Industrial Hemp
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Until the late nineteenth century, industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was one of the world's largest agricultural crops and the most traded commodity. Unfortunately, the close relation to its illegal, and psychoactive cousin, marijuana, has caused much controversy in the effort to legalize its growth. Hemp should not be illegal to grow in the United States; it has many uses and could save hundreds, if not thousands of trees, among many other things. If the masses would only consider the many uses of hemp and learn the differences between hemp and marijuana, we would be saving money, forests, decreasing pollution, and basically making this world a cleaner and safer place to live.
Industrial hemp has less than one percent tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) is the potentially psychoactive chemical in marijuana and is not presently, nor historically, found in significant quantities in the hemp grown fiber. Industrial hemp has no illicit use; it is the equivalent of non-alcoholic beer. It is grown as a fiber crop while marijuana or psychotropic hemp is grown for the narcotic cannabis. Both are forms of Cannabis sativa L...