Wednesday, January 20, 2010

You Cannot Get High By Smoking Hemp!

Hemp forests can grow in under a year - making this an extremely sustainable textile - if only we could produce it.


My partner Melissa and I really would love to use hemp in some of our products. The issue - we are committed to manufacturing in the USA of components in the USA and hemp is banned in the USA.

Hemp is the subject of worldwide controversy that involves farmers, government enforcement agencies, environmentalists, supporters of legalized drugs, and manufacturers of textile, food and paper products. The controversy stems from the fact that the hemp plant, "Cannabis sativa" comes in several varieties, one of which is the marijuana plant. The growing of hemp was banned in the United States in 1937. The ban made no distinction between the two kinds of hemp. Industrial hemp used for textiles contains only about 0.3% THC as opposed to 2% THC in marijuana. THC is the potentially psychoactive chemical in marijuana and is not presently, nor historically, found in significant quantities in the hemp plant. You cannot get high smoking hemp, and it would be almost impossible to inhale because of its harshness. Industrial hemp has no illicit use, and many activists’ state that hemp is the equivalent of nonalcoholic beer.
read more at http://www.fabrics.net/amyhemp.asp

Hemp has an amazing ability to absorb moisture, it's sustainable, biodegradable and psychoactive free - so why is it that hemp - one of the most baby friendly fabrics available - cannot be manufactured in the USA?

I had heard about marijuana being legal in California. I was in Venice last week and I was absolutely astounded that there were pot pharmacies on every corner. I felt like I was in another country. If pot is legal, why the flig flam flog can't I get some domestically sourced hemp?



California is the first state that would directly challenge the federal ban on hemp, arguing that it does not need a D.E.A. permit.
read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/28hemp.html?ex=1314417600&en=0acff81da4fb87ac&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

This doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why for $150 can anyone in California buy a marijuana "prescription" but a truly sustainable fiber made from a cousin of the marijuana plant is illegal?

Who wants to be a lobbyist?

2 comments:

Mom's Place said...

How stinkin' frustrating!

Unknown said...

I would! I love hemp! My hubby and I were just dicussing this. Hemp is such an amazing fabric, and shoudl be available to the US to grow. The law needs to be updated!