Everyone talks about the Environment......BUT Nobody

[Bennyboy]

talks about industrial HEMP. Why is that? Politicians on both sides of the aisle all flap their gums about global warming, jobs, pollution, dependence on foreign oil, etc. But none of them ever talk about industrial HEMP which could go a long ways to eliminate those problems.

If HEMP were legal, we would have an American industry. Grown here, processed here.

Everything that is now made from oil based plastics could be manufactured here in the US. Bottles, bags, flip flops...And the best part is, they would all be biodegradable.

If HEMP were legal, we could lessen the impact on the forests. Anything that is made from wood fiber we could make right here in the good ol USA. Maybe open up some of the wood processing plants that are now shuttered.

If HEMP wee legal, it would lessen the effects that more water intensive crops (cotton)have on water supplies and the environment. hemp takes 1/3 the water to grow the same yields. In processing, HEMP takes 1/10 the water. Not to mention that HEMP could be grown without the heavy pesticide use that other crops need.

The wy I see it, unless someone mentions HEMP as way out of many of the problems in the country, they are just blowing smoke up my ass, and pandering to the true enemies of the US, the oil companies and industries that use oil for their products.

[phantom power]

1. Because TEH DRUGS are taboo in this country.

[ensho]

7. hemp will not get you high, it is not marijuana, just the same family tree

as marijuana

[phantom power]

8. That's the rub: reasoning doesn't work very well on taboos.

[ensho]

12. its not taboo stopping it, it is the oil barons stopping hemp

they were the ones that stopped it being grown in the US in the first place. hemp was widely grown before the oil barons came on the scene.

[Deja Q]

2. There's no money to be made from the selling of books hyping hemp.

Not even the drug dealers are touchin' this one...

[Bennyboy]

3. Are those books printed on HEMP?

Gotta wonder. As it is now, HEMP is very expensive due to the fact it has to be imported.....

[Bandit]

4. We are fighting a "War" on drugs and we can't surrender to the enemy.

"War", kill, destroy, death, America. All seem interchangable in this new era we live in.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Interesting.

Hemp is not a magic crop.

You can make cellophane from any wood waste product, and cellophane is still manufactured. It's simply not feasible to do so on the scale required to meet the demand. So, we make plastics instead.

I am curious about the claims of water demand, both for growth and processing. I suspect that the legends about hemp gone beyond the facts.

[Bennyboy]

10. Here you go.....

Crucial water shortages are reported with regularity. Yet, a water-dependent T-shirt industry continues to boom as it manufactures and sells 1.4 billion cotton T-shirts yearly. Figures compiled by Hemptown Clothing, Inc. (OTCBB:HPTWF) confirm that producing one cotton T-shirt takes/purges 1740 gallons from our country's fragile water supply. If America's cotton garments were switched to hemp, the company said that 1.33 billion gallons a year of precious water would be saved.

To spearhead the change, Hemptown is developing Pectinase, a patented industrial hemp enzyme that can revolutionize the industrial hemp manufacturing process. The use of Pectinase will create T-shirts the texture of cotton and the strength of hemp. Pectinase will break down the hemp into a soft pliable fabric in just five hours compared to the current 45-60 day process.

Hemptown also reports that hemp grows like a weed from rainwater, is four times stronger than cotton, and becomes softer as it is washed. Much like the paper products that took market share from styrofoam cups and food packaging when the damage caused by CFCs in styrofoam became more widely understood-----hemp T-shirts are the alternative, and can totally replace water-dependent, water-selfish cotton tees saving much of our depleted supply.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3579272/HEMP-ENZYME-COULD-SAVE-1.html

[ensho]

6. I've read that some farmers in the upper midwest are petitioning

to let them grow hemp. the neo cons will say no, bad for the oil business

[Bennyboy]

9. No Dems are saying HEMP either......

Not even The Goreacle himself.

[Uncle Joe]

15. I believe the Goreacle will be coming out with a new book

very soon with proposed solutions to the looming global warming climate change catastrophe and maybe it will be addressed in that future best seller.

[Warpy]

11. I talk about it a lot

and the thread sinks like a stone.

Hemp oil can be substituted for petroleum in many applications, like making plastics and other polymers. It is 100% renewable.

Hemp pulp is much more economical for making paper than wood pulp is since crops are produced every year instead of every 15 years.

Hemp can be used for clothing (although my spinning has been less than successful; I've produced some very nice twine instead of yarn) and the crop is less injurious to the soil than yearly cotton crops are.

Hemp fields will actually reduce the amount grown for drugs because of cross pollination. Seeds saved over will be contaminated by hemp pollen and the next year's crop won't be particularly smokeable. That should make the drug warriors absolutely ecstatic. Pot will have to be grown indoors for seed.

That this useful crop is still illegal in this country would be farcical if it weren't so injurious on so many levels.

[Gold Metal Flake]

13. What do you mean "nobody"?

It's a frequent topic in various forums on DU and elsewhere. There is legislations in state congresses right now. Here is but one group dedicated to the legal cultivation on hemp:

http://www.votehemp.com/

[LWolf]

14. I am somebody, and I talk about hemp.

Not much here at DU, it's true.

I have a pair of hemp yoga pants that are 4 years old. I haven't been able to wear them out no matter how hard I try; and I've tried. I wear them to ride my horse, clean the barn, cut and split firewood, chop weeds, repair fence... the navy blue color has faded slightly. The pants themselves are as sturdy as they were new. They make untreated denim look wimpy.

I saw some hemp milk at the store the other day. I'll try some as soon as I can get it unsweetened. I do have some hemp seed powder in the fridge to add to smoothies, etc..

I'm an advocate of hemp farming here in the U.S.

Of course, as "just" a citizen, and a not a mainstream christian centrist, at that, my voice is not exactly heeded, lol.

[defendandprotect]

16. Taboo subject in America -- has to be considered a "drug" . . . and stomped on ---

Imagine all the trees we wouldn't have had to cut down ---

All the bleach we wouldn't have had to use ---

Makes great clothing, too ---

That's why we can't have it ---