We Need To Grow Hemp

Congressman Ron Paul introduced H.R. 1831, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011" on May 11th of this year. It is a simple bill at just two pages in length, and it would legalize the growing of industrial hemp in the United States.

Currently farmers can grow industrial hemp only if they have received a permit from the DEA - a prospect that the agency has made all but impossible for decades. Otherwise, it is illegal to grow.

Although Rep. Paul has introduced several bills like this one in the past, there are several reasons that this bill should be passed now. Hemp has an amazing number of uses. Its fiber can be used in carpeting, home furnishings, construction materials, auto parts, textiles, and paper. Its seeds can be used in food, industrial oils, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. There are assertions, reported by The Guardian and in Biodiesel Magazine that using industrial hemp in biofuels instead of crops like corn and other feedstock provide greater environmental benefits. The expansion of industrial hemp as a feedstock for biofuels could also help to reduce oil imports.

Not only does hemp have a wide range of uses, but its cultivation in the United States could help to spur our lagging economy. Since the cultivation of hemp is outlawed in the United States, the U.S. market for hemp and hemp-based products is entirely dependent upon imports. A 2010 Congressional Research Service report cited an estimate that the U.S. market for hemp-based products may exceed $350 million annually.


NOTE:

The mere thought of Cannabis sativa excites the emotions, bringing wellness to many, fear & loathing to others.

Hemp was first domesticated by the Chinese around 2800 BC.

It was considered such an important healing, medicinal plant with numerous industrial uses, that the early American Colonists enacted a Virginia law in 1619 which REQUIRED HEMP PRODUCTION for all farmers. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were Cannabis farmers.

How we've slipped from those earlier enlightened times when Hemp was the world's leading crop, to the dismal state of falsehoods spread about this herbal plant today is a twisted, winding true tale of intrigue, lies and special interests which include William Randolph Hearst, Dupont Chemicals, Timber and petroleum interests.

The House Ways and Means Committee secretly slipped the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act Bill into effect. Believe it or not, the American Medical Association was so outraged that they aggressively fought this legislation for two years before realizing the special interests, who gained from this tax, were too strong for them.

We can anticipate a stormy battle over this Super Food and medicinal plant for some time to come. But nothing to stop us from enjoying it's health benefits now, minus THC.

Hemp products are legal to purchase and use in the United States, but current federal laws prohibit growing it because of protected special interests. While our economy collapses some states are passing laws to grow and sell all forms of Cannabis sativa, within their state, in order to boost their sagging economies.