Hemp durable, versatile product

Dear Editor,

Not too many weeks back, I wrote an article regarding industrial hemp being such a good product, having such a variety of uses.

I wrote Gov. Heineman about it and his reply was to the effect that hemp is of the cannabis family and so was marijuana, and he would not go along with legalizing it to be grown in Nebraska.

Industrial hemp is a non-psychoactive plant; the fibers are different and stronger than a marijuana plant, making it suitable for textiles. This is drawing attention from designers.

Hemp has a good record of performance. Hemp fibers are highly absorbent, UV resistant, anti-microbial and long-lasting.

Growing it also requires less water and fewer pesticides than cotton. These attributes should be particularly interesting to our Nebraska farmers and give them more sources of income at a lower cost.

Growing hemp was banned by the U.S. in the '50s; hence much of the hemp used by American clothing designers comes from China. What a shame.

I'd like to quote from an article I recently read ... "It's so high-value and so much lower impact in every other way that it eclipses carbon generated through shiping. Still, hemp's illicit image is hard to shed."

Again, I repeat, it's durable and versatile. When used in textiles it's easier on the environment than, say, cotton. The designers who are using it say it runs the gamut from technical outerwear to dresses that would hardly be the first choice of the dreadlocks-and-doobie crowd.

Readers, if ever you get the chance to cast a vote for this, do put a thumbs up for it. Help our farmers, merchants and buyers. Write our state officials.

This in no way is suggesting to legalize marijuana. We don't need THAT.

Sincerely,

Esther Wissbaum,

McCook