Letter to the Editor

Legalize hemp

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Dear Editor,

I'm writing on behalf of the newspaper industry having trouble getting newsprint from Canada.

This item coming from Canada is made from hemp, which our government has ruled out due to hemp containing THC which is the thing in marijuana that causes the "high."

Industrial hemp has negligible THC and is the best choice for everything from biofuels to building materials. Yet it is still illegal in the United States because of drug laws and drug enforcement policies which started with the newspaper mogul William Hearst.

He started this to protect his newspaper, the paper for which was made from trees from his vast, vast holding of property growing trees. Now we are seeing our forests being depleted and our source for paper being threatened.

What will happen when our newspaper people cannot get supplies, much less other companies using paper?

Nebraska farmers could surely be producers of this versatile plant.

Let's think about this and try contacting our elected "powers that be" in office and see if they can get our law turned around so farmers can grow hemp without being prosecuted.

As I read about this, it seems this is not a science issue but rather a political issue caused by ignorance and misunderstanding about the drug and industrial hemp.

Legalizing industrial hemp sure would help save our precious trees which take so many years to grow.

How about getting "on the bandwagon" and send letters, e-mails, faxes, etc., to our representatives in our various legal offices. Let them know we favor a turn-around in our law on hemp.

Sincerely,

Esther Wissbaum,

McCook

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  • It would be nice if people would quit throwing around the word ignorant just to treat people who don't share their point of view as morons. I don't mean to jump only on Esther for this, mind you, but that's the general impression I get when people throw the word into debate. Maybe I'm just ignorant about how people use ignorant in conversation.

    In any case, if it is indeed true that this industrial hemp is a strain that won't let people have hippy-dippy mushroom flashbacks, then I'm all for it. I'd prefer to see some examples, though, of how this stuff is so good for building materials and biofuels.

    As a side note, if newspaper companies reach a point where they can't get paper the current way, then I think we have a MUCH bigger problem on our hands than whether or not a plant is banned because some people use it in stupid ways.

    -- Posted by bjo on Wed, Apr 29, 2009, at 11:34 AM
  • I was under the impression that many of the local farmers raised it during the war, because the fiber was the best for mooring lines for our ships, and didn't rot easily. Until synthetic materials, hemp hawsers were all we had.

    Hemp is very versatile in usage. It is the leaves that the smokers crave.

    Just a thought. Arley

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Wed, Apr 29, 2009, at 3:09 PM
  • Well bjo, the word "ignorant" means lacking in knowledge, uninformed, unaware. I live in Canada where we have a healthy hemp industry, mandated by our govenment. The seeds we plant to grow our industrial hemp crop are strains that produce plants that contain very low THC, and a heartier stalk.

    After reading the inaccurate information on the DEA website about cannabis, and the confusion with hemp, it's no wonder the general public is having such a hard time getting over the stigma. A hundred years ago, everyone knew what hemp was and it's benefits. It had NOTHING to do with marijuana, the female version of cannabis that flowers and contains cannabinoids.

    Perhaps people should take the time to educate themselves about the difference between hemp and marijuana before making comments on whether you like them or not.

    -- Posted by hemptress on Wed, Apr 29, 2009, at 8:28 PM
  • There is indeed a difference between "industrial hemp" and "marihuana". The difference is in the THC levels. (THC being the active ingredient that can give "hippy-dippy mushroom flashbacks" ..?).

    The latest bill, H.R. 1866 The Industrial Farm Act of 2009, is trying to set the record straight on that fact. Industrial hemp is classified as .3% or less in THC content, on a dry weight basis.

    In the words of the DEA: "The remainder of the plant -- stalks and sterilized seeds -- is what some people refer to as "hemp." However, "hemp" is not a term that is found in federal law."

    The problem is not "discovering" the value of the cannabis plant, but in allowing modern technology to apply the uses of a plant that has been in service to mankind since the beginning of time.

    China is leading the way in machinery (focusing on the pulp or bast), the European Union is benefiting from industrial applications (France leading the pack), Canada is focusing on the oil from the seeds, the list goes on.

    The one nation that IS NOT on the list of cultivators of hemp is the U.S. of A.! But yet, We The People, import more industrial hemp than any other nation in the world. So, if we can import the raw material for processing, why can we not let American farmers grow it and reap the benefits ourselves?

    There is plenty of information on the benefits of industrial hemp. All one has to do is "google" it.

    -- Posted by Hemp Werx on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, at 2:01 AM
  • Hippy dippy's don't smoke the leaves they smoke the flowers. Leaves make fine cloth. Hemp had 25,000 uses in the early 1900's. If the US wasn't so lame there would probably be millions of uses. Including the cure for many cancers. Breast,lung, and brain cancer. Our dear sweet goverment found this out in the 1930's and was leaked out again in the 1970's. So if your looking for some truth don't visit web pages that are .gov. You have to look elswhere for some truths. Like Spain,Israel,Italy pretty much anywhere but here.Europe has had articles for carbon neutral(or rather better than neutral) buildings made of hemp. Hempcrete,bio-degradable plastic. look up Henry Ford in 1941 he made auto body parts that where 7 times stronger than steel.Some auto companys presently use hemp now as door panels.Rudolph Diesel the inventor of the first diesel engine designed his engine to run on hemp or other vegetable oils. Hemp fuel would be carbon neutral. It absorbes co2 as it grows if it is burned then it is released. If you use it in buildings it holds the co2 till it is decomposed or burns. Unlike oil, it only releases co2 and other nasty stuff. Hemp seed and the oils have the best nutrient values of anything on the planet. Great for us and our animals.

    -- Posted by Grandma111 on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, at 12:38 PM
  • It's time to get on the right track. Make your voice heard! Let them know we are sick and tired of the BS.

    www.votehemp.com

    -- Posted by Grandma111 on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, at 12:44 PM
  • bjo...

    http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/images/hemp01.gif

    http://www.torontohemp.com/hempuses.jpg

    do a basic google search of "hemp uses" and voila!

    or "history of hemp"

    I'm pretty sure that cannabis won't give some one a hippy dippy mushroom flashback...You're talking 2 completely different substances. If someone is actually dumb/desperate enough to smoke industrial hemp then let them...

    -- Posted by thimself on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, at 4:17 PM
  • Hemp, cannibis, marijuana, guns, knives, aerosol paint, motorcycles, and the list goes on of products that have good qualities, that are misused or abused by a few intellectuals, causing the government to attempt to protect us from ourselves.

    -- Posted by medic 367 on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, at 7:54 PM
  • The day will come very soon when hemp will become as common as other natural resources. We who understand this and try our best by becoming activist and writing our political leaders. By demanding action to right this wrong we are not only helping humanity we are helping ourselves. Hemp makes common sense but for economic reasons too and environmental reasons HEMP IS GOOD FOR US AND OUR COUNTRY. I sell hemp clothing at http://www.apronstore.com/hempaprons.htm GO HEMP GO!

    -- Posted by PerryPeck on Sat, May 16, 2009, at 3:52 AM
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