Cannabis

Cannabis is truly one of the world's most amazing plants.  It has only been illegal in the United States since 1937.  Prior to that, it's use goes back some 10,000 years by nearly all of the world's major civilizations.  Its uses included:

• Textiles, art canvas, rope and twine
• Paper
• Paints, varnishes and oils
• Medicines and tonics
• Food oils and protein
• Building materials

The cannabis people smoke for pleasure is related to the cannabis grown for fibers, but is not exactly the same.  Many sailors did "smoke rope," but most of them got headaches.  Even if society wants to ban smoking cannabis, there is no good reason to ban the other type.

Cannabis was made illegal mainly to assist the politically powerful duPont corporation, which invented nylon around the same time that others invented a machine to quickly and efficient strip hemp fibers from their stalks.  By banning hemp production under the racist "marihuana" guise, the political cronies of duPont ensured a brilliantly profitable synthetic fiber monopoly for generations.

You may have heard the saying "hemp can save the world."  While that may be an exaggeration, the legalization and growing of cannabis can make an important contribution to both the economy and the environment.

Economy

• Stimulate a domestic textile industry.  Cannabis fibers can be used for anything from fine fabrics to coarse rope.
• Give farmers a new, profitable crop to grow.  Cannabis requires very little fertilization, almost no pesticides, and can be grown in poor soil with relatively little water.  Rural communities could use the help.  Special harvesting machines would be manufactured and sold.
• Stimulate a cannabis seed food industry.  This can be used for livestock and people.  The cannabis seed contains highly digestible proteins.
• Stimulate a cannabis fiber building products industry.  Strong beams and panels can easily be made from long, tough hemp fibers.  In 1943, Henry Ford built an entire car body from natural fibers, including hemp.  Its panels had ten times the impact strength of steel.
• Biomass energy production:  Cannabis hemp grows rapidly, as much as 20 feet per year.  It can provide ample fuelstock for biomass energy projects.  Due to reductions in logging over the past 20 years, many biomass projects have shut down for lack of fuel.

Environment

Ease burdens on forests:  Replacing wood products with cannabis hemp products will greatly reduce the strain on dwindling primary forests.

Reduce use of petrochemicals:  Hemp oil can be used to make motor fuel, lubricating oil, paints, solvents and more.  Plant-based chemicals tend to be less toxic than petroleum-based chemicals, and do not require costly and environmentally devastating extraction operations.

Revive struggling bird populations.  Before 1937, birds feasted on wild hemp which grew all over the American mid west, and also on the acres of hemp raised by American farmers.  When the plant was eradicated, the birds were deprived of their food, and many died.

Reduce use of cotton.  Cotton has many pests and requires massive amounts of pesticides, which ruin the environment.  Hemp requires far fewer inputs from the farmer.