COMPARISON: INDUSTRIAL HEMP AND MARIJUANA
In order to best define industrial hemp, it is important to first identify what it is not. A common misconception of industrial hemp is that it is indistinguishable from marijuana, this proves to be simply not true. While they do belong to the same species of plant (Cannabis), that is where the similarities end. Hemp and marijuana differ
in physical appearance, chemical makeup, growing conditions, cultivation
processes, products and uses.
Physical Differences: A field of industrial hemp is comprised of slender stalked, low branching and low leafing crops in high density, tightly packed rows growing to a height of 6 to 15 feet. A marijuana field consists of short, bushy plants spaced at 1 to 2 plants per square-yard in order to maximize branching and flowering. (25)
Chemical Differences: The chemical of concern in these plants is THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which is responsible for the narcotic effect produced by marijuana. The average level of THC found in marijuana is roughly 10%. Industrial hemp cultivars, or the plants produced from a selective breeding process, have a THC level below 0.3%; whereas the threshold to induce an intoxicating effect is roughly 1% THC. (26) Additionally, there is research suggesting industrial hemp’s elevated level of CBD (cannabidiol) counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC, making it impossible to get “high” from industrial hemp. (27)
Physical Differences: A field of industrial hemp is comprised of slender stalked, low branching and low leafing crops in high density, tightly packed rows growing to a height of 6 to 15 feet. A marijuana field consists of short, bushy plants spaced at 1 to 2 plants per square-yard in order to maximize branching and flowering. (25)
Chemical Differences: The chemical of concern in these plants is THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which is responsible for the narcotic effect produced by marijuana. The average level of THC found in marijuana is roughly 10%. Industrial hemp cultivars, or the plants produced from a selective breeding process, have a THC level below 0.3%; whereas the threshold to induce an intoxicating effect is roughly 1% THC. (26) Additionally, there is research suggesting industrial hemp’s elevated level of CBD (cannabidiol) counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC, making it impossible to get “high” from industrial hemp. (27)
Growth and Cultivation Differences: As previously mentioned, industrial hemp is grown in high density rows because of the slender stalk of the plant in addition to increasing overall yield of a field. However, marijuana is grown for its flowers and buds which contain the highest levels of THC, so plants are well spaced to increase branching and flowering.
Depending on the specific climate, soil composition, and particular cultivar optimal seeding and harvest times of industrial hemp range between 70 and 140 days, whereas the majority of marijuana strains are harvested at 50 to 100 days maximum. (25,28)
As for the myth that industrial hemp fields can hide marijuana plants: this simply would not make sense for the marijuana grower. Marijuana's narcotic value is connected to the potency of its yield, yet the plant is susceptible to pollination by industrial hemp. A marijuana plant pollinated by a hemp would be drastically less potent than an unadulterated plant. Therefore, fields of industrial hemp may act as a deterrent to marijuana growers. (25)
Depending on the specific climate, soil composition, and particular cultivar optimal seeding and harvest times of industrial hemp range between 70 and 140 days, whereas the majority of marijuana strains are harvested at 50 to 100 days maximum. (25,28)
As for the myth that industrial hemp fields can hide marijuana plants: this simply would not make sense for the marijuana grower. Marijuana's narcotic value is connected to the potency of its yield, yet the plant is susceptible to pollination by industrial hemp. A marijuana plant pollinated by a hemp would be drastically less potent than an unadulterated plant. Therefore, fields of industrial hemp may act as a deterrent to marijuana growers. (25)
Products and Uses: Industrial hemp is considered a multi-purpose crop, depending on the particular cultivar it can be harvested for fiber and/or seed with both find uses in a variety of finished or raw applications. In fact, recent estimates maintain that hemp can be used in approximately 25,000 products in a variety of markets such as agriculture, medicine, textiles, recycling, automotive, furniture, food/nutrition/beverages, paper, construction materials, and personal care. (25) By contrast, marijuana has only one legitimate market (medicine) and even that is a subject of much debate.
HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP IN NORTH AMERICA
Hemp was growing and being used by the indigenous peoples of North America when the first European settlers arrived.
It
quickly became a major export of French and British colonies, with royal law
mandating its continued cultivation and exportation. There are numerous
accounts and documentation illustrating hemp’s importance to the early
colonies, to include the first legislative assembly of Jamestown in 1619
wherein settlers passed “measures to encourage the production of … hemp.” (29) By the end of the 1600s hemp was so vital to the colonies that it was used as
legal tender, and was required to be grown on nearly all colonial farms.
But what was once a literal and figurative cash crop of the colonies, became symbol and vital resource of colonial revolutionaries. During the war for independence hemp growth and production became essential for the colonies as both a means of trade and resources for the war. Even after
independence was won, hemp was still vital to the new nation and several of the
founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson encouraged
and engaged in the farming and production of hemp. (30)
A staple-crop of American agriculture, hemp continued to be widely grown and was commonly used for fine and coarse fibers, twine, and paper products throughout the US until the late 1800s. (25) The turn of the century brought innovations in the cotton industry that drastically reduced labor costs and an increased reliance on inherently unsustainable petroleum products. It was not until 1917 that the decorticator, a machine that dramatically reduces hemp’s labor costs and improves yield, was proliferated throughout the US hemp industry, and by then it was too late.
A staple-crop of American agriculture, hemp continued to be widely grown and was commonly used for fine and coarse fibers, twine, and paper products throughout the US until the late 1800s. (25) The turn of the century brought innovations in the cotton industry that drastically reduced labor costs and an increased reliance on inherently unsustainable petroleum products. It was not until 1917 that the decorticator, a machine that dramatically reduces hemp’s labor costs and improves yield, was proliferated throughout the US hemp industry, and by then it was too late.
Ironically, just as hemp’s downfall began its value as a sustainable crop gained recognition, when in 1916 the USDA identified hemp as a sustainable replacement for timber. (31) However, the American hemp industry declined until 1937 when the Marihuana Tax Act effectively ended
all growth and production by putting a one hundred dollar tax on all marihuana
sales.(32) Although the act recognizes that marijuana and hemp as two
separate plants and does not tax industrial hemp sales, hemp’s competitors had
spent the last two decades convincing the public that they were one in the same.
"Hemp for Victory" (1942)
Documentary film commissioned by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) to encourage American farmers to grow industrial hemp during World War II. |
Though hemp saw a brief revival during World War II when textile and cordage resources were scarce, the industry never fully recovered. The war on drugs of the 1960s and ‘70s brought about the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which repealed the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, but no longer differentiated industrial hemp from marijuana. This effectively made all plants in the Cannabis genus a controlled substance, and industrial hemp illegal to grow without a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). (33)
However, The facts concerning industrial hemp's sustainable, multi-purpose nature began influencing the general public and individual states to encourage the decriminalization of hemp as early as the 1990s (25). However, politics is slow-moving processes and pro-hemp legislation has only recently began gaining traction on at meaningful level. |
HEMP TODAY
A vastly increased awareness of anthropogenic impacts on the planet brings issues of sustainability, climate change, and responsible use of resources to the fore. These issues necessitate the investigation of alternative means and resources to nearly every aspect of contemporary life; scientists, politicians, and academics alike recognize hemp as one such sustainable alternative. By combining present day knowledge of hemp’s environmental benefits with its unique historical connection to the United States, it is clear that hemp cannot only be successfully and sustainably grown and produced in the US, but is uniquely linked to American values of independence and freedom.