Preview

Why Hemp Prduction Should Be Legal in the Us

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1774 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Hemp Prduction Should Be Legal in the Us
Uses of Hemp and its Potential Contributions to the United States
Hemp is a crop that has been used for many things for many years. The fibers are used for things such as clothes, construction materials, paper, carpet, oil, food, cosmetics, food, and many other things. The hemp industry has been around for as long as ten thousand years. There was a piece of hemp fabric found from around eight thousand BC showing its importance to many civilizations throughout the years. Nowadays, hemp is an agricultural commodity in many nations. Canada is known to be one of the largest hemp growers in the world and use it for a large number of industries. Some countries export hemp products all around the world and use it as a vital part of their economy. The United States is among the few countries that does not permit the production of hemp. The value of hemp has gone unrecognized for many years in the U.S. Out of the industrialized countries in the world, the U.S. is the only country to ban the growth of this crop. The legalization of hemp production in The United States would put many farmers back to work as well as create a very ecological and environmentally safe alternative to multiple harmful industries.
From when Europeans first came to North America till the Middle of the nineteenth century, hemp was grown all over. Its availability was useful for many families and companies. Hemp was also grown by two of our first presidents because of its versatility and efficient uses. The Declaration of independence was in fact, written on hemp paper. Hemp was actually a required crop in the Colonial times. It became a commodity and was an overall great use of land. The name “cannabis” comes from a variation of “canvas” because of hemps use in sails for boats.
Before cotton, hemp was very common in forms of fibers which could be used for twine, paper and many other things. Once people came out with cotton gins and other very efficient ways to harvest and make fabric out of



References: Bourrie, M. (2003). Hemp: A Short History of the Most Misunderstood Plant and its Uses and Abuses. Firefly Books. Edmonton, A. (2009, October 31). Unconventional Crop - hemp - could sprout new industry. Troy Media. Retrieved October 29, 2010, from Unconventional crop – hemp – could sprout new industry Read more: Unconventional crop – hemp – could sprout new industry | Troy Media Corporation http://www.troymedia.com/?p=4791#ixzz14R5QAUP7 Mass, E. (2009, May). Hemp: The New, Old Fiber Makes a Comeback for Clothes, Fabrics and Home Furnishings. Natural Life, 127, 36-38. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from EBSCO database. Small, E. and D. Marcus. 2002. Hemp: A new crop with new uses for North America. p. 284–326. In: J. Janick and A. Whipkey (eds.), Trends in new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Throughout history, marijuana “has been used for medicinal purposes all over the world” (Online Pot Organization, 2008). The oldest recorded use of marijuana was about 5000 years ago in China. “In the Chinese culture, one of the earliest uses of hemp was for “absentmindedness”” (Online Pot Organization, 2008). Other cultures used marijuana for pain, anxiety, hilarity, menstrual cycle induction (in women), and to make clothing and paper. Furthermore, “ancient Iranian literature implies that the hemp plant was used as an oil source” (Online Pot Organization, 2008). Marijuana is truly a substance that is versatile and useful in a number of ways.…

    • 2050 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    As the issue of legalizing marijuana remains complicated and highly controversial, a lesser-known yet increasingly significant side effect continues to transpire in the background: the suppression of its incredibly useful and diverse distant cousin, industrial hemp. Both marijuana and hemp have a long history in the United States. Unfortunately, because both plants are from the cannabis species, hemp was pigeonholed into a “dangerous drug” classification along with marijuana, representing the beginning of the end for hemp as a major agricultural asset to the United States. Industrial hemp contains no psychotropic qualities that create a “high” like marijuana. Considering that hemp’s unique qualities can help solve some of our country’s major problems, it becomes increasingly ridiculous that it remains off limits due to ignorance and poor lawmaking. The United States government needs to create a legal distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp. The time is now to fully legalize and endorse the cultivation of industrial hemp for the benefit of this country, its people, and the planet as whole.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hemp Through the Years

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hemp provides the world with eco-friendly, efficient products such as fuel, clothing, and medicine. (Thesis)…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana inherits its name from Mexico, although it has a past steeped with global tradition. Long before its U.S. debut, marijuana was widely used, and popular among, some of the world’s earliest civilizations. History documents show that the fiber-rich cannabis plant was used to produce rope and woven fabrics around 7000 B.C. in Central and South Asia. Additionally, it was referenced in Chinese manuscripts dating back to 2700 B.C. and ancient Indian scriptures have attributed medicinal properties to it. After being used by half of the world for nearly 8,000 years, marijuana traditionally reached North America with Christopher Columbus in 1492 A.D. Initially, cannabis was only used to make industrial goods; its recreational use in America didn’t become popular until the early 20th century. It wasn’t until then that the misunderstandings about cannabis truly began to popup. The recreational use of marijuana soon became considered as harmful as cocaine or heroin. However, it has never led to a single case of human death from overdose in its entire history. This is a sharp contrast to the heavy mortality rate of its supposed counterparts. Nonetheless, the use and cultivation of the cannabis plant was made illegal at…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hemp Research Paper

    • 2028 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “Hemp is one of the oldest domesticated crops known to man. It has been used for paper, textiles, and cordage for thousands of years.” (Hempsters pg. 1) However, none of this matters because hemp is a cannabis which means that it falls under the same laws as marijuana even though they are two very different plants. And though marijuana, for medical and some recreational uses, has started making breakthroughs on state laws and some federal laws while hemp has barely broken through state laws. But both are still both illegal according to federal law. However, hemp could essentially become a cash crop for the United States if it were legalized to be grown…

    • 2028 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    There is a large amount of confusion about the distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp. Hemp is an actual plant that is native to Asia. It can be used for many purposes. The hemp plant is most commonly used for extraction of the drug marijuana. Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant, also known as Cannabis sativa. It is typically smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints), cigars (blunts), pipes, or water pipes (bongs). The active ingredient in marijuana is THC, which is responsible for the potency and effects of marijuana intoxication. Now that I have discussed the definition of marijuana, lets look at the meaning of industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is legal to grow in 29 countries worldwide (including all G7 nations except the USA) and is explicitly exempt from international drug treaties, under which it need not be subject to stricter regulations than spinach or tomatoes. Growing hemp for horticultural purposes is also exempt in the United States. Usually, varieties of cannabis are grown for fiber and seed and have less than 1% THC compared to the 2%-20% THC levels in marijuana. The high amount of CBD which…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Decriminalization of cannabis will permit large scale production of hemp. Hemp features a wide range of practical uses. As a raw material, hemp can provide up to 40% of its stem to be used for the production of high-quality fibre with applicable uses in paper and car manufacturing. There is also the possibility hemp will have a role in land remediation of heavy metals like lead and arsenic (Dev of Hemp). The industrial and agricultural production of hemp has very promising outlook if made available through…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hemp Benefits

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hemp not only plays an important role in the medical field, but also in industries, such as clothing and fuel. Ed Mass, author of the book Hemp, introduces hemp can be utilized to make higher quality clothes and are the main component of liquid fuel and gasoline (Mass). Good material should not be buried under laws and remain unused. Since hemp is very valuable to human, it should be strongly supported. Furthermore, people should have the ability to purchase outfits that are made with hemp and drivers deserve the freedom to choose hemp-made fuel. Basically, by illegalizing hemp, government violates humans’ liberty because farmers should have right to grow plants that are beneficial. The government cannot prohibit planting of hemp, and instead…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Legalization Of Hemp

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hemp was vastly grown in the United States dating back from the colonial period (Mass). As a matter of fact, the oldest relic of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric that dates back to around 8,000 BC (Mass) Presidents Jefferson and Washington both grew hemp and Ben Franklin owned a hemp mill (Mass). The fact that these men contributed to such industry proves the potential this strand has to offer. The Declaration of Independence was actually drafted on hemp paper by President Jefferson (Mass). Hemp was well trusted during the Colonial Era and the Early Republic when many relied on ships for the transportation of goods. The word “canvass” which is important for sails, ropes, and ships was actually derived from “cannabis” (Mass). Fabrics fine and course as well as twine and paper made from hemp were of ordinary use. Fabrics created from hemp are highly durable as well as degradation resistant and unlike synthetic fibers, hemp is also biodegradable (Mass). Clothing made from hemp is resistant from fostering odors even after multiple days because it is actually an anti-bacterial (Mass). As opposed to crops such as cotton, hemp doesn’t debilitate the soil and hemp plants cast off their leaves during the entire growing season which adds rich organic matter to the soil which assists with holding moisture (Mass). Mass quantities of…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apparently, there are over 50 000 uses of hemp everything from food, body, paper, building materials, hemp even has the ability to be used as fuel as it can be used to create biofuels to replace gasoline – just to name a few. As well as having a nutritunal, health…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana has been used for achieving the feeling of euphoria since ancient times (“History of Marijuana”). This drug was brought from Asia to Europe at least as early as A.D. 500. People had been smoking marijuana around the world, dating back as far as 2737 B.C. China (“Historical Timeline”). The Spanish brought it to America in 1545, and the English arrived with it in Jamestown in 1611, where it became a major commercial crop, eventually replaced in the American south by cotton (Miller). Marijuana, then known as hemp, was a principal crop at Mount Vernon and a secondary crop at Monticello (“History of Marijuana in America”). They grew it primarily for use as hemp rope, but there is some evidence that they were aware of its hallucinogenic properties as well (“Common Menu Bar Links”). People believed it enhanced their mind, and was used as a remedy for earache, edema, and inflammation (“History of Marijuana Use: Medical and Intoxicant”). Marijuana was first used in the U.S. for medical purposes in the 1800's. “Although marijuana had been around for a long time, widespread use of marijuana as a recreational drug did not become widespread until alcohol was banned during the Prohibition Era (1920 – 1933). Before that time period, marijuana had been used in the Americas for hundreds of years as a medicine. Once the federal government banned alcohol, marijuana took its place as the recreational drug of choice and its use soared.” After alcohol was legal again, use of marijuana sharply declined (“Why Marijuana Became…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hemp Argument

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page

    For almost 2,000 years, a fiber from hemp has been made into a durable paper that is made into paper money, and even drafting the U.S. Constitution. (McDermott) It is far quicker and sustainable than regular wood pulp. The cannabis plant also grows extremely fast, allowing it to be harvested several times a year and produce four times more fiber than the cutting down of old growth forests. This makes hemp the earth’s number one biomass resource. Because hemp is very high in biomass it can be used to make an ideal source of ethanol and biodiesel, which is capable of fueling engines without generating harmful atmospheric gases. (Torres) It could also be put towards producing gasoline and diesel to provide a solution to the fossil fuel shortage…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Up until 1883, cannabis hemp was the most widely cultivated crop in the world. Most fabrics, paper, lighting oils and other fibres were derived from cannabis hemp. The first paper mills in the United States turned out hemp paper. As a matter of fact the United States Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. The first “marijuana laws” in the United States actually ordered farmers to grow cannabis hemp. Present day hemp has countless uses and applications, it’s broad uses include: fabrics, biodegradable plastics, construction (cement and insulation), food, body products and even bio-fuel. As a raw material hemp is carbon-negative. It should also be noted that from the 1850s up until the 1900s, about half of all pharmaceuticals in the United States contained cannabis and cannabis hemp extracts. While hemp does not produce usable amounts of THC, other cannabinoids are still present in the oil extracts of hemp which are of medicinal value. Unfortunately, the production of hemp is not allowed in the United States because it still classifies as…

    • 2068 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Legalize Hemp

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages

    If farmers are allowed to start growing hemp, many of them will also grow marijuana, and the drug problem will gradually recede. For instance in our country a single farmer needs a plot of one hectar sown with any of the industrial cultures in order to just cover the costs of his labour on that very same plot. It is counter productive both in economical and social aspect.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    amendment 64

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Twenty First century starts with a time to remember; Colorado passed Amendment 64. Amendment 64 has been in the making for an extended length of time. Bringing history up to date behind the legalization of marijuana, hemp or cannabis. Beginning in 1549, Angolan slaves brought Marijuana; referred to as cannabis, with them to the sugar plantations of North-Eastern Brazil. Allowing the slaves to farm the cannabis plants in open space, with the rows of sugar cane, slaves were also allowed to smoke the plant between harvests. Since Europeans were much aware of the vast uses and benefits of cannabis hemp, it became a large crop in the United States. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp crop at their homes. In the 1800s, British medical persons had begun experimenting with the medical aspects of marijuana. The use of a marijuana tincture, a mixture of alcohol and THC, used to induce appetite for those with addiction problems. Then in 1913, California enforced its first marijuana prohibition law, which criminalized hemp and its products, otherwise known as “loco-weed.” In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act had passed, but the act itself did not criminalize the possession or use of hemp, marijuana, or cannabis but it levied a tax of One dollar on anyone who dealt commercially. In order to be a producer of marijuana or any cannabis product, the government required you to purchase a special tax stamp that allowed you to grow the product; however the government was not issuing any of these stamps which meant that any possession, growth, or use; illegal.(Administrator, 2014) Amendment 64 does away with all legal penalties for personal possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and up to six marijuana plants for the home growers.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics