Article: Hemp Economics
Lets start out with the history behind the economic benefits of hemp (non high producing marijuana plant);
So let’s start by clearing up a few myths about hemp, marijuana, and the men who ran society in the 18th century.Myth 1: The Framers loved marijuana. In reality, the word “marijuana” or “marihuana” cropped up in the late 1890s, according to research at Kingston University in the United Kingdom. The Founders knew the plant as hemp.Myth 2: The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are written on hemp paper.The two great documents were written on parchment. The point of debate is that some working drafts of the documents might have been composed on paper made from hemp, which was widely used in that time period.Myth 3: The Founders smoked hemp. If they did smoke hemp, they likely didn’t get high from it, since the type of hemp they grew had very low levels of THC, the active ingredient that causes euphoria.Here’s one quote commonly attributed to Thomas Jefferson that our friends at Monticello debunked on their website.Quotation: “Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see.”Status: “This statement has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. … Thomas Jefferson did grow hemp, but there is no evidence to suggest that Jefferson was a habitual smoker of hemp, tobacco, or any other substance.”
Hemp was a crop that dated back to the early English days in Colonial America. It was used to make rope and canvas products for ships, cloth for fabric, and pulp for paper.George Washington wrote about growing hemp on his lands. We can’t confirm reports that Ben Franklin used hemp at his paper mills.It seems doubtful that Washington and Jefferson grew hemp for recreational enjoyment. Now, for John Adams, there is a mysterious quote that comes from a column he wrote in several Boston newspapers.Adams was a big fan of hemp as a multipurpose crop.
Hemp was a crop that dated back to the early English days in Colonial America. It was used to make rope and canvas products for ships, cloth for fabric, and pulp for paper.George Washington wrote about growing hemp on his lands. We can’t confirm reports that Ben Franklin used hemp at his paper mills.It seems doubtful that Washington and Jefferson grew hemp for recreational enjoyment. Now, for John Adams, there is a mysterious quote that comes from a column he wrote in several Boston newspapers.Adams was a big fan of hemp as a multipurpose crop.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that he supports the decriminalization of marijuana possession and the legalization of medical marijuana, and suggested that he's also open to considering further reforms when it comes to recreational marijuana.
"Let me just say this," Sanders began in response to a question about his position on the war on drugs during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" style interview. "The state of Vermont voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana and I support that. I have supported the use of medical marijuana. And when I was mayor of Burlington, in a city with a large population, I can tell you very few people were arrested for smoking marijuana. Our police had more important things to do."
With regard to full marijuana legalization, Sanders said he will look to Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, to see the effects of such a policy change. Colorado was the first state to legalize the drug for recreational purposes. It's now fully legal in four states and in Washington, D.C., though sales remain banned in the District.
Articles From Salon:
The rest of this post is a collage of benefits from hemp showing how versatile and beneficial even non THC based hemp can be for our country and economy. (Non-THC means it can't get a person high and thus should have no logical problems for full production especially when we take into account it's help in winning WW2.)
Hemp helped us win WW2!;
Hemp is a fast growing crop that can literally create whole new industries, boosting the economy on many fronts from paper to textiles to medicines and cars. Rather than growing trees for years to cut for paper we can grow hemp which literally grows like a weed and we could have a crop ready for paper making in a few months. The economy and wealth that can be derived from this one plant is just mind boggling. See a full list below the video.
Houses Made of Hemp
People are making houses with hemp all the time nowadays. Here are a couple of examples: Video 1 and Video 2.
Hemp can be used to make paper (thus saving the rain-forests), plastics and non-toxic medicine...
Links:
Private businesses can use hemp for paper products
More about hemp paper
Private business making plastic hemp products
More about hemp plastics
Private business making textile products with hemp
Private business making textile products with organically grown hemp
More examples of private business making money from hemp products
Hemp winter wear
Private businesses can use hemp for paper products
More about hemp paper
Private business making plastic hemp products
More about hemp plastics
Private business making textile products with hemp
Private business making textile products with organically grown hemp
More examples of private business making money from hemp products
Hemp winter wear
Hemp Can Be Used To Make Plastic Stronger Than Steel, Paper, Textiles, Oil, Non-Toxic Medicine, Cement... & Tornado Shelters! (It's the miracle crop for our age)
Some materials have been around so long, and seem to have appeared on the world scene so suddenly, that you have to be open to the possibility that they may have been cultivated and used a long time ago (i.e. before recorded history). In particular I'm talking about that plant that got a bad name because of a slander campaign by an ancient american logging company.
Here is a little about hemp (the marijuana plant) from a textile type website:
The first use of hemp fibre dates well back into the mists of time and is one of the first plants known to have been cultivated. About 10,000 years ago, hemp industries appeared simultaneously in China and Eurasia for the production of a textile fibre. One of the oldest known relics of human industry is a trace of hemp fabric from about 8000BC in the “Cradle of Civilisation” at Catal Huyuk (Ancient Mesopotamia).
Hemp has played a vital role for humanity for many thousands of years, supplying the worlds strongest natural fibre, used for rope, clothing, sail cloth, and many other uses including being a vital food source - the seed oil is very high in the nutritionally valuable omega 3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
The United States of America’s founding fathers were strong advocates of a hemp-based economy for their new country. In fact, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers. In 1871 Thomas Jefferson said, “Hemp is of first necessity to commerce and marine”. In other words, to the wealth and protection of the country, today few people realise that hemp was once so vital to world commerce.
The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper, as were most of the books of the time. The first Levi’s were constructed of recycled hemp sailcloth for the California '49ers with steel rivets so that the pockets would not rip when filled with gold. Many famous artists such as Van Gogh also painted some of their greatest works on hemp canvas.
Here is a little about hemp (the marijuana plant) from a textile type website:
The first use of hemp fibre dates well back into the mists of time and is one of the first plants known to have been cultivated. About 10,000 years ago, hemp industries appeared simultaneously in China and Eurasia for the production of a textile fibre. One of the oldest known relics of human industry is a trace of hemp fabric from about 8000BC in the “Cradle of Civilisation” at Catal Huyuk (Ancient Mesopotamia).
Hemp has played a vital role for humanity for many thousands of years, supplying the worlds strongest natural fibre, used for rope, clothing, sail cloth, and many other uses including being a vital food source - the seed oil is very high in the nutritionally valuable omega 3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
The United States of America’s founding fathers were strong advocates of a hemp-based economy for their new country. In fact, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers. In 1871 Thomas Jefferson said, “Hemp is of first necessity to commerce and marine”. In other words, to the wealth and protection of the country, today few people realise that hemp was once so vital to world commerce.
The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper, as were most of the books of the time. The first Levi’s were constructed of recycled hemp sailcloth for the California '49ers with steel rivets so that the pockets would not rip when filled with gold. Many famous artists such as Van Gogh also painted some of their greatest works on hemp canvas.
A pretty good article on hemp/marijuana and its uses is located here. The following are a few random extracts:
One important potential use for hemp is the production of paper. From 75 to 90 percent of all paper in the world was made with hemp fiber until 1883: the Gutenberg bible (15th century), Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (19th century) and just about everything in between was printed on hemp paper.
An acre of hemp produces 4.1 times as much paper as an acre of trees. Hemp can also be harvested every year while trees take 20 years or more to grow to harvest. Since hemp builds topsoil, it can be grown on the same acre of land year after year. Many acres of forest could be saved by industrial cultivation of hemp for paper alone.
Practical, inexpensive fire-resistant construction material, with excellent thermal and sound-insulating qualities, can be made by heating and compressing plant fibers to create strong construction paneling. This paneling could replace dry wall and plywood. Hemp is a logical choice for such a purpose. C&S Specialty Builder's Supply near Eugene, Oregon, in conjunction with Washington State University, has demonstrated the superior strength flexibility and economy of hemp composite building materials compared to wood fiber - even in the production of beams.
On another front, using hemp as a biomass fuel could eliminate our dependence on imported fossil fuels. A study completed in the early l990s at the University of Hawaii found that biomass gasification could meet 90 percent of that state's energy needs. Biomass can be converted into virtually every form of energy used, including methanol to power automobiles. Since methanol is a cleaner fuel than petro-based fuels, this would lead to reduced auto emissions.
One important potential use for hemp is the production of paper. From 75 to 90 percent of all paper in the world was made with hemp fiber until 1883: the Gutenberg bible (15th century), Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (19th century) and just about everything in between was printed on hemp paper.
An acre of hemp produces 4.1 times as much paper as an acre of trees. Hemp can also be harvested every year while trees take 20 years or more to grow to harvest. Since hemp builds topsoil, it can be grown on the same acre of land year after year. Many acres of forest could be saved by industrial cultivation of hemp for paper alone.
Practical, inexpensive fire-resistant construction material, with excellent thermal and sound-insulating qualities, can be made by heating and compressing plant fibers to create strong construction paneling. This paneling could replace dry wall and plywood. Hemp is a logical choice for such a purpose. C&S Specialty Builder's Supply near Eugene, Oregon, in conjunction with Washington State University, has demonstrated the superior strength flexibility and economy of hemp composite building materials compared to wood fiber - even in the production of beams.
On another front, using hemp as a biomass fuel could eliminate our dependence on imported fossil fuels. A study completed in the early l990s at the University of Hawaii found that biomass gasification could meet 90 percent of that state's energy needs. Biomass can be converted into virtually every form of energy used, including methanol to power automobiles. Since methanol is a cleaner fuel than petro-based fuels, this would lead to reduced auto emissions.
According to the UNICEF report State of the World's Children, a child dies every 2.3 seconds as a result of malnutrition. According to the Institute for Food and Development Policy, twenty million children die of malnutrition every year. These numbers are staggering, and are on the rise. Here again, hemp can come to the rescue.
When hemp is grown for seed, half the weight of the mature, harvested female plant is seed! Hemp is also a hearty plant that flourishes in almost all climates and in marginal soils. This means it could be grown in poor countries to provide food where it is most needed. Australians survived two prolonged famines in the 19th century using almost nothing except hemp seeds for protein and hemp leaves for roughage.
No other single plant source can compare with the nutritional value of hemp seeds. Both the complete protein and essential oils contained in hemp seeds are in ideal ratios for human nutrition.
Hemp is a disease-resistant weed and grows easily compared to other crops. Food crops are disrupted by drought but hemp actually helps soils alleviate droughts. It sets the standard in retaining topsoil and re-foliating arid land.
Hemp can also be used for the production of cloth spun from its fiber. Hemp cloth is softer, warmer, more water absorbent, stronger and more durable than cotton. The well-known clothing manufacturer Patagonia has found that hemp has eight times the tensile strength and has four times the durability of cotton.
The possibilities represented by hemp cultivation are tantalizing: reduce or eliminate deforestation, free us from dependence on fossil fuel and their damaging by-products, and provide a positive impact on chronic world hunger.
You have seen what damage a tornado or hurricane can do to a house made of wood (well, in the States they use a sort of light wood mix of something or the other - it is so light that if you walk through one of their mass produced houses you can feel wooden boards in the house creek and walls shake with your footsteps). Most houses are built to be cost effective and then insurance is expected to cover expected statistical damages in times of good weather or bad weather (a cycle which tends to go up and down, [see the graphs/actuary tables]).
Hemp/low THC marijuana, is easy AND fast to grow.
The best part is you can make a plastic lighter and stronger than steel. If you made a properly secured house of proper building materials, a tree hitting the house will simply fall down after hitting it. And depending of the level of strength of the house, most tornados and hurricanes will have no effect.
Ford developed a car made just from hemp (and it was stronger than a regular car! - Click here to watch video)
A steel car gets more dented than a hemp car! Imagine hemp made storm and tornado shelters made of hemp plastic that is stronger than steel. Regular Storm or Tornado Shelters 1. http://www.survive-a-storm.com/ and, 2. http://okstormshelters.com/
You have seen what damage a tornado or hurricane can do to a house made of wood (well, in the States they use a sort of light wood mix of something or the other - it is so light that if you walk through one of their mass produced houses you can feel wooden boards in the house creek and walls shake with your footsteps). Most houses are built to be cost effective and then insurance is expected to cover expected statistical damages in times of good weather or bad weather (a cycle which tends to go up and down, [see the graphs/actuary tables]). Hemp/low THC marijuana, is easy AND fast to grow. The best part is you can make a plastic lighter and stronger than steel. If you made a properly secured house of proper building materials, a tree hitting the house will simply fall down after hitting it. And depending of the level of strength of the house, most tornados and hurricanes will have no effect.
Hemp can even be used as a bio-fuel!
A more in depth look;
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