Essay, Research Paper: Hemp Proves To Be Beneficial

Hemp Proves to be Beneficial

Researching hemp I have found that there are many more benefits in legalizing it, then there are keeping it illegal. When interviewing people I found that the majority of the people who know the difference between hemp and marijuana agreed that it should be legalized and if they didn't I informed them on hemp they agreed it should be legalized. In this paper I will tell you many reason's why I think hemp should be legalized and I will give you reason's why other people think it should remain illegal in the United States.
Hemp is the stalk and blast of the plant Cannabis Sativa and only contains 1% or less of THC (The Economist 1). THC is the chemical which causes you to get high and is found in marijuana. Marijuana is a recreational drug that has many medical uses and it is the leaf of Cannabis Sativa.
Hemp Cannabis Sativa is a plant that grows from one to five meters high in a short growing season of 120 days. Its long taproot allows it to grow in any weather conditions, which makes it convenient to grow in large quantities where there is no irrigation, and can be grown in all 50 states (Marijuana par. 8).
Hemp is better than cotton, the trees we use to make paper, and the construction materials we use.
Hemp was one of the first cultivated crops known to man. It has been around since 8000 BC. It was required to grow hemp when America was becoming a country. People had the option to pay their taxes with it; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew and supported hemp. Then in 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act was passed which killed the industry that year (Marijuana par. 8). It was legalized again during WWII to help the solders with their pain. Up until the 1990's the legalization of hemp was not an issue, but now people see the economic values that hemp has and the issue is becoming huge.
The reason hemp was banned was because of the increasing number of people using it as a cover up to growing marijuana for recreational purposes. But, what most people don't know is that it was banned in the senate without any say from people who new the value of hemp toward the growth of the nation. After it was band, marijuana was no longer a problem and that's how the United States wants to keep it. But have they thought about the fact that domesticating pot production would eliminate the bloody smuggling trades at the southern border of the United States.
Some of hemp's many uses are paper, textiles, construction materials, food, rope, plastics and fuel. All of these are made from hemp, not marijuana, which has a very small amount THC in it (Martin par. 9).
Many people think hemp will soon be replaced by cotton due to its many benefits. Why is hemp better than cotton? Here are just a few reasons. One acre of hemp will produce as much fiber as two or three acres of cotton. Hemp requires no pesticides or herbicides and only small amounts of fertilizer. On the other hand, cotton uses 50% of the world's pesticides and herbicides. Hemp is also stronger, softer, and lasts longer than cotton (Marijuana par. 3).
The advantages of using hemp to produce paper is that one acre of hemp will produce as much paper as two to four acres of trees. This would gross United States farmers $19-30 billion, and would save consumers money (Martin par 8). Also, like cotton, paper uses a lot of chemicals and by using hemp the chemicals used in the process of making paper would be reduced by 80%. The most important reason hemp should be used in paper production is that there is a limited number of trees left on this planet and the tree take to long to grow to keep up with the worlds demand. If we decided to start recycling more hemp it can be recycled many more times than paper today, since it is free of all acid.
Using hemp when making plywood and fiberboard makes the board stronger, lighter, and longer lasting then regular wood. Hemp board is used in more and more new houses due to its durability in earthquakes, hurricanes and other severe weather. Hemp is also been used in making bio-plastics recently they have been using the fibers inside the blast for composite materials. Because of the strength of hemp fiber the success of the research is increasing.
Food is another use for hemp. With a handful of hemp seeds you can get the essential amount of protein and fatty acids you need in a day. Hemp seed is the only seed, which contains these oils with almost no saturated fat. By using hemp seed as a supplement in your diet you can reduce the risk of heart disease. Hemp seed is better than soybeans, it hemp resists UV-B light better then soy. And if the ozone layers where to deplete by 16% the soybean production would drop 25-30% (Hemp industry, par 12).
Hemp should it remain Illegal? That is what a majority of this countries government feels. Carol Falkowski states, "The problem is not people will get high smoking the low-TCH hemp, but that it is indistinguishable from its more potent cousin and could serve as a cover for illegal cultivation - a worry that hemp supporters scoff at" (Suzukamo 6C). By legalizing hemp, many feel as though you are legalizing marijuana, since most people think that they are the same thing. Also hemp would be a good cover up to grow marijuana illegally again. This is the only reason why people think that it should remain illegal and it a good reason. But like most hemp supporters do you think this reason it is strong enough to overlook all of the advantages of making hemp legal.
As of right now, growing hemp for industrial uses is legal. But there is a catch. It costs $1000 for a permit, and there hard to get once you have applied. If you are one of the lucky people who receive a permit, you must get a security system. That has standards almost impossible to meet. It consists of a fence around the field with barbed wire on the fence, armed guards around the clock, electronic sensing equipment. This needs to be done around each field planted with hemp (Martin par. 12). These standards are to keep farmers from growing hemp, so they will not realize what the value could be to them and the nation.
Soon the government will see how much money they could make by legalizing hemp and as a result, it may be legalized in the near future. The government spends $500 million dollars every year simply trying to eliminate wild hemp and if they spent that money starting to grow it, the country would be better off (Morris par. 3). It could not hurt the government to try growing hemp in the United States. They could try it with about fifty farms for the first year like Canada did, then if it worked out they would have an industry that makes money and creates jobs for the citizens of America. If it did not work out, chances are the county would suffer little to no loss. Just recently the state of North Dakota was allowed to grow, buy sell and trade hemp for industrial uses. This was passed in the senate on April 19, 1999. The government has seen the economical values of hemp and now farmers have their chance to show America that hemp is benefiticial to the countries growth. And who knows, could Minnesota be next?
In the interviews I did from college students more than three quarters of the students I interviewed agreed that hemp should be legalized. Wes Meyer a college freshman says "absolutely one-hundred percent" when being asked if hemp should be legalized, he also stated, "Because the fact that hemp is a very useful product and it is beneficial to the environment". The other portion of the people that said no, but when I asked them "Why?" they had no reason. So I asked them if they new the difference between hemp and marijuana, they did not know and after I informed them about hemp. All of them agreed with me that hemp should be legalized. After doing the interview with college freshman I realized that the future of our country is in full support when it comes to legalizing hemp. So in the future we should see hemp as a leading cash crop in the country with all of the benefits it has to help the nation's economy.
Researching hemp I have found that there are many more benefits in legalizing it, then there are keeping it illegal. In this paper l told you many reason's why I think hemp should be legalized and I gave you reason's why other people think it should remain illegal in the United States. In summary I think what ever can help the nation deserves a chance. We built the atomic bomb and we new it would only make things worse, but we did it to prove to other nations that we are powerful. So why can't we try something that has overwhelming benefits compared to the few disadvantages.

Works Cited
"Hemp industry overview." Hemp-Agro 27 March 1999 .
"Hemp's good habits." The Economist 1 Aug. 1998: p55 (1). (PALS full text
version).
"Marijuana and Hemp The Untold Story." Cannabis Action Network 4 March 1999 .
Martin, David. "Overview of Industrial Hemp" 23 February 1998 .
Morris, David. "Canada enlightened on issue of Hemp." St. Paul Pioneer Press 16 June 1998: 7A.
Survey. 29 April 1999, College Freshman.
Suzukamo, Leslie Brooks. "Industrial hemp may be nearer legal OK" St. Paul Pioneer Press 4 March 1999: 1C+.