HEMP! For a Brighter Tomorrow.

  Happy 4:20!! Today potheads around the country are pushing for the legalization of a harmless plant that makes your face go a little numb and giggly, while giving you an incredible urge to make blueberry waffles (not that I speak from experience). I say this as a mom and a farmer in an economically depressed area, we need to legalize marijuana and hemp, especially hemp. Yes the "sticky icky" is great for a good time and there are medical uses, but first we must legalize the commercial cultivation and manufacturing of this incredibly versatile crop.
  You can NOT get high on hemp and contrary to what the feds want to whine about, anyone can easily tell the difference between hemp and pot. Hemp, grows to up to 14ft high and is very thick. Marijuana, grows like a medium sized bush. Because the THC is in the bud of the plant, the grower wants it to be smaller allowing the plant to give it's energy to make more THC, like you would with a tomato plant.
  The cultivation of hemp would be as good for the country, economically, as would a gold rush or the discovery of a major oil well.  Not only can the fibers be turned into fabrics, and rope, but paper! Just Imagine all the trees that can be saved. And in terms of CO2 sequestration, CO2 is best sequestered during the growth of a plant. Trees actually emit CO2 at the end of their life cycle and during the winter, where as a plant that uses and incredible amount of energy to get to 14 ft in a single growing season, then harvested and turned into paper, fabric, food, etc sequesters many tons of CO2 while preventing the CO2 that would be emitted by other industries such as paper. Talk about ECO FRIENDLY! Additionally, hemp is incredibly resistant to drought and pests, therefore requiring little agricultural interventions. This means no need for poisons and nitrogen fertilizers in our water, air, and soil. Because little intervention is needed this is the ultimate cash crop. Hemp oils are also incredible. Hemp oil has more Omega 3 than fish and in the past it was used for lantern oil meaning it can be easily converted into  a bio fuel. By the way America has some of  the most crop able land on the planet. Don't you think this would would turn into an awesome export?
  Several states, including Indiana, have presented bills to legalize hemp, but not surprisingly every time they get turned down, but why? Why would our legislatures keep us from a cleaner, richer future and less dependant on foreign energy? Well guess what would happen to industries like timber, cotton, agricultural chemicals, and oil if an incredible and cheep competitor came in. And who do you think has major lobbing groups taking congressmen out to dinner an golf? And here I though the free market wasn't allowed to push out a competitor.
  To conclude, hemp does not pose a threat to America, quite the opposite. In a world with legalized hemp cultivation we will experience a new era in American agriculture. With a fresh cash crop on the stage we can have a carbon sponge that gives us fuel and fiber that can be used for a world of different needs. Today let's remember to press our legislatures to get over the fear of a plant while ending the bribery from corporations who keep this mighty crop away from the American economy.

Cool Hemp Facts:

*Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. He wanted to build and fuel cars from farm products.

*Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant than cotton.

*A 1938 Popular Mechanics described hemp as a "New Billion Dollar Crop." That's back when a billion was real money.

*Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun's UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.

*George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.

*Because of its importance for sails (the word "canvass" is rooted in "cannabis") and rope for ships, hemp was a required crop in the American colonies.

*Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.

*Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.

*Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.

*Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

*Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton. 

http://naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html