“The Hemp Plant, Humankind's Savior-
50,000 Uses and Counting - ”
Written By: Jeff Meints
01-23-2007
The hemp plant was one of humankind's first cultivated plants and there is quite a lot to educate oneself about this greatly historical plant. With the help of the hemp plant we could eliminate smog from current fuels, create a cleaner energy source that can replace nuclear power, clean up nuclear waste, and eliminate smog from our skies in more industrialized areas. We could eliminate non-biodegradable plastics and cars by reintroducing Henry Ford's 100 year old dream of building cars made from hemp with a plastic hemp car body that can withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting, weighs 1 thousand pounds less than steel, hence improving gas mileage, can run on a vegetable oil based all natural hemp fuel, and is completely biodegradable. We could eliminate deforestation by converting current paper to hemp paper which can be recycled up to 8 times where as our current wood pulp is only recyclable up to 3, and we could thrive from eating it and feeding it to our animals and livestock.
We could make our future roads, highways and freeways from hemp based concrete which lasts for centuries. We could benefit from the hemp plant's attributes such as oxygen production, hemp's dense root structure and hemp's nutrient and nitrogen production back into the soil. We could use it in medicines and treat around 250 diseases and illnesses, from which studies have shown inhibits the growth of cancer cells in rats. Finally, we could make over 50,000 products ranging from building composites, cellophane, dynamite to shampoo, textiles, twine and yarn. If the US grew industrial hemp it could stop wars, save the environment, boost our economy, improve general health and well being, virtually end our reliance on any foreign entity and save humankind from itself. But wait, wait, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.
Studies have shown that hemp's biomass can be converted into energy and could replace nuclear power and our current fossil fuels.[Belle, Mika] Just by farming 6 percent of the US's acreage this could be achieved. "Hemp grown in biomass could fuel a trillion-dollar-per-year industry, while at the same time create more jobs, clean our air, and distribute wealth to our communities and away from centralized power monopolies." Hemp's biomass can be converted into gasoline, methanol, and methane at a fraction of the current cost of oil, coal or nuclear energy.
An article from Montana State University states, “When burned in a diesel engine, bio-diesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with a smell something akin to french-fries. Bio-diesel is 11 percent oxygen by weight and contains no sulfur, so instead of creating sulfur-based smog and acid rain as by-products, it produces 11 percent oxygen instead. Bio-diesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp.” The hemp grown through government farming and regulation is called “industrialized hemp” and contains no more than 0.03 percent THC content, no where near enough for drug use. Canada, China and England are examples of countries who have never prohibited, but instead have responsibly grown, produced and thrived off of industrialized hemp [Hemp].
Imagine being able to dump our nuclear waste somewhere that wouldn't have any adverse effects on the surrounding environment. The hemp plant might be able to help with that as well. A nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Russia had a melt down April 1986 and experiments have shown that the hemp plant can help remove the toxicity in the soil. “There is an estimated 30,000 sites in the United States are estimated to be needing hazardous waste treatment” and the hemp plant could be the answer to this terrible issue.[The McGraw Hill Companies].
Henry Ford had a dream of “cars made from the soil” and created the first bio-fueled car and also, a car made from hemp. The body of the car was made out of veggie-plastics made from flax, wheat, hemp, and spruce pulp.[Davis, Richard M] As an experiment Ford struck the door with an ax in the dead of winter and it didn't leave a dent. The material was “ten times” stronger than steel and yet one-third the weight, hence saving on gas mileage. “Popular Mechanics Magazine, Vol. 76, No. 6, December,1941. Title: Auto Body Made of Plastics Resists Denting Under Hard Blows.“[Carver, George Washington] Henry Ford's dream was saving American lives, human lives. The car was completely bio-degradable and so with that Henry Ford achieved his dream of “a car made from the soil.”[Malmo-Levine, David] Fords cars were in my definition: the poor person's car. A car you could sustain on your own, distilling your own alcohol or hemp and creating your own fuel, saving you thousands of dollars per year. Hemp oil was even used as grease to lubricate parts within the car's engine. [Malmo-Levine, David]
Ford's dream materialized before me as I learned how he made a car grown from the soil, a car made out of hemp, and a plastic that is reported to be able to withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting! Driving could be like bumper cars and you could getting into a crash would no longer be an insurance matter. If all the cars on the road were made with hemp the injuries and deaths would become considerably less. Industrial Hemp must again become our main crop producer and used in the making of every single car made in America. The hemp plant could saves millions of American lives. “Car accidents involving other moving vehicles accounted for the large majority of accident deaths in California in 2004 with 1,336 deaths due to collisions with other vehicles. This accounts for about 35% of all fatal car wrecks throughout the state. Telephone poles, palm trees, street signs and other stationary objects accounted for another 1,072 auto accident deaths in 2004.” [Resource 4 Accidents]
Despite Industrial Hemp having 50,000 uses Dupont, Rockefeller, Hearst and their constituents cornered that market with political propaganda. Dupont created Nylon, owned General Motors and was “one of the top ten U.S. based petroleum and natural gas producers and refiners.”[DuPont] Rockefeller owned Standard Oil and was soon known as the “richest man in modern history.”[Rockefeller] This is a political science paper and can be viewed at one of my Blogs here at http://marijuana-tax-act-1937.blogspot.com/. But lets not get off topic, so big business and capitalistic politics thrived and outlawed this amazing plant that had sustained us since the days of our founding fathers for someone else's monopolistic goals.[Malmo-Levine, David] Henry Ford achieved his dream, but was denied any true public recognition and continued progression. We were all denied Ford's life saving dream.
In 100 BC, hemp paper was invented in China using hemp and mulberry. Since 100 AD, when the Romans wrote a guide to farming hemp it has since been farmed all over the known world. From the Germans, Franks, Vikings, Chinese (who have never prohibited the use of hemp all-throughout history), English, Canadians, Egyptians, and even Americans all grew, produced and thrived off of hemp. In 1150 AD, Muslims created the first paper mill and for the next 700 years hemp paper was what most civilizations wrote upon.[Schaffer, C.]
Hemp paper can be recycled up to eight times while the current pulp wood fiber can only be recycled three times. By farming hemp throughout the United States and even the world we could reduce deforestation by 50 percent or more.[Hemphasis] George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were spokespersons for growing hemp and in 1619 the Virginia Company made hemp cultivation mandatory which increased commerce with England and helped the economy thrive. Our Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper and our first American Flag was made out of hemp. [Schaffer, C.] This economical concept can easily be applied to present day.
“Hemp seeds contain beneficial omega fatty acids and amino acids, more than any other source.” The seeds can be used in a number of dishes in baking, prepared as tea, any type of food like ice cream, and milks. Cultures all over the world have consumed hemp seeds in times of famine to prevent starvation which has saved millions of lives.[Saunders, Clare] The nutritional facts are quite astounding and also, hemp seeds contains 20 percent complete and highly digest-able protein.[Earth Friendly Network] Canadian Hemp seed exports surged 300 percent in the last year and China, and other eastern countries have to this day never prohibited hemps cultivation and use it extensively [Hemp].
“Only 1 acre of hemp is said to produce more oxygen than 25 acres of current forest.” [Bryon, Alan D.] Theoretically, if we had greenhouses on top of all the office buildings in Los Angeles filled with hemp, the massive output of oxygen would be a massive intake of carbon dioxide. This in turn should make our cities skies once again blue, healthy and smog free. Methane is one of the main producers of green house gases and one of the many major causes for dramatic global climate change. [Hopwood, Nick, and Jordan Cohen] Therefore, we can simply grow hemp in our cow pastures, so the hemp plants can have first hand absorption of methane gases aka cow farts, and burps. The cows can also eat directly from the hemp plants around them which would eliminate the need to use hormones and steroids due to hemp's nutritional facts.[Earth Friendly Network]
Hemp has a superior connection with the earth compared to other plants. When you plant hemp in an area that is infested with Canadian Thwack Grass or Canadian Thistle Grass, the hemp plant's dense root structure will smother out the weeds and make that land again arable.[West, D.P.] Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Congress back when the colonies were first founded that requested that the government grow hemp instead of tobacco.[Hemp] Tobacco drains all nutrients from the soil and leaves the land less arable. Hemp restores nutrients into the soil, nitrogen and even topsoil.[Davis, Richard M.] This gives hemp the added advantage of being able to be grown in even the most dry to wet climates and has little to no need for pesticides because it is highly resistant to plant diseases. Hemp's dense root structure also helps prevent mudslides, erosion and natural catastrophes. It is also one of the only plants that can be harvested year-around in California and Florida, due to the climates in those regions.[Davis, Richard M.]
In France there are bridges centuries old made out of a mixture of hemp and lime. This process is called Iso'Chanvre and is another great example of the extraordinary power of hemp.[Rawganique] We could build roads and bridges that wouldn't require continuous repairs and endless tax payer dollars. Clothes, pottery, shoes, jewelry, shampoos, pies and so much more can be made from hemp and no part of plant would go unused. From its roots, stems, leaves, and even the waste of the hemp plant can create any of the 50,000 different products.
Our education never taught us that Columbus sailed across the Atlantic with the rope on his ships, the caulking and rigging, and yes the sails, all were made from hemp.[Schaffer, C.] There was also no mention in our history books of the endless crates of hemp seeds they brought with them. Not only did they survive by eating the hemp seeds, but they planted the seeds and overtime, hemp now creates over 50,000 products.[Carver, George Washington] The hemp plant's most common product is it's fiber, especially the bast fibers which are extremely strong and durable.
Hemp can also be used in building composite material such as beams, studs, fire resistant building materials, fiberboard and even such things as paint, varnish, ink and carpet. There seems to be a consensus that hemp building composite materials are stronger, more durable and flexible than our currently used wood pulp composite building material. “In 1935, two years before being outlawed, 116 million pounds of hemp seed were used in the United States to produce paint and varnish.”[Robbins Pet Care] Is there anything hemp can't be made out of?
Regarding marijuana: You can avoid the whole problem of growing hemps psychoactive counterpart cannabis aka marijuana by growing the plants in a controlled environment and exposing the female plants to male plants. When the female plants are pollinated by the male plants their (THC) or Tetra-hydra-cannibanol level begins to drop. The longer the plants are held in these pollinating and harsh conditions, the THC level will continue to drop and you can maintain the THC percentage to stay below 0.03 percent making it impossible to use the plant as a drug.[Innvista] If other countries can responsibly produce the hemp plants cultivation there is no reason why the US cannot responsibly benefit from the hemp plant as well. Unless of course we aren't a responsible nation.
Archaeologists have found evidence linking hemp and its psychoactive counterpart cannabis aka marijuana back to 8,000 BC when agriculture and hemp textile industries began in Europe and Asia [Medical Cannabis]. By 3725 BC, Shen Nung Pen Ts'ao of China wrote of cannabis in the world's first medical text and Ts'ao declared cannabis as “a superior herb.”[Schaffer, C.] Cannabis sativa have been used for medicinal purposes for 4,800 years and has been prescribed for over 250 illnesses and diseases, for example: Asthma, insomnia, often used to treat pain in childbirth, migraines, used for AIDS and Cancer patients allowing them to have an appetite, glaucoma, relieves anorexia in Alzheimer's patients, mental health, can be used as suppositories for relieving the pain of hemorrhoids, and depression are just a few examples of the many conditions that cannabis alleviates.[Medical Cannabis] Recent studies in Italy have shown that a chemical found in marijuana, inhibits the growth of cancer cells in animals. THC pills are made with the ingredients necessary for the specific treatment of the disease or illness, but some patients cannot swallow these pills due to their condition and that is when smoking the plant is applied. There are countless other examples of it's beneficial medicinal properties, but here are two final and thought provoking examples to contemplate over: "Medicinal hemp is used to treat alcohol addiction and other drugs such as heroin and is used to treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in war veterans.”[Medical Cannabis]
With the facts and knowledge learned it is apparent that hemp is humankind's savior and must be re-implemented into our countries way of life. General George Washington stated, “Grow it everywhere, hemp is greatly viable for winning the war and sustaining a future fantastic for America.” Are we at war with nature or perhaps is nature at war with us? Hemp is grown by almost every powerful country and it benefits their countries economy and their countries health. To not take the scientific approach in making this decision is dooming humankind to more needless sufferings and perhaps even another Ice Age. Our current dramatic, devastatingly, unpredictable weather breaks records each year and are the first signs of nature's end means. If the icebergs of the world melt, the sea level will raise by 20 feet or more and force extinction upon millions of animal and plant species and kill and displace millions of human beings worldwide. The Philippines, Hawaii, Florida and countless other countries, cities and homes will all be underwater.[Climatecrisis.net] Can you imagine watching the sunset with your child and as the low tide rolls out it reveals the rooftops of houses now underwater.
Only by the legalization of Industrial Hemp and its removal from Schedule 1 of The Controlled Substance Act, can we start working immediately towards the one thing that can save humankind in every way possible.[110th Congress] Our country would have a cleaner fuel and energy source, we would dispose of nuclear waste more efficiently, we'd create cars that could reduce traffic fatalities and are completely biodegradable, we'd have a paper product that can be recycled up to 8 times instead of just 3 times, we'd reduce deforestation by 50 percent nationwide and eventually, worldwide, we'd have an endless supply of food products, livestock bedding, livestock feed and the benefits of the endless nutritional facts backing hemp. We'd have roads, freeways and highways that wouldn't require monthly repairs and endless taxpayer dollars, we'd prevent landslides and improve our farming industry using hemp in the crop rotation, we'd have 50,000 products at our disposal and we'd have over 250 medicinal uses that could ease the suffering of so many people.
The facts and history of hemp show boldly how important it is to humankind that we should all support hemps production and usage for our countries economical and purely health related benefits. With the debate of global warming over and as I like to call it, “dramatic global climate change” fast approaching we need someone or something to save us from humankind's current path. There is much that hasn't been covered and so much more relating to the history and benefits of hemp for humankind. Only with relentless education and constant communication can we overcome the propaganda that has masked the history and extraordinary uses and benefits of the hemp plant. We must continue learning about the hemp plant and we must always network what we learn to others. If you've learned something from reading my article that you hadn't known before you can help spread the knowledge of hemp to anyone and everyone. Can you imagine the gold mine waiting in everyone's backyard or empty field or along the sides of our freeways and highways? Hemp is humankind's savior and the more we know, and sooner we put into action what we know, the better off our future generations will be. There are 50,000 resourceful uses that can benefit every aspect of our daily lives from this one humble and misunderstood plant, and the facts can't be denied any longer. I think I see a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.
Seek the Facts, Confront the Truth and Pass it On.
