The Wonders of HEMP! The weed that could save the world!

[Northboy]

Stuff on Hemp
BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food – Sept. 1999

“ The future of the Canadian Hemp Industry depends upon the development of an economical processing infrastructure”

Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance

“ As a new crop, Hemp markets are under constant development. It is reasonable to assume any new crop can take 15 – 50 years for market to develop. “


Where are we in the development of processing infrastructure?


Seed oil and food production:


- Western Canadian producers have concentrated on Hemp grain growing.

- Seed production provides the maximum monetary return per acre and processors are established regionally to purchase farm harvests.

- Equipment is readily available for establishment of on farm and small scale seed pressing operations.

- All factors point to seed production as being the entry level start to a regional Industrial Hemp industry.


Fibre:

- An example of the emerging fibre processing component to the Industrial hemp industry is Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op Ltd. This group is planning to establish a fibre processing facility in Dauphin, Manitoba at a cost of $15 million. Their vision for the industry indicated a plant could be established every 100 to 200 miles.

- The processing plant will require approx. 20,000 to 25,000 acres ( 14,000 tons ) of industrial Hemp to be grown to supply the processing requirements of the facility.



- Currently Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op Ltd. has secured $ 6 million in government funding but needs to raise the remainder for their $ 15 million project through Bank loans and the public. Their plan calls for the development of a prospectus to make a public investment offering.


Fuels:

- Hemp hurds are considered a desirable feedstock for fuel production due to their high cellulose content however this product will have to compete with other field residues ( ie corn husks, etc. ) as a potential feedstock for both Ethanol and Methanol production.

Ethanol:

- Ethanol is blended with gasoline to reduce air emissions. Vehicles are presently available to operate on 85% Ethanol blends ( E85 fuel ). Currently there are 4 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road in the US.

- 2004 Ethanol production levels in Canada amounted to 200 million litres.

- A target has been set for Canada of 35 % of Canadian gasoline containing 10 % Ethanol by 2010 which requires 1.4 billion litres per year.

- Government assisted projects funded in Round 1 of the Ethanol Expansion Program amounted to 7 projects for $ 78 million that will increase production by 750 million litres per year.

- Target for the US as outlined in their Draft Security Action Plan dated February 2005 is to reduce US dependency on oil by 40 % in the transportation sector by 2030.

- USDA- “ Every BTU of petroleum fuel used to produce Ethanol generates 13.2 BTUs, thereby greatly enhancing US energy security. “

BioDiesel:

- Vegetable oil ( Canola, Rape Seed, Hemp Seed, etc ) plus 15 % Methanol plus Catalyst = Bio Diesel, a substitute for diesel fuel which burns 70 % cleaner than petro diesel. While Hemp Seed oil has higher value uses, Hemp hurds can be used for the production of Methanol.



Issues of Scale:


- Cost estimates for fibre processing facilities:

- Fibre processing facility - $ 15 million
- Cord fibre processing ( Textiles) $ 15 – 25 million
- Pulp and paper making $ 100 + million
- Charcoal / Methanol production $ 35 – 50 million



Other Considerations:

- The Hemp textile industry is currently dominated by China and India who have the benefit of relaxed environmental codes and low labour rates in what appears to be a labour intensive industry. Can we realistically compete globally or would an emerging Hemp based textile industry require trade protection similar to those being requested by the existing textile sector?

- Any fibre based industry model would have to take logistics and freight costs into consideration when locating. In British Columbia would enough acres be put into cultivation in any particular area close enough to the plant site to make a processing facility feasible?

- Is such an industry attractive enough to attract the levels of investment required?

- Will the players in the emerging Ethanol / BioFuel industry consider Hemp as an alternative to corn for their feedstock requirements given that such a change may cost them a capital outlay due to handling and processing differences?


What do we need to move forward?


- Organized commitment from agricultural producers ( possibly co-ops )

- Share ideas and results to minimize losses during industry development phase

- Identify long term markets that provide a viable return

- Conduct comprehensive feasibility reviews to guard against failure

- Acquire access to patient capital pools necessary to construct infrastructure

- Secure government support in all levels of industry development

- Commitments from stakeholders in emerging industries where Hemp fibre can be substituted for other crops that they will consider Hemp

[Phtha]

Heres some more links and info on the many benifits of this miracle plant!

Cannabis and cancer.

Large Study Finds No Link between Marijuana and Lung Cancer
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...5F83414B7F0000


Study finds no marijuana link to lung cancer http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/ma...k_lung_cancer/


Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...052501729.html


Cannabis and tobacco smoke are not equally carcinogenic. "A connection between marijuana smoking and lung or colorectal cancer was not observed"
http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/2/1/21


Cannabis smoke less carcinogenic than tobacco smoke
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/32229.php


Cannabis study finds less cancer risk than tobacco http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oc...alcohol.health


Marijuana Unlikely to Cause Head, Neck, or Lung Cancer
http://www.webmd.com/news/20000508/m...o-cause-cancer


Smoking Marijuana Does Not Cause Cancer According to a Case-control Study http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20050710150925597


Cannabis and brain damage.

Heavy Marijuana Use Doesn't Damage Brain
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/n...t-damage-brain


Marijuana Boosts Brain Cell Growth http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com...lth_news.shtml


Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8155


High Times for Brain Growth: Marijuana-like drug multiplies neurons
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20051015/fob7.asp

"studies using DTI have not found any abnormalities whatsoever in any part of the brains of adolescent heavy cannabis users. In fact, if anything, adolescent cannabis users tended to have larger brains, with more cells (white matter) than the controls. That doesn't mean that using cannabis in adolescence makes you smart, but it surely rules out significant global brain damage."
http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/...1/17/lIDABD3EJ


"Smoking marijuana does not have a long-term effect on intelligence. Only the heavy current users had experienced a decline in their IQ scores over the 10-year period - about four points, But people who had once smoked heavily and then given up were right back up to normal. Light users, former users and abstainers all saw their IQ scores climb between two and six points."
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2140


Study: Alcohol, Tobacco Worse Than Pot
http://cbs3.com/topstories/alcohol.t....2.282305.html


Human studies
There is very little evidence from human studies of structural brain damage. In their controversial paper, Campbell et al (1971) were the first to present evidence suggesting that structural/morphological brain damage was associated with cannabis use. They used air encephalography to measure cerebral ventricular size, and claimed to have demonstrated evidence of cerebral atrophy in ten young males who had used cannabis for three to 11 years, and who complained of neurological symptoms, including headaches, memory dysfunction and other cognitive impairment. Compared to controls, the cannabis users showed significantly enlarged lateral and third ventricular areas. Although this study was widely publicised in the media because of its serious implications, it was heavily criticised on methodological grounds. Most subjects had also used significant quantities of LSD and amphetamines, and the measurement technique was claimed to be inaccurate, particularly since there were great difficulties in assessing ventricular size and volume to any degree of accuracy (e.g. Bull, 1971; Susser, 1972; Brewer, 1972). Moreover, the findings could not be replicated. Stefanis (1976) reported that echoencephalographic measurements of the third ventricle in 14 chronic hashish users and 21 non-users did not support Campbell et al's pneumoencephalographic findings of ventricular dilation.

The introduction of more accurate and non-invasive techniques, in the form of computerised tomographic (CT) scans, (also known as computer-assisted tomographic (CAT) scans), permitted better studies of possible cerebral atrophy in chronic cannabis users (Co et al, 1977; Kuehnle et al, 1977). Co et al (1977), for example, compared 12 cannabis users recruited from the general community, with 34 non-drug using controls, all within the ages of 20-30. The cannabis users had used cannabis for at least five years at the level of at least five joints per day, and most had also consumed significant quantities of a variety of other drugs, particularly LSD. Kuehnle et al's (1977) subjects were 19 heavy users aged 21-27 years, also recruited from the general community who had used on average between 25 and 62 joints per month in the preceding year, although their duration of use was not reported. CT scans were obtained presumably at the end of a 31-day study, which included 21 days of ad libitum smoking of marijuana (generally five joints per day), and were compared against a separate normative sample. No evidence for cerebral atrophy in terms of ventricular size and subarachnoid space was found in either study. Although these studies could also be criticised for their research design (e.g. inappropriate control groups, and the fact that cannabis users had used other drugs), these flaws would only have biased the studies in the direction of detecting significant differences between groups, yet none were found. The results were interpreted as a refutation of Campbell's findings, and supporting the absence of cortical atrophy demonstrated by Rumbaugh et al's (1980) CAT scans of monkeys. A further study (Hannerz and Hindmarsh, 1983) investigated 12 subjects who had smoked on average 1g of cannabis daily for between six and 20 years, by thorough clinical neurological examination and CT scans. As in the studies above, no cannabis related abnormalities were found on any assessment measure.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wc...nnab2-ch75.htm

Cannabis and Schizophrenia.

RSNA: Brain Scans Suggest Marijuana-Schizophrenia Link http://www.medpagetoday.com/Radiolog...eeting/tb/2239

There are serious issues with these link studies, first of all that schizophrenia does not seem to have gone up in the era of heavy marijuana use - instead it has gone down or remained flat. This was in an era in which pot use exploded. The studies imply that pot only may cause scz in adolescence and not afterwards.

The study above does suggest impaired growth of a particular, very tiny structure of the brain by using pot in adolescence. However, the clinical correlates of such damage are a form of aphasia which adolescent pot users do not have. So there are no clinical correlates to the damage to this structure.

This structure does develop abnormally ON ONE SIDE in pot using adolescents. In scz, this structure ON BOTH SIDES. Furthermore, this is only a miniscule portion of the damage to the brain that happens when someone gets schizophrenia! Scz is a disease that is characterized by massive damage all across the brain to virtually every structure you can think of. Therefore, this very minor brain damage is certainly not sufficient to cause scz.

Read more about it here:
Does Marijuana Cause Schizophrenia?
http://robertlindsay.blogspot.com/20...zophrenia.html


Medical benefits of cannabis.

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0417193338.htm

Heart study finds benefit from pot
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sectio...cle_471358.php

Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/n...dened-arteries

Marijuana can prevent blindness in Glaucoma patients. http://www.preventblindness.org/reso...ijuanaFS01.PDF

Use of Marijuana to Treat Glaucoma
http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_d...C&sub_cat=2012

Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects
http://www.jci.org/115/11/3104?FIRST...855602212_4399

Decreased Depression In Cannabis Users, Study Says
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6586

Marijuana users report less depression.
http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/...nMjUsers05.pdf

Medical marijuana for ADD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj72e5q61Fs

Study backs medicinal benefits of cannabis
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2000/...bis000301.html

U.S. Government Knew In 1974: THC Inhibits Cancer Tumors http://projectcensored.org/publications/2001/22.html

and to recent research in Spain finding that THC stopped brain tumors in rats and protected surrounding nerve tissue, demonstrating neuroprotectant aspect of Cannabinoids. PDF of Dr. Guzman's research: http://americanmarijuana.org/Guzman-Cancer.pdf

There is also evidence that cannabis is protective against the neurotoxic effects of stroke and head injury. Further evidence shows that cannabis is effective in slowing the progression of various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, MS, Parkinson's, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/co...ract/36/5/1071
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/95/14/8268
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/21/17/6475
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...&dopt=Citation
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...cd713e4c6bf29b
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/...ll/126/10/2191
http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/am..._sclerosis.htm

Cannabis also protects mice against brain cell death caused by alcohol.
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/co...urcetype=HWCIT

[GregorArturo]

Hurd/Shive, what exactly is that in terms of the plant? I can't find a good definition of it. Cause that would be awesome to know how it's used as a fiberglass substitute. If that's the case (I'm assuming it's using maybe the whole stalk), then you can boil down tree sap, pour it over the hemp, and let it cool, and wa la, completely organic and natural substitute for plastic reinforced fiberglass.

[Northboy]

It kind of like bamboo in how it grows.

For fibreglass substitute consider flax.

Flax grows on wet ground and its used to make duck canvas.

[astraya]

I recently wanted to buy hemp seeds but found out that it's illegal to sell viable hemp seeds, only sterile. Anyone have any sources?

thanks

[Lance]

Originally Posted by astraya

I recently wanted to buy hemp seeds but found out that it's illegal to sell viable hemp seeds, only sterile. Anyone have any sources?

thanks

Unfortunately you need a minimum acreage and a guvmint license to grow industrial hemp (a CULTIVAR, NOT a different plant!) or medical cannabis in Canada. I once worked picking tobacco for Joe Strobel (gods awful job) who was Canuckistan's first hemp farmer! Then grew (legally) for Jim Wakeford, Canada's first med-pot exemptee. Seems cannabis and I are destined for one another. You are from Alberta, I'd suggest to every non-American out 'there' that having 10-100 cannabis seeds of ANY form, in a cool, dark place, in a jar with a dessicant packet...would be a very wise addition to anyone's seed stash.

Just make sure the cannabis seeds you buy actually seed out in your season.
There are now strains on the market which finish in late-August in BC, so they should be fine across Canada. Sure, they were bred for the 'high' but if you let them go to seed they sure bulk out. The remains once the seed has been taken out can be used to make a fine hashish for those interested in such things. Or more pertinently, 'Simpson Oil'! Wow that fella sure did a wondrous thing.