The Industrial Uses of Hemp

An article written by John Getpman which looks at the use of hemp in the past and ways it may be applied today.
Source: The marijuana plant was so widely used that despite the considerable attention given to growing it in the U.S., Russia remained the supplier of 80% of the world's hemp until late into the 19th century. It might be argued that the marijuana plant's value diminished when seapower lost it's reliance on sails. However during World War II America lost her source of marijuana fiber when the Japanese took the Phillipines. The U.S. government planted over 400,000 pounds of marijuana seed to produce 42,000 tons of hemp rope annually for the war effort.

In 1936 Popular Mechanics hailed the invention of a new machine that processed hemp fiber and beckoned a new age in the exploration of hemp. Reefer Madness dawned instead,and the incredible potential of the marijuana plant remains untapped.

Besides being a more productive source of pulp than trees and producing the most durable natural fiber known to man, the marijuana plant has another valuable industrial property. It provides 4 to 50 times the Cellulose found in a cornstock. Cellulose can be made into methanol, a cheap, clean fuel.

The cultivation of marijuana plants has ecological benefits aside from saving trees, a worthy feat in itself. A marijuana plant puts down a 10 to 12 inch root compared to a 1 inch root of rye and barley.This long root breaks the soil and leaves it good for next year. It is a wise decision to plant it on land laying fallow, or after forest fires, because these roots will prevent soil erosion and also preserve the watershed.The leafy nature of the plant will cover the weeds and starve them of sunlight. It even provides a way of clearing a field before planting another crop. According to Popular Mechanics, two crops of marijuana will reclaim land from thistles. All the farmer has to do is harvest the stalks before they go to seed. And by the way, one acre can yield 3-6 tons of hemp, a nice way to suppliment to any farmer's income.

Clearly the marijuana plant has potential as an industrial, multi- purpose crop. It is a source of fiber, pulp, energy and has beneficial ecological value. It is an agricultural resource our farmers can use to strengthen their finances and protect the family farm from the now treacherous farm economy, our society, and our future. But is it of significance to the advancement of our civilization?

History and anthropology reveal to us how crucial exploration of the marijuana plant was to the development of American culture and Western Civilization.It helped make possible such historic acts as the exploration of the world by sea, the printing of the Guntenberg Bible, the declaration of Independance, the U.S. Constitution, and even protected our soldiers from the cold at Valley Forge. It is people who make history, but they make it out of material things. It is the human spirit that is inspired, but they need tools and products to express that spirit. Great civilizations are built out of human survival, & human survival comes from the efficient exploitation of all our natural crops.

It can be said that the exciting potential of the marijuana plant, it's energy potential notwithstanding, may have had its day prior to the industrial revolution that has shaed our modern society. In fact, this is the most crucial lesson we must realise and apply. Much of this world lags behind in the development that characterizes our society. Marijuana helped the American colonies begin their development, and it can do the same to the Third World. The marijuana plant provides a means for these societies to accelerate their development that is compatible with the agriculturally based indigenous cultures they are composed of. The cultivation of marijuana,then, also provides a means to promoting freedom in the undeveloped world. This is what will lead to a new renaissance.