| Although the term hemp usually refers to the fibers | | | | Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), does to this |
| of Cannabis sativa, it is often confused with | | | | day." The plant is still cultivated in South America, |
| marijuana, an intoxicating resin secreted by the | | | | Eastern Europe, and Canada, but it currently |
| epidermal glands of this plant. Industrial hemp is bred | | | | constitutes only about 1% of the natural fiber |
| to increase the yield of fiber, seed, and/or oil, | | | | market. |
| whereas marijuana varieties are bred to maximize | | | | Environmental concerns have brought a renewed |
| their narcotic qualities. | | | | interest in the plant as an eco-friendly rotational crop. |
| Cannabis sativa is the first plant known to have been | | | | The mission of the NAIHC is to encourage the DEA |
| domesticated, and it has been cultivated for at least | | | | to remove the industrially grown plant from its |
| 12,000 years. Evidence of it has been found in Asia, | | | | classification as a drug, and to reintroduce it as a |
| Africa, Europe, South America, and North America. | | | | farm crop in the United States. The plant is very |
| For much of its history, it has been valued as a | | | | hardy, and it grows in a wide variety of climates and |
| source of food and fiber and it is one of the oldest | | | | soil types. It is drought resistant and does not require |
| sources of textile fiber. Plus, the fiber is long, strong, | | | | a long growing season. Moreover, the plants grow |
| durable, and very resistant to decay and abrasion. In | | | | tightly spaced and outgrow competing weeds. After |
| addition, it is more absorbent and mildew resistant | | | | harvest, the roots remain and the leaves are retiled |
| than cotton. These qualities made it ideal for sailcloth, | | | | into the soil, improving the soil nutrients and |
| twine, rope, nets, and webbing during a time when | | | | preventing topsoil erosion. It can also be used in place |
| voyage by sea was an important method of travel - | | | | of wood fiber for paper, thus saving forests for |
| in fact, "canvas" is a derivative of the word | | | | watersheds and wildlife habitats and, ultimately, |
| "Cannabis." During its heyday, fabric made from it | | | | helping to reduce global warming. |
| was also used to make military uniforms, shoes, and | | | | Refinements in the processing mean that the texture |
| parachutes. | | | | of high quality hemp fabric is now indistinguishable |
| Several factors, such as the introduction of synthetic | | | | from fine linens, making it a comfortable choice for |
| fibers and the decreased demand for sailcloth and | | | | clothing and bedding. Interestingly, fabrics that contain |
| rigging, led to the gradual discontinuation of its | | | | at least 50% of the fiber block the sun's ultraviolet |
| cultivation. In the United States, it was grown | | | | rays more effectively than other fabrics. This fabric |
| industrially until the 1950s. According to the North | | | | in varying weights is also used for upholstery, bags, |
| American Industrial Hemp Council (NAIHC), it "was | | | | sacks, and tarpaulins, and it is also becoming popular |
| doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which | | | | as a carpeting material. |
| placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made | | | | So, why all the hype about hemp? Far from being a |
| it effectively impossible to grow. While Congress | | | | harmful substance, it has many of the qualities that |
| expressly expected continued industrial production, | | | | make it an excellent choice for environmentally |
| the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped the industrial | | | | friendly living. |
| variety with marijuana, and its successor, the U.S. | | | | |