dgowc1st@... writes:
the us govt. in the 20's-30's considered hemp to be the nations 2nd most
profitable crop as soon as something akin to the cotton gin was invented for it. it has been invented, and not recently; it has been for something like 50 years. but it doesn't much matter as it was illeagized due in part to political lobbyist's for the Dow chemical company who did not want it
competing against their new miracle fiber, nylon. the laws fighting it into illegality were designed to scare the average Joe into believing that it was a "black mans scourge"; something like "we have to stop those wild jazz listening, marijuana smoking, crazy negroes from infecting our nice pure, innocent young-ins" was the marketing angle back then. ever see those hoky posters from the 40's era films? the devils weed? one puff and she sells her body? cut the shit.
Hemp can be grown so that 90% of its weight is seed, which, when pressed,
yields an oil that can be converted into diesel fuel. (Henry ford grew a
personal crop to power an auto). the byproduct of the pressed seed is a cake like substance which has the 2nd most useable protein for the human body, or for livestock, for that matter; second only to soy.
during world war 2, us farmers were encouraged to grow it, (in fact there was a resolution where i believe it was a mandatory crop, complete with an
official uis gov't propaganda film called "hemp for victory") and the seeds
were pressed to get oil to lubricate aircraft and tank engines. it was also
grown for cloth, canvases, and other textiles. it was spun into the rope that became the parachute ropes on a certain navy flyers parachute and kept his parachute attached to him when his plane was shot down (using hemp seed oil in the engine, too) and he was forced to bail out, saving his life. it was also the shoestrings tying his boots up, and was the rope that made up the net a navy ship threw over so he could climb up out of the water and be rescued. the pilots name? george h.w. bush, former president of the united states
If grown for fiber content, hemp will yield 7 times as much cellulose as the same acreage of trees used for paper, with a much cleaner breakdown process which uses a hell of a lot less chemicals to actually make the paper.
As a cloth, it has an average of 4 times the lifespan as cotton with a water absorbency of something like 6 times that of cotton. george Washington's revolutionary army was clothed in hemp uniforms.
there are a zillion facts about hemp, which when used as a managed crop,
could and if allowed to be farmed, will indeed become a huge cash crop>>
I reply:
One of the things you must remember is that propaganda does not usually rely on creating facts; it relies on providing false interpretations of facts. Whether those facts are true is not the point. The conclusion that if those facts are true then non-smoking marijuana would be an important and profitable commodity is what is false
In 2002, the cost of producing marijuana for purposes other than smoking would greatly exceed the value of the crop. Its economic viability in the days of George Washington or even in the mid-20th century are irrelevant. All of the purported uses for marijuana other than smoking would be unprofitable in today's economy. The iceman doesn't come around in a horse-drawn wagon as he did when our parents (or grandparents for some of you) were young. We still need to keep things cold but easier and better ways exist now.
Hemp clothing is expensive because people think it is cool to have stuff made from marijuana. If it was commonplace it would sell for much less. Clothes made from other fibers (both natural and artificial) that are cheaper to produce and more comfortable. (Hate to break it to you, but water absorbency is not a desirable property in clothing.)
Lubricating oils and fuel can be produced from other crops more cheaply and efficiently than from marijuana, yet the government has failed miserably in attempting to subsidize methanol and other fuels to compete with fossil fuels. Even if marijuana could compete with fossil fuels it could not compete with something as mundane as corn.
Marijuana produces a low grade of paper that would be more expensive than recycled products of equal or better quality. Marijuana also requires many times more water than the trees utilized in paper production. Facts about which environmentalists should be concerned. (Cotton also requires less water; yields more usable fiber for fabric and is cheaper to finish into fabric.)
Of course, corn, wheat, rye, alfalfa, bamboo, papyrus, cotton, soybeans, and soft wood trees, etc., won't get you high. If you want to get high marijuana is hard to beat. A single plant of high grade sinsemalia would have a market value much greater than an acre of "industrial hemp." It's hard to sneak an elephant into the house.
If "industrial hemp" was profitbale then major corporations would be pushing for it because they like to make profits. That its proponents are most commonly found at rock festivals and ultimate frisbee tournaments suggests an ulterior motive.
