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@hemp4victory
“The Scientist” is a documentary that traces the story of Nobel prize nominee Dr Mechoulam from his early days......as a child of the Holocaust in Bulgaria, through his immigration to Israel, and his career as the chief investigator into the chemistry and biology of the world’s most misunderstood plant. Dr. Mechoulam ascertained that THC interacts with the largest receptor system in the human body, the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
Expert-reviewed information summary about the use of Cannabis and cannabinoids in the treatment of cancer-related side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.
The US Government admits cannabis kills cancer cells... but maintains their monopoly of control and distribution...
plant the seeds. vote hemp. on Flickr.
just in time for the finale of Hemp History Week.
The omnibus federal farm bill approved by Congressional conference committee negotiators this week and destined to be quickly signed into law includes the hemp amendment that was approved by the House last year before the bill blew up over Republican efforts to cut food stamp spending. The final version of the farm bill passed the House Wednesday morning. Originally introduced by Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the hemp amendment doesn't legalize hemp production, but it does allow for research on industrial hemp by universities and state agriculture departments in the 10 states that have approved hemp production. There are two bills pending in Congress that would legalize hemp; they are House Resolution 525, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013," and the companion legislation, Senate Bill 359. The 10 states that have already passed laws allowing hemp production are California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia, and the vote comes as even more states are showing an interest in hemp. Hemp bills have been introduced in 11 states this year, including Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, New Jersey (carried over from 2013), New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington (two bills were carried over from 2013) West Virginia, and Wisconsin. "Although I strongly opposed the Republican Farm Bill, I was pleased to see that the bipartisan amendment that I offered with Representatives Blumenauer and Massie was included in the final bill that passed the House of Representatives today," said Rep. Polis. "This common sense amendment will allow colleges and universities to grow and cultivate industrial hemp for academic and agricultural research purposes in states where industrial hemp cultivation is already legal. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that this language becomes law." "This is an important victory for farmers, manufacturers, and consumers in Kentucky and across the country. Our amendment paves the way for production of industrial hemp by first allowing America's academic and research institutions to demonstrate that hemp and the products derived from hemp present a great economic opportunity for our country," said Rep. Massie. "The inclusion of our industrial hemp amendment in the farm bill reflects widespread support for cultivating industrial hemp and proves Congress can work together in a bipartisan fashion to help the American economy at a time when creating jobs is a national priority." "With the U.S. hemp industry estimated at over $500 million in annual retail sales and growing, a change in federal law to allow for colleges and universities to grow hemp for research would mean that we will finally begin to regain the knowledge that unfortunately has been lost over the past fifty years," says Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra. "The American Farm Bureau Federation announced their opposition to the controlled substance classification of hemp earlier this month, and now passage of this amendment means America can get on track to once again become the predominant producer and manufacturer of hemp -- one of the most versatile and ecological industrial crops on the planet." The hemp amendment was among the few provisions in the farm bill that had not been previously approved by both houses of Congress. That it made it into the final version of the farm bill was a testament to the bill's support, and to some key supporters, Steenstra told the Chronicle Wednesday. "Senator Wyden introduced an amendment to the Senate farm bill that was more expansive than the House version, but the leadership limited the votes severely and our provision never got a vote," Steenstra explained. "That, combined with the fact that Senator Leahy had basically cleared it through Judiciary, allowed it to go forward. But ultimately, Senator McConnell and other conferees spoke up for it." Both McConnell and his fellow Kentucky US senator, Rand Paul, have been ardent hemp supporters, supporting legislation both at the state level and now, in Washington. "This is an important victory for Kentucky's farmers, and I was pleased to be able to secure this language on behalf of our state," McConnell said in a statement issued Tuesday. "By giving states the go-ahead to cultivate hemp for pilot programs, we are laying the groundwork for a new commodity market for Kentucky farmers. By exploring innovative ways to use hemp to benefit a variety of Kentucky industries, while avoiding negative impact to Kentucky law enforcement's efforts at marijuana interdiction, the pilot programs authorized by this legislation could help boost our state's economy." "We think this is pretty significant," Steenstra said. "It's an excellent first step to revitalize what was once a proud and significant industry in this country. A big part of our farming economy has been lost, and we have to work to recover it." The bill not only allows universities to do hemp research, Steenstra noted, but it also allows state agriculture departments to do pilot studies. "That's a little bit more expansive than just research," he said. "The can look into things like marketing and cultivation of hemp, and that's a significant opportunity for the 10 states where it is legal." Steenstra didn't think inclusion of the hemp amendment in the farm bill would take the oomph out the pending hemp legalization bills. "We've made it very clear, and all of our supporters in Congress understand this, that this is just a first step," he said. "There are a lot of people anxious to grow hemp, and this won't really solve that. We will be able to get some crops in the ground and show that hemp is not the boogie man we feared, but commercial farmers still won't be able to grow it until we get those bill passed." Although hemp proponents are careful to draw a bright line between industrial hemp and psychoactive marijuana, the growing national debate over -- and acceptance of -- marijuana has been a help rather than a hindrance, Steenstra said. "The reality is that hemp has been caught up in marijuana policy for 70-some years," he noted. "There is no way to deal with hemp policy without looking at overall marijuana policy. These are two separate tracks, but at the same time, having a lot of people looking at marijuana policy has been a good thing for hemp." New leadership at the DEA would be a good thing, too, Steenstra said, moaning aloud as he recounted DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart's comment last week that the low point of her career was seeing a hemp flag fly over the US capitol. "Of all the things she should be down about, she complains about a flag made out of non-drug hemp fiber," he said."We're hoping a more enlightened DEA head will come in and replace her and bring some sanity to policy over there." - Phillip Smith
A St. John’s man suffering from prostate cancer that had metastasized is crediting marijuana oil treatment with putting him on the mend. “It makes me feel 20 years younger, that’s what the marijuana oil does,” said Paul Morrissey, adding he shovelled snow for three hours during the recent blizzard and blackout with no problems. “There was pretty ferocious wind and snow. I came out of it looking like a walking popsicle. However after all that work and so forth I was in excellent condition. Even without cancer, I wouldn’t suspect I’d last that long or do that well.” Morrissey’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood levels have improved dramatically and there has been some regression in his lymph nodes and abdomen, said his family physician, Dr. Randy Hart, who was given permission to speak about his patient’s case. Hart can’t say if the unorthodox treatment helped. But Morrissey’s PSA levels dropped nearly 10 times from their previous level — down to 3.3 from 29.5. “Now whether it’s the marijuana oil, I can’t comment on that,” Hart said Friday. “There certainly has been a major improvement in his situation. And I am delighted for him, delighted overall.” Hart said when Morrissey first mentioned the marijuana oil to him, he was skeptical and implored him to embark on conventional treatment. Morrissey did agree to go to an oncologist and was also seeing a urologist. Morrissey said he did take pill medication for roughly a month and an injection prescribed by his oncologist, but is so convinced the oil was what helped him, he has discontinued the course of conventional treatment. He said he hasn’t received any chemotherapy or radiation either. “I have known Paul for a long time. … He is a spiritual guy,” Hart said, adding the oncologist’s prescribed medication may have contributed to lower PSA levels. “He did receive some conventional treatment, but he did have a really good response. From my perspective, there was a huge improvement. We should all be open to listening to people. But there is no way I could say with any certainty the hemp oil had anything to do with it.” The Telegram first told Morrissey’s story in September 2013 when he said at Stage 4 prostate cancer, he was putting his faith in the marijuana oil treatment. At the time, Morrissey said he’d put medical treatment off for a year and was frantically trying to source the oil. The cancer was then spreading to his back and lymph nodes, but Morrissey said it was because he could only source a small amount of the oil in Toronto and hadn’t obtained enough to cure the disease. But soon after the story ran, he said he was able to find a supply not in this province, but on the mainland, which has cost him less than $4,000, Morrissey said Friday. Morrissey insists his PSA levels plummeted because of six weeks on the marijuana oil. He was sold on the controversial marijuana oil treatment after watching a video by Rick Simpson of Maccan, N.S., called “Run from the Cure.” In the video, Simpson claims the marijuana oil is nature’s miracle and that he gave it away to about 5,000 people for free until he ran into legal barriers. Simpson asserts medical, legal and political authorities and the pharmaceutical industry are ignoring the cancer epidemic and the potential of the oil. Morrissey said that on his way to Toronto in December 2012, he stopped in Maccan and spent five hours with Simpson and some others featured in the video, which suggests marijuana oil as a fix not only for cancer but various types of pain and a range of diseases such as glaucoma and diabetes. The video also provides instructions for making the oil. “Four people in that house had cancer,” Morrissey said last fall. “They cured themselves.” The oil is taken orally and doesn’t produce a high, Morrissey insists. Some claim rubbing it on skin cancer lesions as a cure. On Friday, Morrissey renewed the plea he made last fall for a clinical trial on the marijuana oil to prove what he thinks is its medicinal benefit for others. “I’m OK with my cancer. I will be fine,” he said. “But there are a lot of people out there who are dying.” Cannabis or marijuana products and their derivatives are illegal and fall under Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. - Barb Sweet
The American Farm Bureau Federation has approved a new policy resolution that urges the repeal of the classification of industrial hemp as a controlled substance. The effort, led by the Indiana Farm Bureau at the national group's annual meeting last week in Texas, puts one of the largest and most influential mainstream farm lobbying organizations squarely in the pro-hemp camp and on record opposing "the classification of industrial hemp as a controlled substance." The Farm Bureau before passed a policy resolution supporting industrial hemp research in 1995. Kentucky Farm Bureau didn't take any action at its December convention and has no formal policy on hemp, spokesman Dan Smaldone said. "Kentucky as no stance on it at this point," Smaldone said. "We do what the members want us to do. Since they've not given us that direction yet, that's where we are." Indiana, however, has advocated for it. "We support the declassification of industrial hemp as a controlled substance because of the opportunity that it provides some farmers to diversify their operations and share in a new market opportunity," Kyle P. Cline, policy adviser with the Indiana Farm Bureau, said in a news release. "At a time when small farms are innovating and diversifying to remain competitive, we should provide every opportunity to increase farm incomes and allow the next generation the ability to continue living off the land as their families have for generations. "Industrial hemp is one such opportunity that may work for some farmers in certain regions," he said. "Furthermore, industrial hemp will allow the U.S. farmer to share in income that is currently going overseas. Right now, it is legal to import hemp but illegal to produce it. Therefore, there is no opportunity currently to share in the profit." Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said Wednesday that Indiana's push shows that Kentucky needs to "get on the ball, because there's a lot of competition on this. When we started this in August 2012, with Sen. Rand Paul, there weren't very many states interested in pursuing a hemp industry. Now there are 20 states." The House version of the federal farm bill contains an amendment to legalize university research on industrial hemp in states that have removed barriers to the crop's production, according to the group Vote Hemp, which applauded the Farm Bureau's move. Kentucky and 31 other states have passed such legislation; Colorado began licensing farmers to grow hemp this year. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the Herald-Leader last week that he has asked the U.S. Attorney General's office to review the classification. "Farmers see hemp imported from China, Canada, and realize that they're missing out on the growing U.S. market for hemp," said Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp. "That farmers are coming forward with formal support for policy change in favor of hemp legalization is a huge step forward, and Congress should follow their lead and pass legislation to once again allow hemp farming under federal law." Many people in Kentucky and elsewhere have questioned whether hemp would create many jobs or be a cash crop for farmers. Comer said that's why the American Farm Bureau's action is important. "I think it shows the growing movement by agriculture leaders to embrace industrial hemp as a crop of the future," Comer said. "The fact that Tom Vilsack openly endorsed industrial hemp, and a week later, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the most conservation organization there is, endorses it, shows this is viable." - Janet Patton
Hemp plus coal could equal economic prosperity for Appalachia, according to a new white paper released Wednesday by the Kentucky and West Virginia hemp growers cooperatives. "It's about stimulating the hemp economy," said David Hadland, president of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association and a member of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission. "The public needs to know that hemp is viable, and that hemp is not marijuana. This is just another example of its use." The cooperatives advocate blending dry hemp "hurds" with Appalachian high-sulphur coal to reduce emissions at power plants. "Our results show that hemp biomass is a promising feedstock for power co-generation, a notion supported by recent techno-economic studies," wrote the study's authors, Katherine M. Andrews, Alex Donesky, Roger Ford and J. Eric Mathis. "The introduction of industrial hemp as a biomass energy feedstock can improve the economics of co-firing due to adaptability, high per-acre yield, and potential to be grown on post-mining land and reclamation sites." A white paper is an informational report written by experts to give guidance on an issue. The cooperatives recommend that Kentucky and West Virginia policy makers use economic incentives to attract biomass processors and chemical manufacturers to the region, and that they create a private-public consortium to jump-start hemp farming. "What we're trying to show is that this is a viable crop for energy, that the peer-reviewed research is out there showing there's potential for this," Ford said Wednesday. His company, Patriot Bioenergy, plans to begin taking soil samples in post-mining sites and other marginal land to look for optimal conditions to grow hemp. The next step, he said, needs to be pilot-scale projects. For that, the state must get a waiver to grow hemp. "Our goal is to try to forge a bipartisan consensus about the value of hemp for the farming and non-farming regions of the state," Ford said. "With the downturn in coal, we have to be looking at things like this and what is its potential for these types of areas." Last year, Kentucky passed legislation to allow farmers to be licensed to grow hemp if the federal government allows it to be grown. The U.S. Justice Department has said it will not enforce laws against marijuana production in states that have legalized it. But Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway issued an opinion in September stating that farmers who plant hemp could face criminal liability and have crops seized. State Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who lobbied for hemp, has said he can't recommend that farmers move forward unless the risk of prosecution is resolved. The Colorado Department of Agriculture announced Jan. 2 that producers there may begin registering to grow industrial hemp in March. Hadland, the Kentucky hemp cooperative's president, said that Ryan Loflin, the Colorado farmer who planted hemp last year, is working with the Kentucky and West Virginia co-ops. "Hopefully, policymakers will look at a paper like this and we can get some sort of a waiver. West Virginia's working on that; Kentucky should be working on that," Hadland said. California, he said, also is working on a 2014 crop. "Kentucky doesn't need to be last again." - Janet Patton
Half the states in the country now allow the production and distribution of cannabis for medicinal use, or they have laws waiting to take effect that will allow it. Many states are likely to transition to full legalization of cannabis rather quickly, after they see the tax revenues flowing from retail cannabis stores into government coffers in Colorado and Washington. Others will follow after they see how criminal justice systems in those first states benefit from the collapse of the black market for dealers and users. That’s all good, but it’s neither the first or second most important benefit we’ll get from the end of the Second Prohibition. First and foremost, the return of hemp as a legal crop and agricultural commodity that any American farmer can grow will be easy once the taboo on cannabis has been lifted. It’s hemp, not cannabis, that can provide an infusion of new energy across almost all levels of the American economy. The second benefit will be the demise of the medical cannabis hypocrisy. Many plants and herbs have medicinal value but very few require a doctor’s approval and a government permit to use them in their natural state. Other plants that have commercial value despite their dangerous side effects can be processed, distilled and fermented while being regulated, taxed and licensed. Medical cannabis programs are half-measures between freedom and prohibition that demean everyone involved with them. Similar to programs in other states, the badly-named Oregon Medical Marijuana Program has been a farce from its inception. Aside from giving a few users and growers some legal cover to do what they were already doing, it hasn’t really helped people who use cannabis as medicine. The OMMP doesn’t even use the scientific name for the plant it claims to regulate, relying instead on the common use of a Mexican slang term to identify the plant. All of that would have nothing to do with hemp, except that it looks a lot like a really tall cannabis plant – or at least what cannabis used to look like in the days before hydroponics, cloning and grow lights. That similarity in appearance led to hemp farming first being banned in America in 1937; that ban was lifted during World War II before being imposed again in 1945 and 1970. It was pointless prohibition then, and it became more foolish as years passed and the cannabis trade became so distinct that no self-respecting DEA agent would have looked at a field of hemp and seen cannabis growing. It also became a severe case of government restraint of trade by preventing farmers from growing a useful, harmless and profitable crop for no legitimate reason at all – exactly the kind of government interference that many Americans consider unconstitutional. Technically it’s not illegal to grow hemp in the US. You need a special permit from the DEA, but there’s never been any reason to bother applying because you simply aren’t going to get one. That’s all about to change, and soon. Hemp is a remarkable plant with hundreds of existing uses and a huge potential for creating new products. It could become a large, homegrown industry in any state with a climate suitable for large-scale agriculture, as hemp can thrive within a wide range of growing conditions. The manufacture of hemp-based products is exactly the kind of industry this country desperately needs. The number of jobs created in the first year of a revived hemp industry might be relatively small, perhaps 50,000 nationwide. But that number would increase every year as more products are developed and enter the market. The Hemp Industry Association estimates current annual retail sales of hemp products at $200 million, but none of the raw fiber used to make those products is grown in the US. Advocates see a $400 million industry in hemp farming rising in just a few years, once legal constraints are removed. Agricultural economist Will Snell at the University of Kentucky believes there is a place for hemp in the farm landscape, but it might not be as large as some hope. "If there's a market, it's a small market, but it's growing and it's an opportunity for our farmers," Snell said in an interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader. Snell and colleague Leigh Maynard recently authored a study that did show a high potential for hemp as a seed crop. "Some of our top-end scenarios for hemp did indicate $200 to $400 net return per acre, which is nothing to sneeze at," Snell said. "It can only help," Maynard added. "The farmers aren't going to dive in without some assurance that it will be economically viable. ... (Hemp) could give them one more opportunity to earn income." "I'm very optimistic of industry hemp," Agriculture Commissioner James Comer told the Herald-Leader, who believes the crop would provide immediate benefits to Kentucky’s economy. "It's very difficult to do an economic impact study of an industry that doesn't exist." Comer said he has met with "…executives of a Toyota supplier in Central Kentucky, and they are very interested in doing exactly what Mercedes and BMW are doing, and that's using hemp fiber for the dash and door panels and gear panels. If that happens, you can throw that study out. We're the fourth-biggest automotive state, we're a player in the automotive industry, and the hemp would work perfectly with that." The federal government has granted $277 billion in farm subsidies since 1995, according to the Denver Post. Tobacco growers have received $1.3 billion during that time in direct subsidies for a crop that produces a highly toxic and addictive substance. Congress justifies those kinds of agricultural supports because the industry provides jobs. Hemp farmers won’t need subsidies to turn a profit. They just need Congress to get out of the way and let the free market determine what role hemp can play in a 21st century economy.
- Robert Lafferty
More than half of the over 600 cannabis-related patents registered with the United Nations’ global intellectual property agency belong to Chinese companies, which have claimed rights to everything from traditional Chinese medicine-related marijuana tinctures to new methods of administering the drug, like a film that sticks to the skin. + The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization collects patents from 186 member states that are globally enforceable and organizes them in a searchable database called Patentscope, which shows Chinese cannabis patents including a “Shangxia beverage for relaxing bowels” (and preparation method thereof), a preparation for “assisting in therapy of shivering and sweating” and broader applications like methods of extracting cannabinoids from plants. + Chinese medicine has relied on cannabis and hemp extracts for thousands of years. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency Museum: “The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C.” Patenting this knowledge is a much more recent thing—filings from China jumped in recent years, and the country is now filing the most patents of any country in the world via WIPO, beating the US and Japan, a distant third. + Still, there is plenty of room left for other, creative, patent-hungry investors interested in the world’s growing cannabis market. Ulrich Thomet, a Canadian, has received a patent for this novel “method of producing a preparation containing active substances from cannabis:” + Milk and milk products are produced having a cannabis content. These products are generated in that milk cows are fed at least partially with hemp plant parts, in particular blossom material of pistillate hemp plants, these hemp plant parts being administered as silage fodder, dried fodder or fresh fodder mixed with usual cattle feed. + Coming soon, perhaps to Colorado: Green milk.
- Heather Timmons
A study published in the November issue of the European Journal of Nutrition has found that hemp seeds may not only treat hypertension, it may have the ability to prevent it as well. “This work determined the ability of hemp seed meal protein hydrolysate (HMH)-containing diets to attenuate elevated blood pressure (hypertension) development in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs)”, states the study’s abstract. “Effects of diets on plasma levels of renin and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) in the SHRs were also determined.” After conducting the study, researchers concluded; “The results suggest that HMH with strong hypotensive effects in SHRs could be used as a therapeutic agent for both the prevention and treatment of hypertension.” The study was conducted at the University of Manitoba, and received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. - TheJointBlog
Most Washington County supervisors joined Dana Haff Friday in urging the state and federal governments to legalize industrial hemp, a measure the Hartford supervisor has been pushing for months. The county Board of Supervisors voted 11-4 in favor of the push for allowing industrial hemp to be grown on American soil, a move a growing number of states are making as the federal government has indicated it would ease restrictions and defer to states on the issue. “This is up to the state to decide,” said Jackson Supervisor Alan Brown, who voted in favor. “What we’re saying with this is it’s an option we might like to take some time in the future.” Growing industrial hemp, a form of cannabis, is illegal in the U.S. under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which lumps industrial hemp in the category with marijuana. Hemp has a wide range of uses — in food, paper, cosmetics and rope — but doesn’t create the psychoactive effects marijuana does when smoked or eaten. According to a University of Vermont study on industrial hemp, the THC levels in marijuana can vary from 3 percent to 15 percent, but are below 1 percent in plants grown for industrial hemp. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Bills were introduced this year in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the state Senate, to remove industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana. The Department of Justice indicated earlier this year it would generally defer to states on the issue of cannabis, and a growing number of states have begun declassifying industrial hemp as a controlled substance and allowing it to be grown and processed. Haff on Friday pointed to neighboring Vermont as one such example — Vermont is taking applications from farmers looking to grow industrial hemp in 2014. “I would like to see New York state do the same thing,” Haff said. According to Haff, Washington County is the first county in the state to pass such a resolution. The resolution urges the state and federal government to recognize industrial hemp as “a valuable agricultural commodity,” and to define it as non-psychoactive. While growing hemp is illegal, finished hemp is legal in the U.S. and is frequently imported from other countries to use in a wide range of products produced domestically. The resolution also says legalizing industrial hemp to be grown here will “promote the balance of trade,” because the option to buy it domestically would then be available. Greenwich Supervisor Sara Idleman, Granville Supervisor Matt Hicks, Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell and Putnam Supervisor John LaPointe voted against the measure on Friday, and Easton Supervisor John Rymph abstained from voting. Idleman cast her vote against the measure, because she wanted more information about industrial hemp processing, and consideration of the value of the crop per acre. “I would like to see a more comprehensive look at this and more discussion on the topic with our growers and producers,” Idleman said. Idleman chairs the county Board of Supervisors Agriculture and Planning Committee, which voted 4-3 last month to move the resolution along to the full board. Before the committee vote, supervisors hosted a discussion with some farmers from the county, who presented diverse views on whether supervisors should take up the industrial hemp cause. Some of the resolution’s opponents have questioned whether a market for industrial hemp exists, while others see it as a potential cash crop for the agricultural county. “This resolution doesn’t mandate anything,” Haff said. If legalized, it would be up to farmers whether to grow industrial hemp, he said. “Why would you not allow it?”
- Jamie Munks
All of the wonders this plant provides for our society are amazing to me. It’s as if it was put here for the sustainability and progression of humanity, and what’s stranger is the fact that humanity basically ignores it and its potential. Is this where listening to big brother and staying within our social perimeters, which we didn’t dictate in the first place, has gotten us? Are we really letting our planet fall prey to manipulative corporations that care only about profit and not about the environmental destruction they’re causing? Have we really let ourselves outlaw a plant with this many benefits because of a psychoactive herb that’s related to it? In my opinion, this among many other things displays the purely backward manner in which our society seems to operate. Don’t get me wrong – we’re advancing in a lot of ways, but in a lot of other ways we’re failing each other and the planet by letting ourselves completely forget about some of the most beneficial things our planet has to offer us. Why are we still using trees to make paper when we can grow and harvest endless fields of hemp three times a year for a much better and longer lasting product? Why are we still drilling and fracking for natural resources when biofuel technology remains to be developed and utilized? Why do we still produce plastic in the ways we have been in the face of a much better and healthier way to do it? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves. I think that together, we need to address the fact that we’ve fallen pretty far from grace because we can build such a bright future with the technology we’re developing and the awareness we’re gaining. We have the ability to take our planet in a positive direction, but if we complacently let our forests be obliterated and our natural resources cleaned out, then we can only go in a negative and destructive direction. Before wrapping this up, I’m going to post a few snippets from AlterNet about the nutritional value of hemp seeds. Beyond hemp being a great source of paper, biofuel and plastic, it turns out that its seeds contain much important nutrition for our bodies. AlterNet explains that the hemp seed’s ability to provide a healthy omega balance displays it as a great food source. “Overall, hemp’s main nutritional advantage over other seeds lies in the composition of its oil, i.e. its fatty acid profile, and in its protein which contains all of the essential amino acids in nutritionally significant amounts and in a desirable ratio. Most oil seeds contain plenty of linoleic acid (LA), an essential fatty acid (EFA) from the ‘omega-6’ family, yet they offer little alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the other EFA from the ‘omega- 3’ family. Health agencies around the world agree that humans should ingest these EFAs in an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of about 4:1. Since common seed oil and animal fat, both low in omega-3, account for most of our fat intake, Western diets typically have omega-6/omega-3 ratios of 10:1 or more, which is far too rich in omega-6 and correspondingly too deficient in omega-3. Recent clinical research continues to identify this imbalance as a co-factor in a wide range of common illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, diabetes, [and] skin and mood disorders.” (6) AlterNet then explains the role hemp seeds play in helping balance out the unhealthy omega-6/omega3 diet ratio. “A (…) ‘holistic’ approach consists of shifting our general dietary fat intake towards nuts and oils offering a better omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Hemp nut and oil offer an omega- 6/omega-3 ratio of 3:1 or less, depending on plant variety. This exceeds the target ratio of 4:1 and compensates in part for omega-3 deficiencies in the rest of our diet. No other vegetable oil offers EFAs at such high concentrations and, more importantly, in such a desirable omega-6/omega-3 ratio. Hemp oil also provides significant amounts of the more rare ‘super’ polyunsaturated fatty acids, notably gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA).” (6) Hemp saves the day yet again – this time providing us seeds that can help balance out an unhealthy diet. The great thing about hemp is that beyond the fact that it’s not widely utilized in the manner it should be, you can still buy hemp seeds and products made from hemp, and if you do, you’re likely to have bought a much better and more sustainable product. People are selling healthy hemp seeds in various different ways, and they can be put in anything from salads to milk shakes. I’d recommend at least attempting to integrate hemp seeds or anything else that gives you the healthy omega balance they do into your diet. It’s no secret that the general western diet isn’t very healthy, just as our means of producing various commodities aren’t, but we’ve been given the tools to climb out of the mess we’ve made and I think it’s time for us to begin doing just that. I think that hemp will begin to become much more known for everything it can do as biofuel research excels and solutions to the current biofuel problems are found, and if we can get out the facts about deforestation and everything else written about here to a non-complacent public, we can start reversing the damage that’s been done. I’d recommend looking up the late Jack Herer’s “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” to get the absolute greatest picture of the importance of the hemp plant and the need for us to begin utilizing it, and armed with the knowledge we’re gaining, we can get as active as possible in establishing a new paradigm based upon that knowledge. No more will we let corporations dominate our environment with production methods that are much worse than they need to be, and no more will we let the voice of our governments incapacitate us and keep us from understanding the importance of resources given by the Earth for our advancement. Resources are being used for things they shouldn’t be used for and are making millionaires into billionaires, but in a world completely devoid of trees and clean air and water, it wouldn’t matter how much money you have. All that’d be left is the fact that we failed ourselves and our planet by refusing to look at what’s right in front of us, waiting to be used. I don’t mean to sound negative, but the stakes do seem high and the solutions simple, and the whole situation kind of makes you want to scratch your head. It’s the same with GMOs, fracking and chemtrails. All of these modern things that seem designed to keep us from progressing as a society and that take us in a wrong direction are confounding when pondering the fact that civilization thrived for centuries without the advanced technology and backward ignorance and uncaring prevalent in this day and age. Technology is certainly a good thing, but certain aspects of technology have taken us in a wrong direction. Genetic engineering seems to have teamed up with deforestation and plenty of other things to ensure a bleak future for humanity, but we can change this now if we can only see the importance of doing so. I think that humanity has a bright future ahead of us, and the sooner we can recognize and address this mess and use the things we’ve been provided to mend the damage we’ve caused, the sooner we can move forward and welcome an era of progress and prosperity, the likes of which we haven’t yet seen. Normally, at about this point I would offer a visualization intended to heal something related to or representing the topic of discussion. Recognizing that hemp is a valuable and positive component to our society, the “negative” side of it is that it’s not widely utilized in the manner it should be. In place of an etheric visualization, I’d like to offer a simple visual that can be practiced in meditation or not. Imagine, fellow seekers, all of the trees that could be saved and forests replenished if our society switched to hemp for paper and everything else. Imagine the Earth’s natural resources able to stay in the ground where they’re meant to be, because humanity took the initiative to explore biofuel technology further. Imagine fields of industrial hemp providing the needs of the entire planet, and growth and prosperity making a gradual but strong upturn, largely thanks to hemp. Imagine closed-mindedness giving way to an embrace of hemp and everything else put on this Earth to help humans progress. Imagine corporate interests no longer plundering our planet in the name of money while we, to quote Bob Marley, “stand aside and look”. Imagine hemp being utilized to its fullest potential on a planet of evolving people who understand what is and isn’t sustainable for us as a species, and the resulting growth and prosperity reaching out to every person who’s been left behind in our current social rat race. We can make this happen if we take action right now, and the growing consciousness is seeing to it that the public does just that. It’s time for us to enter the future, and an ancient plant will help show the way.
- Wes Annec
Letter to the citizens of the United States Inc. - 2016
Congratulations! They got you again! You now have your 'legal/medical/recreational' cannabis. All under the control of the politicians who played both the opposition while investing and cashing in on the behemoth cannabis industry that will soon emerge. You can now look forward to tighter regulations and a shift toward commercial farming of cannabis. Do you think they want you cutting into their profits with your closet companion? You have a nice flashy card now that let's you get your medical cannabis. How much does that cost? What happens when the already drained accounts of other departments start coming to the cannabis registry asking for handouts? How about when the now lawful regulations decrease the potency and up the price? I hope you enjoy what was free and uniting amongst men becoming yet another teat on the wealthy man's mantelpiece trophy. Keep getting stoned and being owned...
With the news that Uruguay has become the first country on the planet to legalize and regulate marijuana, politicians and pot smokers are now giving unprecedented focus to the drug. Yet despite the increased discussion, the public remains largely unaware of marijauana's — pardon the pun — deep roots in history. Weed has grown naturally in the wild for thousands of years, and has been utilized by humans for nearly as long, with the earliest recorded references to its medicinal properties dating back to Chinese Emperor Fu Xi in 2900 B.C. Our founding fathers were also big fans of marijuana, in part because of the role hemp played in the production of clothing and paper. "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country," declared Thomas Jefferson, who, along with George Washington, grew the plant on his farm. John Adams predicted, "We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption." Only about a century ago, when a surge of Mexican immigration led to an influx in recreational marijuana use, did the U.S. start to crack down on pot. This infographic provides an excellent summary of the history of marijuana laws in the U.S. and the issues surrounding the modern-day legalization debate.
edical marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, but there are still use cases that are very controversial, like medical marijuana for children. Some claim it's a wonder drug for epilepsy, severe autism, and even to quell the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, while others decry pumping marijuana into still-growing bodies. We went to the small town of Pendleton, Oregon, where medical marijuana is legal, to visit Mykayla Comstock, an eight-year-old leukemia patient who takes massive amounts of weed to treat her illness. Her family, and many people we met along the way, believe not only in the palliative aspects of the drug, but also in marijuana's curative effect—that pot can literally shrink tumors.
Gregg Moseley-Clarke is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and the University of Hull (UK). He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science and Accounting and a MBA in Information Management. He currently holds the position of Human Resources Analyst at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. With over 10 years experience in Insurance and banking industries, Gregg turned his focus to creating new and innovative industries, founding Hemp Foods Barbados and Sateva Botanicals, 2 local companies focused on prompting hemp food products and locally made hemp cosmetics.He is also a former national rugby player.
Beyond the fact that hemp is clearly a better source of paper and biofuel than most others, how much quicker can it grow than trees? Hemphasis explains. “One acre of hemp can produce as much paper as 4 to 10 acres of trees over a 20-year cycle, but hemp stalks only take four months to mature, whereas trees take 20 to 80 years. This information was known in 1916, according to a USDA report. Hemp paper can also be recycled more often, though this fact is not of much value, since hemp is a reusable resource.” (4) Pay attention to these statistics, fellow seekers. A singe acre of hemp produces as much paper as four to ten acres of trees, and it’s clear that we’re fast running out of trees and could use the ability to save as many of them as possible. It can take a tree eighty years to grow to the point needed to cut it down for paper, but in one year you can grow and harvest acres upon acres of hemp three times. Beyond what can only be pinpointed as corporate greed and uncaring of the damage caused to our environment, why have we not long switched to hemp paper? Why did we even make the changeover in the first place? My personal opinion is that propaganda against marijuana, hemp’s relative, successfully outlawed our ability to grow and use hemp for industrial purposes. A small amount of hemp is utilized around the world compared to the number of trees we’re using, and I think that hemp can and will solve the deforestation problem if we can just open up to using it. Hemphasis gives us some more chilling facts about deforestation that’ll hopefully wake us all up further. We’re also told about other alternatives beyond hemp, such as kenaf, and the reasons that hemp is still a better option. “Since 1937, when hemp was effectively outlawed, 70% of American natural forests have been destroyed. Today, only 4% of America’s old-growth forest remains standing, and there is talk of building roads into that for logging purposes! Hemp growing could completely negate the necessity to use wood at all because anything made from wood can be made from hemp. The plant kenaf is better suited than hemp for making some qualities of paper, but hemp has one huge advantage, hemp generates an immense amount of plant matter in a four month growing season. Plants like Kenaf just cannot produce enough plant material to make enough paper for what the world demand is and will soon become, making hemp the only organic paper which makes sense. If hemp farming were only geared toward papermaking, it would still be a giant move to improve the planet.” (4) We’re then told about the transition of two mills from Germany’s largest paper company from tree to hemp-based, and the costly but necessary equipment changes required. “Germany’s largest paper company converted two mills to hemp-based paper production, even though large mills require 40-60% of the equipment to be retooled to switch to hemp based paper. Hemp paper is the one area of the possible hemp market that would require a lot of equipment change, but the need exists to change the equipment, or we will not be left with any more trees for shade, scenery, and good old-fashioned air. The construction costs to convert our paper mills from tree-based paper to hemp is around $100-300 million, which would at the same time open doors for new jobs and opportunities to build new equipment. The reason for these equipment changes lies in the fact that the hemp fiber is so strong. The chains of cellulose molecules are arranged as a rigid structure glued together by the lignin, which must be separated before the fiber can be arranged into paper. Hemp currently makes up around .05% of the world annual pulp production volume at around 120,000 tons/year because importation costs result in prices which are 2-3 times that of tree paper (…).” (4) Beyond the work that’ll need done to convert mills worldwide to be able to process and make hemp paper instead of tree paper, which the referenced source even mentioned could bring in jobs, I think it’s very important to address the amount of trees being cut down every day and put a stop to it. Some of the facts about deforestation may be a bit haunting, but this is the unfortunate state of affairs on our planet. In the name of making money off of a resource that’s much easier to profit from than hemp and other alternatives, a startling percentage of the world’s forests have been outright eliminated since the 30s when marijuana, and subsequently hemp, were outlawed in the United States. It’s sad to see one of the world’s most important resources go unused because it’s not the best option for people who want to make money off of commodities everybody deserves to be able to have without a price tag attached, but we can band together and support what’ll be numerous and difficult but necessary transitions to hemp. So far, we’ve explored hemp as a potential biofuel source and a clearly better means to produce paper than trees. Is there anything else that this super-plant can do? There are multitudes of benefits the hemp plant provides for our society, and try as I might, I won’t be able to cover all of them here. I can cover what seem to be some of the most important aspects of the utilization of hemp, and I’d now like to get into the benefits of switching to hemp to produce plastic over our current polluting and chemical-laden ways. Plastic is an “interesting” substance in and of itself, and obviously hasn’t been around for very long. It’s a relatively new invention, and one of the biggest problems with it is that it pollutes our Earth in incredible doses after we throw it out. I’d imagine that even the process of making plastic is harmful and polluting in its own right, but it turns out that hemp provides a great alternative to making plastic that isn’t as harmful. Hemp-Guide tells us about hemp vs. regular plastic. “Hemp plastic is tough, durable, contains no harmful chemicals and looks fantastic! Although not a new concept, natural based plastics is slowly re-entering the world of consumer goods. This versatile plant has once again proven to be highly useful to a nation needing to re-assess its ecological impact. There’s no denying that the petro chemicals being used to create plastic today are toxic to the environment and to the employees who work in these factories on a daily basis. Also, it is not biodegradable which means that it lasts forever.” (5) We’re then told more about the harmful environmental effects caused by plastic and given some more alarming statistics. “Take for example the billions of plastic debris floating around in the oceans at this very moment that are killing a variety of species and risking the lives of others like birds who swallow bottle caps and [whales who] swallow more plastic debris than plankton. It’s alarming to say the least. We must as a global effort support the development of [biodegradable] products for the sake of our planet. Did you know that the United States alone discards more than 60 billion pounds of plastic every year that end up stuffing landfills or are swept away in bodies of water? Would you believe that the number has risen from 4 billion to 60 billion pounds in less than 30 years? It certainly makes you wonder about the (…) bottled water industry and the attention it’s been getting lately! (…) As grim as this all seems, there is hope as more and more people are utilizing hemp and other natural materials to bring us eco plastic.” (5) In the face of these stats and the ones given above, I can only agree with Hemp-Guide that we should support biodegradable product development, biofuel research and the replacement of conventional plastic with hemp plastic.
- Wes Annec
