US only developed country not cultivating industrial hemp

[donsu]

http://www.globalhemp.com/News/2005/January/hemp-push-pits-us-against.php


Hemp push pits U.S. against states, 30 countries

The United States is the only developed nation that does not cultivate industrial hemp as an economic crop, according to a Congressional Resource Service report.

“In all, more than 30 countries in Europe, Asia and North America grow hemp,” concluded the report, “Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity.” In the 1990s, the European Union instituted a subsidy program for hemp fiber production. “The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop,” the report says.

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Farmers worldwide grow hemp commercially for fiber, seed, and oil for use in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including food

U.S. law makes no distinction between cannabis and industrial hemp, and makes it illegal to grow hemp without a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to the CRS, “The DEA has been unwilling to grant licenses for growing small plots of hemp for research purposes,” even when the research is authorized by state law, because the agency believes that this would “send the wrong message to the American public concerning the government s position on drugs.”
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the US oil barons said no and that's that.

[Amich]

1. I did a paper is high school years ago about hemp

my dad had a great book on how much it is used for and how many trees it can take the place of. but of course the government wouldn't like to help out the country by finding out about things that could possibly help it.

[DistantWind88]

2. Can we buy hemp products

from other countries?

[Greyskye]

7. Yes

And there are US sources which have imported hemp products. But damn it makes those most excellent hemp threads expensive! My hemp sweats are my favorites (they were a gift) but I don't know if I could buy them myself at $80 a pop!

[MadHound]

3. True dat'

The diesel motor was originally invented with hempseed oil in mind, thus shutting out dino diesel and dino gas. Those good ol' oil boys couldn't have that.

And I find the DEA's position ridiculous. Every single dope grower fears that the DEA will make hemp legal. For if they did that, and there were fast crops of hemp throughout the land, it would ruin the dope crop within a season. Instant ditch weed.

And it just isn't the oil companies that are resistant to hemp legalization, it is also the paper and cotton industries too. A renewable paper source would kill the timber industry, and would also deal cotton a lethal blow. After all, the original Levis were made from hemp, and were much more durable than the new cotton ones.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Perhaps the prison industry is also (very quietly) opposed?

As you said, it would ruin the cannibis crop, and what percentage of the prison industry is based on marijuana busts?

[Toots]

4. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper

Hemp paper is easier to make lasts way longer and is much cheaper. It doesn't take all the harsh and toxic chemicals needed to break down wood pulp or the immense cost of logging operations. And that is just one of hundreds of uses for hemp that would benefit American society.

[parasim]

6. For the multitude of uses for hemp, check out Jack Herer's book...

I always knew that hemp was an amazing plant (my hemp jeans just do not wear out!) but Jack's The Emperor Wears No Clothes opened my eyes to it's many, many uses and just how important it could be as a solution to our planet's many (man-made) ills...

http://www.jackherer.com/chapter02.html

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We must reiterate our original premise with our challenge to the world to prove us wrong:

If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation;

Then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world's paper and textiles; meeting all of the world's transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time . . .

And that substance is - the same one that did it all before - Cannabis Hemp . . . Marijuana!