Facts About Hemp - The True Story

Hemp Seed Oil: The Green Gold Mine of Essential Fatty Acids

For thousands of years the Cannabis plant has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes throughout the world. Hemp has been used in China since 4,000 B.C.

Hemp has innumerable uses: rope, twine, cloth, paper, food, medicine, oil, and more. There has been a resurgence in interest in this beneficial plant which has only recently been allowed to flourish in North America, without the interference of politically repressive forces.

The main economic importance of hemp is the fiber, and hemp is often used for rope making, but in history, the seed, either as a paste or as a liniment, was used in folk medicine as a remedy for tumors and cancerous ulcers.

Hemp seed oil contains 57% linoleic (LA) and 19% linolenic (LNA) acids and antioxidants in the form of vitamin E and carotene. Phytosterols, phospholipids, as well as a number of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, sulfur, potassium and phosphorus are also found in the oil.

The Hemp Plant

You may be wondering why you would choose clothing made from hemp over clothing made from "traditional" fabrics. For one thing, hemp is as traditional a fabric as you can find. The hemp plant is the oldest cultivated fiber plant known, with a history of use in textiles and fabrics dating back as far as 8000 BC. The reasons for hemp's continued popularity throughout ten millenia are still applicable today, and are the basis for the renewed interest in its cultivation and use.

• The hemp plant produces the strongest natural fiber known. Hemp fabric is three times stronger than cotton fabric of the same weight; it is also warmer, more absorbent, and longer wearing.

• A crop of hemp requires no application of herbicides. With a density of 200 to 300 plants per square meter, there is no available room or light for weeds to grow.

• The hemp plant also has no need of pesticides. It has no known insect enemies and is also highly resistant to disease.

Hemp Products 

Over 25,000 practical products can be produced from hemp--anything from "dynamite to Cellophane", according to an article in the February 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics. In fact, nearly all petroleum-based products, including plastics, could be made as hemp-based products, and with less impact on the enviroment.

• Cellulose fiber obtained from hemp plants can be used to produce paint, PVC pipe, and many durable building materials.

• It can also be used to make paper. One acre of hemp yields an amount of cellulose, available for processing into paper, equal to the yield of 4.1 acres of trees.

• The hemp seed contains one of the most complete and 'readily available' vegetable proteins known, and hemp seed oil is lower in saturated fats than any other vegetable oil including soybean and canola.

Hemp Politics

For the past sixty years in the United States, there has been a gulf between scientific opinion and legislative opinion concerning hemp. However, the past two years have provided many reasons to believe that the tide of opinion is turning. The legalization of industrial hemp in Canada is an obvious example; the issue is also being debated in several US state legislatures with promising results.

To find out how such a beneficial and useful plant came to be outlawed, take a look at our Timeline of Misinformation, which presents some of the key events that led to the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

A Great Book on Hemp: The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer

Jack Herer has a written a terrific book that covers all aspects of hemp, including the many benefits, the many uses and the history of the hemp industry in the US and throughout the world. His website, www.jackherer.com is definitely worth checking out, and his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, is a must-read.

The Final Word

The world consumption of natural and synthetic fiber based products is increasing at the rate of 4% to 6% per year. In the last 50 years, mankind has cut down 50% of the world's forests. The human population is expected to double by the year 2050.

Preserving the status quo by continuing reliance on timber- and petroleum-based products is not a sustainable situation. New ideas and new options are needed, and we believe that the production and use of industrial hemp is an idea whose time has come.