Sunday, May 1, 2011

Some Hemp Facts

Here are some facts about hemp:

• Over 20,000 modern day products can be made from hemp

• Hemp produces 4 times as much ethanol per acre as corn

• Plastics made from hemp are biodegradable

• Hemp is the #1 producer of biomass per acre in the world, up to 10 tons per acre in four months

• 1 acre of hemp produces as much cellulose fiber pulp as 4 acres of trees, 2 crops of hemp can be grown annually

• The USDA states “the waste product from making canvas, rope and linen from cannabis hemp bast fiber, this waste product, the hurd fiber, is more than 4 times more productive than trees for fiber production for paper and building materials.”

• Hemp seed is the most complete food source containing all 8 essential amino acids, the essential fatty acids, as well as fibre, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals needed to sustain human life

• Hemp produces the strongest, most durable natural soft-fiber on Earth

• Most industrialized countries legally grow hemp

• The United States imports all the hemp used in American consumed products, an industry worth over $300 million in retail sales annually

• The DEA spends over $10 million dollars annually to eradicate feral “ditchweed” in America

• The “ditchweed” growing across the farmlands of America are the strong heirloom crops of our ancestors and remnants of the crops grown for the
war effort during WWII. A film called “Hemp For Victory” was produced by the USDA to promote hemp farming during WWII, watch it below:

• These same heirloom “ditchweed” seeds were once protected by armed military guards and considered a national treasure

• Hemp was used as legal tender in America from 1631 until the early 1800s, you could pay your taxes with hemp

• The first hemp laws in America were “must grow laws” and required colonists to grow hemp

• Until the 1800′s most of the textile and paper products were made from hemp

• Humans have been cultivating and using hemp industrially for around 10,000 years

• Relatively drought-resistant and it’s high protein seed has been relied upon several times through history during drought-induced famine

• Hemp stabilizes and enriches soil, and reduces weeds without chemical applications

• Hemp was planted around Chernobyl to remove toxins and heal the soil —”Hemp is proving to be one of the best phyto-remediative plants we have
been able to find”

“Why use up the forest which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and
mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields “
- Henry Ford

“Hemp is of the first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country “
- Thomas Jefferson

“Make the most you can of the Indian Hempseed and sow it everywhere”
- George Washington