE OR PLANT SPECIES ON EARTH HAS THE COMMERCIAL, ECONOMIC,
            AND ENVIRONMENTAL POTENTIAL OF HEMP.  OVER 30,000 KNOWN PRODUCTS
            CAN BE PRODUCED FROM HEMP!

    "Make the most of the hemp seed, sow it everywhere."

        --George Washington, first president of the U.S. and hemp advocate.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    For further reading regarding hemp...

    Title:  Industrial Hemp
    Author: Produced by HEMPTECH of Ojai, California
    Pages:  48
    ISBN:   1-886874-00-X
    Price:  $4.95
    Order:  (800) 277-0510  or (800) 469-4367  or  (805) 646-HEMP
    Descriptiion:  A pocket-sized book that gives a quick overview
                   about all the uses and economic/environmental
                   potential of hemp.  A QUICK READ!  Printed on
                   tree-free hemp paper!


    Title:  HEMP, Lifeline To The Future
    Author: Chris Conrad
    Pages:  300
    ISBN:   0-9639754-0-4
    Price:  $13.00
    Order:  (800) 436-7626
    Description: THE BEST BOOK ABOUT HEMP!  Covers the history of hemp,
                 its past and present commercial/medicinal uses, the
                 futile and enormously expensive war on marijuana, and
                 marijuana as an intoxicant.  Most of the book focuses on
                 the environmental/economic potential of a revived hemp
                 industry.  Sources are extremely well documented.


    Title:  Hemp Today
    Author: Ed Rosenthal
    Pages:  430
    ISBN:   0-932551-14-9
    Price:  $19.95
    Order:  (510) 533-0605
    Description: A collection of over one dozen essays written by hemp
                 experts, including scientists.  Covers the aspects of
                 commercial hemp and its economic/environmental potential.
                 A small section is devoted to the marijuana issue.  This
                 book is loaded with scientific information on hemp and
                 covers the current state of the commercial hemp industry
                 and farming throughout the world.


    Title:  Hemp & The Marijuana Conspiracy--The Emperor Wears No Clothes
    Author: Jack Herer
    ISBN:   1-878125-00-1
    Pages:  250 (large magazine-style pages)
    Price:  $19.95
    Order:  (310) 392-1806
    Description: The ground-breaking book that ignited the hemp movement.
                 Covers all aspects of hemp use from historic to current
                 times:  The history of hemp, the commercial uses of hemp,
                 the economic and environmental potential of hemp, hemp as
                 a drug, the prohibition movement and drug war, the medical
                 uses of marijuana, etc.  A conglomeration of dozens of
                 articles from dozens of sources.
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From: tornado@best.com
Subject: Marijuana/Hemp--Environmental Benefits
Date: 1995/07/21
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