Pubdate: Tue, 26 Feb 2008
Source: Daily Campus, The (UConn, CT Edu)
Copyright: 2008 ThesDaily Campus
Contact:  http://www.dailycampus.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2778
Author: Greg Pivarnik

HEMP PROHIBITION DOES NOTHING BUT HARM

In order to fully understand the opposition to marijuana reform, it 
is important to investigate who already benefits from the status quo 
prohibition. Besides recreation, there are many other uses for 
marijuana. Many people benefit, while many others suffer negative 
consequences of prohibition. In most cases it is the corporations who 
benefit, while the individual citizens are the ones left out in the cold.

There are three different degrees of possible marijuana reform, all 
of which have different ramifications for society. They are the 
legalization of hemp, the medicalization of marijuana and finally the 
legalization of marijuana. Only the last step is a full repeal of 
marijuana prohibition. With hemp and medical marijuana, it is still 
possible for prohibition of marijuana as a recreational drug. This 
column will discuss the asinine policy of hemp prohibition, while 
medicalization and legalization will be discussed in their own 
subsequent columns.

When most people think of hemp, they inaccurately think of marijuana. 
Specifically, they do not recognize the difference between hemp and 
the mind-altering affects of the demonized marijuana plants. The lack 
of education has led hemp to be banned by the Controlled Substances 
Act of 1970 as a Schedule I drug.

Hemp is not marijuana. Yes, it does come from the Cannabis plant, 
like marijuana, but it cannot get a person high, which is the main 
difference between the two. Hemp bred for industrial purposes usually 
has very low THC content, which is the psychoactive chemical in 
marijuana. In many cases, the THC content is so low that is near 
impossible to use as a recreational drug. This is because many of the 
species and subspecies of Cannabis used in hemp production do not 
yield high amounts of THC.

Hemp itself is harvested from the stalks and parts of the plants 
other the bud in which the marijuana is located. There are many 
benefits to producing hemp which include the speed and ease at which 
it grows combine with the environmentally friendly benefits of the 
products that can be made from it.

Hemp products encompass almost all parts of the Cannabis plant and 
can be used to make foods, fuels, and fibers. The only edible parts 
of the plant with any nutritional value are the seeds.The seeds are 
extremely nutritious and are a source of carbohydrates, proteins, 
fibers and essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are an 
important part of a healthy diet and are not harmful like saturated 
and trans fats. The seed also is not psychoactive and cannot be used 
as a drug. The seeds most resemble a nut and can be shelled and eaten 
raw, used to make numerous foods, or can be converted in to hemp seed 
oil and used in cooking.

To get an idea of how versatile hemp is, here are a short list of 
products that can be made from hemp - food and others: snack bars, 
cookies, trail mix, coffee, beer, nutbutter, chips, pasta, tortillas, 
hummus, butter, salad dressing, milk, cheese, non-dairy ice cream, 
burgers, oils, lotions, lip balms, conditioners, shampoos, soaps, 
shaving products, lamp lighting, household detergents, stain 
removers, varnishes, resins, paints, twine, cordage, textiles, 
clothing, paper, webbing, non-woven matting, auto parts (ie door 
panels, dashboards, luggage racks), building materials, animal feed, 
plastics, packaging materials, skate boards, and most importantly 
biofuel. All in all, there are almost 25,000 environmental friendly 
products that can be derived from hemp.

Hemp is also not harmful for the environment. It can be grown 
organically because there are very few pests that feed off of it. The 
Cannabis plant only has a growing cycle of 100 days and is a natural 
weed suppressant so the soil remains weed free for next planning 
(that is if one does not consider the Cannabis plant a weed itself). 
The short growing cycle of Cannabis, combined with the number of 
products that hemp can manufacture, makes it a very viable and 
important natural resource that should be utilized.

However, there is a caveat, and that is that the United States 
currently forbids people to grow hemp with a permit from the DEA. And 
surprise, surprise, the DEA rarely grants permits for large scale 
productions. The reasoning, which can be found on the DEA Web site, 
is that hemp contains THC. Hence, hemp is a Schedule I substance 
under the CSA, as is heroin and LSD, despite that fact that it is 
impossible to get high from it. To realize the stupidity of the U.S. 
government policy towards hemp, one only has to look at that the fact 
the U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not 
permit hemp production. The only hemp products that are allowed in 
this country are ones that are manufactured outside of it.

So, are there problems with hemp? Maybe farming and irrigating enough 
land to grow hemp would be a problem. But the sustainability, short 
growing season and ease of manufacturing offset the onetime costs. It 
is far better for the environment to use hemp fiber than to 
constantly cut down trees, that will never be replaced, to obtain 
paper and wood. And maybe the fuel produced by hemp may harm the 
environment, but any fuel made will the environment, biofuels just do 
at a miniscule rate compared to oil.

So the essential question in the end is - who benefits from hemp 
prohibition? Well, it is not the environment or the citizens. Hemp is 
a quick growing, renewable, and biodegradable resource, with health 
benefits that have been documented in human history for over ten 
thousand years. This includes the United States where it was grown 
during the colonial era and World War II. So in the end, the winners 
are the corporations that would be rivaled by hemp. All companies 
including oil refineries, textile mills, paper manufactures, plastic 
producing companies and many others who benefit from making 
environmentally harmful products would be forced out of business or 
would have to change their ways.

The only other beneficiaries are those, such as people at the DEA, 
that take on the moral crusade against a product which does not even 
result in intoxication. Yes, hemp does contain THC, but there is not 
enough to experience any psychological effects. The benefits, which 
include the nutritional value of the hemp seed, far outweigh the 
negative consequences, if there are any to begin with. Legalization 
of industrial hemp will not lead to increased marijuana usage as some 
fear, a fear left over the early years of marijuana prohibition in 
the 1920s and 1930s, and instead it will only benefit the economy, 
environment and individuals of this country.

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Weekly columnist Greg Pivarnik is an 8th-semester molecular and cell 
biology major. His columns run on Tuesdays.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart