Starting in 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act made all cannabis plants illegal in the United States, which made hemp effectively illegal on a technicality despite it having 0.3 percent or less of the psychoactive substance THC. Then in 1970, during the War on Drugs, the Controlled Substances Act was passed where industrial hemp was made illegal more formally.
Making hemp illegal was an unfortunate move in many ways, as it is a healthy substance for both human consumption and the environment too. Then in recent years, with cannabis legalization at large moving forward in many US states, industrial hemp was finally re-legalized in 2018 with the passing of the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill has only made hemp legal for farmers to grow, so the conditions are limited. It is still illegal to grow hemp in your backyard, for instance. Still, this move forward will likely lead to great things for the world. These ten largely unknown facts about hemp will make you realize just how useful it is. It can be grown both for fiber or seed, making it a highly versatile substance. In fact, this one plant can solve many of the world’s problems all by itself.
1. The environment is happier with hemp than cotton
Growing cotton requires twice as much land as hemp per ton. Conventional cotton also uses 25 percent of pesticides used globally. Hemp, on the other hand, can be grown without using any pesticides. Pesticides pollute the environment, making hemp a much cleaner alternative for making clothes than cotton.
What’s more, cotton also uses 50 percent more water each season than hemp. Hemp actually doesn’t require very much irrigation at all. Cannabis encompasses both the marijuana and hemp plants, which are virtually the same plant, only differing in their THC content. Marijuana is known informally as weed because, like a weed, it is so easy to grow.
Unfortunately, a lot of the world’s cotton is grown in places where there isn’t a lot of water to begin with, like in Texas, certain dry regions of China, and Egypt. This means an irrigation system must be put in place to transport water to the cotton plants, which requires energy and creates pollution in the process.
Cotton also requires water to be processed. It takes four times as much water to process cotton as hemp. All in all, using hemp as an alternative to cotton would be much easier on the plant.
2. It’s good for you
Hemp seeds are quite nutritious, even more so than both flax and chia. They contain lots of vitamins A, B, D, and E. They also have many important proteins, fatty acids, and minerals. Hemp seeds are considered a superfood and marvel of nature for its potent antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Interestingly, hemp seeds also contain the same nutrient found in breast milk: gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Hemp oil contains high amounts of both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, so it’s better for you than the majority of vegetable oils too.
3. It enriches the soil
Hemp can grow on a lot of different kinds of terrain and soil because its roots grow deep into the earth. The profundity of its roots helps hold the soil together, augmenting its microbial contentand feeding nutrients back into the earth.
On top of that, the leaves and stems of a hemp plant contain a ton of nutrients as well. What isn’t used when harvested gets redeposited into the soil, further revitalizing the soil. Typically, plants tend to deplete the soil of nutrients, meaning that plants have a harder time growing the following year. Many farmers have to rotate crops every year for this reason, but not hemp. Healthy soil means the yield the next year will not suffer.
A truly amazing thing about hemp is that it can be used to decontaminate both soil and waterwhen industrial accidents and general pollution occurs. When hemp grows in contaminated soil, it can absorb toxins and heavy metals into the plant. It was even used for this purpose after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986.
4. It cleans the air
Aside from being great for the soil, hemp plants can also clean the air. Climate change, caused largely by the large amount of carbon dioxide we produce, is reaching scary levels that threaten to destroy life as we know it on this planet. Hemp can potentially reverse this damage. It absorbs four times more carbon dioxide as trees do. On top of that, it is a sustainable crop because of its short growing cycle and ability to replenish rather than deplete the earth as it grows.
5. It can help us cut back on deforestation
Hemp can be used to make paper, and using hemp to make paper would significantly reduce the world’s deforestation problem. Just one acre of hemp can produce as much paper as four acres of trees. Trees are much harder to replenish than hemp, as they take a lot longer to grow. Making paper with hemp, we would not need to cut down as many forests. In short, hemp can help save the trees.
Hemp can also be used to make other products normally made from wood (building products, for instance), further decreasing our reliance on trees so we can leave them intact. This would help the earth and the population immensely.
6. It could solve world hunger
Because of how nutritious it is and how sustainable and fast it is to grow, it is completely feasible that hemp could solve world hunger. Hemp is jam-packed with protein, making it the healthiest meat alternative in existence. A lot of world hunger issues are caused by protein-energy malnutrition. In fact, it is the most deadly type of hunger in the world.
By weight, hemp seeds contain nearly the same amount of protein as beef. Thirty grams of hemp seeds, amounting to only two to three tablespoons, provides around 11 grams of protein. On top of that, hemp seeds are also calorie-rich. Countries facing starvation could use hemp as a food staple to solve this problem. This becomes even more feasible knowing that hemp can be grown in a wide range of climates.
7. It can be used as a replacement for plastic
Plastic has become a huge problem on this planet, filling up landfills and the oceans more and more as each year passes. Even more, it takes a lot of fossil fuels to make plastic, so it’s polluting the earth in more ways than just one. With the looming climate change crisis threatening the environment and the health of humans and animals alike, continuing to produce and consume plastic as we do is not a good idea.
That’s where hemp can come in and save the day. The stalks of a hemp plant is a very fibrous material that can be used instead of plastic to make all sorts of things. This includes composite panels things like car parts, doors, window frames, floors, and much more. It also includes everyday items like plastic bottles and containers.
Unfortunately, plastic made from 100 percent hemp is still uncommon. Bioplastics, composite plastics made partially from hemp and other plant materials, are more common, but bioplastics can’t solve the plastic pollution problem the world is facing. However, until fossil fuel subsidies come to an end to keep the production of normal plastic cheap, hemp-based plastic will remain expensive and inaccessible as a viable alternative.
The price of hemp will hopefully come down as countries begin to take action against climate change, and then we can expect to see hemp replace plastics a lot more often. It is already happening to some degree. LEGO has promised to end its reliance on fossil fuels by 2030 and is looking at hemp as an alternative to make its infamous plastic toys.
8. It will not get you high
Marijuana and hemp are both varieties of the cannabis plant, but there is one critical difference between them. Agricultural hemp contains only trace amounts of THC, the natural chemical compound with psychoactive properties that makes users feel “high.” In fact, categorically, hemp can only have up to 0.3 percent THC, which means will not get you high. Marijuana contains lots of THC, which is why it is known for its psychoactive effects.
THC is not the only compound found in cannabis plant varieties, however. Both hemp and marijuana contain another substance called cannabidiol, or CBD. Hemp can contain pretty large quantities of CBD. With the passing of the Farm Bill in 2018 legalizing industrial hemp, CBD derived from hemp became legal along with it.
A variety of CBD products, including CBD oil, gummies, and capsules, are now produced by many companies around the US. Both early scientific research and loads of anecdotal evidence havebrought to light some pretty interesting information about the effects of CBD on the body. Ask any regular CBD user, and they’ll probably rave about both the energetic and relaxing feelings that CBD can bring.
9. It’s a fuel source
Research from the University of Connecticut found that hemp seems to show real potential as a source of sustainable diesel fuel. Part of what makes hemp sustainable is that it is a renewable plant source and it is can grow quickly and in infertile soils, freeing up the primary soil for food crops that need it.
The study used virgin hemp seed oil to create biodiesel fuel. Upon testing it, the hemp-derived biodiesel showed that 97 percent of it was converted to biodiesel and that it could be used at a lower temperature than all other biodiesel fuels we currently use.
The importance of finding renewable energy sources is imperative, as fossil fuels have been a large contributor to the climate change problems the world is facing. Using clean energy will help to keep global temperatures down to avoid future catastrophic climate events, including sea level rise, an increase in natural disasters, and transforming currently habitable regions into places that are no longer suitable for humans to live. Perhaps hemp can play a crucial role in saving the planet as a sustainable, renewable fuel source.
10. It helped the Allied Powers win World War II
In 1939 during World War II, Japan cut off certain American supply chains with Asia. This meant the US no longer could import hemp from the Philippines and India, and by 1942, their supply of bulk war materials was not in good shape. Despite the US prohibiting hemp production starting in 1937, an exception was made out of military desperation.
The government began a program called Hemp for Victory, urging farmers to grow industrial hemp for war supplies, like naval towlines, parachute webbing, and shoelaces. It even included a primer on how to plant, reap, and bundle hemp, plus tips about what equipment to use and how to bind rope. This led to masses of patriotic farmers stepping up to the plate and growing enough industrial hemp to help the Allied Forces defeat the Nazis and the entire Axis of Evil, ending World War II.
Final Thoughts
This list could go on and on. For instance, in 1941, Henry Ford made a car out of hemp, soybean, and plastics. You’d think a car like this would not be very durable, but the opposite was true. Despite being lighter than steel, it could also withstand up to ten times the impact without leaving a dent. Go hemp go!
Many people think of hemp as a miracle crop, and they might just be right. It can be used to make a huge variety of products, including food, clothing, building materials, “plastic,” war supplies, and even fuel. What’s even more miraculous about it is it can make all of these things without destroying the planet in the process. So hemp truly is a sustainable, renewable gift from the earth that could help to save the world. If only we would just use it.
References
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Jess Lakritz 