Daily News HEMP'S ENERGY PROMISE by Russell Barth, (Source:Nelson Daily News) writeNewsItems();Regional NewsCN BC: Biggest Pot Bust Ever In Osoyoos CN BC: Porn Shop Owner Charged CN BC: Cops Seek Pilots' Assistance CN BC: From School Liaisons To Youth Patrol CN BC: Local Medical Pot Study Approved CN BC: OPED: High Cost Of Marijuana CN BC: OPED: Hemp's Energy Promise CN BC: Editorial: Holding Back The Tide CN BC: City Identifies Four Additional Grow Op Houses CN BC: Lost In Meth's Haze 11 Jul 2005 British Columbia ------- Special To The Daily News With the price of crude oil and gasoline soaring ever higher, there is increasing talk of "alternative energy sources". We all know that the price of gas will never drop below 75 cents per litre again, and that one day, maybe even in the next 20-30 years, we will have to give up on crude oil entirely. So why not start phasing crude oil out right now? Ethanol fuel from corn is cost prohibitive and causes some environmental damage. Hydrogen cars and their fuel is also cost prohibitive, as are hybrid cars. What we need is some sort of crop that can be grown cheaply and easily and with no environmental damage, and is renewable. That crop is Hemp. ( Enter "Hemp Fuel" in Google ) Here are some interesting facts about Hemp that you should share with the public. Fuel: Farming 6% of the continental U.S. acreage with biomass crops would provide all of America's energy needs. Hemp is Earth's number-one biomass resource; it is capable of producing 10 tons per acre in four months. Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline at a cost comparable to petroleum, and hemp is much better for the environment. Pyrolysis ( charcoalizing ), or biochemical composting are two methods of turning hemp into fuel. Hemp can produce 10 times more methanol than corn. Hemp fuel burns clean. Petroleum causes acid rain due to sulphur pollution. The use of hemp fuel does not contribute to global warming. Food: Hemp seed can be pressed into a nutritious oil, which contains the highest amount of fatty acids in the plant kingdom. Essential oils are responsible for our immune system responses, and clear the arteries of cholesterol and plaque. The by-product of pressing the oil from hemp seed is high quality protein seed cake. It can be sprouted ( malted ) or ground and baked into cakes, breads, and casseroles. Hemp seed protein is one of mankind's finest, most complete and available-to-the-body vegetable proteins. Hemp seed was the world's number one wild and domestic bird seed until the 1937 Marijuana prohibition law. Fibre: Hemp is the oldest cultivated fibre plant in the world. Low-THC fibre hemp varieties developed by the French and others have been available for over 20 years. It is impossible to get high from fibre hemp. Over 600,000 acres of hemp is grown worldwide with no drug misuse problem. One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fibre as 4 acres of trees or two acres of cotton. Trees cut down to make paper take 50 to 500 years to grow, while hemp can be cultivated in as little as 100 days and can yield 4 times more paper over a 20 year period. Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made with cannabis hemp fibre including that for books, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks and bonds, newspapers, etc. Hemp paper is longer lasting than wood pulp, stronger, acid-free, and chlorine free. ( Chlorine is estimated to cause up to 10% of all Cancers. ) From 70-90% of all rope, twine, and cordage was made from hemp until 1937. A strong lustrous fibre; hemp withstands heat, mildew, insects, and is not damaged by light. Oil paintings on hemp and/or flax canvas have stayed in fine condition for centuries. Medicine: From 1842 through the 1880s, extremely strong marijuana ( then known as cannabis extractums ), hashish extracts, tinctures, and elixirs were routinely the second and third most-used medicines in America for humans ( from birth through old age ). These extracts were also used in veterinary medicine until the 1920s and longer. For at least 3,000 years prior to 1842 widely varying marijuana extracts ( bud, leaves, roots, etc. ) were the most commonly used real medicines in the world for the majority of mankind's illnesses. The U.S. Pharmacopoeia indicated cannabis should be used for treating such ailments as fatigue, fits of coughing, rheumatism, asthma, delirium tremens, migraine headaches, and the cramps and depressions associated with menstruation. In this century, cannabis research has demonstrated therapeutic value and complete safety in the treatment of many health problems including asthma, glaucoma, nausea, tumors, epilepsy, infection, stress, migraines, anorexia, depression, rheumatism, arthritis, and possibly herpes. Industry: Almost any product that can be made from wood, cotton, or petroleum ( including plastics ) can be made from hemp. There are more than 25,000 known uses for hemp. For thousands of years virtually all good paints and varnishes were made with hemp seed oil and/or linseed oil. Hemp stems are 80% hurds ( pulp by-product after the hemp fibre is removed from the plant ). Hemp hurds are 77% cellulose - a primary chemical feed stock ( industrial raw material ) used in the production of chemicals, plastics, and fibres. Hemp has been used throughout history for carpet backing. Hemp fibre has potential in the manufacture of strong, rot resistant carpeting - eliminating the poisonous fumes of burning synthetic materials in a house or commercial fire, along with allergic reactions associated with new synthetic carpeting. Plastic plumbing pipe ( PVC pipes ) can be manufactured using renewable hemp cellulose as the chemical feed stocks, replacing non-renewable coal or petroleum based chemical feed stocks. In 1941 Henry Ford built a plastic car made of fibre from hemp and wheat straw. Hemp plastic is biodegradable, synthetic plastic is not. So I have two questions: 1 ) Why is the government not promoting this amazing product, which is already legal in Canada, and 2 ) Why is the media at large not informing the public about this product? Pulled off www.norml.org
i just dont understand why nothings being done. To me its all black and white. Hemp doesnt even get you high. Ya know this has nothing to do with smokin herb in a sense its about the enviroment and just dont see why nothing is being done.
All you have to do to see why this is not being done is look at who stands to lose if it is made legal. The fuel industry, which has so much money is invested in oil, would not want to see hemp produced. Then no one would need the oil that we all keep fighting over. Also think about what would happen to the paper industry if hemp was used. It would stand to lose a great deal of money. I agree with you that we should be able to produce this, but I do not see it happening in the near future.
I don't see it happening until it is absolutely neccessary because they run out of options 2 reasons for this, the people at the top that stand to lose billions and because the governments would have to fess up to their bullshit
