Farmers hope to plow the way for sustainable U.S. hemp [View all]

[marmar]

via Grist:


Farmers hope to plow the way for sustainable U.S. hemp
By Susie Cagle


A couple months ago, I asked if industrial hemp would make a resurgence thanks to new legalization and cultural acceptance of cannabis. A real hemp industry could be as much as 10 times bigger than legal marijuana, which is already a potentially $1 billion industry in Washington and $200 million in Colorado.

MisterQuill But back in November, farmers were a little skittish. “Yes yes, the U.S. is the biggest consumer of hemp which is pretty damn sustainable compared to other fibers and grows relatively easily without a bunch of pesticides, but the federal government is crazy and they’re giving us so much money for all this corn!” they said (approximately).

Still, some farmers, like Michael Bowman in Colorado, are determined to cultivate the evil plant. “Can we just stop being stupid? Can we just stop being stupid? Can we just talk about how things need to change?” Bowman asked The Washington Post, which did not have a very good answer. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/farmers-hope-to-plow-the-way-for-sustainable-u-s-hemp/