What Exactly Is Hemp?
What’s the difference between Hemp and Marijuana?
The History Of Hemp (in a nutshell).
History Of Hemp In America.
The Many Uses Of Hemp.
Hemp For Textiles
Hemp For Paper.
Hemp For Fuel.
Hemp For Cleaners, Paints, & Building Materials.
The Hemp Industry’s Potential For The Economy & Commerce.
The Growing & Harvesting Of Hemp.
The Vision Of The Hemp Revolution & It’s Potential To Save The World.
What can I do for the Hemp Revolution?

What Exactly Is Hemp?
Simply put, Hemp is a member of the Cannabis Sativa plant family, and is the world’s premier renewable resource.
Hemp is the number one plant for producing clothing, paper, fuel, food, building and cleaning materials, cosmetics and paints, as well as being able to substitute plastics, produce over 20,000 products, and possibly save our Earth from environmental destruction, malnutrition, and economic disaster.

What’s the difference between Hemp and Marijuana?
Hemp is NOT marijuana. They are both completely different with respec to stalk size, growing practices, and most importantly, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content. THC is the chemical in the flowering pods of the marijuana plant that contribute to it’s medicinal value as well as it’s mood-altering effects. The THC content in Hemp is a standardized .03% as opposed to marijuana’s THC content of 15-20%. Additionally Hemp is grown and harvested solely for it’s seeds and stalks, not it’s low-THC flowers. Marijuana cannot be grown with hemp, nor within a two-mile radius of a hemp field; - it will loose it’s THC value
All of the 31 countries that grow hemp as well as many others
differentiate between hemp and marijuana

The History Of Hemp (in a nutshell).
From more than 1000 years before the time of Christ until 1883 A.D., cannabis hemp was our planet’s largest agricultural crop and most important industry.
The earliest known woven fabric was made of hemp and dates back to the eight millennium, 8,000-7,000 BC. (Colombia history of the world, 1981, pg54.)
Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made with cannabis hemp fiber, including books, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks, newspapers etc.
Hemp paper lasted 50-100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus.
Until about 1800 hempseed oil was the most consumed lighting oil in America and the world.

History Of Hemp In America.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp while they were presidents.
George Washington planted hemp at Mt. Vernon in an effort to start a home hemp industry so America would not have to depend on foreign countries (Russia, China etc.) for their hemp fiber.
For more than 200 years in early America hemp was used as a legal tender and it was legal to pay your taxes with hemp.
In the 17 – 18’00’s during periods of shortage it became illegal for farmers NOT to grow hemp and farmers could actually be arrested for not growing hemp (LA Timers, August 12, 1981)

The Many Uses Of Hemp.
There are over 20,000 different products that can be made with hemp including; clothing, fuel, fabric, paper, building materials, cosmetics, oils, foods, vitamins and nutrients, beverages, cleaning materials, biodegradable plastics, animal feed and lots, lots more…

There has even been entire houses and automobiles made with hemp, imagine that!!

Hemp For Textiles
From the strongest rope to the finest lace, hemp is the earth’s most versatile fiber and is responsible for thousands of products on the market today. Hemp is used in apparel from socks and shoes to suites and dresses as well as accessories from purses and backpacks to curtains and tablecloths. Hemp is naturally resistant to mold and UV light, and becomes softer wit every wash as the fibers relax. Additionally, Hemp is 10 times stronger and more durable than cotton due to it’s long fibers.
Hemp produces 250% more fiber than cotton and grows with virtually no pesticides, as opposed to cotton which uses more water and pesticides than any other commercial crop; leaving the soil depleted and creating immense amounts of chemical runoff, and pollution. In fact, half of all agricultural chemicals in the U.S. are used in conjunction with cotton growing.

Think about that the next time you buy 100% cotton.

Hemp For Paper.
‘The Gutenburg bible – the first book made on a printing press, was printed on hemp paper. Almost 600 years later, the pages are still in good condition.’
Hemp is the world’s best paper making material from a quality, environmental, and sustainability standpoint. One acre of hemp provides the same amount of paper pulp as four acres of trees. Hemp paper resists decomposition, does not yellow like tree paper, and can last up to 50-100 times longer.
Additionally hemp paper processing mills do not require chlorine or other chemicals that can end up in rivers, streams, or the local water supply. More importantly, hemp fiber is the strongest natural fiber in the world, which means it can be recycled several times more than paper made from wood or other alternative fibers.
By replacing paper made from trees with eco-friendly hemp paper we can immensely impact if not completely solve the issue of environmental threats such as; deforestation, global-warming, soil erosion, and habitat destruction, just to name a few.

Since 1973, about half the forest in the world have been cut down to make paper. If hemp had not been outlawed, most would still be standing, oxygenating the planet.

Hemp For Fuel.

‘Planting only 6% of the continental United States with biomass crops such as hemp would supply all current domestic demands for oil and gas.’

Industrial Hemp is the number one biomass producer on earth, meaning that it is an actual contender for an economically competitive, clean burning fuel. Hemp has four times the biomass and cellulose potential of it’s closest competing crop, corn.
Burning coal and oil are the greatest sources of acid rain and biomass fuels burn clean and contain no sulphur and produce no ash during combustion. The cycle of growing and burning biomass crops keeps the world’s carbon dioxide level at perfect equilibrium, which means that we are less likely to experience the global climatic changes (greenhouse effect) brought about by excess carbon dioxide and water vapors after burning fossil fuels.
80% of solid and airborne pollution in our environment can be blamed on fossil energy sources; Think of the economic and environmental opportunities and progress that could be made by producing clean burning energy instead of endangering our health and safety with the last remains of an unsustainable, dirty resource.

Hemp biomass as a fuel can produce enough energy to substitute all our fossil fuels and run our businesses, industries, homes, & automobiles.

Hemp For Cleaners, Paints, & Building Materials.

‘Henry Ford designed and built a car entirely from compression-molded hemp and other natural fibers that also ran on hemp biomass fuel.’

That’s right! Hemp can be used to make cars. Mercedes Benz and Ford, along with other companies in the U.S. and Europe make door panels and dashboards by compressing hemp fibers and adding resin or plastic. These cars that replace more expensive and dangerous fiberglass with hemp are on the road today.
Houses can even be built with hemp. Today it is being used to produce caulking, cement, fiberboard, flooring, insulation, paneling, particleboard, plywood, as well as reinforced concrete and roofing. The hardened material is resistant to rotting, rodents, insects, and fire. Because these hemp products are superior in strength and flexibility, it is resistant to cracking and breaking and therefore excellent for areas susceptible to hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
European tests indicate that hemp seed oil based natural surfactant cleaners work as well or better than those based on other oils such as coconut, soy, or canola. Hemp based products can clean everything from windows and furniture to jet airplane engines.
Hemp oil also has a natural drying agent and is used in paints, varnishes and sealants that render wood highly resistant to water. In fact, up until 1937, all quality paints were made with a base of hemp oil.

“Why use up the forest which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products from the annual growth of the fields?”
– Henry Ford

The Hemp Industry’s Potential For The Economy & Commerce.

‘In 1993 worldwide retail sales for hemp products were US$ 5 million; in 2000 this figure rose to US$ 150 million, including US$80-90 million in the U.S. alone.’

Nevertheless, this is a tiny market compared to it’s potential and these statistics do not include the widespread use of hemp as a raw material for industrial applications such as purchases by auto makers.
As the world’s population grows, increasing strain will be put on non-renewable resources such as forest and mineral deposits. The demand for renewable materials by consumers, industry, and government will grow out of necessity.
Hemp is presently grown in 31 different countries; almost every major industrialized nation permits hemp farming: Canada, Britain, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and South Africa just to name a few. In Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China they never stopped growing hemp.
Today’s hemp industry is constrained by legal restrictions, transportation costs, and inefficient machinery; however, the main problem confronting hemp is the lack of public awareness of it’s myriad benefits.

The Growing & Harvesting Of Hemp.

Seeding; Hemp can be sown using conventional seeding equipment – i.e. air seeders, disk-press drills, hoe-press drills. Good seed depth control is important and for most soil types hemp will benefit from press wheels or packing after seeding to ensure good soil to seed contact.
Harvesting & processing; Processing of hemp fiber begins at harvest where the equipment used and the time of the harvest effects the quality and the potential applications of the fiber. Fiber processing mainly has two options; retting and decortication. Both retting and decortication describe the process of separating the bast fiber from the hurd. Retting is a microbial (rotting) process that breaks the bonds in the stalk and is used in order to use hemp fibers for specific uses such as textiles. The quality of the fiber is quite dependant on the harvesting and retting activities; if hemp is grown for seed, harvest does not occur until later in the season and this negatively effects the retting process and the fiber quality. Decortication is a difficult process and research is ongoing into machinery and other methods to reduce the cost of this traditionally mechanical process.
Yield expectations; Initiating growers should expect 300-400 lbs/acre grain yield, while with experience the potential of current varieties could be in excess of 600lbs/acre. In a dual purpose scenario, stalk yields for shorter statured varieties should be in the 3,000 – 5,000 ld/acre range, while taller varieties should yield 4,000 – 7,000 lbs/acre. In crops grown solely as a fiber crop, yields of 10,000 lbs/acre could be attained.

The Vision Of The Hemp Revolution & It’s Potential To Save The World.

‘If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation; Then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world’s paper and textiles; meeting all of the world’s transportation, industrial, and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time…
And that substance is the one that did it all before;
Cannabis Hemp!!!!

What can I do for the Hemp Revolution?

Support the hemp revolution by buying hemp products whenever possible, it will be worth you while to pay a little extra for a higher quality product and help save the world at the same time.
Do your own research; the internet, books, documentaries etc. Go to your local hemp activist and hemp store for information, get involved. – www.abouthemp.com, www.votehemp.com
Spread the good news of Hemp. Talk to your friends, family, politicians and even strangers about the uses and benefits of hemp. If hemp isn’t grown in your country, do something about it.
You have been chosen to spread the good news
of the Global Hemp Revolution!!

You have been chosen to spread the good news
of the Global Hemp Revolution!!