the question of industrial hemp

[DerekWilson]

but its still not legal?

For those of you who don't know, industrial hemp is related to marijuana as both are species in the Cannabis genus. Hemp contains negligible amounts of THC and cannot get you high. In fact, it has a high content of a compound called CBD that actually counteracts the effects of THC. No other country in the world treats hemp like a drug and yet is is banned from being grown in America.

We, in fact, are a major importer of hemp in spite of the fact that we do not allow our farmers to grow it.

Hemp, through the history of the world, has had a great many applications, but it is now being looked at as a source of ethanol and produces more energy per acre per year than either corn or sugar.

Everyone I've spoken with about it no matter what side of the drug war issue they are on agrees that legalizing hemp would be nothing but a good thing for our country.

So why isn't it being done?

 

[miketheidiot]

lobbyists, pretty much

 

[DerekWilson]

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
lobbyists, pretty much

yeah, i've heard the cotton lobby doesn't like hemp ...

but still ... it seems craptabulous that lobbyists should get their way when there is virtually no popular support for their position.

i get that the average citizen isn't motivated enough about hemp to do anything (there certainly are better things to worry about these days), but there is a push in the public to allow industrial hemp ... shouldn't a lack of popular support for ban an on hemp combined with at least a little vocal popular support for legalizing it be enough to override the lobbyists? shouldn't our politicians care more about the people they represent and what they care about?

i've seen a lot of complaining about lobbyists ... but not many people have suggestions on how to deal with the problems they create without compensating for the function they serve.

 

[XZeroII]

Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

 

[Lemon law]

This thread totally misses the target, the scary, it least for the anti drug crowd, active ingredient in hemp is and remains THC which is a drug. Other wise hemp is a useful fiber that has a wide range of chemical, industrial, and commercial uses.

The point is that hemp as a plant can be bred to produce almost no THC, or with genetic engineering and plant breeding, can alternately be bred to produce large amounts of THC.
Breed the former and not the latter is a best of all worlds alternative. And criminalize only the latter.

But the force of paranoia is strong in the USA. That too is a drug that clouds the mind.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

I honestly don't understand it either. It can't be smoked and has no medicinal or recreational value.. there are better materials for making rope. There's not enough land for any biofuel to sustain our transportation needs* Why would anyone give a rats ass about industrial hemp except as some kind of back door into marijuana legalization?




*I just pulled this out of my ass, but it feels true.. truthiness, steven colbert style.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: DerekWilson
So why isn't it being done?

One guess is that the industries that use it are perfectly happy to import it.

If they thought a USA crop would be to their advantage I'd guess they'd have their lobbyists at work making it happen.

Another guess is that it's pretty low on the radar screen, what with Iraq, gas prices, health care etc.

Fern

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

I honestly don't understand it either. It can't be smoked and has no medicinal or recreational value.. there are better materials for making rope. There's not enough land for any biofuel to sustain our transportation needs* Why would anyone give a rats ass about industrial hemp except as some kind of back door into marijuana legalization?




*I just pulled this out of my ass, but it feels true.. truthiness, steven colbert style.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because if you think hemp is only useful for rope, then you are a dope.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Maybe, but what IS hemp useful for and why is it so much preferable to whatever alternatives are being used now? Who is losing out from industrial hemp being illegal?

edit: I've seen hemp clothing at various headshops and I wasn't impressed by the quality that I would choose it over cotton.. That would have more to do with manufacturer of the specific items though I think.

 

[miketheidiot]

simple fact is that there is no reason for it to be illegal.

If farmers want to grow it and they can do it profitably, they should be able to.

 

[Drift3r]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

 

[Drako]

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

Um, no the Declaration of Independance was written on parchment, but nice try. Maybe some hippies made hemp copies of it later 🙂.

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

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ole Drift3r might be on to something if hemp could become an oil substitute. It is rich in oil.

 

[sandorski]

It's easier to grow than Cotton and can be grown practically anywhere. That's one advantage. As for quality, perhaps if Hemp had remained common new processes and even hybrid plants could have provided more favourable qualities.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Because it's an inexpensive, renewable, non-toxic viable alternative base material for a lot of products, including paper, fabrics and much more.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

Maybe back when nothing better was around, but again we have much better alternatives to every one of those items.

And no, the DoI was not written on hemp.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Because it's an inexpensive, renewable, non-toxic viable alternative base material for a lot of products, including paper, fabrics and much more.

Once you take processing and manufacturing into account, it's no better than any alternative. It's not like they just flatten it out and WAM! you have paper. They still add all sorts of other chemicals and such. This causes the price to increase to the same as everything else and just as toxic.

 

[Drift3r]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

Maybe back when nothing better was around, but again we have much better alternatives to every one of those items.

And no, the DoI was not written on hemp.

My bad the drafts were done on hemp paper.. 😛 The final was done on parchment.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: DerekWilson
So why isn't it being done?

Because people keep voting for jackasses instead of politicians who have enough integrity to stand up and tell the truth.

Obama even, at one point in time, supported decriminalization of marijuana. Then pressure got to him and he tossed his integrity out the window.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

Maybe back when nothing better was around, but again we have much better alternatives to every one of those items.

And no, the DoI was not written on hemp.

we have better options than wool and cotton and we still use those too.

no one have given a good reason to ban hemp yet.

 

[EagleKeeper]

One can thank the drug/hippie culture of your parents for making the lawmakers so paraniod.

And as long as MJ is being pushed, hemp will be dragged along in its wake

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy
One can thank the drug/hippie culture of your parents for making the lawmakers so paraniod.

And as long as MJ is being pushed, hemp will be dragged along in its wake

No. Hemp was banned a generation before the Hipies came around.

 

[ericlp]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: DerekWilson
So why isn't it being done?

One guess is that the industries that use it are perfectly happy to import it.

If they thought a USA crop would be to their advantage I'd guess they'd have their lobbyists at work making it happen.

Another guess is that it's pretty low on the radar screen, what with Iraq, gas prices, health care etc.

Fern

Actually no... Dupont, the cotton and the paper industry ... Do not want you to grow it since they all know Hemp is way stronger fiber then cotton. Hemp is much cheaper to produce paper... Why should we continue to chop down trees for toilet paper and newyork times? Why couldn't we save those resources and use hemp fiber instead?

Why should we have to use chemicals that pollute the earth to make nylon rope and tarps when canvas tarps and hemp ropes have been used for years and seem to outlast nylon and they don't pollute!

It's really ALL about the money and the cotton, paper industry have a lot more to BUY errr... Pay the members of congress to vote this way or that...

Don't you get it yet? It's GREED and MONEY! They could care less about you as long as the corrupted system keeps cranking along!

Oh joy!

 

[ericlp]

Originally posted by: Drako

Originally posted by: Drift3r

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Hemp has been used in countless of applications for thousands of years. Which I might add include ropes, sacks, paper, clothing, oil/lubricants etc... Hell the paper on which the The Declaration of Independence was written on was made out of hemp I believe.

Um, no the Declaration of Independance was written on parchment, but nice try. Maybe some hippies made hemp copies of it later 🙂.

Guess again....


Both the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drafted on hemp, and then copied onto parchment.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Just because you can make a car out of glass doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you can make a rope out of hemp doesn't mean that you should.

Why do people get so worked up over this?

Apathy is a pathetic argument, particularly when coming from the side on which the burden of proof lies. You have to prove to people why they can't, not just tell people that they shouldn't (supposedly for their own good, that sounds familiar).

But the reason people "get so worked up" is because they don't like this government interference in the marketplace. It's not that they necessarily want to make rope out of hemp, it's that they don't approve of the government saying they can't.

Lefties nationalize industries, righties outlaw industries based on phony morality. Is there even a difference?