hemp for victory - USA Hemp Museum

Transcription

H E MP F O R VI C T O RY:
A G LO B A L W A RMIN G S O LU TI O N
H e m p Ma st e r Ri c h a r d M. D a vis
Photograph by Brenda Kershenbaum
“YOU CANNOT TAKE THE NUMBER ONE
PLANT RESOURCE OUT OF THE ECOSYSTEM
AND EXPECT ANYTHING BUT DISASTER. HEMP MUST BE
RETURNED TO THE PEOPLE FREE AND CLEAR.”
HIGH TIMES FREEDOM FIGHTER, FEBRUARY, ‘95
BY:
RI C H A R D M. D AVIS
FOUNDER, CURATOR, USA HEMP MUSEUM
A PRIVATE MUSEUM & LIBRARY WITH A VIRTUAL WING
W W W. H E MPMU S E UM. O R G
The USA Hemp Museum — www.hempmuseum.org
H E MP F O R VI C T O RY:
A G LO B A L W A RMIN G S O LU TI O N
BY:
RI C H A R D M. D AVIS
AUTHOR, FOUNDER, CURATOR, USA HEMP MUSEUM
COPYRIGHT ©2007, RICHARD M. DAVIS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PUBLISHED BY:
HEMPMUSEUM PUBLISHING
A DIVISION OF
THE USA HEMP MUSEUM
A PRIVATE MUSEUM AND LIBRARY WITH A VIRTUAL WING
WWW.HEMPMUSEUM.ORG
WORLD CANNABIS FOUNDATION 501(C)3
NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN
A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM,
WRITTEN, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING,
RECORDING OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE PRIOR
WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.
FIRST PRINTING, 2007—SECOND PRINTING 2009
ISBN NO: 978-0-9793765-1-1
RESEARCH & SUPPORT:
BRENDA KERSHENBAUM, WORLD CANNABIS FOUNDATION
BOOK COVER DESIGN & ARTWORK:
ORIGINAL “BUY A HEMP FARM” BY MOLLY ENTNER COHEN (1935) –
UPDATE AND ART DIRECTOR SHERWOOD AKUNA (2007)
EDITOR: J. NAYER HARDIN, COMPUTER UNDERGROUND RAILROAD ENT.
PUBLISHED 2007, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
TO ORDER ADDITIONAL COPIES
2
D e dic at e d to E d " A s k E d " Ro s e nth a l
Hemp Author
Hemp Activist
Hemp Publisher
and like the Curator
a convicted
Hemp Felon
W W W. Q UI C K T R A DIN G. C O M
W W W. HI G H TIM E S. C O M
W W W. C A N N A BIS C U LT U R E . C O M
3
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
HENRY FORD
5
1. HEMP FOR VICTORY: GLOBAL WARMING
6
2. HEMP, BIOFUELS AND GLOBAL WARMING
7
3. HEMP AND GLOBAL WARMING
11
4. HEMP BIO-FUELS AND ENERGY
19
5. AGRICULTURE
36
6. THE WATER FACTOR
62
7. THE POPULATION FACTOR
64
8. THERE WAS ANOTHER EMERGENCY WORLD WAR II
67
9. A NATURAL ENERGY POLICY
76
10. LETTERS TO THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
111
11. READINGS: HEMP AND GLOBAL WARMING
120
12. HEMP LEGISLATION
125
13. 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING
152
14. THE U.S.A. HEMP MUSEUM CURATOR’S ROOM
153
APPENDIX
158
4
H e n ry Fo rd
“Why use up the forests
which were centuries in the making
and the mines
which required ages to lay down
if we can get the equivalent
of forests and mineral products
from the annual growth of the fields?”
5
1. H E MP F O R VI C T O RY:
G LO B A L W A RMIN G
A n Intro d u c tio n To T h e S e ri e s
This is the first book of a series HEMP FOR VICTORY, based on the
Museum’s extensive collection of hemp information. To solve many of
our problems, hemp is a given resource. California, with the nation’s
sixth largest economy, put legislation on the Governor’s desk to grow
hemp, but sadly he vetoed the bill. China, England, Russia, Canada,
Spain, Italy and many other nations are growing legal hemp.
Because we view global warming as having had a major human
contribution, we offer in this first book an immediate workable solution.
The world should be in a global survival mode, but nations such as the
United States are dragging their feet and withholding cooperation on
global warming treaties. Hemp can help.
U S A H E MP MU S E UM-1992
C A LIF O R NIA S TAT E C A PIT O L S T E P S, S A C R A M E N T O, C A
C L E A N H E MP BI O-F U E LS C A N C O O L
T H E 21 S T C E N T U RY G LO B A L W A RMIN G
B Y C L E A NIN G T H E AIR O F C O 2
Visit the virtual hemp museum at www.hempmuseum.org and
guess which of the 18 rooms will be next in our series of
H E MP F O R VI C T O RY
6
2. H E MP, BI O F U E LS
A N D G LO B A L W A RMIN G
Intro d u c tio n A n d S u mm a r y
RI C H A R D M.
D AVIS
Photograph by:
Brenda
Kershenbaum
W h o: Every person on earth is at risk of
dying from the effects of global warming. Global
warming is also impacting on food, war, clean
water and ultimately, human life on earth. We
cannot live and keep our heads in the sand. Hemp
biofuel burns clean, and hemp breathes in the
excess global warming CO2 gas from the air as it
grows.
Every person on earth deserves the means to
food, clean water, shelter and other amenities.
Hemp can help at every turn. Our forests are being
cut mercilessly, hemp can help. Healthy forests
clean the water and restore the carbon dioxide
balance. Hemp can supply paper and building
materials like press board, plaster, cement and
plastics for shelter. Hemp can supply a complete
protein and valuable fish type heart healthy oils,
without which malnutrition can occur. Hemp is
wind pollinated, which helps as an alternative food
source in the face of the “disappearing bees”
problem.
Hemp biofuels are domestic, plant based energy sources. Hemp
grows quickly, breathes in carbon dioxide from the air as it grows,
exhales oxygen as it grows, burns clean and can be economically
produced and distributed. Wherever petroleum is used, it can be quickly
replaced with hemp bio-fuels, which include alcohols, seed oil and wood,
to produce energy. Hemp, a safe energy source, can be grown,
processed and shipped from the same location without the need for a lot
of storage space, empowering family farmers, oil processors and other
ancillary businesses.
This shift can empower the true foundation of the American
economy, the family farm. AMAZINGLY, WITH HEMP, THE FOSSIL FUELS
BURNED AND POLLUTING OUR ATMOSPHERE ARE AVAILABLE ONCE
AGAIN AS A RESOURCE, UNTIL A FAVORABLE CO2 LEVEL IS
REACHED.
7
W h a t: Hemp bio-fuels have the power to replace fossil based oil,
coal and gas quickly. Basic alcohols such as methanol, ethanol or
butanol can be made from hemp to power automobiles, trains, planes,
and any other power need.
Ethanol is now being used as an additive in gasoline to reduce
pollutants. Vegetable oil from hemp can be mixed with methanol to make
bio-diesel. Bio-fuels from tree wood are currently being used in thirtythree California energy plants.
Hemp can compete with tree wood, and leave the tree wood as an
expanding carbon sink. Rather than coal and other polluting energy
sources, alternative energy sources such as hemp must be employed.
Hemp fuels do not cause acid rain as do fossil fuels.
W h e n: NOW. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! Any excuse for not
legalizing and subsidizing the growing of hemp to mitigate and reverse
global warming puts us all at risk. Until we all rise up and demand
government action to legalize the growing of hemp, all we will hear are
excuses.
First, convert from petroleum to hemp biofuel and other clean,
efficient energies. The emergency in World War II showed us that hemp
can be brought into production in as little as two years. Let’s get started
now. California in 2006 came within one signature of having legal
industrial hemp when the Republican Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed
the legislation. We hope for a quick reconsideration and passage of that
bill.
W h e r e : We need to begin at the source of the problem. Make no
mistake about it, we are the problem. We must conserve to show the rest
of the world that life can be lived and enjoyed without all the energy we
now produce through oil and nuclear. Wherever oil or nuclear energy is
used to power things, replace it with a clean, safe alternative like hemp
bio-fuel, wind or solar power. We need to research the possibility of
using some of our preserved lands to grow hemp on a temporary basis,
or subsidize the growing to get it started as Europe has done. Hemp is a
strong, sturdy plant that with a little bit of tending, produces great
rewards.
W h y: Given the dynamics of Global Warming, we are in danger of
losing our lives. Tsunami, Katrina and other bizarre weather conditions
are clues that when man outlaws nature, and has no respect for her laws,
she responds in undesirable ways. Why, because we have a plan of
action that has the potential to transform a crisis into a new more selfsufficient and lasting energy policy with hemp.
8
H o w: Re-hemp the planet.
Establish a seed bank
and empower seed production.
Use government land for
growing hemp. Ice bergs can
be harvested to supply
additional irrigation and clean
drinking water needs. Issue
hemp stamps. Make
information available on line to
link and empower local
growers. Replace farm
subsidies with hemp
incentives. Replace that which
is killing us with that which
enriches us.
Diesel trucks and cars
can already run on hemp biodiesel fuel. Other cars can be
converted to use any mix of
HEMP PLANT
gas or alcohol by using a Flex
SISTER SOMAYAH KAMBUI
Fuel Conversion kit. The
LOS ANGELES, CA
conversion process creates
many short term business opportunities for folks who know how to
install a Flex Fuel Conversion kit. On line, have conferences of ‘car and
biofuel folks’ interested in starting businesses to do the conversions.
This is a short window (maybe 3-5 years) business, but can generate
substantial profits based on volume and fair pricing.
Another promising alcohol fuel from hemp biomass is butanol.
“According to Environmental Energy, Inc., butanol can run in
unmodified gas cars. In the summer of 2005, EEI drove an unmodified
’92 Buick across the US running on butanol…EEI uses a patented, twostage process to convert biomass into butanol.” (www.solarpower.org)
Let each individual begin within.
Le arn hemp
B u y h e m p!
Thin k h e m p!
E at h e m p!
G ro w h e m p!
E njoy h e m p!
9
H E MP H E R O G E O R G E W A S HIN G T O N
FATHER OF THE U.S.A.,
FIRST PRESIDENT,
REVOLUTIONARY
WAR GENERAL
AND HEMP FARMER,
GEORGE WASHINGTON
SAID:
"MAKE THE MOST OF THE
INDIAN HEMP SEED,
SOW IT EVERYWHERE."
GEORGE WASHINGTON
AND HIS SLAVES
GREW HEMP AT HIS
MT. VERNON HOME
IN VIRGINIA.
10
3. H E MP A N D G LO B A L W A RMIN G
“THE ERA OF PROCRASTINATION,
OF HALF-MEASURES, OF SOOTHING AND BAFFLING
EXPEDIENTS, OF DELAYS, IS COMING TO ITS CLOSE.
IN ITS PLACE WE ARE ENTERING
A PERIOD OF CONSEQUENCES.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL, 1936
11
Any discussion on Global Warming must realize that what is
involved is nothing less than survival of the planet as we know it. As
Churchill said, we have entered a period of consequences. Drastic
changes in how we operate society on a planetary level will be necessary
to cool the earth after a century of fossil fuel madness and no thought for
future generations.
This book offers some hope that we can stem the tide of warming
and its consequences using among other measures the hemp plant.
There was another emergency where hemp prohibition was lifted and
hemp planted to save the world – see Chapter 8.
I often said to myself if I ever write a book I would have to dedicate
it to the people of the U.S. for helping finance my lengthy college
education with student loans, the G.I. Bill, a U.S. Public Health Service
Fellowship. Over that ten year period I rarely missed class and achieved
an incredible amount of personal growth. Thank you.
In a real way this is a report of two experiments in the use of
Cannabis sativa, hemp, or marijuana. The first experiment, to smoke
hemp daily for thirty years was started at Cal. State Los Angeles where I
received a B.S. in Zoology and a Masters in Biology, and was continued
at the School of Public Health at U.C.L.A. I was close to getting a
doctorate, and had been smoking pot daily for six years. Studies were
coming through with reports of brain damage, and other maladies due to
marijuana that could not stand any scientific review.
Junk science, scare tactics, and plain lies seemed to be the order
of the day for marijuana studies. Here was something I had experience
with and was passionate about. My advisor wouldn’t let me do my
doctoral thesis on marijuana so I dropped out and moved to Northern
California where I could grow my experimental stash.
The second experiment started when, one day, I found out about
hemp’s potential as a resource crop. I had been smoking pot for 22
years by then. People were talking about hemp, I was growing it. I knew
first hand how fast hemp grows, I was a hemp farmer. I learned George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and my Mother’s ancestors in Missouri
grew hemp. I had the resource! I learned to make paper, boxes, boards,
felt, plastic, varnish, twine, yarn, rope, cement, and with a dozen ways to
make hemp medicines I started what has become the U.S.A. Hemp
Museum now on the internet at www.hempmuseum.org. (See chapter 14)
12
H E MP H E R O T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N
The fourth U.S.A. President,
Statesman, author of the
Declaration of Independence,
hemp farmer, and slave owner
Thomas Jefferson said:
“T H E G R E A T E S T S E R VI C E
W HI C H C A N B E R E N D E R E D
A N Y C O U N T RY IS
T O ADD A USE F UL PLA NT
T O IT S C U L T U R E . "
Article by Diane Ackerman,
PARADE MAGAZINE, July 15, 2001.
"Gardening is a favorite
activity in more than 50 million
American households, but for
THOMAS JEFFERSON -who, in
his spare time, was President -it
was an all consuming
passion...As a slaveholder, he
had an almost endless supply of
labor for the task."
13
Hemp
Photo by Ed Rosenthal
The above cover of HEMPWORLD: The International Hemp Journal
for Spring 1996 shows Ben Dronkers, the most dangerous man in hemp,
at a field in northern Holland. Mari Kane, Editor/Publisher
14
W h a t is h e m p ? Hemp is the most important plant in the history of
humans and until recently one of the least known in the U.S. The history
of hemp dates to prehistoric man’s first attempt at agriculture for fiber
production, some ten to fifteen thousand years ago. However, wild hemp
was available to other hominid lines when they migrated out of Africa
millions of years ago into the Middle East. Our present species of man,
H omo s a pie n s, arose a mere 100,000 years ago in Africa, so it is likely
our distant relatives spread hemp to the rest of Asia and Africa.
Humans evolved and became civilized with hemp at their side. The
first and oldest use of hemp was no doubt for food, the seed being a
complete protein and laden with health giving essential oils. The oldest
known fabric is hemp. The oldest known true pulp paper is of hemp;
hemp ropes and sails carried the commerce of the world for some 6,000
years of sailing the seas. Hemp symbols in writing are 5,000 years old,
as are hemp medicines. Hemp is one of the plants that made civilization
possible for human animals. And in the United States of America its
citizens are prohibited from growing hemp. This is absurd and
dangerous thinking when we are all confronted by rising atmospheric
temperature. Hemp can help.
It was estimated by Popular Mechanics Magazine, 1938, that there
were 25,000 viable uses for the hemp plant (now estimated at 50,000
uses). It was touted as the new billion dollar crop by the Magazine.
Plants, which dominate life on land in terms of volume, absorb
around 102 Gt (1Gt = 1 billion tonnes) of carbon per year which is drawn
down during photosynthesis – the production of organic molecules from
carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight (G lo b al W a r min g ,
Greenpeace, 1990, p.24).
The normal non-human carbon cycles of land and ocean are in
equilibrium. We are pulling age old carbon called fossil fuel, coal, crude
oil, and natural gas long buried out of the ground and burning it in our
factories, in our power plants, in our homes and cars – and have for the
past 200 years.
15
“Global climate change is the most threatening and intractable of
all environmental problems we face. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most
crucial of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. Since
pre-industrial times, CO2 levels have risen by almost 30% due to
deforestation and fossil fuel combustion. The U.S. currently burns fossil
fuels for 93% of its energy needs and consumes 25% of the world’s
supply. One tank of gasoline generates up to 400 pounds of CO2.” (Lee
Hitchcox, D.C., HEMP WORLD, Vol. 4, Number 1, 1998)
C E L L U L O S E A T O MI C S T R U C T U R E
The structure of cellulose above shows the number of carbon
atoms (11) in each molecule. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide (CO2 is
the primary greenhouse gas because of its volume) and breathe out
oxygen (O2).
“Gas exchange in biology is the exchange of gases between living
organisms and the atmosphere, principally oxygen and carbon dioxide.
In animals, gas exchange is only respiratory (or using oxygen to convert
food to energy). In plants, gas exchange is photosynthetic (or using
carbon dioxide to make food) as well as respiratory… In plants, gas
exchange necessary for photosynthesis and respiration generally takes
place via the stomata, small pores in the above ground parts of a plant,
and on the undersurface of leaves where there may be as many as
300,000 per square inch.” –Webster’s New World Encyclopedia, 1992.
16
“…T H E E A RT H IS S LO W LY DYIN G ,
A N D T H E IN C O N C EIVA B L E -- T H E E N D O F LIF E IT S E L F –
IS A C T U A LLY B E C O MIN G C O N C EIVA B L E .
W E H UM A N B EIN G S O U R S E LV E S
H AV E B E C O M E A T H R E AT T O O U R P L A N E T…”
Q u e e n B e atrix of th e N e th e rl a n d s
in h e r C h ristm a s m e ss a g e to th e p e o ple of H oll a n d, 1998
G lo b al Wa rmin g
W h a t is glo b al w a r min g ? The planet is being warmed by what is
called the greenhouse effect. Excess atmospheric gases block radiant
heat from escaping back into space in much the same way a greenhouse
or closed car heats up in the sun.
“Global warming represents a disruption of the environment that is
without parallel in human experience… The most abundant greenhouse
gas is carbon dioxide (about 55% of warming). Other atmospheric gases
that are causing global warming are methane (15% of warming), CFC’s
(24% of warming) and nitrous oxide (6% of warming) [1980’s figures, pps.
17 & 97, G lo b al W a r min g].
What are the sources of these greenhouse gases? The main
source of human generated carbon comes from fossil fuels –coal, oil, and
natural gas, from pre-existing life. Burial, compacting, and heat changed
this pre-existing life carbon into the fossil fuels we know today,
previously cut off from the natural carbon cycle millions of years ago.
“In a world rapidly becoming inured to sweeping change on the
political stage, we have witnessed the emergence of an environmental
threat which cuts to the heart of how humans choose to operate society –
a problem which is truly global in both consequences and cause.
Greenhouse gases are produced in their current superabundance as a
result of the ways we humans produce and use energy, by the use of
certain industrial chemicals (CFCs and related gases), and by intensive
agriculture and tropical deforestation. In a world in which the
greenhouse effect is allowed to continue its buildup, we would all – at
some stage- be losers, and we would all – to varying degrees – be
responsible.” (G lo b a l W a r min g, Greenpeace, 1990, p.2.)
17
Global warming has happened before. A recent newspaper article
in the L os A n g el e s D aily N e w s, August 26, 2006, titled: “It’s happened
before: Clues to global warming.” The discovered ancient hot spell,
called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), occurred 55
million years ago, and lasted 50,000-100,000 years. Earth’s temperature
rose 10 -12 degrees as carbon was dumped into the atmosphere by some
geological catastrophe over 10,000 years to start the PETM period. This
period led to the extinction and relocation of many plants and animals of
both land and ocean.
Today’s warming is happening on a much faster scale than PETM.
What took 10,000 years to build up enough carbon to start PETM; we
could do in 500 years if it’s business as usual until 2300 A.D.
Today’s warming is evident the planet wide. Al Gore’s movie and
book, A n In c o nv e nie nt T r uth, 2006, shows dry lakes, melting glaciers,
and other climatic changes which are e vid e n c e of d r a sti c c h a n g e s
u n d e r w a y n o w. People interested in the survival of the planet should reelect Al Gore to the U.S. Presidency.
One ‘stabilizing scenario’ from H a ltin g G lo b al W a r min g by Mick
Kelly (from G L O B A L W A RMIN G, 1990, Greenpeace, supra, p. 105),
consists of the following goals:
1. The elimination of the production of chlorofluorocarbons and all
related ozone-depleting chemicals by the year 1995 and the avoidance of
substitutes that are greenhouse gases;
2. A halt to deforestation, followed by extensive reforestation to
offset 1.65 Pg (1,650 million metric tons) a year of energy-related carbon
emissions by the year 2020;
3. A reduction in carbon emissions from fossil-fuel combustion;
and
4. A reduction in the annual rise in methane and nitrous oxide
concentrations to 25% of the present value by 2020.
These are global goals that require global understanding of the
crisis and global cooperation which does not exist in 2006. The United
States, with 5% of the world’s population produces 25% of the world’s
greenhouse gases, has refused to join the 1997, Kyoto Treaty whose goal
is to control global warming pollution. We have an answer in hemp that is
being ignored by leaders who would rather go to war over oil than admit
losing to hemp advocates. The reality is that we can now grow hemp
(marijuana) for medicine in California and ten other states. Why not for
world health?
Why not for our own health?
18
4. H E MP BI O-F U E LS A N D E N E R G Y
Above, hemp hurds or hemp wood
sun bleached after the fiber’s matrix was retted
(rotted) by two weeks in water and the fiber
was stripped from the wood.
Hemp hurds are 77% cellulose,
including some excess greenhouse carbon.
"Anything you can make from hydrocarbons
(oil, coal, natural gas),
you can make from carbohydrates
(plant material)."
DR. WILLIAM HALE
Hale argued that farms not oil wells
should be the source of biochemicals,
and warned of petrochemical
pollution problems on health.
[THANKS TO HAUPTLING ABERJA – email respondent]
19
B iofu el U s e s
AUTOMOBILES
TRUCKS
TRAINS
PLANES
MOTOR CYCLES
SHIPS AND BOATS
SMALL ENGINE USES
POWER PLANTS
PEACE TOOL (NO WARS FOR OIL)
REDUCE CITY SMOG
REDUCE ACID RAIN
MITIGATE GLOBAL WARMING
HEMP CLEANS CO2 FROM THE AIR AS IT GROWS
HEMP BURNS CLEAN AS IT PROVIDES ENERGY
PAT C H F R O M
W W W. H E MP T O D AY. C O M
20
“CORVALLIS, Ore. 2007 – A new economic analysis of biofuels by
Oregon State University sets a cautionary tone for the large-scale
production of biofuels in Oregon. Results of the study suggest that the
“net energy” of biofuels is expensive when all costs of its production and
delivery are taken into account.
The study was released this week by a team of economists in
OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences that included William Jaeger,
Robin Cross and Thorsten Egelkraut.
By subtracting the energy spent to produce raw materials and to
process and transport the biofuels, the researchers found that the cost
of the net gain in energy for these biofuels may be more than seven times
higher in some cases when compared to gasoline.
There is a commercial market for biofuels in Oregon given current
subsidies,” Jaeger said. “But success in the marketplace doesn’t mean
cost-effectiveness in achieving the state’s goals of energy independence
and reducing greenhouse emissions.”
The study was prompted by increasing interest in domestically
grown biofuels as an alternative to foreign imports of oil. The economists
examined three biofuels options for Oregon: ethanol made from corn,
ethanol made from wood cellulose, and biodiesel made from canola.
For each option, the researchers examined the cost of production,
its contribution to energy independence and its environmental impact in
terms of greenhouse gas emissions. They calculated “net energy” as the
amount of energy in the biofuels minus the amount of energy it takes to
produce, process, and transport the biofuels.
Their results suggest that e th a n ol m a d e fr o m w oo d c ellulos e
p r o d u c e d th e g r e a t e st n e t e n e r g y, n e ttin g 84 p e r c e nt of its energy after
production fuel costs were subtracted. Biodiesel made from canola
netted 69 percent of its energy after subtracting production fuel
costs. And e th a n ol m a d e fr o m c or n n e tt e d a m e r e 20 p e r c e nt of its
energy after subtracting the energy spent to produce it.”
S T O P B U R NIN G F O O D F O R F U E L
H E MP IS F O U R TIM E S
M O R E E F FI C IE N T T H A N
C O R N A S BIO F U E L
21
H E MP B U R N S C L E A N
P R O D U C IN G C L E A N E N E R G Y
The U.S.A. Hemp Museum has been interested in fuels and energy
from its start in 1990. As the Hemp Museum’s Curator, I spent many
hours in the library of the California Energy Commission (C.E.C.)
researching biomass (plant matter) for fuels and energy. During the
1992 election campaign I wrote an article called A N A T U R A L E N E R G Y
P O LI C Y, which is included in this book. Among the things I learned from
the C.E.C. was that Sacramento had a power plant not far from the
Capitol built to burn biomass collected as waste tree, shrub, and grass
trimmings. The plant was not in operation. As it was explained to me the
green matter to be used as fuel was always too wet and irregular in
composition to adequately fire the power plant. California now has 33
biomass power plants in the state, operating mostly on forest logging
waste. These power plants could burn year round with hemp for energy.
Hemp will produce cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gases.
When biomass fuel burns, it produces CO2 (the major cause of the
greenhouse effect), the same as fossil fuel; but d urin g th e g r o w th c y cl e
of th e pla nt, p hotos y nth e sis r e mov e s a s mu c h C O 2 fr om th e a ir a s
b ur nin g th e bio m a s s a d d s, so h e m p a c tu a lly cle a ns th e a tmo s p h e r e. With
the first cycle there is no further loading to the atmosphere.
If the hemp is not burned, but used in textiles, paper production,
building materials, plastics, or other uses then this recycled CO2 is not
released back into the atmosphere and global warming is slowed and
halted.
The U.S. must live up to the international treaty to reduce
greenhouse gases to 1990 levels. Hemp is the change voted for in
America’s historic 2008 election, winning in 9 out of ten states. When
hemp biomass is used for other more permanent applications, say a
library book that will last 1500 years, or building materials in a home (I
never thought what it might do to the price of a home), or plastics, or
textiles, potential greenhouse carbon is tied up and does not go back into
the atmosphere. Hemp can be recycled seven times. Tell elected and
appointed officials to use hemp to empower our lives.
AMAZINGLY, WITH HEMP, THE FOSSIL FUELS BURNED AND
POLLUTING OUR ATMOSPHERE ARE AVAILABLE ONCE AGAIN AS A
RESOURCE, UNTIL A FAVORABLE CO2 LEVEL IS REACHED.
22
H E MP B U R N S
Tree wood pellet pulp, hemp wood pellet pulp and hemp wood
pellets, hand made in the early 1990’s for use in pellet burning wood
stoves as a demonstration for the Hemp Museum. In 2006 a Canadian
company wrote me of their plans to market such a hemp pellet. Europe
and Canada where “industrial hemp” is grown and subsidized have the
jump on the United States in the development of the hemp culture and
products to come to the world out of necessity and for survival.
23
In d u stri a l O il
It e m #S e e d-06
D e s c rip tion: The oil pressed from the hemp seed which is not
processed for food is referred to as "Industrial Hemp Seed Oil". This oil
has many uses, most often being used as body oil for soaps, lotions, lip
balm, and shampoo. But that is only the beginning. Hemp seed oil has a
long history of industrial applications. Hemp was the perfect source for a
natural based drying oil. For thousands of years, virtually all good paints
and varnishes were made with hemp seed oil. Hemp seed oil was also
widely used as lighting oil, up until the late 19th century. It burns evenly
and is even capable of powering a diesel engine. Use hemp seed oil and
say goodbye to petroleum! The long chain saturated and unsaturated
fatty acids which constitute the oil make an excellent chemical precursor
to other industrial compounds.
Distrib ution C h a nn el
Q u a ntity/W e ig ht
P ric e
Sample/Retail
1 Liter +
$16/Liter
Wholesale
20 Liters
$8/Liter
Wholesale
100 Liters
$6/Liter
24
Fo r tu n e Ma g a zin e
S e pt e m b e r 19. 2005 S p e ci al Issu e - 75 th A nniv e rs a ry
H O W T H E W O R L D WIL L W O R K ,
T H E N E XT 75 Y E A R S: E N E R G Y, MID D L E E A S T
“Weary of all the drawbacks associated with
fossil fuels, the world makes a concerted effort to kick
the habit. In 2040 oil consumption begins to fall in
absolute terms, and by 2060 oil is a boutique fuel. Oildependent Middle East economies, which had never
diversified, take a brutal hit—sparking violence. But
then a promising generation of reformers emerges to
replace their blundering predecessors. Their stated
mission” devising a freer political system.
Iowa. Pushed by the effects of 2030’s oil shock,
the alchemy of turning crops into energy is finally
mastered. Bio-fuels become big business, and young entrepreneurs
flock to the heartland.
Singapore is the first country to ban non-hydrogen cars. By 2050,
hybrid hydrogen-electric vehicles are king of the road everywhere.
Tooling around in an oil-fueled SUV is regard with as much horror as
clubbing, micro turbines fueled by a variety of sources provide on-thespot power.
Africa. One big beneficiary: Africa. No longer reliant on corrupt
politicians to extend the grid, many communities finally have reliable
power. Other than a handful of new nuclear plants, large-scale power
projects are rare. Instead, micro turbines fueled by a variety of sources
provide on-the-spot power. And the civic organizations that made it
happen gain force. These two trends bring new spirit to the continent.”
IF T H E T H O U G H T A N D T E C H N O L O G Y A R E IMMIN E N T,
W H Y N O T N O W!
G L O B A L W A RMIN G IS S E RI O U S N O W,
A N D T H E TIM E T O R E A C T T O T H E S E C H A N G E S
M A Y B E V E RY S H O R T.
W E D O N O T K N O W.
25
As a direct fuel, Hemp stalks continue to
fuel the wok cooking of much of China (right).
Hemp seed was eaten by humans before
recorded time, and hemp seed oil was used as
lamp oil throughout history. Hemp or
Cannabis medicines have a 5,000 year history
of safe use, with not a single death recorded.
Hemp in history was burned as oil in
lamps for light, and it is much less smelly than kerosene based lamp
oil. Oil from hemp seeds can power existing diesel engines (see sample
of bio-diesel below), with reduced sulfur and carbon monoxide
emissions. Bio-mass (vegetation or plant matter) fuels such as methanol
(wood alcohol) or ethanol (grain alcohol) can power modified gasoline
engines, or supply hydrogen for fuel cell applications. Both can be made
from hemp. Twenty thousand methanol burning cars were tested in
California on government and utility fleets. Seventy methanol pumps
were installed around the state. Hemp stalks are the best biomass on
the planet. And again because it is so important, bio-mass crops absorb
carbon dioxide emitted by cars and power plants, mitigating the
greenhouse effect.
Hemp car
was an
alternative-fuel
project car that
utilized hemp
biodiesel for
fuel. Industrial
hemp would be
an economical
fuel if hemp
were legal to
cultivate in the
United States.
Industrial hemp
has no psychoactive properties and is not a drug. Hemp Car
demonstrates the concept of hemp fuels on a national level and
promotes the reformation of current law.
W W W. H E MP C A R. O R G
26
S C I E N TIFI C A M E RI C A N
N ov e m b e r, 1989
A rti cle :
" Th e C a s e fo r Me th a n ol "
Methanol-fueled car could
integrate various features to
attain higher efficiency and
generate fewer emissions than a
conventional gasoline-fueled
car. Cool burning methanol
needs no radiator so the front of
the car can be very streamlined.
Alternative Energy Conference:
Liquid Fuels, Lubricants
and Additives from Biomass.
The U.S.A. Hemp Museum
invited itself to the
Alternative Energy Conference
whose program is shown here
(right) held at the Weston Crown
Center, Kansas City, Missouri,
June 15-18, 1994.
Methanol and electric,
with flywheel design,
the earth would love it.
The University of Iowa had
driven a 3/4 ton bio-diesel
powered truck to the
conference, carrying
its own fuel.
The bio-diesel was made from
the oil of rapeseed (or canola)
and 10% methanol. Samples of
the rapeseed and bio-diesel
were donated to the museum.
The museum was set up
just outside the conference
room, and was very well
received by the
energy group attending.
27
T his is h o w to m e e t th e r e q uir e m e nts of tr e a tie s on glo b a l w a rmin g:
Pl a nt h e m p fo r bio m a ss a n d u s e it a s a re so u rc e
in pla c e of fo ssil fu e ls.
W e h a v e k n o w n this fo r fift e e n y e a rs a n d h a v e d o n e little a b o ut it.
“If coal-fed methanol plants were required to keep carbon dioxide
emissions to a minimum, and if methanol vehicles were made to be highly
efficient, it is projected that total carbon dioxide emissions might be as
little as one-fifth of the amount now generated by vehicles that burn
gasoline refined from crude oil. If methanol were extracted from
biomass, which absorbs as much carbon dioxide as it emits, no further
carbon dioxide would enter the atmosphere, and contributions to global
warming would be negligible.”
R e p rint e d, this is p a rt of th e p reviou sly m e ntion e d a rti cl e:
S C I E N TIFI C A M E RI C A N, N ov e m b e r, 1989. A rti cl e:
" Th e C a s e fo r Me th a n ol "
Th e s e a re th e w o rd s of th e a b ov e t w o
E nviro nm e nt al P rot e c tio n A g e n cy s c ie ntists:
1992 LUMIN A VA RIA B L E F U E L V E HI C L E
This 1992 Lumina Variable Fuel Vehicle runs on any mix of gasoline
and alcohol that you put in the tank. I don’t know if they ever tried
straight vodka.
Twenty thousand
flex fuel methanol
burning cars were tested
in California on
government and utility
fleets.
Seventy methanol
pumps were installed
around the state in
1992.
28
Me th a n ol
METHANOL (common name methyl alcohol) CH30H is the simplest
of the alcohols. It can be made by the dry distillation of wood [like trees
or hemp, hence it is also known as wood alcohol], but it is usually made
these days from coal or natural gas.
When pure, methanol is a colorless, flammable liquid with a
pleasant odor, and is highly poisonous and corrosive. Methanol is used
as a chemical feedstock. See Hemp Museum Chemical Feed Stocks
Room.
H e m p is the number one source of biomass for making ethanol or
methanol (also known as wood alcohol) for fuel. As stated by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the federal government,
bio m a s s is th e c h e a p e st s our c e of e n e r g y k no w n (S C IE N TIFI C
A M E RI C A N, November, 1989. Article: "The Case for Methanol.")
29
E th a n ol
ETHANOL: From: WESTWAYS, AAA Magazine, March/April 2006,
KNOW YOUR WHEELS SECTION:
“Short for ethyl alcohol (also known as grain alcohol), ethanol is
distilled from biomass sources such as sugarcane, corn, and algae. It’s
mixed with gasoline as a way to reduce emissions, boost octane, and
extend fuel supplies. Ethanol contains less heat energy than gasoline;
thus, the mixture’s miles-per-gallon rating is reduced.”
And again because it is so important, bio-mass crops absorb
carbon dioxide emitted by cars and power plants, mitigating the
greenhouse effect.
By most accounts booze is better burned in the car than in the
body. And while it may not be the only answer, it may be one of the
answers to future energy needs and can be made from hemp with the
help of enzymes.
Ethanol, common name ethyl alcohol C2H5OH, is the alcohol found
in beer, wine, cider, spirits, and other alcoholic drinks. When pure, it is a
colorless liquid with a pleasant odor, miscible with water or ether, and
which burns in air with a pale blue flame. The vapor forms an explosive
mixture with air and may be used in high-compression internal
combustion engines. It is produced naturally by the fermentation of
carbohydrates by yeast cells. Industrially, it can be made by absorption
of ethene and subsequent reaction with water, or by the reduction of
ethanol in the presence of a catalyst, and is widely used as a solvent.
Ethanol has emerged as an additive to gasoline to reduce emissions in
high smog states like California.
30
B ut a n ol
Another promising fuel is bio-butanol.
“According to Environmental Energy, Inc.,
butanol can run in unmodified gas cars. In
the summer of 2005, EEI drove an
unmodified ’92 Buick across the US running
on butanol…EEI uses a patented, two-stage
process to convert biomass into
butanol.” (www.solarpower.org)
“Although ethanol and butanol are
both alcohols, butanol has a higher energy
content, can be more easily blended with gasoline, and can blend at
higher concentrations without retrofitting cars…Bio-fuels now account
for 4% of U.S. gasoline consumption. What that means…is the U.S. must
raise annual production of bio-ethanol from 5 billion gal currently to 60
billion within 25 years.
“Eventually, most ethanol plants will have to run on non-edible,
cellulosic feed stocks [of which hemp is king], rather than the corn that
fuels them today. The U.S. cannot produce nearly enough corn to supply
food needs and still meet ethanol targets.”
Most of the hemp products made by the Curator started as cut-up
small branches such as are in the bottle second from the right above. On
the right is rough blended pulp for boards. Left bottle contains finer pulp
for paper and pellet stoves. Second from left bottle contains fine pulp
from tree wood pellets for stoves.
B io di e s el
In 1892, Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine, which he
intended to fuel "by a variety of fuels, especially vegetable and seed
oils."
Biodiesel fuel may be mixed in any ratio with petroleum diesel.
Dynamometer tests indicate full power output with up to 75% reduction in
soot and particles. No engine modification is needed to burn bio diesel
fuel.
According to Aqua Das, biodiesel from hemp could be the fuel of
the future.
“Vegetable Oil Will Fuel New Jersey Test Buses!
(Source Inv. Buss. Daily)
31
NJ Transit is conducting a four-month test of a blended diesel fuel
containing vegetable oil, like that from soy beans (hemp-seed). The
National Bio Diesel Board is providing the fuel free of charge, thanks to a
grant from the United Soybean Board. The B-20 fuel, containing 20%
vegetable oil, was developed by Twin Rivers Technologies, Inc. of
Quincy, Mass. “(1997)
Dir e c t B io m a ss F u el
But can’t we just burn the hemp? Yes and the power plants are
here.
Hemp can produce electricity. There are 33 biomass power plants
in California now capable of burning hemp for electrical power. These
plants now burn forest wastes from logging that must be stopped. And
these wastes are not available year round due to weather in the forests.
Hemp can do it.
Fl ex F u el C o nv e rsio n K its
One of the ways to convert a standard engine to one that can run
on hemp ethanol is a flex fuel conversion kit. They run between $400$1,000, but with that, one can be off of oil and onto hemp fuel. If liquid
bio-butanol works out as a fuel, it may be that no conversion is
necessary, saving billions of conversion dollars.
A benefit of the conversion process is a large number of
unemployed auto workers can find work, or set up their own companies,
doing the conversions from gasoline to bio-fuel.
Fl ex F u e l S yst e m
Di a gra m From
W W W. A B O U T. C O M
32
E n e rg y & th e E c o n o m y
F ro m T h e E m p e ror W e a rs N o C loth e s B y
H E MP H E R O J A C K H E R E R
“The book Solar Gas, Science Digest, Omni
Magazine, The Alliance for Survival, the Green Party of
Germany, the United States and others put the total
figure of our energy costs at 80% of the total dollar
expense of living for each human being.”
W W W. J A C K H E R E R. C O M
33
In validation, 82% of the total value of all issues traded on the New
York Stock Exchange and other world stock exchanges, etc., are tied
directly to:
Energy producers such as Exxon, Shell Oil, Conoco, Con-Edison,
and so forth.
Energy transporters such as pipeline companies, oil shipping and
delivery companies.
Refineries & retail sales of Exxon, Mobil, Shell, So. California
Edison, Con-Edison, etc.
Eighty-two percent of all your money means that roughly 33 of
every 40 hours you work goes to pay for the ultimate energy cost in the
goods and services you purchase, including transportation, heating,
cooking, lighting. Americans - 5% of world population - in our insatiable
drive for greater "net worth" and "productivity," use 25-40% of the
worlds’ energy. The hidden cost to the environment cannot be measured.
Our current fossil energy sources also supply about 80% of the
solid and airborne pollution which is quickly poisoning the environment
of the planet. (See U.S. EPA report 1983-96 on the coming world
catastrophe from carbon dioxide imbalance caused by burning fossil
fuels). The best and cheapest substitute for these expensive and wasteful
energy methods is not wind or solar panels, nuclear, geothermal and the
like, but the evenly distributed light of the sun for growing biomass.
On a global scale, the plant that produces the most net biomass is
hemp. It’s the only annually renewable plant on Earth able to replace all
fossil fuels.
In the Twenties, the early oil barons such as Rockefeller of
Standard Oil, Rothschild of Shell, etc., became paranoically aware of the
possibilities of Henry Ford’s vision of cheap methanol fuel,* and they kept
oil prices incredibly low - between one dollar and four dollars per barrel
(there are 42 gallons in an oil barrel) until 1970 - almost 50 years! Prices
were so low, in fact that no other energy source could compete with it.
Then, once they were finally sure of the lack of competition, the price of
oil jumped to almost $40 per barrel over the next 10 years.
* Henry Ford grew marijuana on his estate after 1937, possibly to
prove the cheapness of methanol production at Iron Mountain. He made
plastic cars with wheat straw, hemp and sisal. (Popular Mechanics, Dec.
1941, "Pinch Hitters for Defense.") In 1892, Rudolph Diesel invented the
diesel engine, which he intended to fuel "by a variety of fuels, especially
vegetable and seed oils."
34
W h at ’s In T h e Wa y O f R e-h e m pin g N o w ?
THE HEMP LEAF
WAS GIVEN A BAD NAME
BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN THE
MARIJUANA TAX ACT OF 1937,
WHICH TURNED INTO A FULL PROHIBITION.
35
5. A G RI C U LT U R E
Ri ch a rd M. D avis with h e m p c ro p s
36
H O W T O FIN A N C E ?
TA X E S W O U L D B E PAID O N H E MP
A 20% tax on recreational hemp could support the healing of
Global Warming, by abundantly financing our agricultural needs, as we
navigate these interesting times. This income could also help folks deal
with environmental disasters, i.e. Hurricane Katrina.
This hemp tax fund would empower the style of a real “Uncle Sam,”
a person folks can turn to for help and constructive advice in times of
need.
H E MP’ S U S A G RI C U LT U R A L HIS T O RY
FIR S T S E E D S
Pictured right is an image of the
Mayflower II built in 1957 and equipped with
hempen cordage. (National Geographics)
Early Settlers from Europe brought
hempseed to the Americas. England wanted
another colony with the ability to grow hemp
for their massive navy, but farmers grew the
more profitable crop -tobacco. Much of the
hemp grown was used locally as homespun
fabric and rope.
37
George Washington was great in so many ways, it has been
forgotten that he was a hemp farmer and advocate of hemp industry.
Washington said,
" Ma ke th e m o st of th e h e m p s e e d
a n d so w it e v e ry w h e re. "
H E MP FA RM E R & U.S. P R E SID E N T
G E O R G E W A S HIN G T O N
38
U.S. P r e sid e nt T h o m a s J effe rso n
w a s a h e m p fa r m e r
“Jefferson’s annual goal was 1,200 yards of cloth woven from
purchased cotton and wool a n d h e m p p ro d u c e d on his fa r m s.”
W W W.M O N TI C E L LO. O R G
It is ironic that the prohibited hemp plant
produced the material for both the early
American flags and the paper upon which our
Supreme Law is written-the U.S. Constitution.
39
The Hemp Plant, male (left) and female (right) and Seed.
This Hemp Museum print of a hand-painted
botanical illustration was made when hemp was a free plant.
IN 1938, IT WAS ESTIMATED
BY POPULAR MECHANIC MAGAZINE THAT
THERE WERE 25,000 VIABLE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS
POSSIBLE FROM THE HEMP PLANT.
TODAY IT’S OVER 50,000 USES FOR THE HEMP PLANT.
40
Poster From
C U R E S-N O T-W A R S
Dana Beal, Founder
Hemp Hero Dana Beal speaking truth to government with guns
at his annual Million Marijuana March in in New York City , 1998
W W W. C U R E S-N O T-W A R S. O R G
41
" B O O K O F T H E W O RLD "
1853
From which the hemp
botanical drawing below
was taken
H E MP B O TA NI C A L D R A WIN G
H A N D PAIN T E D
The female plant
is on the left,
male on the right,
hemp seeds below.
Hemp was legal
for all uses in 1853.
42
H E MP P L A N T S
“HEMP IS GROWN IN AMERICA CHIEFLY FOR ITS COARSE
FIBER, USED IN MAKING ROPES, CORDAGE,
AND WARP FOR CARPET.”
Hemp photograph from:
Luther Burbank: His Methods and Discoveries,
Practical Applications - 1914, page 117
“IT S S E E D IS LIT T L E U TILIZ E D,
A LT H O U G H IT M A K E S A VA LU A B L E O IL. "
43
H E MP A S A N E F F E C TIV E E N E R G Y C R O P, A N D LO T S M O R E ,
I. E . F O O D, PA P E R, T E XTIL E S, P L A S TI C S, A N D M E DI C IN E .
"At present there are comparatively few plants and a limited
number of trees that will yield cellulose economically for quantity
production. The plants are those containing vegetable fibers in the form
of cotton, flax, hemp, jute, sugar cane, straw, espartro, and corn stalks.
Of the trees there are spruce, balsam, fir, jack pine, hemlock, southern
pine, poplar, and cottonwood." –Dard Hunter, PAPERMAKING, 1947,
Borzoi Books.
Willi e N elso n’s B io di e s el
H o m e of
F a r m Fr e sh B io di e s el
Put a B20 biodiesel
blend in your tank
and hit the road again
with a clean burning,
renewable fuel that is
grown right here in
America.
44
T h e H e m p In d u stri e s A sso ci atio n
A G R O U P O F B U SIN E S S P E O P L E IN T E R E S T E D IN
R E S T O RIN G H E MP T O T H E U .S. " F R E E M A R K E T "
“The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) is a non-profit trade group
representing hemp companies, researchers and supporters. We are at
the forefront of the drive for fair and equal treatment of industrial hemp.
Since 1992, the HIA has been dedicated to education, industry
development, and the accelerated expansion of hemp world market
supply and demand.
The hemp industry has positioned itself over the
past decade to once again become a major global
economic force in the 21st century. Hemp is one of our
planet’s most important natural resources, and we
advocate using it to its full potential.
If you are currently involved in the hemp industry,
thinking of starting a hemp business, or support hemp commerce,
please consider becoming a member.”
T h e r e is n o fr e e m a rk e t witho ut h e m p!
O u r n eig h b o r C a n a d a
h a s n o w g ro w n h e m p fo r s e v e r a l y e a rs,
a n d E n gl a n d fo r alm ost t e n y e a rs.
W W W.T H E HIA . O R G
45
B U Y A FA RM
More than ever we need farmers to experiment with energy
production, paper production, and resource development with
hemp.
O RI G IN A L A RT B Y:
M O L LY E N T N E R C O H E N
1935
5/23/1911 – 1/16/1986
46
B U Y A H E MP FA RM
B y Molly E ntn e r C o h e n a n d S h e r w oo d A ku n a
Restoring the American family farm empowers small business and
individuals to grow, process, and distribute the new energy, fiber, paper,
food, and building products from hemp. Hemp can help heal the
economy with its 50,000 plus products, fixing the damage done by
NAFTA. A clean energy hemped economy also helps heal our planet.
U S E H E MP T O
L E AV E G LO B A L W A RMIN G
B E HIN D U S!
R A S TA A RTIS T S H E R W O O D A K U N A
U P D AT E D T HIS C L A S SI C
W O R K O F A M E RI C A N A RT IN 2007
47
F a r m e rs
The Curator at a California Certified Organic Farmers meeting
with the beginnings of the Museum in 1991
flanked by hemp plants and a hemp peace symbol.
He was a member of CCOF for 13 years.
Hemp Museum dried hemp stalks, wild and domestic.
48
Bundling and tying hemp to be shocked.
Note the shocks in background.
This ’new’ machine was designed to separate the fiber from the
wood and do for hemp what the cotton gin did for cotton. One of the
challenges of the global warming crisis is the development of new farm,
biomass processing, and energy producing equipment. Other hemp
growing countries have a head start over the U.S. in this development.
49
G e o rg e Wa shin gto n C a rv e r
Carver was the greatest agricultural researcher
in American history.
He showed you could make almost anything
from farm products and agricultural waste.
Carver has been an inspiration to the USA Hemp Museum
to explore and research the hemp plant.
Carver developed hundreds of products out of the peanut.
Henry Ford used his ideas in building his early Ford cars.
50
GIVEN LOTS OF ROOM, HEMP PLANT BRANCHES
PROFUSELY FOR SEED OR MEDICINE.
HOW BIG DOES HEMP GROW IN ONE SEASON?
THIS MEDICAL - SEED PLANT
HAS A THREE INCH DIAMETER STALK.
IS IT ANY WONDER IT SKYROCKETS TO 15 FEET
IN A SHORT SEASON OF GROWTH
WHEN PLANTED CLOSE TOGETHER?
51
TAP ROOTS OF WILD HEMP GROWN IN NEBRASKA
GREAT TO HOLD THE TOPSOIL
AND ADD HUMUS TO THE SOIL
SPREADING ROOTS OF A MEDICINAL –
SEED PLANT WITH LOTS OF ROOM BETWEEN PLANTS
52
CALENDAR COVER FOR THE KENTUCKY HEMP MUSEUM
SHOWING HISTORICAL PHOTO OF
SHOCKED BUNDLES OF HEMP (SHOCKS)
DRYING IN THE FIELD. 1997 CALENDAR
INTERNATIONAL
HEMP SEED STAMP
FROM CANADA
CANNABIS, INTERNATIONAL
53
T h e S e e d S u p ply O f Th e N atio n - H E MP
Publication date: 1918 Source: 1917 Yearbook of the United States
Department of Agriculture Author: R.A. Oakley, Agronomist in Charge of
Seed Distribution, Bureau of Plant Industry Pages: 526-527
“Although we have still only a small acreage devoted to hemp in
the United States, the acreage has doubled each year for the last three
years. The area planted in 1917 was estimated at 42,000 acres. Kentucky
supplies practically all of the hemp seed sown in this country. It is grown
in seed plats along the Kentucky River. China and Japan furnish us large
quantities of hemp seed for poultry feed, but it is practically valueless for
seeding purposes. This seed can not be distinguished from our own
domestic seed, and since it is much cheaper, fraud is often perpetrated
on the unsuspecting farmer. The sale of Kentucky-grown hemp seed is
controlled by such a small number of dealers that a tendency frequently
develops toward the charging of exorbitant prices. Hemp must be
specially planted for seed production, and in view of the increasing
importance of the crop, seed production should be strongly encouraged.
Chile offers possibilities in this connection, but for the present our efforts
should be exerted at home. Our planting requirements, based on the
acreage of 1917, are about 2,100,000 pounds of seed.”
54
H e m p s e e d O il P ro d u c ts
H E MP S E E D S F R O M C HIN A
H e m p s e e d is 30% oil by w e ig ht,
h a s a c om ple t e p rot e in of v e ry dig e stibl e q u a lity.
Besides its use in biodiesel, the seed oil of hemp has
many other uses.
During the Congressional hearings on the 1937
Marijuana Tax Act, Ralph Loziers of the National Oil Seed
Institute, representing paint manufacturers and high
quality machine lubrication processors, showed up to
disagree with the Act. He testified: "In the past 3 years
there have been 193,000,000 pounds of hemp seed
imported into this country, or an average of 64,000,000
pounds a year..." What is the oil used for, he was
asked. "It is a drying oil, and its use is comparable to that
of linseed oil or a perilla oil. It has a high iodine principle or
strength. It is a rapidly drying oil to use in paints. It is also
used in soap and in linoleum." (p. 61)
The hempseeds are pressed for oil, and contain
about 30% oil by weight.
55
IMP O RT E D
C A N A DIA N
H E MP O IL
THIS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOR ALTERNA COMPANY
LANDED THEM IN HOT WATER
WITH THE PLANT HATERS OF AMERICA.
WE THINK IT MAKES NO SENSE
THAT THIS HEMP FOR SHAMPOO,
THE FOOD I EAT, THE CLOTHES I WEAR,
CANNOT BE GROWN IN
THE UNITED STATES BY FARMERS HERE.
THE BODY SHOP HAD
THEIR OWN CAMPAIGN
AND WAS NOT SLOWED
IN THEIR GREAT
SMEAR CAMPAIGN.
WE WISH WE COULD USE SOME OF THIS OIL
TO GREASE THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE
TO LEGALIZE THE PLANT FOR AMERICA’S FARMERS.
56
W W W.S TA R B U L L E TIN. C O M
57
SOME OF THE HEMPSEED OIL PRODUCTS
IN THE MUSEUM COLLECTION,
A WORLD MIX OF IMPORTED PRODUCTS.
LIP BALM, SOAPS, SALVE, SHAMPOOS,
SHOE CREAM, MASSAGE OIL, CRAYONS
58
H E MP O IL LIP B A LM
DR. BRONNER’S ALL-ONE
EUCALYPTUS PURE-CASTILE HEMP SOAP
S E E D OIL
W W W. G LO B A L H E MP S T O R E . C O M
W W W.M A NIT O B A H A RV E S T. C O M
W W W. H E MP OILC A N A D A . C O M
W W W. N U TIVA . C O M
59
H E MP S E E D O IL C A N D L E S A N D H EMP WI C K S
SOME PRODUCTS ARE HARD
TO FIGURE OUTTHE INGREDIENTS
60
O T H E R H E MP F E E D S T O C K S
The Curator made this lignin glue out of the liquid from the boiling
pulp, which was boiled down until it was a thick boiling brown mass. The
glue was water soluble, and seemed to absorb moisture from the
air. When dry no one could pull the two boards apart with their hands.
For more information visit the USA Hemp Museum’s Chemical Feed
Stocks, Varnish & Paint, and Plastics Rooms at www.hempmuseum.org.
S TILL G O O D
100 year old
can of
Hemp Varnish
61
6. T H E W AT E R FA C T O R
Plants, including forests and any plants such as hemp for biomass
will require water to grow and thrive. It is likely then that water will
become the new fossil fuel replacement – liquid gold that makes
humanity survive and prosper.
The question of water usage in the State of California has a long
and varied history. California has an incredible system of reservoirs,
underground aquifers, canals and other water projects that capture
about half of the annual runoff of some 70 million acre-feet of water.
Agriculture takes 80 percent of captured runoff, leaving domestic,
industrial, and environmental needs to vie for the remainder (see
WATER: The Power, Promise, and Turmoil of North America’s Fresh
Water. Page 38, California: Desert in Disguise. (1993) National
Geographic Special Edition.).
The water special above points out that we grow 700 square miles
of rice in California irrigated with four to seven feet of water each year.
Fifteen years ago, Larry Landis and a group called the Valley Keepers
worked with the rice farmers of California’s central valley who wanted to
plant hemp in rotation with rice to control weeds. The weeds were
controlled with herbicides at the time. The hemp was to be floated down
river to the nearest paper mill and made into paper. Of course this was
shot down by the Federal government.
These kinds of ideas must be given priority by the government.
The time for drug war hysteria is over.
It is survival we are talking about and we must do strange and
change now! Federal, state, and local governments must get this
message. Do what needs to be done or let someone else do it. Free the
hemp plant for every person in the world. Maybe we can save the world.
Another article in GREENPEACE ( July-August 1989, by Marc
Reisner author of Cadillac Desert) titled The Emerald Desert suggests we
could steal (or borrow for a few years until global warming subsides)
water from the cows. Wait until you hear this. Sprayed on grass
(pasture) for cows raised in California is enough water for 20 million
people. If we steal (or borrow for a few years until global warming
subsides) the alfalfa crop from the cows, that is enough water for 20
million more people. In 1986, the gross state product for California was
$575 billion; irrigated pasture’s contribution was $94 million, one fivethousandth of the California economy and consumed one-seventh of the
state water. Much of irrigated pasture’s million acres could be planted
with hemp.
62
And the entire cotton crop could be given over to hemp in this
emergency survival situation where this can and should be done. Hemp
produces twice as much fiber as cotton per acre, and the wood of hemp
which is six times the weight of the hemp fiber can be used to make fuel,
plastics, paper, etc. http://www.hempevolution.org/ecology/ecology.htm
“The primary ingredients for acid rain are sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides. We release these compounds into our atmosphere
when we burn fuel. They mingle with water and oxygen particles in our
atmosphere and create compounds. The compounds have an acidic pH
level, and when they eventually fall this affects the earth in a variety of
manners.
Last year we released 20
million tons of sulfur dioxide
into the environment. When
acid rain changes the pH of a
lake or stream, the plants and
animals can be harmed. Small
food species like the mayfly
cannot handle the change and
will die out. Larger species
that consume bugs like the
mayfly (frogs, in this case) will
also be affected. The whole
ecosystem is in jeopardy. Animals like the clam cannot handle lower
than pH 6. Meanwhile our lakes and streams are gradually getting more
acidic. Little Echo Pond in New York has a pH of 4.2. If we continue this
pace in the coming years, more of our precious resources will die
out. There are already mounting levels of sulfur in our streams, lakes,
and forests. Some lakes have no fish left at all. [xi]
When acid rain falls onto a forest floor the soil pH lowers. The
whole ecosystem grows more slowly. While acid rain does not seem to
affect trees directly, it can heavily damage roots and poison them. The
sulfur dioxides can prevent vital nutrients from absorption. Acid rain
releases aluminum and other toxic substances into the soil. Once the
trees are weakened, they are more vulnerable to disease or insects, and
even cold weather.”
B U R NIN G H E MP A N D O T H E R BI O M A S S
D O E S N O T C A U S E A C ID R AIN
63
7. T H E P O P U L ATI O N FA C T O R
“It must be remembered, however, that in the long run, control of
all greenhouse gases, including agriculture-related ones, will ultimately
depend on success in controlling population growth.” (Anne Ehrlich,
Agricultural Contributions to Global Warming, p.400 of Global Warming
by Greenpeace, 1990.)
“In the year 2050, there will be 120 million more Americans and we
will be running out of open space…American farmland is disappearing at
a rate of two acres every minute…Each day, America loses more than
6,000 acres of rural land to subdivisions, highways, and industrial
malls.” (2006, The Trust for Public Land)
HEMP IS KEY TO SURVIVAL
OF OUR GLOBAL WARMING AND OTHER
ENVIRONMENTALLY INDUCED CRISIS SITUATIONS
R E-H E MP
THE
PLA N E T
64
Two billion people in China and India are poised to copy our
synthetic dead-end fossil fuel style that will lead to disaster on the global
warming front. The United States can regain world respect by
developing new ways of conservation, alternative energy products and
ideas that are exportable, sustainable and renewable.
P O P U L ATI O N C LO C K S
U .S. 300,972,251
W O R L D 6,569,873,671
04:15 G MT (E S T +5) J A N 15, 2007
U .S. 302,967,772
W O R L D 6,620,570,807
16:12 G MT (E S T +5) S E P 25, 2007
U .S. 304,160,373
W O R L D 6,669,716,877
14:40 G MT (E S T +5) M A Y 24, 2008
W W W. C E N S U S. G O V/M AIN/W W W/P O P C LO C K . H TML
65
A U T O S, T R AIN S & P L A N E S
N E E D: N E W, C L E A N
B U R NIN G F U E LS. HI G H
MIL E A G E S TA N D A R D S.
LO W E R S P E E D LIMIT S
WIT H T E E T H .
C O N V E R SI O N T O H E MP
BI O F U E L
SIR. RI C H A R D B R A N S O N
“What sets climate change apart from
these other crises is that most people
can’t see the problem -CO2 gases are invisible.
If you could see them and they were
colored red, 50 years ago it would
have looked like a small brush fire
smoldering around the world,
and today it would look like
a wildfire raging across the globe.
We desperately need leaders who
can help bring visibility and forge
solutions to this imperceptible
menace before it’s too late.”
w w w. grist.o rg/n e w s/m ain dish/2006/12/07/littl e
66
8. T H E R E W A S A N O T H E R E M E R G E N C Y
W O R L D W A R II
B A S E D O N T H E FILM P R O D U C E D B Y
T H E U.S. D E P T. O F A G RI C U LT U R E . 1942
C O MI C B O O K F O RM AT F O R FILM T E XT, 1990’ S.
There was a similar emergency during World War II where hemp
was brought back from Marijuana Prohibition to replace previously
imported fiber for rope and military canvas. The crisis was so great that
hemp farmers and their sons were exempt from military service. The
Japanese military had taken over the Philippine Islands and cut off our
supply of imported Manilla fiber.
Global warming is the kind of emergency that hemp can respond to
better than other crops because it is biomass champion.
67
H e m p Fo r Vi c to r y -1942
[Text of 14 minut e U.S. D e pt. O f A gri c ultu re Film, 1942]
Long ago when these ancient Grecian temples were new, hemp
was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even
then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and
elsewhere in the Far East. For centuries prior to about 1850 all the ships
that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For
the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable. A 44-gun
frigate like our cherished Old Ironsides took over 60 tons of hemp for
rigging, including an anchor cable 25 inches in circumference. The
Conestoga wagons and prairie schooners of pioneer days were covered
with hemp canvas. Indeed the very word canvas comes from the Arabic
word for hemp. In those days hemp was an important crop in Kentucky
and Missouri. Then came cheaper imported fibers for cordage, like jute,
sisal, and Manila hemp, and the culture of hemp in America declined.
But now with Philippine and East Indian sources of Hemp in the
hands of the Japanese, and shipment of jute from India curtailed,
American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of
our industry. In 1942, patriotic farmers at the government’s request
planted 36,000 acres of seed hemp, an increase of several thousand
percent. The goal for 1943 is 50,000 acres of seed hemp. In Kentucky
much of the seed hemp acreage is on river bottom land such as this.
Some of these fields are inaccessible except by boat. Thus plans are
afoot for a great expansion of a hemp industry as a part of the war
program.
68
This film is designed to tell
farmers how to handle this ancient
crop now little known outside
Kentucky and Wisconsin. This is
hemp seed. Be careful how you
use it. For to grow hemp legally,
you must have a federal
registration and tax stamp. This is
provided for in your contract. Ask
your county agent about it. Don’t
forget.
Hemp demands a rich, well-drained soil such as is found here in
the Blue Grass region of Kentucky or in central Wisconsin. It must be
loose and rich in organic matter. Poor soils won’t do. Soil that will grow
good corn will usually grow hemp. Hemp is not hard on the soil. In
Kentucky it has been grown for several years on the same ground,
though this practice is not recommended. A dense and shady crop,
hemp tends to choke out weeds. Here’s a Canada thistle that couldn’t
stand the competition, dead as a dodo. Thus hemp leaves the ground in
good condition for the following crop. For fiber, hemp should be sewn
closely, the closer the rows, the better. These rows are spaced about
four inches. This hemp has been broadcast. Either way it should be sewn
thick enough to grow a slender stalk. Here’s an ideal stand: the right
height to be harvested easily, thick enough to grow slender stalks that
are easy to cut and process. Stalks like these here on the left yield the
most fiber and the best. Those on the right are too coarse and woody.
For seed, hemp is planted in hills like corn. Sometimes by
hand. Hemp is a dioecious plant. The female flower is inconspicuous. But
the male flower is easily spotted. In seed production after the pollen has
been shed, these male plants are cut out. These are the seeds on a
female plant. Hemp for fiber is ready to harvest when the pollen is
shedding and the leaves are falling. In Kentucky, hemp harvest comes in
August. Here the old standby has been the self-rake reaper, which has
been used for a generation or more. Hemp grows so luxuriantly in
Kentucky that harvesting is sometimes difficult, which may account for
the popularity of the self-rake with its lateral stroke. A modified rice
binder has been used to some extent. This machine works well on
average hemp. Recently, the improved hemp harvester, used for many
years in Wisconsin, has been introduced in Kentucky. This machine
spreads the hemp in a continuous swath. It is a far cry from this fast and
efficient modern harvester, that doesn’t stall in the heaviest hemp.
69
In Kentucky,
hand cutting is
practiced in opening
fields for the
machine. In
Kentucky, hemp is
shucked as soon as
safe, after cutting, to
be spread out for
retting later in the
fall. In Wisconsin,
hemp is harvested in
September. Here he
hemp harvester with
automatic spreader is
standard equipment. Note how smoothly the rotating apron lays the
swaths preparatory to retting. Here it is a common and essential practice
to leave headlands around hemp fields. These strips may be planted with
other crops, preferably small grain. Thus the harvester has room to make
its first round without preparatory hand cutting. The other machine is
running over corn stubble.
When the cutter bar is much shorter than the hemp is tall,
overlapping occurs. Not so good for retting. The standard cut is eight to
nine feet. The length of time hemp is left on the ground to ret depends on
the weather. The swaths must be turned to get a uniform ret. When the
woody core breaks away readily like this, the hemp is about ready to pick
up and bind into bundles. Well retted hemp is light to dark grey. The fiber
tends to pull away from the stalks. The presence of stalks in the boughstring stage indicates that retting is well underway. When hemp is short
or tangled or when the ground is too wet for machines, it’s bound by
hand. A wooden bucket is used. Twine is used for the tying, but the hemp
itself makes a good band. When conditions are favorable, the pickup
binder is commonly used. The swaths should lie smooth and even with
the stalks parallel. The picker won’t work well in tangled hemp. After
binding, hemp is shucked as soon as possible to stop further retting. In
1942, 14,000 acres of fiber hemp were harvested in the United
States. The goal for the old standby cordage fiber [about 360,000 acres],
is staging a strong comeback.
70
This is Kentucky hemp going into the dryer over mill at Versailles.
In the old days braking was done by hand, one of the hardest jobs known
to man. Now the power braker makes quick work of it. Spinning
American hemp into rope yarn or twine in the old Kentucky river mill at
Frankfort, Kentucky. Another pioneer plant that has been making
cordage for more than a century. All such plants will presently be turning
out products spun from American-grown hemp; twine of various kinds for
tying and upholster’s work; rope for marine rigging and towing; for hay
forks, derricks, and heavy duty tackle; light duty fire hose; thread for
shoes for millions of American soldiers; and parachute webbing for our
paratroopers. As for the United States Navy, every battleship requires
34,000 feet of rope. Here in the Boston Navy Yard, where men are now
working night and day making cordage for the fleet. In the old days rope
yarn was spun by hand. The rope yarn feeds through holes in an iron
plate. This is Manila hemp from the Navy’s rapidly dwindling reserves.
When it is gone, American hemp will go on duty again: hemp for mooring
ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless
naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides
sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails.
Hemp For Victory.
THE END
71
H E MP H E R O
PETER
M C WIL LIA MS
1950-2000
Fro m A in’t N o b o d y’s B u sin e ss If You D o
Pa r t V: W H AT T O D O ? - H E MP F O R VI C T O RY
“One of the most beneficial aspects of using
hemp (or other plants) for fuel is that, as plants grow,
the plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
and replace it with oxygen. This helps solve one of our
primary environmental problems: too much carbon
dioxide. When a portion of the hemp plant is burned for
fuel, it has already "earned" the oxygen it uses by
having placed that oxygen in the atmosphere while it
grew. Fossil fuels (oil, gas, or coal), on the other hand,
come from plant and animal sources that died millions
of years ago—whatever carbon dioxide they took or
oxygen they left happened millions of years ago.
Burning fossil fuels, then, only adds to carbon dioxide
and reduces the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.”
W W W.M C WILLIA MS. C O M
72
W H AT IS H E MP F O R VI C T O RY:
A G LO B A L W A RMIN G S O LU TI O N ?
A PLAN TO USE HEMP AS A CLEAN BIOFUEL
TO REPLACE TOXIC FUELS.
A PLAN TO GROW HEMP TO SCRUB THE AIR OF
THE EXCESS GREENHOUSE GAS CO2
ON AT LEAST 10% OF UNUSED FEDERAL LAND.
A PLAN TO LEGALIZE AND TAX HEMP TO CREATE A FUND TO
DEAL WITH GLOBAL WARMING AND ITS EFFECTS.
A PLAN TO DEVELOP HEMP’S
50,000 PLUS VIABLE USES
73
H E MP IS A W O R L D W A R II V E T E R A N
71 H E MP MIL LS P L A N N E D
THE COMMODITY CREDIT CORP. last month made known a
processing and production program which will entail the building of 71
hemp mills in this country in 1943, with an expected production of some
150,000 tons of fiber for essential military and civilian cordage.
The plants will be operated by a newly-created Commodity Credit
Corp. division headed by Samuel H. McCrory, formerly of the bureau of
Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering.
Location of the plants will be determined by the signing of
contracts by farmers for the production of hemp fiber in 1943. Each
plant will be situated so as to serve approximately 4,000 acres of hemp,
and most are expected to be located in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.
74
“Hemp is the most productive of all natural fibers, producing
twice as much fiber per hectare as cotton and six times as
much fiber per hectare as flax.”
W W W. A U R O R A SIL K . C O M
75
9. A N AT U R A L E N E R G Y P O LI C Y
(A b o v e g r a p hi c fro m w w w .glo b a lh e m p. c o m)
O rigin a lly w ritt e n by th e C u rato r in 1992
Something has happened on the alternative energy front that is so
revolutionary that all people connected with or interested in improving
the quality of life on our planet should be aware of it. A solar collector has
been re-discovered (you probably think this is a joke). Once declared
useless by our government in 1937, this collector is so powerful it could
r e pla c e e v e r y ty p e of fossil fu e l e n e r g y p r o d u c t (oil, coal, and natural
gas).
This solar collector is a green plant, one of the most advanced in
the plant kingdom. It uses the evenly distributed light of the sun to grow
biomass (biologically produced matter). This plant is the e a rth’s num b e r
on e bio m a s s r e so ur c e or fastest growing annual plant for agriculture on
a worldwide basis, producing up to 14 tons per acre. This is the o nly
biom a ss sour c e available that is capable of producing all the energy
needs of the U.S. and the world.
76
We need to gain a
vision of where we have to go
to heal our home, stop the
poisons, stop the wars, learn
the natural ways, and learn to
love our common home and
our sisters and brothers.
We need local, family
owned, energy farms to lift us
out of the death-like grip of
big oil; and give promise to
future generations of a
renewable, sustainable
energy source.
Fuel is not synonymous with petroleum, l e t’s g e t o v e r th a t. New
annually renewable biomass energy systems will create millions of new
jobs.
77
" DI E F O R P E T R O L E UM O R LIV E WIT H H E MP
(C H O O S E O N E) "
In case you doubt the power of this miracle plant, consider what
else it can do: Replace all wood pulp paper products with a far superior,
dioxin-free paper. Provide the strongest textiles, ropes, fabrics, and
fibers for clothing (it is softer than cotton); Provide time tested and safer
medicines for a hundred or more different medical conditions; Provide
high protein food stuffs (soybeans alone have a bit more protein) and
high quality vegetable oil (with heart helping Omega 3 fatty acids like fish
oil); Provide raw materials for plastics and building materials like
composition board; Provide raw materials for 50,000 commercial uses
that are economically viable and market competitive; And, oh yes,
provide a safe, sane, non-violent recreational drug. For an energy policy
we can live with and flourish with for years to come, think hemp. Think
C a nn a bis s a tiv a, the plant. Let’s allow competition in the best free market
sense. Put it out there, let it fly and be free. Free at last.
Back to energy. Why worry about
energy? Let me get your attention:
According to The Emperor Wears No
Clothes, eighty per cent (80%) of the total
dollar expense of living for each human
being is energy cost. That means that 33
hours of each 40 hour work week goes to
pay for energy costs in goods and
services, whichever way (manufacturing,
transportation, heating, cooking, lighting,
etc) you purchase.
78
Here is a quote from
“The Emperor...”
"Our current fossil
energy sources also
supply about 80% of the
solid and airborne
pollution which is slowly
poisoning the planet. (See
U.S. EPA report 1983-89
on coming world
catastrophe from carbon
dioxide imbalance caused
by burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas)
[now called the
greenhouse effect]. The
cheapest substitute for
these expensive and
wasteful energy methods
is not wind or solar panels,
nuclear; geothermal, and
the like, but using the
evenly distributed light of
the sun to grow plant
biomass."
A decade later another Bush President refuses to cooperate with
global concerns on global warming.
The American farmer has been displaced by the synthetic fossil
fuel people, and we have all paid the price. Who do we want to give our
energy dollars to?
We need an exportable, ecologically sound lifestyle to sell to the
world. We are a world at need, for food, clean water, shelter, and energy
(clean, renewable, natural, almost universal energy from hemp). George
Bush had us fight an oil war at a cost of American lives, Iraqi lives, and
$61 billion, to save a lifestyle (synthetic dead-end fossil fuel style) that is
not only not exportable but rapidly ruining our country as well. [Now
another Bush is fighting another oil war. The cost has risen to hundreds
of billions of dollars and at this date (Sept., 2006) 2,600 American lives
have been lost in that war.]
"A co-generation system for converting walnut shells into energy
was built by Diamond Walnut Growers to supply power for its Stockton
79
plant. The cooperative also markets energy to local utility companies." C alifor nia A g ric ultur e, University of California, 1983.
The Cannabis hemp/marijuana movement is not an undercurrent in
this country; it is an undertow. We are going to flood the American people
with American hemp history and pride in our connection with this plant. I
want you to understand the hard truths that marijuana prohibition has
obscured. This plant (or any plant) should never have been made illegal.
Our first flag was made of Cannabis hemp/marijuana. Our constitution
was written on hemp paper. The facts are in Jack Herer’s book: T h e
E m p e r or W e a r s N o C loth e s: H e m p a n d th e Ma riju a n a C o ns pir a c y, [and
H e m p: Lifelin e to th e F utur e, by Chris Conrad]. These books are required
reading for every American to learn the lost history of hemp, hemp/
marijuana prohibition, and how hemp can save the world from energy
madness, if we can act immediately to put hemp back into the free
market - your market. Then farmers can plant our nation’s fuel, fiber,
paper, medicine, food, plastic and future. It is our choice. How long will
we have to wait to establish a sane and survivable lifestyle, based on the
natural cycles such as that of hemp?
This is the ecological truth: The sooner we act to end our synthetic
society the less damage to earth. We Americans - 5% of the world
population - in our drive for more "net worth" and "productivity" use 25%
to 40% of the world’s energy. As a country, we have been horribly
deceived for the past 69 years (1937-2006). Long enough. Never again.
The repression of information about hemp has cost the U.S. about 80% of
our petroleum reserves. Add to that the 70% of our forests that did not
have to be cut down for making paper. Add to that too many family farms
gone. Add to that the 50,000 Americans and the 10,000 Canadians killed
annually by acid rain from burning high-sulfur coal.
The world struggle for money is actually a struggle for energy, as it
is through energy that we may produce food, shelter, transportation and
entertainment. As we have seen with the Bush Administration, it is this
struggle which often erupts into open war. Ultimately, whether from too
much pollution, too many wars, too high a price, the world has no other
rational environmental choice but to give up fossil fuels.
Because of the second prohibition that surrounds Cannabis hemp/
marijuana, we are not told the truth even by our own U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency scientists. Hemp is the home grown, annually
renewable, CHEAPEST source of energy.
"Rather than as a crisis, the energy problem can be viewed as a
challenge and opportunity." - 1983. C alifor nia A g ric ultur e .
Keep in mind the excellent properties of Cannabis hemp/marijuana
80
in reading the following article. Hemp is clearly the ecological and
economical choice. "T h e C a s e for M e th a nol," printed in S cie ntific
A m e ric a n, November, 1989, was written by two U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency scientists, Charles L. Gray, Jr., and Jeffery A. Alson.
The authors maintain that a move to pure methanol fuel would reduce
vehicular emissions of hydrocarbons and green house gases and could
lessen U.S. dependency on foreign energy sources. Here are a few
paragraphs from the article, obtainable from any library:
"The private automobile has shaped U.S. society to a degree
unparalleled by any other product of the industrial age. By providing
mobility and convenience particularly attuned to the American desire for
personal freedom, the automobile has come to dominate not only the
nation’s transportation network but also its very culture. And the
automotive industry has become a pillar of the economy, accounting for
more than 10 percent of the gross national product and some 20 percent
of all consumer expenditures. Yet the automobile ALSO THREATENS the
quality of life, contaminating both urban air and the global atmosphere,
where automobile emissions contribute to the green house effect. The
automotive industry must overcome unprecedented technical, political
and social challenges if these serious environmental problems are to be
solved.
To achieve this goal, we believe the nation must begin making a
transition to a new automotive fuel. Having studied a wide range of
alternatives, we think that fuel should be methanol [wood alcohol]. A
move to methanol could achieve emission reductions far beyond those
that are feasible even with advanced emission controls on gasoline
vehicles. Although the past 15 years have seen substantial reductions in
noxious pollutants and greenhouse gases from individual vehicles, the
number of vehicles has been steadily increasing. Consequently, more
than 100 cities still have ambient levels of carbon monoxide, particulate
matter and ozone (generated from photo-chemical reactions with
hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust) that exceed the levels established
by the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health. As the
nation’s fleet continues to grow in the next decade, air quality will worsen
unless vehicles can be developed that are much clearer than those on
the roads today.
Introducing methanol to the U.S. transportation infrastructure
would require relatively modest changes for the automotive and energy
industries. Our research has convinced us that this is the only practical
means to achieve major reductions in vehicle emissions while
maintaining the personal mobility that Americans have come to expect.
81
Although there will be costs in making such a transition, there will also be
significant benefits not only for the environment but most likely for the
nation’s economic health as well. We have incontrovertible evidence
from vehicle tests and computer simulations that vehicles operating on
pure methanol would bring about dramatic decreases in urban levels of
ozone and toxic substances. What is more, methanol can be produced
with current technologies from a variety of abundant sources, including
natural gas, coal, wood and even organic garbage [and the cheapest
source, HEMP]. By beginning a transition to methanol, the nation could
ultimately lessen its dependence on foreign sources of energy."
G R A P HI C T E XT
1992 F L E XIB L E F U E L M E T H A N O L E C O N O LIN E V A N
T h e s e s p e cific a tions a r e s u p plie d
b y F or d Motor C o m p a ny
a n d m a y b e c h a n g e d w ith out n oti c e .
S p e cific fu el fl e xible v e hi cle o p tion
w ill b e a v ail a ble in O c to b e r
thr o u g h d e al e r w ho is
a w a r d e d st a t e c ontr a c t...
Pl e a s e c o nt a c t
C alifo r ni a E n e rg y C om missio n’s
Tra n s p o rt ation Te c h nolo gie s a n d F u e ls
O ffi c e fo r a d d re ssin g info rm atio n at
w w w. e n e rg y. c a . gov
Fo rd Va n ru n s o n a n y mix
of g a solin e a n d a lc oh ol.
C alifo r ni a E n e rg y C om missio n, 1992
From T h e E m p e r or..., p.43: "The biomass conversion process can
produce [ethanol], methanol, fuel oil, charcoal fuel, as well as the basic
chemicals of industry: acetone, ethyl acetate, tar, pitch, and creosote.
The Ford Motor Company successfully operated a biomass "cracking"
plant in the 1930’s at Iron Mountain, Michigan...Henry Ford even grew
Cannabis hemp/marijuana on his estate after 1937, possibly to prove the
cheapness of methanol production."
82
[On January 28, 1999, The Los Angeles Times printed a special
section called "Highway 1" which featured innovations in technology
about autos.]
"Fuel Cell Technology: Fuel cells are being called the best
possible source of power for the electric car of the future. Car
companies are spending billions of dollars on development. Fuel cells
use a chemical reaction to produce electricity from hydrogen, which can
be stored in tanks in the vehicle or distilled from gasoline, methane, and
other hydrocarbon-based fuels.
Again from T h e E m p e r or..., look what happened when we had a
national emergency in World War II, the most recent time
America asked its farmers to grow more Cannabis hemp/
marijuana:
"Our national energy needs are an undeniable national security
priority. Look what Uncle Sam can do when pushed into action:
In 1942, Japan cut off our supplies of vital hemp and course fibers.
Cannabis hemp/marijuana which had been outlawed as the "Assassin of
Youth" just four years earlier was suddenly safe enough for our
government to ask the kids in the Kentucky 4H Clubs to grow at least half
an acre but preferably two acres of hemp each. (U. of KY Ag. Extension
Leaflet 25, Mar., 1943.)
In 1942-43 farmers were made to attend showings of the USDA
film "Hemp for Victory," [Text printed herein] sign that they had seen the
film, and read a hemp cultivation booklet. Hemp harvesting was made
available at low or no cost. Five dollar tax stamps were available and 360,
000 acres of cultivated hemp was the goal by 1943.
Farmers from 1942 through 1945 who agreed to grow hemp were
waived from serving in the military, along with their sons; that’s how
vitally important hemp was to America during World War II."
I have said this before, and here is the proof of what we did in a
crisis, the American farmer is two years away from a major hemp
crop. We are in an environmental crisis of enormous proportions, and
instead of asking the American farmer to assist again, George Bush led
us to war [as his son is now doing]. This is just another one of those
situations in which George Bush is damned if he knew about hemp and
didn’t employ it, and damned if he just didn’t know.
83
A l G o r e, E nviro n m e nt al A c tivist
THE MAN WHO WON THE POPULAR VOTE
FOR PRESIDENT OF THE USA IN 2000.
“I’VE BEEN INCREDIBLY GRATIFIED
BY THE RESPONSE TO AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.
I’M EXTREMELY PROUD OF ALL THE WORK
THE TEAM PUT INTO THE FILM
AND IT FEELS LIKE IT CAME AT A CRUCIAL TIME.
BUT NOW COMES THE HARD WORK.
WE HAVE TO TAKE THIS MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON.
AND WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU.”
“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast
majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten
years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire
planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme
weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves
beyond anything we have ever experienced. “
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when
his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
W W W.W E C A N S O LV EIT. O R G
84
85
S p e a ke r of th e H o u s e N a n cy Pelo si
2007 W e b sit e Po stin g
W W W.S P E A K E R. H O U S E . G O V
E n e r g y In d e p e n d e n c e
Energy independence is a national security
issue, an economic issue, and an environmental
issue. With gasoline prices at record levels,
Americans are feeling the pain at the pump. They worry about the
security of our nation and our growing dependence on foreign oil.
Fortunately, the answer to this long-term challenge is right here at home.
American ingenuity can be put to work to achieve energy
independence from Middle East oil in the next 10 years. America can
develop emerging technologies to process homegrown alternative fuels.
A sustained investment in research and development is crucial to
creating cutting-edge technologies to develop these clean, sustainable
energy alternatives and capitalize on America’s vast renewable natural
resources, including solar energy and wind power.
Democrats have a plan developed by our Rural Working Group to
invest in the Midwest and other American farm communities. Our New
Direction will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not to the Middle
East.
With solutions that are home-grown, our plan commits to America.
Our comprehensive plan provides tax incentives to encourage increased
biofuels production, increases the number of flex fuel vehicles on the
road, and expands the ethanol pumps at gas stations. It would increase
research and development to create jobs through cutting-edge
technologies for biofuels, including new refining processes and new
vehicle technologies.
The technological advances that will achieve energy independence
also will help us address the most urgent environmental issue facing us
today: global warming. For the sake of our future generations, America
must provide strong leadership to reduce emissions that are responsible
for global warming. Instead, we have walked away from international
efforts to help reduce this growing danger to the planet.
We will develop ground-breaking technology and policies that
harness the creativity and flexibility of the free market to reverse the
dangerous warming trends.
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C o n g r e ssm a n D e n nis K u cini ch
H a lt glo b a l w a r min g !
L e g a liz e h e m p to d a y!!
C A N N A BIS H E MP
IS T H E SIN G L E M O S T IMP O R T A N T T O O L
T O R E VIT A LIZIN G O U R E N VIR O N M E N T
A N D P R O M O TIN G N E W
GLO B AL C O N C ERN
W W W. K U C INI C H . U S
Many people know that Cannabis Hemp will be good for our
environment. IT has been endorsed by various political & environmental
groups. There are a variety of ways that Cannabis Hemp can promote
environmental awareness and help restore our earth. Until now,
however, Cannabis Hemp has been a low priority among environmental
activists, especially due to its association with Marijuana. Here on this
website are the summary uses of Cannabis Hemp for our environment.
No one should doubt this vital information. There is no better solution to
our ecological problems. The truth is as plain as day.
G L O B A L W A RMIN G a n d C A N N A BIS H E MP
Global warming is not a myth. Many people see Global Warming as
the most threatening force of destruction on our planet. Global Warming
is linked to a number of other environmental problems affecting the
earth. Millions of people would die as a result of global warming if no
changes were made.[i]
The threat of global warming has already prompted large money
and time investments on the part of environmental watchdog groups like
the Sierra Club.
Briefly summarized, global warming is the increasing buildup of
Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide is released when
fossil fuels, such as coal or petroleum, are burned for energy. In the last
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100 years alone we have increased our CO2 levels by 30%[ii], with a
noticeable effect on the environment. Our sea levels are rising, the global
temperature is increasing, our glaciers are melting, and scientists
predict further and more massive levels of destruction in the coming
years. The dependence on petroleum products and fossil fuels could
potentially ruin the earth, making it possibly uninhabitable in the coming
centuries.
Power plants release carbon dioxide when they produce energy. In
1998 electric utilities released about 550 million tons into the
atmosphere.[iii] Because the carbon dioxide comes from energy that has
been stored for millions of years, this adds an unexpected burden to the
environment. While plants help a little by taking CO2 out of the
atmosphere, there is far too much for the plants to take it all in.
Burning Cannabis Hemp for energy would solve this problem.
Cannabis Hemp is a plant, and gets its energy from the sun. This
process, called photosynthesis, produces oxygen and takes carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere. An increase of plant growth both
domestically and abroad would lower the CO2 levels in our atmosphere,
and promote a healthy environment. Growing Cannabis for other goods
(like fibers) would further decrease our excess CO2 burden.
It is possible to produce all of our energy with Cannabis Hemp. The
unique growing properties of the plant make it the ideal crop for our
energy needs. One acre of Cannabis Hemp can produce 1000 gallons of
methanol in a single growing season. Any CO2 released from burning
Cannabis Hemp would be the same CO2 the plant had already taken from
the environment, creating what is called a closed carbon cycle. A closed
carbon cycle system of energy production would slow down the effects
of global warming, and with well-implemented plant growth could
possibly stop global warming entirely.[iv] No other plant on earth could
meet the needs of global energy consumption, but Cannabis Hemp could.
Our automobiles account for much of the CO2 released into the
ecosystem. Already electric cars are available to the public to promote
reduced gasoline consumption. But electric cars are inefficient, and the
support structure for this type of automobile is not in place. In 1998
transportation fuels accounted for almost 500 million tons of CO2
emissions.[v] Meanwhile, our gas prices are skyrocketing, taking money
directly from our pockets.
Cannabis Hemp can produce a clean-burning, energy efficient
form of gasoline, with less cost to the consumer. Already, ethanol is
added to gasoline to increase octane levels and efficiency. Henry Ford of
Ford motors believed that eventually all cars would run entirely on
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ethanol. Cannabis Hemp can easily be fermented into alcohol in the form
of ethanol. Small ethanol production stills from corn and other crops
already exist in the United States. Making ethanol and gasoline from
Cannabis Hemp would further reduce CO2 emissions and help
regenerate our suffering planet. The National Renewable Energy Lab in
Colorado, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S.
Department of Energy have all stated that to help the environment, we
must produce biodiesel and bioethanol.
If ethanol production proves too daunting, and more immediate
solutions are warranted, cannabis hemp can also be converted into fuel
oils to produce gasoline directly. Cannabis gasoline would not contain
other harmful emissions associated with automobiles (such as sulfur),
but it would release carbon dioxide. Still, as mentioned earlier, this CO2
would be the same CO2 the cannabis plant had already absorbed, and so
there would be no net increase. Either way, Cannabis Hemp fuels will be
essential in the new century.
It is essential that Cannabis Hemp be used to produce energy. Our
environment is precious and we have the potential to stop the
destruction. Our global ecosystems cannot wait. Support Cannabis
Hemp for renewable energy and help save our environment.
D E F O R E S T A TI O N a n d C A N N A BIS H E MP
The timber industry has long been essential to produce jobs and
manufacture products in our country. This has been, alas, at great
expense to our environment. Logging destroys forests, hurts streams,
kills animals and plants, wipes out species, and pollutes our
environment, to name just a few of its problems. Still, the resource has
been essential through modern day and so we keep cutting down trees.
Now it is time to stop, before we lose more of our precious heritage.
Today we make 93% of our paper from trees, including cardboard,
printing paper, newspaper, etc. We use almost 40% of our forests for
timber.[vi] This fills our water with nitrates, and that has terrible effects
on the ecosystem. One quarter of our forests are critically imperiled,
meaning they are vulnerable or unique. Many of these critically imperiled
forests are not currently protected and could be destroyed any time. This
problem even reaches into our wallets. We gave the Forest Service two
billion dollars in subsidies from 1992-1997. This means we are actually
paying taxes to destroy our own trees and heritage.[vii]
Cannabis Hemp can replace any of the products made from timber.
No more forests would be needlessly wasted. This would save precious
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resources and renew the ecosystems. More importantly, it would mean
more beautiful heritage to grow for our children.
All the paper we make from trees could be made better by using
Cannabis Hemp. We would make more paper per acre. Each Cannabis
plant grown saves 12 trees. Cannabis Hemp uses about 1/7 the
chemicals in paper manufacture. Right now we cut down about 500
million cubic meters of forest every year.[ix]
Cannabis could be used for particleboards of any size, as well as
insulation, drywall, cabinets, and furniture. We could build a house from
Cannabis Hemp materials without excess pollution, and without cutting
down a single tree.
Logging our trees is without cause. There is no more need to waste
our land when Cannabis Hemp could easily replace our timber. This
destruction reaches into the homes and pockets of every taxpayer, and
meanwhile our children cannot play in the streams and the logging
industry gets another needless government refund. Now it is time to turn
to the future. Hemp is our solution.
A C ID R AIN a n d C A N N A BIS H E MP
Acid Rain comes from byproducts released in the fumes when we
burn fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, etc.). Acid rain affects our environment
in several ways, and can harm humans as well. Acid rain is also
damaging to buildings and structures; it decays unprotected monuments
and statues important to our cultural heritage.[x]
The primary ingredients for acid rain are sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides. We release these compounds into our atmosphere when
we burn fuel. They mingle with water and oxygen particles in our
atmosphere and create compounds. The compounds have an acidic pH
level, and when they eventually fall this affects the earth in a variety of
manners.
Last year we released 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the
environment. When acid rain changes the pH of a lake or stream, the
plants and animals can be harmed. Small food species like the mayfly
cannot handle the change and will die out. Larger species that consume
bugs like the mayfly (frogs, in this case) will also be affected. The whole
ecosystem is in jeopardy. Animals like the clam cannot handle lower than
pH 6. Meanwhile our lakes and streams are gradually getting more
acidic. Little Echo Pond in New York has a pH of 4.2. If we continue this
pace in the coming years, more of our precious resources will die out.
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There are already mounting levels of sulfur in our streams, lakes, and
forests. Some lakes have no fish left at all.[xi]
When acid rain falls onto a forest floor the soil pH lowers. The
whole ecosystem grows more slowly. While acid rain does not seem to
affect trees directly, it can heavily damage roots and poison them. The
sulfur dioxides can prevent vital nutrients from absorption. Acid rain
releases aluminum and other toxic substances into the soil. Once the
trees are weakened, they are more vulnerable to disease or insects, and
even cold weather.
Acid rain affects more than our natural environment. Our statues
and monuments, our buildings and houses, all deteriorate over time, and
acid rain speeds this process. Statues like the Parthenon lose their
features and will never be replaced. Acid rain decays the marble on our
steps and columns, and the metal on our buildings. Replacing damage
from acid rain can cost billions of dollars.[xii]
There is no reason for us to poison our own planet. Clean energy
from Cannabis Hemp would totally solve this problem. Cannabis Hemp
does not contain high levels of nitrogen or sulfur. If we burned Cannabis
Hemp for electricity and gasoline we would stop releasing sulfur
compounds. Because Cannabis Hemp grows very rapidly and is easily
harvestable, we could produce all the energy and gasoline we needed
from Cannabis Hemp. When that happens, we can start to rebuild our
decaying forests and structures without fear that they will be destroyed
again.
There are a number of problems caused by needless fossil fuel
use. Cannabis Hemp for energy is the necessity of the future and will
soon be in place all over the world. When acid rain goes away the forests
will become healthy again. Nature will begin to resume its balance.
91
K u cini c h A rti cl e F o otn ot e s
[i] I am speculating. People die every year as a result of heat waves,
tropical storms, and extreme weather. If we keep taking resources from
fossil fuels we will totally destroy the environment, and then we would all
die. The EPA and the DOE both state the need for renewable fuels in the
coming century, and Cannabis Hemp will provide us with all our energy
needs[ii] According to the Sierra Club
[iii] Department of Energy Annual Review 1999
[iv]Chris Conrad, Lifeline to the Future
[v]Department of Energy Annual Review 1999
[vi]39% according to The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems,
www.us-ecosystems.org/forests/index.html
[vii]According to the Sierra Club
[ix]55 million cubic metres per year every year,
and a 40% increase by 2040, US Forestry Service
[x]According to the Environmental Protection Agency
[xi]According to the Environmental Protection Agency
[xii]According to the Environmental Protection Agency
TOXIC CHEMICALS and CANNABIS HEMP:
EXTINCTION and CANNABIS HEMP: PLASTIC and CANNABIS HEMP:
ECONOMY and CANNABIS HEMP:
WORLD HUNGER and CANNABIS HEMP:
THIRD WORLD DEVELOPMENT and CANNABIS HEMP:
CORAL REEFS and CANNABIS HEMP:
POACHING and CANNABIS HEMP:
THE AGRARIAN SOCIETY and CANNABIS HEMP
" T H E W H O L E E C O SYS T E M IS IN J E O P A R DY.”
C O N G R E S SM A N D E N NIS K U C INI C H
T H E E A R T H’S W H O L E E C O SYS T E M IS IN J E O P A R DY.
T H E L A W S A G AIN S T T H E H E MP P L A N T T O O K A W A Y A S U S T AIN A B L E
W A Y O F LIF E IN 1937 A N D W E ’V E B E E N S U F F E RIN G E V E R SIN C E .
Y O U C A N N O T T A K E T H E N UM B E R-O N E P L A N T R E S O U R C E O U T O F T H E
E C O SYS T E M A N D E XP E C T A N YT HIN G B U T DIS A S T E R.
H E MP MU S T B E R E T U R N E D T O T H E P E O P L E
F R E E A N D C L E A R.
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In c r e a s e d us e of r e n e w a bl e e n e r g y so u r c e s,
in clu din g biofu els a n d e n e r g y effi ci e n c y
will h elp r e d u c e e missio ns,
p rot e c tin g futu r e g e n e r a tio ns fro m this glo b al th r e a t.
Modern Japanese computer
controlled sailing ship, 1981 National
Geographics on Energy. Six
thousand or more years ago an
ancestor of ours stood up on their raft
held up some palm fronds and
discovered sailing. We gave up
sailing for fossil fuels and now we
have to start over. Now its sail or the
planet may die. We must start erring
on the side of survival until we get a
sustainable lifestyle for the planet’s
people.
As both oil wars in the Middle
East clearly showed us, there is no
energy secure future with fossil fuel.
We now import about 70% of our oil,
mon e y s e nt out of th e c o untr y. Yet
this is exactly what the current
administration calls its national
energy strategy. More oil, more
nuclear power, more oil drilling in
environmentally sensitive areas
[now the Artic].
Here we are in the Information Age, still trying to get it right and
failing. There will be no provision in this energy bill for growing hemp.
[In 2006, the California Legislature has passed a Hemp Farming Bill, the
Governor vetoed the bill.] However, North Dakota, Hawaii and other
States may beat California to the hemp prize.
We as a nation, we as farmers, have been cheated and lied to by
our government. The premier resource plant in the world is illegal here prohibited. Your energy bill may be double now what it could be with
hemp. Our economy could leap forward with this new direction, along
with recycling, insulation in buildings, better mileage in alcohol or fuel
cell cars, more wind and solar, more alternative energy research, and we
93
would be on the way to energy self-sufficiency. Under present
conditions, because of the bogus war on hemp by the Bush
Administration [now Clinton] [now Bush], scientists and bureaucrats are
afraid to talk, afraid to admit that hemp could indeed save us from the
synthetic society and dead end fossil fuel usage.
In 2006 Brazil is said to be two years away from energy
independence using ethanol from sugarcane for fuel.
In my opinion, we will use Cannabis hemp/marijuana in a few years
because we will be forced to do so by acid rain and greenhouse gasses.
WHY WAIT? WHY WAIT!? Hemp is our natural fuel source. Hemp is our
paper source, which will enable our forests to recover and help remove
greenhouse gasses. Hemp is a multi-trillion dollar resource that can be
grown at home -and on and on.
I don’t get it. You, through our government, are telling me we can’t
use this resource because it might get me high. What kind of nonsense is
that? I believe it is my right to do in my homestead as I please with hemp
in pursuit of my own happiness -my inalienable right. Besides I already
have the constitutional right to get high on drugs (any alcohol product,
coffee, tobacco, etc.). Are we really afraid that my brain will fry like an
egg in a pan, and other such lies. Somehow after smoking Cannabis
hemp/marijuana for 40 years daily, I don’t think it is my brain that is fried,
it is our earth that is fried - fried by generations of fossil fuel (coal and oil
and natural gas) burning, fried by nuclear radiation and nuclear weapons
testing and nuclear power production, fried by millions of pounds of
poisons used each year on our food and fiber crops, and fried by the
unnecessary destruction of 70% of our forests since 1937 for paper.
G LO B A L W A RMIN G
IS A F F E C T E D B Y O U R F U E L C H OI C E S
G U E S S W H AT T H E C H OI C E S A R E ?
H E MP BI O F U E LS V S. T OXI C F U E LS
L E G A LIZ E N AT U R E & R E-H E MP T H E E A RT H
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I know the plant Cannabis sativa; I grow the
plant. I want to say to all those in positions of power
or persuasion in our government and elsewhere:
Please do not wait one more minute to free
Cannabis hemp/marijuana. If you wait, an entire
year will be lost. Then a decade will be lost. [A
decade has been lost since the writing of this
paper]. We do not have a lot of years to waste. Do it
for me, do it for our country, and do it for our planet
earth. Free Hemp.
More about hemp: Hemp’s per acre output of
fuel is about 10 times more than corn, at less cost
than corn, and with less environmental damage
than corn. "Hemp is a hearty plant that squeezes
out weeds and pests, without the heavy fertilization
that corn, cotton, tobacco, and other crops need.
Hemp is resistant to many insects, reducing the
need for chemical pesticides." - (BACH)
This p at c h
su gg e sts
th e q u e stio n,
fo ssil fu e l o r
h e m p?
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, November, 1989. Article: "The Case for
Methanol." Methanol-fueled car could integrate various features to attain
higher efficiency and generate fewer emissions than a conventional
gasoline-fueled car.
Hemp will produce cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gases.
When biomass fuel burns, it produces CO2 (the major cause of the
greenhouse effect), the same as fossil fuel; but during the growth cycle
of the plant, photosynthesis removes as much CO2 from the air as
burning the biomass adds, so hemp actually cleans the atmosphere. With
the first cycle there is no further loading to the atmosphere. At this time
the U.S. has not signed an international treaty to reduce greenhouse
gases to 1990 levels. Maybe the Bush administration [now Clinton] [now
Bush] hasn’t heard about hemp, maybe you should write him a short note
before he leaves, mention time is important. When biomass (hemp) is
used for other more permanent applications, say a library book that will
last 1500 years, and then can be recycled seven times, or building
materials in a home (I never thought what it might do to the price of a
home), potential greenhouse carbon is tied up and does not go back into
the atmosphere. AMAZINGLY, WITH HEMP, THE FOSSIL FUELS BURNED
AND POLLUTING OUR ATMOSPHERE ARE AVAILABLE ONCE AGAIN AS
A RESOURCE, UNTIL A FAVORABLE CO2 LEVEL IS REACHED.
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E n e rg y F a r min g In A m e ri c a
B y: L yn n O s b u rn
A p r a c ti c al a ns w e r to A m e ri c a ’s
f a rmin g, e n e r g y a n d e nviro n m e nt al c ris e s.
On June 12,1989, President Bush addressed his campaign
promises to deal with the pollution problems long facing the United
States.
He unveiled an ambitious plan to remove smog from California and
the nation’s most populous cities, as well as efforts to reduce acid rain
pollution. Bush recommended auto makers be required to make
methanol-powered cars for use in nine urban areas plagued by air
pollution. Methanol is the simplest form of primary alcohol and is
commonly called wood alcohol.
About 6% of contiguous United States land area put into cultivation
for biomass could supply all current demands for oil and gas without
adding any net carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Bush called methanol “home-grown energy for America.” He
further proposed a 10 million ton reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions
from coal-burning power plants; that’s a 50% reduction over present
standards. Sulfur dioxide is a major cause of acid rain, which kills 50,000
Americans and 5,000-10,000 Canadians yearly. (Brookhaven National
Laboratory 1986)
William Reilly, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, at a
briefing before Bush’s speech, estimated the cost of the plan would be
between S14 billion and $19 billion a year after its full implementation at
the turn of the century. Bush said, “Too many Americans continue to
breathe dirty air, and political paralysis has plagued further progress
against air pollution. We’ve seen enough of this stalemate. It’s time to
clear the air.” Political paralysis seems to be a dominant trait in
Washington in any given decade, but what did he mean by “stalemate?”
The root of this “stalemate” can be found in the concept of world
energy resources. The industrial world currently runs on fossil fuel:
natural gas, oil, and coal. Fossil fuel resources are non-renewable, being
the end product of eons of natural decomposition of Earth’s ancient
biomass. Fossil fuels contain sulfur, which is the source of many of the
aggravating environmental pollution problems threatening America.
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Removing sulfur compounds from fossil fuels is a major expense to
the energy producers. Also, burning fossil fuels releases “ancient”
carbon dioxide, produced by primeval plant life eons ago, into the
atmosphere causing the air we breathe to be over-burdened with CO2
increasing the danger of global warming and the greenhouse effect.
In the late 1800s, the fledgling petroleum industry aggressively
competed with the established biomass-based energy industry in a effort
to gain control of world energy production and distribution. Fossil fuel
producers succeeded in their campaign to dominate energy production
by making fuels and chemical feedstocks at lower prices than could be
produced from biomass conversion. Now the pendulum is swinging
against them.
It is likely that peak oil and gas production in the coterminous
United States has been reached. The bulk total production of roughly
80% will be reached by the year 2000. Peak world production will occur
about the same year.
The situation for recoverable coal, world wide, is more favorable. Peak
production is estimated to happen shortly after the 2100. However, increasing
numbers of Americans are unwilling to accept the escalating costs of
environmental pollution and destruction associated with coal-fired power plant
smokestack emissions and the land destruction resulting from coal mining.
As the energy crop grows it takes in CO2 from the air; when it is burned
the CO2 is returned to the air, creating a balanced system.
If the pollution problems inherent with fossil fuel use are solved,
the dollars and cents cost of this form of energy will continue to rise due
to the dwindling availability of this non-renewable world resource. On the
other hand, the dollar cost of energy production from biomass
conversion will remain relatively constant because the world biomass
resource is renewable on a yearly basis.
The point where the cost of producing energy from fossil fuels
exceeds the cost of biomass fuels has been reached. With a few
exceptions, energy from fossil fuels will cost the American taxpayer more
money than the same amount of energy supplied through biomass
conversion.
Biomass as the term used to describe all biologically produced
matter. World production of biomass is estimated at 146 billion metric
tons a year, mostly wild plant growth. Some farm crops and trees can
produce up to 20 metric tons per acre of biomass a year. Types of algae
and grasses may produce 50 metric tons per year.
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Dried biomass has a heating value of 5000-8000 Btu/lb, with
virtually no ash or sulfur produced during combustion. About 6% of
contiguous United States land area put into cultivation for biomass could
supply all current demands for oil and gas. And this production would not
add any net carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. (Environmental
Chemistry, Stanley E. Manahan, Willard Grant Press, 1984)
For its Mission Analysis study conducted for the U.S. Department
of Energy in 1979, Stanford Research Institute (SRI) chose five types of
biomass materials to investigate for energy conversion: woody plants,
herbaceous plants (those that do not produce persistent woody
material), aquatic plants, and manure. Herbaceous plants were divided
into two categories: those with low moisture content and those with high
moisture content.
Biomass conversion may be conducted on two broad pathways:
chemical decomposition and biological digestion.
Thermochemical decomposition can be utilized for energy
conversion of all five categories of biomass materials, but low moisture
herbaceous (small grain field residues) and woody (wood industry
wastes, and standing vegetation not suitable for lumber) are the most
suitable.
Biological processes are essentially microbic digestion and
fermentation. High moisture herbaceous plants (vegetables, sugar cane,
sugar beet, corn, sorghum, cotton), marine crops and manure are most
suitable for biological digestion.
Anaerobic digestion produces high and intermediate Btu gasses.
High Btu gas is methane. Intermediate-Btu is methane mixed with carbon
monoxide and carbon dioxide. Methane can be efficiently converted into
methanol.
Fermentation produces ethyl and other alcohols, but this process
is too costly in terms of cultivated land use and too inefficient in terms of
alcohol production to feasibly supply enough fuel alcohol to power
industrial society.
Pyrolysis is the thermochemical process that converts organic
materials into usable fuels with high fuel-to-feed ratios, making it the
most efficient process for biomass conversion, and the method most
capable of competing and eventually replacing non-renewable fossil fuel
resources.
The foundation on which this will be achieved is the emerging
concept of “energy farming,” wherein farmers grow and harvest crops
that are converted into fuels.
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Pyrolysis is the technique of applying high heat to organic matter
(lignocellulosic materials) in the absence of air or in reduced air. The
process can produce charcoal, condensable organic liquids (pyrolytic
fuel oil), non-condensable gasses, acetic acid, acetone, and methanol.
The process can be adjusted to favor charcoal, pyrolytic oil, gas, or
methanol production with a 95.556 fuel-to-feed efficiency.
Chemical decomposition through pyrolysis is the same technology
used to refine crude fossil fuel oil and coal. Biomass conversion by
pyrolysis has many environmental and economic advantages over fossil
fuels, but coal and oil production dominates because costs are kept
lower by various means including government protection.
Pyrolysis has been used since the dawn of civilization. If some
means is applied to collect the off-gasses (smoke), the process is called
wood distillation. The ancient Egyptians practiced wood distillation by
collecting tars and pyroligneous acid for use in their embalming industry.
Pyrolysis of wood to produce charcoal was a major industry in the
1800s, supplying the fuel for the industrial revolution, until it was
replaced by coal.
In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century wood distillation
was still profitable for producing soluble tar, pitch, creosote oil,
chemicals, and non-condensable gasses often used to heat boilers at the
facility.
The wood distillation industry declined in the 1930s due to the
advent of the petrochemical industry and its lower priced products.
However, pyrolysis of wood to produce charcoal for the charcoal
briquette market and activated carbon for purification systems is still
practiced in the U.S.
The wood distillation industry used pyrolytic reactors in a process
called destructive distillation. The operation was carried out in a
fractionating column (a tall still) under high heat (from 1000-1700°F).
Charcoal was the main fuel product and methanol production was about
1% to 2% of volume or 6 gallons per ton. This traditional method was
replaced by the synthetic process developed in 1927.
The synthetic process utilizes a pyrolytic reactor operating as a
gasifier by injecting air or pure oxygen into the reactor core to
completely burn the biomass to ash. The energy contained in the
biomass is released in the gasses formed. After purification the syngas,
hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a 2 to 1 ratio, is altered by catalysts
under high pressure and heat, to form methanol. This method will
produce 100 gallons of methanol per ton of feed material.
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Methanol-powered automobiles and reduced emissions from coalfired power plants can become a reality by using biomass derived fuels.
The foundation upon which this will be achieved is the emerging concept
of energy farming, wherein farmers grow and harvest crops that are
converted into fuels. Energy farming can save American family farms and
turn the American heartland into a prosperous source of clean
renewable energy production.
Pyrolysis is the most efficient process for biomass conversion into
fuels that can replace all fossil fuel products... When farmers can grow
hemp for biomass they will make a profit energy farming.
Universities, government agencies, and private firms have
conducted studies looking into the feasibility of growing biomass at low
cost to make fuels at affordable prices, but the most promising plant
species was never considered because it is prohibited. Instead emphasis
has centered around utilizing waste products: agricultural residues after
harvest, forestry wastes from the timber and pulp wood industry, and
municipal wastes. All of these combined cannot produce enough fuel to
satisfy the needs of industry or the American consumer’s automobile. Yet
biomass conversion to fuel has been proven economically feasible in
laboratory tests and by continuous operation of pilot plants in field tests
since 1973.
Farmers should be encouraged to grow energy crops capable of
producing 10 tons per acre in 90-120 days. The crop has to be naturally
high in cellulose. It must grow in all climactic zones in America. And it
should not compete with food production for the most fertile land. It
could be grown in rotation with food crops or on marginal land where
other crop production isn’t profitable.
At congressional hearings on alternative fuels held in 1978, Dr.
George T. Tsao, professor of chemical engineering and food and
agricultural engineering, director of laboratory of renewable resources,
Purdue University, said $30 per ton for biomass delivered to the fuel
conversion plant is an adequate base price for the energy farmer. The
price of $30/ton has also been suggested by other researchers.
Both Dr. Serge Gratch, director chemical sciences laboratory,
Ford Motor Co. and Dr. Joseph M. Colucci, director fuels and lubricants
General Motors Research Laboratories testified their companies were
willing, especially Ford, to make cars that would run on methanol fuel.
The scientists said it would take several years to tool up factories to
make methanol powered autos. They said industry could solve the
problems associated with methanol as fuel. And it would take about the
same amount of time for the energy industry to build methanol
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production facilities.
So why don’t we have methanol at the filling station? The scientists
said the problem was government certification under the Clean Air Act
required automobile manufacturers meet standards set by the EPA
based on fuels available on a national level. Since methanol fuel
standards had not been set, the car makers couldn’t make the new fleet
until the methanol fuel was available at the pump. This catch-22 situation
continues today. Government is unwilling to subsidize pilot energy farms
and biomass refinery construction because fossil fuel producers control
the energy industry.
Hemp is the only biomass resource capable of making America
energy independent. The government suspended marijuana prohibition
during WWII. It’s time to do it again.
The way to end this political stalemate is to start literally from the
ground up. When farmers can grow hemp for biomass they will make a
profit energy farming. Then it will not take long to get 6% of continental
American land mass into cultivation for biomass fuels -- enough to
replace our economy’s dependence on fossil fuels. And as the energy
crop grows it takes in CO2 from the air; when it is burned the CO2 is
returned to the air, creating a balanced system. We will no longer be
increasing the CO2 content in the atmosphere. The threat of global
greenhouse warming and adverse climatic change will diminish.
This energy crop can be harvested with equipment readily
available. It can be “cubed” by modifying hay cubing equipment. This
method condenses the bulk, reducing trucking costs from the field to the
pyrolysis facility.
Sixty-eight percent of the energy in the raw biomass is contained in
the charcoal and fuel oils made at the facility. The charcoal has the same
heating value in Btu as coal, with virtually no sulfur to pollute the
atmosphere. The pyrolytic fuel oil has similar properties to no. 2 and no. 6
fuel oil. The remaining energy is in noncondensible gases that are used
to co-generate steam and electricity.
To keep costs down pyrolysis reactors need to be located within a
50 mile radius from the energy farms. This necessity will bring life back
to our small towns by providing jobs locally. The pyrolysis facilities will
run three shifts a day.
Charcoal and fuel oil can be “exported” from the rural small town in
the agricultural community to the large metropolitan areas to fuel the
giant power plants generating electricity. When these utility companies
use charcoal instead of coal, the problems of acid rain will begin to
disappear.
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The charcoal can be transported economically by rail to all urban
area power plants. The fuel oil can be transported economically by truck
creating more jobs for Americans.
When this energy system is on line producing a steady supply of
fuel for utility companies, it will have established itself in commerce.
Then it will be more feasible to build the complex syngas systems to
produce methanol from biomass, or make synthetic gasoline from
methanol by adding the Mobil Co. process equipment to the gasifier.
To accomplish this goal of clean energy independence in America
we must demand an end to hemp prohibition, so American farmers can
grow this energy crop. Our government foolishly outlawed it in 1938.
Hemp is the world’s most versatile plant. It can yield 10 tons per
acre in four months. Hemp contains 80% cellulose; wood produces 60%
cellulose. Hemp is drought resistant making it an ideal crop in the dry
western regions of the country.
Hemp is the only biomass resource capable of making America
energy independent. Remember that in 10 years, by the year 2000,
America will have exhausted 80% of her petroleum reserves. Will we then
go to war with the Arabs for the privilege of driving our cars; will we
stripmine our land for coal and poison the air we breathe to drive our
autos an additional 100 years; will we raze our forests for our energy
needs?
During the Second World War, the federal government faced a real
economic emergency when our supply of hemp was cut off by the
Japanese. The federal government responded to the emergency by
suspending marijuana prohibition. Patriotic American farmers were
encouraged to apply for a license to grow hemp. They responded
enthusiastically and grew 375,000 acres of hemp in 1943.
The argument against undertaking this massive hemp production
effort today does not hold up to scrutiny.
Hemp grown for biomass makes very poor grade marijuana. The 20
to 40 million Americans who smoke marijuana would loath to smoke
hemp grown for biomass, so no one could make a dime selling a farmers
hemp biomass crop as marijuana.
It is time for the federal government to once again respond to our
current economic emergency by utilizing the same procedure used in
WWII to permit our farmers to grow American hemp so this mighty nation
can once again become energy independent and smog free.
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R e fe re n c e s:
U.S. Energy Atlas, David J. Cuff & William J. Young, Free Press/McMillan
Publishing Co., NY, 1980
Progress in Biomass Conversion Vol. 1, Kyosti V. Sartanen & David
Tillmall editors, Academic Press, NY, 1979
Brown’s Second Alcohol Fuel Cookbook, Michael H. Brown
(Senate hearing transcripts)
Environmental Chemistry, (4th edition), Stanley E. Manahan,
P.W.S. Publishers, Boston, MA, 1979
Hemp for Victory, U.S. government documentary film, USDA 1942-43
Produced as a Public Service for the Business Alliance her Commerce In
Hemp (BACH), Help Eliminate Marijuana Prohibition
(HEMP) and the American Hemp Council.
Access Unlimited, P.O. Box 1900, Frazier Park, CA, 93225, 805/632-2644
Thanks to Lynn Osburn! Biofuel For Victory In The 21st Century
Corn, tree pulp and hemp are sources for clean-burning alcohol,
methanol and methane gas. These ’bio-fuels’ contain no sulfur, the
pollutant that causes acid rain. Growing the fuel also produces oxygen,
to balance the oxygen consumed during combustion. Engines stay
cleaner and the air remains much cleaner.
Hemp may be the most profitable and productive fuel crop that can
be grown in many areas of America. Hemp can produce about 1000
gallons of methanol per acre, four times as much as can be produced
from trees. Fuel can be produced locally, reducing transportation costs.
The production process, called biomass conversion, is safe and clean. It
would create a domestic fuel industry, freeing us from Middle East oil
dependency, providing jobs and keeping our currency at home.
Hemp fuel needs no taxpayer subsidies, as oil receives. The
Department of Energy estimated that fuel could be produced from hemp
for about 36 cents per gallon. In New South Wales, Australia the Minister
of Energy told the parliament they should consider burning confiscated
hemp to produce electricity. "It burns at extremely high temperature,
produces a lot of power and is cheaper (and much cleaner) to burn than
coal."
Hemp was the subject of a 1991 conference held in Wisconsin. One
speaker pointed out our government spends $26 billion each year to pay
farmers not to cultivate their land. Instead of this waste of taxpayer
money, farmers could grow hemp or other fuel crops. This could
completely end our dependence on foreign oil.”
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Distrib utio n Syst e m s
Both hemp bio-diesel and bio-butanol are liquid fuels and can be
used in existing cars and trucks. Butanol seems like the best bet to use
in existing service station pumps, as it is less corrosive than other
alcohols, although ethanol fuels (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) are being
used in the Midwest.
To motivate customers to move toward this clean energy we
suggest incentives and tax breaks. No more than a flat 20% tax should be
charged...10% Federal, 5% each to the state and city/town where the
transaction happened.
Following the lead of Sir Richard Branson and his cutting edge
Virgin Airlines, the aviation industry should take a leadership role and
fund conversions of airplane and jet engines.
Like the Master Hemp Growers Council, we can convene a
conference of ‘car and biofuel folks’ interested in starting or growing
their businesses to do the conversions from toxic to non toxic energy.
This is a short window (maybe 5 years) business, but can generate
substantial profits based on volume and fair pricing.
In essence, coordinated via the Master Hemp Growers Council,
can be land use, how to grow hemp, growing supplies, and market
opportunities.
MASTER HEMP
GROWERS
COUNCIL
FARMERS
AND PRESSERS
FARM SUPPLY
COMPANIES
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DISTRIBUTION
SYSTEMS
H e m pifi c atio n
Global warming, environmentally caused cancers, and the
wrecked American economy, requires radical action to achieve the goal
of an enriched, healthy environment. Here’s a step by step overview of
what needs to be done now to re-hemp the planet.
1. Open up no less than 10% of government land to grow massive
quantities of hemp for bio fuel, building materials and other
environmentally empowering uses. A recreational hemp tax of 20% could
compensate the program to finance and provide technical assistance to
family farms to create HEMP FOR VICTORY.
2. A task force of hemp masters from around the globe should
conference regarding the process of converting from oil to hemp. Their
conclusions should be put on a Project Manager (i.e. Microsoft) and
implemented immediately.
3. Make land and financing available to family farms and ancillary
businesses. Identifying growers and empowering them to develop family
farmers and supportive ancillary industries like seed pressers,
packagers, transportation and retailers.
4. Create a seed bank and distribute seeds like the EPA distributes
fertilizer. Free Marc Emery so he can help out.
105
5. Publish growing tips for farmers.
6. Use ice bergs in the ocean to hydrate land and supply clean
drinking water. Oil tankers who transport toxic energy can be used to
harvest and deliver to shore intact ice bergs. This process has an added
benefit by helping maintain the Salinization level in the ocean, which
impacts on weather patterns.
7. Finance small on site hemp oil and fuel processing plants at the
farms. Provide financing for the development, equipment and
distribution start-ups.
8. Encourage the widespread use of Flex Fuel Conversion Kits:
Converting cars to bio-fuel. Many jobs can be created doing the
conversions. The nation’s Biofuel Distribution System needs to go on a
project manager too.
9. In our ignorance, we have outlawed nature: Remove ALL
legislative limitations on the hemp plant. Find out how much we need to
grow.
10. Adequately computerize with equipment and skills participants
to help them maximize their acreage output and market opportunities.
Like in the days of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, the
family hemp farmer can grow on almost any land.
On line classes with camera hook-up in groups can teach small
farmers how to grow hemp. A master’s series of classes on How To
Grow Hemp can create an abundant crop for processing into fuel and
other helpful products and services.
“We n o w u n d e rst a n d th at c a n n a bis fixe s C O 2.
A n d, a n a c re of c a nn a bis fixe s fiv e tim e s a s mu ch
C O 2 a s a n a c re of fo re st. It c ould b e a n e no r mo u s
h e lp in tu r nin g a ro u n d o u r glo b a l w a r min g situ atio n.
Th e oil th at’s p ro d u c e d from th e c a nn a bis
pl a nt, H e n ry Fo rd u s e d in his first c a rs. A n d p e o pl e
a re a g ain d rivin g u p a n d d o w n th e c o a st u sin g
bio die s e l g a solin e. It ’s a n a lt e r n ative to u sin g d e a d
din o s a u rs a s a w ay of g e ttin g a ro u n d o n th e pla n e t.”
DR. WILLIAM L. COURTNEY—[email protected]
in an interview by Norman de Vall on KZXY/Z
The Politics Behind the Local News—WW.KZXY.ORG
published in THE NEW SETTLER, Issue 142, Summer 2007
106
Land
H O W MU C H L A N D D O E S U N C L E S A M (T H E P E O PL E) O W N ?
“Although the goal of preserving land for posterity is noble, the
true impact of current federal land management policy should not be lost
behind a cloud of good intentions. In 1996, the General Accounting Office
reported that the federal government owned a staggering 650 million
acres, or one-third of the land in the United States. The Bureau of Land
Management, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the
National Park Service manage about 95 percent of this land
(approximately 618 million acres, or about 7,500 acres per employee). As
of September 1994, these agencies also had obtained rights-of-use to
over 3 million acres on nonfederal land through leases, agreements,
permits, and easements.”
WWW.HERITAGE.ORG/RESEARCH/ENERGYANDENVIRONMENT/BG1282.CFM
107
As demonstrated in an earlier graphic, 10% of federal land is
approximately 65 million acres. In the states of California, Arizona,
Nevada, New Mexico there is a lot of government owned land that is just
sitting there, not being used. One can drive for hours from Bullhead City,
AZ to Needles, CA to understand what I’m talking about. Miles, and miles
of land that could be saving our lives.
The government needs to turn over use of these lands (and others
appropriate to grow HEMP FOR VICTORY) to a Master Hemp Growers
Council, to grow sufficient amounts of hemp to replace the use of
polluting oil.
C A LIF O R NIA H EMP M A S T E R S
RI C H A R D M. D AVIS A N D R. W. A K IL E
LO S A N G E L E S MIL LI O N M A RIJ U A N A M A R C H , 2006
“For when the [American] revolution took place, the people of each
state became themselves sovereign; and in that character hold the
absolute right to all their navigable waters, and the soils under them, for
their own common use, subject only to the rights since surrendered by
the Constitution to the general government.”-Martin vs. Waddell (1842)
41 US (16 Pet) 367, 410
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Se eds
Different strains of hemp are better for certain applications.
An immediate seed bank needs to be established. Hemp seed
expert Marc Emery, an international leader in the hemp movement, can
help organize the seed bank to supply the best seeds for the task at
hand. The definition of “best seeds” needs to come from the Master
Hemp Growers Council, which should be quickly convened.
Pl a ntin g
Here’s where the jobs come in. In addition to folks working in the
field, there are the ancillary jobs of feeding, housing, clothing and
entertaining them.
Microsoft Project Manager style use of resources can help growers
supply the market, pre purchased (farming co-ops) in some cases.
Water/Irrigation: There have been ice bergs the size of states
breaking off, slowly melting into the ocean, changing the salt balance of
the ocean. Explains some of the weather we’ve been having.
Harvesting large ice bergs and transporting them to open areas
will for a relatively low cost, hydrate the land.
Tending Crops and Harvesting - Processing from plant to fuel.
Once the plants are grown they can be processed on site to the
correct grade fuel. Hemp pellets can be used to run the power plants.
There are contracts for transporting the fuels, insuring the farm,
fuel processors.
Financial Empowerment – small business and jobs – new tax
source. Extra tax credits should be given as investment incentives.
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Hemp
F u el For Th e 21 st C e ntu r y Lin ks
Public Policy Advocates
www.ppallc.com
Biomass Sites
Biopower Basics (DOE)
www.eren.doe.gov/biopower
Quincy Library Group
www.qlg.org
Energy Ideas Clearinghouse
www.energy.wsu.edu
Society of American Foresters
www.safnet.org
Great Lakes Biomass Energy Program
www.cglg.org/projects/biomass
Government/Agencies
National Renewable Energy Lab.
www.nrel.gov
California Air Resources Board
www.arb.ca.gov
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
www.ornl.gov
California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection
www.fire.ca.gov
Western Biomass Quarterly
www.westbioenergy.org
California Energy Commission
www.energy.ca.gov
Related Associations/Orgs
California Environmental Protection
Agency
www.epa.ca.gov
American Forest & Paper Assoc.
www.afandpa.org
California Resources Agency
www.ceres.ca.gov
California Forest
Products Commission
www.calforests.org
California Forestry Association
www.foresthealth.org
California Integrated
Waste Management Board
www.ciwmb.ca.gov
CA Licensed Foresters Assoc.
www.clfa.org
U.S. Department of Agriculture
www.usda.gov
Independent Energy Producers
Association
www.iepa.com
U.S. Department of Energy
www.doe.gov
U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Bureau of Land
Management
www.blm.gov
Iowa State University,
Office of Biorenewables Progs.
www.biorenew.iastate.edu/
USDA Forest Service
www.fs.fed.us
110
10. L E T T E R S T O
T H E LO S A N G E L E S TIM E S
BI O F U E LS A N D G LO B A L W A RMIN G
S E P T E M B E R 23, 1999
RE: Unilateralism Must Give Way...Opinion, Sept. 23, 1999
Maksoud’s call for Internationalism and empowering the U.N. lacks
a fundamental understanding of American history’s lesson in
government. The Continental Congress was a confederation like the
U.N. under the Articles of Confederation for eleven years. The
confederation was a failure at securing peace between sovereign states,
as it had no powers of direct enforcement of its laws. In addition, The
Continental Congress had no independent taxing powers, could not
regulate interstate and foreign commerce, was ineffective in foreign
affairs, had no chief executive, and had no binding court of justice.
Every one of these charges can be leveled at the United Nations
Confederation today. T h e s olutio n in th e 13 c oloni e s w a s to hold a
C onstitution al C o nv e ntion that created a Federal style of government
that has served as a model for 200 years. We have a model. We need a
world constitutional convention to reform the United Nations into a world
federal government. Imagine the preamble: We the People of the World,
in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the World.
The World needs government that works, arresting individuals not
attacking nations, controlling multi-national corporations and removing
the nuclear madness that still exists. [And isn’t Global Warming a planet
wide issue?] The United States is a model, not the world policeman.
Richard M. Davis, Curator, U.S.A. Hemp Museum
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G a s P ri c e s: N o C h e a p Fix
MARCH 1, 2000
Los Angeles Times: Letter to the Editor
We do have a choice in energy production, which most Americans
including the Times choose to ignore. The Times blames our dwindling
reserves, our appetites for gas, gas guzzlers, and extra miles for the
higher prices. I blame our lack of energy policy, which includes the
prohibition of hemp for energy, the farmer’s best crop for this purpose.
In 1980, V.P. candidate George Bush stood at a fueling station
pumping methanol into the tank of a car, touting the use of alternative
fuels. Fuel for cars or power plants does not equal fossil oil or coal.
Anything that can be made from fossil fuels can be made from biomass
(biologically produced matter). In other words we could give energy
dollars to American farmers, instead of being held hostage by Iraq,
Venezuela, Norway, or Mexico. Let’s buy our energy reserves locally.
Hemp is now legal in Canada, why not here?
Richard M. Davis, Curator, U.S.A. Hemp Museum
From High Times Magazine, February, 1995
F R E E D O M FI G H T E R O F T H E M O N T H : RI C H A R D D AVIS
Curator of the Traveling Hemp Museum
By Bill Bridges
“Richard Davis is not new to the hemp movement. He has smoked
and grown for over 27 years. In 1992 he ran for President on a hemp
platform. In 1986 he ran for Congress as a pot-grower. He has displayed
marijuana buds at the Capital and helped with both California’s and
Colorado’s hemp initiatives...”
“Three years after marijuana prohibition started, you could still go
down to the drugstore and buy a bottle of cannabis extract,” says Davis.
“No one knew that marijuana and cannabis were the same thing. Those
laws took away a sustainable way of life, and we’ve been suffering ever
since. You c a nn ot t a k e th e nu m b e r o n e pla nt r e so ur c e o ut of th e
e c o syst e m a n d e xp e c t a nythin g b ut dis a st e r...”
“Without hemp you don’t know your own history,” he says. “You
don’t know what the potential is for saving the planet. That’s why the
Hemp Museum is so important. Just learn the truth.”
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C r e atin g N e w G ov e r n m e nt
DECEMBER 2, 2001—Attn: Robert Berger
Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed Commentary
The failure of the Afghanistan government and the need for new
law there also points to the need for government on a world level. By
examining United States history and mistakes made in creating the
world’s first written constitution, we can avoid needless setbacks in
drafting law on the world level.
It took our founding fathers eleven years to figure out that the
Articles of Confederation would not work to govern the colonies in early
America. The Continental Congress had: no taxing powers, no regulation
of interstate and foreign commerce, no powers of direct enforcement of
its laws, was ineffective in foreign affairs, no chief executive, no binding
court of justice. They did not attempt to fix the Articles of Confederation.
They called instead for a constitutional convention to draft the document
that has stood the test of time, now 212 years, to govern these United
States of America.
The U.S. Constitution is one model for what today is sorely overdue
on our singular planet home - workable government. The United Nations
has most of the above attributes of the Articles of Confederation and one
question is can it be redrafted? Or can we in the spirit of our founders
realize the power of starting over, and call for a World Constitutional
Convention. We have been given a model that works, that can change,
that arrests individual lawbreakers rather than invades states, that gives
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us a bill of rights against the power of government in our individual lives.
Of course the government we have is not perfect, but it offers ways
to fix it through legislation, courts, and amendments. And the people of
Afghanistan or the world don’t need to repeat the mistakes we made in
our own history in instituting government. Women were not equally
represented in the writing of the document, were not given rights or the
vote, were not equally represented at all levels of government. Likewise,
racism and slavery were not dealt with and almost brought about the
downfall of the government in civil war. Monetary and corporate
questions must be carefully addressed. And religion was placed
squarely outside of government.
One thing our U.S. Constitution was never equipped to do was
make us the world policeman. Our assuming this role on occasion only
points out the anarchy that exists due to the lack of enforceable world
law and the lack of workable world government. We cannot secure the
rights of individuals on a world stage without world law. We can bomb
Iraq, Serbia, and Afghanistan, but cannot arrest Saddam, Milosavic, or
Bin Laden. We ignore Africa and East Timor, and the dozens of other
wars now underway. We ignore the call for nuclear disarmament and
environmental greenhouse gas reductions, we want out of the ABM
missile treaty, because we are sovereign and can get away with it, not
because the earth depends on it.
The same goes for ignoring U.N. dues. We have let our own
fundamentalist religious beliefs stand in the way of population reduction
efforts and an equal rights amendment for women. The women of
Afghanistan have suffered at the hands of religious fundamentalists and
should be equally represented in the new government there. How can
we recommend that for Afghanistan if we cannot see the logical
extension to our own government?
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (L.A. Times, Oct. 6, 1999)
decried the low status and “appalling abuses committed against
women ...including coerced abortions and sterilizations, children sold
into prostitution, ritual mutilations, dowry murders and domestic
violence ...(women are) exploited, discriminated against and even sold
(slavery).” Then she said, “In our diplomacy we are working with others
to change that.”
Diplomacy and promoting the cause of women’s rights with foreign
aid cannot replace international law with enforcement. We have a U.N.
Declaration of Human Rights, but no workable world government to back
up those rights.
114
The most important job of world government is to end war between
nations, and thereby protect individual rights, a government of the
people, by the people, and for the people, not for unrestrained capitalism
or multinational corporations. Our own Declaration of Independence
names this core purpose of government: “We hold these Truths to be
self-evident, that all Men (people) are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure
these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men (people).” As we
see around the World, no individual right is secure when planes and
bombs are falling, or genocide is happening, or hate based
discrimination is the order of the day.
Just as it is time for new government in Afghanistan, it is time for
the people of the world to sit down at the table, women and men together,
in equal numbers, and write a new document of government for our
common home-the planet earth. President Eisenhower said this very
plainly in 1956: “There can be no peace without law.” We the people of
the world need a World Constitutional Convention. We have the
models, and we have the minds.
Richard M. Davis
VO T E H E MP. C O M
V O T E F O R H E MP RI G H T S!
115
G r e e n s D o n’t S e e Fo r e st...
Mar. 26, L.A. Times
RE: Commentary
Patrick Moore, founder of Greenspirit, ought to be ashamed of
himself for another misleading and inaccurate article. This type of article
makes me wonder who funds Greenspirit.
Mr. Moore says the battle for America’s forests was fought 100
years ago, but failed to state the fact that sustainable forestry does not
exist today and has not existed for the past 100 years. U.S. Dept. of
Agricultural Bulletin 404, 1916, showing hemp made fine paper, warned
of the pressure on our forests from paper production alone. And we now
have four times the population of 100 years ago.
Mr. Moore makes this speech in a previous article on trees and
wood: “But now, it is so trendy to be opposed to cutting trees that many
people find it possible to ignore the absolute necessity of using wood in
their everyday lives. Many seem willing to forget that wood is, without
question, the most renewable and environmentally friendly of all
materials used to build our civilization. Wood is the material embodiment
of solar energy, created by photosynthesis in a factory called the forest,
and whether we like it or not, wood can only be obtained from trees.”
His speech is misleading and its conclusion false. Mr. Moore
should read Bulletin 404. It clearly states that four times as much wood
can be obtained from a woody herbaceous shrub called hemp than from
any tree in the same period. And I’m sitting here looking at a sample of
medium density fiberboard from hemp that is stronger than that from
trees and typing on a computer that could be made from hemp plastic.
Hemp fuels could replace fossil fuels. And hemp can be grown on a
“factory” called the family farm.
He equates tree farms to forests. Forests are not factories; they
are ecosystems, full of natural relationships of life that are destroyed by
logging. Wood may be a necessity of everyday life, but so are living
trees. And saving living trees and using hemp and other plant sources
for wood is the way to reverse the greenhouse gas buildup, because all
plants absorb CO2 and give off oxygen.
Now you know, Mr. Moore, which wood (hemp) is, without question,
the most renewable and environmentally friendly, which wood (hemp) is
the embodiment of solar energy, whether we like it or not. The Green
Party endorses hemp. For years we have tried to get the major
116
environmental groups to acknowledge and work for hemp -Greenpeace,
the Sierra Club. Now you know, Mr. Moore. Now Greenspirit knows.
What are you going to do about it? The American farmers would love to
hear that the prohibition against growing hemp has been lifted.
Richard M. Davis, Curator, USA Hemp Museum
E n e rg y, F u el Fo r U.S.
JUNE 13, 2003
If the U.S. is advocating a return to nuclear power, offshore drilling
for oil and gas, we are in a crisis now. How are we to respond as a
nation? We will not respond in a sane fashion if all the alternatives are
not presented to the people by the press. The people need to know that
clean burning fuel can be grown by California farmers in the form of
ethanol, methanol, or bio-diesel.
Hemp is ten times as productive as corn for ethanol, with less
water, pesticides and fertilizers. Ethanol from corn is now imported into
California from the mid-west to help clean gasoline emissions. Politics of
the drug war have prevented the growing of hemp. Those policies need
to be reversed immediately. Homegrown energy will help keep us out of
oil wars, help us reverse global warming and keep our energy dollars at
home.
Richard M. Davis, Curator
N AIH C
N O R T H A M E RIC A N IN D U S T RIA L
H E MP C O U N C IL
P. O. B OX 259329, M A DIS O N, WI
53725-9329
(608) 258-0243
C H AIR @ N AIH C. O R G
W W W. N AIH C. O R G
117
H E MP H E R O LO R N A MIL N E
S e n ato r fo r O nt a rio, C a n a d a
On June 19, 1996, Senator Milne successfully
proposed an amendment to the government’s drug
legislation, Bill C-8, authorizing the cultivation of hemp
in Canada. (From her website: Global Warming Impact on the Arctic)
H o n. Lor n a Miln e : Honourable senators, I rise this
afternoon to highlight a recent report commissioned by
the Arctic Council, a report entitled T h e A r c tic C lim a t e
Im p a c t A ss e ssm e nt. The Arctic Council is a group of
national governments and Aboriginal organizations
working together to study issues that have an impact on
the world’s Arctic region. The study focused on the impact of global
warming on the Arctic region, and I can tell honourable senators that the
news is not good. Some of us already live with the problem.
The key finding in this report is confirmation that global warming is
hitting the Arctic earlier and harder than most of the rest of the world.
The models show that temperature will increase in our Arctic at double
the rate that it will in the rest of the world. The specific results of this
increase in temperature will be significant, and I urge all honourable
senators to reflect on how some of these changes will affect their
communities and, indeed, the planet’s biodiversity.
Vegetation zones are moving northward as a result of the warming.
Left unchecked, this will likely lead to frequent forest fires and increased
insect outbreaks. We have already seen this very dramatically in the
province of British Columbia.
The range in distribution of animal species will also shift. The result
will be a decrease in the habitat area for many northern plant and animal
species and could bring new natural predators to the region.
Consequently, there is the potential to push some species toward
extinction, including polar bears, caribou and some seabirds.
W W W.S E N.PA R L. G C. C A/LMIL N E
118
Coastal communities also face significant damage from unchecked
global warming. Changes in the heights of tides and ocean currents will
have an impact on both erosion and flooding. This has the potential to
threaten many Canadian communities in the north, most of them
Aboriginal.
Finally, although the ozone layer issue has been in some part
addressed, the depleted ozone layer is still a serious problem in the
Arctic. Global warming is exacerbating the historic damage to the ozone
layer, and scientists predict that it will take decades before the layer
over the Arctic is fully healed. Young Canadians in the North now receive
ultraviolet radiation doses at least 30 per cent higher than any previous
generation. This will probably have a significant impact on cancer rates
in the North as the years go on.
Honourable senators, these are just a few of the problems that
face Canada’s Arctic if global warming is left unchecked. I do not have to
tell honourable senators of the dire consequences of an increase in
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when the permafrost increases its rate
of thawing.
I hope that the Senate will continue the work that has been started
by Senator Banks and the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the
Environment and Natural Resources in the last Parliament to find ways to
stop or at least slow down global warming. I strongly urge the federal
government to implement a comprehensive program to protect Canada’s
Arctic.
In d u stri al H e m p Lin ks
T h e C a n a dia n In d ustria l H e m p C ou n cil
W W W. C IN E VISI O N. C O M/C IH C
H e alth C a n a d a’s In d u stri al H e m p F a c t S h e e t
w w w.h c-s c. g c. c a/e n glish/m e dia/rele a s e s/1998/h e m p-e.htm
K e n e x - A h e m p r e s e a r c h a n d p r o d u c tio n c om p a ny
W W W. K E N E X. C O M
T h e N orth A m e ric a n In d ustrial H e m p C o un cil
W W W. N AIH C. O R G
Canada has a 10 year head start in the development
of the hemp industry and products.
119
11. R E A DIN G S:
H E MP A N D G LO B A L W A RMIN G
HEMP BIOMASS FOR ENERGY, By Tim Castleman, (2001) www.lulu.com
GLOBAL WARMING, Greenpeace (1990), edited by Jeremy Leggett.
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: The Planetary Emergency of Global
Warming and What We Can Do About It. (2006) By Al Gore.
WATER: The Power, Promise, and Turmoil of North America’s Fresh
Water. (1993) National Geographic Special Edition.)
T H E S O LU TI O N IS Y O U :
A N A C TIVIS T G UID E
BY: LAURIE DAVID
Laurie David
Photo: Tierney Gearon
W W W.L A U RIE D AVID. C O M
120
H E MP H E R O C H RIS C O N R A D
Chris Conrad is an internationally respected authority on cannabis,
industrial hemp, medical marijuana, cultivation, yields and cannabis
culture. He was also editor and designer of the first modern edition of
The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Chris and his wife Mikki Norris are early
pioneers and exemplary activists in the modern hemp movement. Their
contributions are too many to list in this book.
FROM CHRIS CONRAD’S BOOK
H E MP LIF E LIN E T O T H E F U T U R E
Chapter 10, Energy Independence & Security page 108, 1994
Edition: “During the Second World War, the head of the Hemp For
Victory program explained that hemp was again powering its own
mechanical processing and generating a 50 percent energy surplus.
“Fiber is obtained from the stems of the plant, cannabis sativa. All of the
factories use the hurd to fire the huge boilers which provide heat for
drying and power to operate the machines. Fuel costs are eliminated
through this ingenious procedure.21 Imagine the potential now that
better technology and cogeneration power are available.”
W W W. C H RIS C O N R A D. C O M
21 Only 20% of the hurd was used for fuel, disposing of the rest was a problem for the plant.
Plans and descriptions of Hemp processing factories follow. Sackett & Hobbs. Hemp; A War
Crop, Mason & Hanger Co. New York NY. 1942
121
S c ie ntific A m e ric a n
November, 1989
Methanol-fueled car could
integrate various features to
attain higher efficiency and
generate fewer emissions
than a conventional gasolinefueled car.
Tra n sit B u s O p e ratio n
with Me th a n ol F u e l
S c ho ol B u s
D e m on stratio n Proj e c t
C alifo r ni a E n e rg y C om missio n
122
" Th e C ultiv atio n of H e m p:
B ot a n y, Va rie ti e s, C ultiv atio n a n d H a rv e stin g "
Dr. Ivan Bocsa and Michael Karus. 1998. HEMPTECH. Sebastopol, CA
CONTENTS:
1. Hemp’s Historical Significance.
2. Hemp Cultivation Today.
3. Hemp’s Origin and Botany.
4. Breeding of Hemp Varieties.
5. Hemp Cultivation.
6. Harvesting.
7. Hempseed Cultivation.
8. An Ecological Evaluation of Hemp Cultivation.
9. New Uses for Hemp in Western Europe.
123
T H E M O T H E R E A RT H N E W S
BI O M A S S C A R
W W W. E V W O R L D. C O M
“PHOTO CAPTION: Five-time IHRA funny car champion Mark
Thomas’ Dodge Avenger runs on ’straight ethanol’ and regularly turns in
speeds of more than 200 mph. Ethanol is a renewable fuel that can be
made not only from corn, but plant residue; it is carbon neutral, adding
no additional greenhouse gases to the earth’s atmosphere.”
124
12. H E MP L E G IS L ATI O N
C alifo r ni a ’s In d u stri al H e m p B ill
The following California Assembly
Bill Number 1147 has passed the
California Legislature and was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger. This was a
no brainer, a vote for survival.
BILL NUMBER: AB 1147
AMENDED BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
MARCH 30, 2005
Introduced by:
Assembly Member Mark Leno
A ss e m bly Me m b e r
Ma rk L e no
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Division 26 (commencing with Section 81100) to the
Food and Agricultural Code, relating to industrial hemp.
L E G IS L A TIV E C O U N S E L’S DI G E S T
AB 1147, as amended, Leno. Industrial hemp: license for
commercial purposes.
(1) Existing law contained in the Food and Agricultural Code does
not authorize the production or utilization of industrial hemp in this state.
The Food and Agricultural Code provides that a violation of any of its
provisions is, in general, a misdemeanor.
This bill would provide that any person desiring to grow industrial
hemp, a s d efin e d , for Commercial purposes or to operate as a primary
processor of viable hemp seed into commercial, nonviable seed
derivatives shall apply to the Department of Food and Agriculture for a
license; the bill would require any licensee to meet specified conditions.
The bill would provide for the assessment of a fee on license applicants
and for research by the University of California on industrial hemp, as
specified. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a statemandated local program upon local governments.
125
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. Statemandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 26 (commencing with Section 81100) is
added to the Food and Agricultural Code, to read:
DIVISION 26. INDUSTRIAL HEMP
81100. Unless otherwise provided or the context otherwise
requires, the definitions in this section shall govern the construction of
this division:
(a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, or
the secretary’s designee.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Food and Agriculture.
(c) "Industrial hemp" is generally an oilseed and fiber crop that
includes all parts and varieties of the plant Cannabis Sativa L, having no
more than three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol contained in
its dried flowering tops; and that is grown wholly within this state from
indigenous instate seed stock exclusively for the purpose of producing
sterilized stalk, fiber, and seed elements and products thereof.
(d) "Tetrahydrocannabinol" or "THC" means the natural or
synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the plant, or in the
resinous extractives of, cannabis, or any synthetic substances,
compounds, salts, or derivatives of the plant or chemicals and their
isomers with similar chemical structure and pharmacological activity.
81102. (a) Any person desiring to (1) grow industrial hemp for
commercial purposes; or (2) operate as a primary processor of viable
hemp seed into commercial nonviable seed derivatives shall apply to the
Department of Food and Agriculture for a license on a form prescribed by
the department.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations establishing criteria for
the issuance of licenses, which criteria shall include, but need not be
limited to, the following:
(1) Permitholders are not authorized to sell or trade viable hemp
seed outside of California.
(2) Licenses shall be subject to renewal after two years.
126
(3) Background and qualifications of the applicant must be
submitted, which shall include a complete state and federal summary
criminal history check, at the applicant’s expense.
(4) No person with a prior criminal conviction shall be eligible for a
license.
81104. Every licensee under this division shall be subject to the
following conditions:
(a) (1) Each licensee shall file with the Department of Food and
Agriculture documentation indicating that the seeds planted were of a
type and variety certified to have no more than three-tenths of one
percent tetrahydrocannabinol and a copy of any contract to grow
industrial hemp.
(2) The department shall adopt rules that provide for testing
industrial hemp during growth for tetrahydrocannabinol levels and for
supervision of the crop during growth and harvest.
(b) No licensee may remove from its operation any item or element
other than mature stalks, fiber, or viable seed for sale, distribution, or
introduction into the commerce of this state.
(c) A licensee may sell or distribute mature stalks, fiber, or viable
seed only to a primary processor licensed under this division.
(d) Each person licensed to grow industrial hemp shall notify the
Department of Food and Agriculture of the sale or distribution of any
industrial hemp seed or stalk grown by the licensee, and of the names of
the licensed persons to whom any viable hemp seed was sold or
distributed.
(e) Each person licensed as a primary processor shall render each
seed into a nonviable seed derivative, including, but not limited to, oil,
nut, or powder.
(f) Each person licensed as a primary processor shall test the
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels of any derivative product using a
laboratory registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration
and shall report the results of those tests to the Department of Food and
Agriculture, in a form and on a schedule set forth in regulations adopted
by the department.
(1) In every case, for hemp oil products grown in this state, the
trace tetrahydrocannabinol content shall not exceed more than five parts
per million (ppm) of tetrahydrocannabinol.
(2) In every case, for hemp nut products grown in this state, the
trace tetrahydrocannabinol content shall not exceed more than 1.5 parts
per million (ppm) of tetrahydrocannabinol.
127
81108. To provide sufficient funds to
pay all costs associated with monitoring
and testing in the state, the Department of
Food and Agriculture shall assess each
applicant a fee in an amount determined by
the department to cover those costs.
81110. The University of California
shall be authorized to conduct research
relating to the production and processing
of industrial hemp, as follows:
(a) One of the purposes of the
research shall be the development and
dissemination of technology important to
the production and utilization of
commercial crop and livestock enterprises.
(b) The research shall provide for the
RICHARD M. DAVIS &
enhancement of the quality of life,
SISTER SOMAYAH
sustainability of production, and protection
KAMBUI
of the environment.
WINNING THE RIGHT
(c) As a part of this research, the
TO GROW HEMP
university may collect feral hemp seed
stock and develop appropriate adapted
IN CALIFORNIA
strains of industrial hemp which contain
less than three-tenths of one percent
tetrahydrocannabinol in the dried flowering
tops.
(d) The university shall report its findings to the Department of
Food and Agriculture.
SEC. 2.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that
may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred
because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the
meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
128
T h e U nit e d N atio n s L a w
O n In d u stri al H e m p
The U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Article 28,
exempts the planting of industrial hemp from prohibition.
This is the way many countries such as Canada are breaching the
prohibition mentality (See Hemp Hero Lorna Milne, page 118).
According to the U.S. Government classification of Cannabis,
the Canadians and Europeans are growing huge fields of
marijuana. This is a treaty that was signed by the United States.
C o u ntrie s G r o w in g In d ustria l H e m p T o d a y
The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not
recognize the value of industrial hemp and permit its production. Below
is a list of other countries that are more rational when it comes to hemp
policy.
AUSTRALIA began research trials in Tasmania in 1995. Victoria
commercial production since 1998. New South Wales has research. In
2002, Queensland began production. Western Australia licensed crops in
2004.
AUSTRIA has a hemp industry including production of hemp seed
oil, medicinals and Hanf magazine.
CANADA started to license research crops in 1994. In addition to
crops for fiber, one seed crop was licensed in 1995. Many acres were
planted in 1997. Licenses for commercial agriculture saw thousands of
acres planted in 1998. 30,000 acres were planted in 1999. In 2000, due to
speculative investing, 12,250 acres were sown. In 2001, 92 farmers grew
3,250 acres. A number of Canadian farmers are now growing organicallycertified hemp crops (6,000 acres in 2003 and 8,500 acres in 2004,
yielding almost four million pounds of seed).
CHILE has grown hemp in the recent past for seed oil production.
CHINA is the largest exporter of hemp textiles. The fabrics are of
excellent quality. Medium density fiber board is also now available. The
Chinese word for hemp is "ma."
DENMARK planted its first modern hemp trial crops in 1997. The
country is committed to utilizing organic methods.
129
FINLAND had a resurgence of hemp in 1995 with several small test
plots. A seed variety for northern climates was developed called Finola,
previously know by the breeder code "FIN-314." In 2003, Finola was
accepted to the EU list of subsidized hemp cultivars. Hemp has never
been prohibited in Finland. The Finnish word for hemp is "hamppu."
FRANCE has never prohibited hemp and harvested 10,000 tons of
fiber in 1994. France is a source of low-THC-producing hemp seed for
other countries. France exports high quality hemp oil to the U.S. The
French word for hemp is "chanvre."
GERMANY banned hemp in 1982, but research began again in
1992, and many technologies and products are now being developed, as
the ban was lifted on growing hemp in November, 1995. Food, clothes
and paper are also being made from imported raw materials. Mercedes
and BMW use hemp fiber for composites in door panels, dashboards, etc.
The German word for hemp is "hanf."
GREAT BRITAIN lifted hemp prohibition in 1993. Animal bedding,
paper and textiles markets have been developed. A government grant
was given to develop new markets for natural fibers. 4,000 acres were
grown in 1994. Subsidies of 230 British pounds per acre are given by the
government to farmers for growing hemp.
HUNGARY is rebuilding their hemp industry, and is one of the
biggest exporters of hemp cordage, rugs and fabric to the U.S. They also
export hemp seed, paper and fiberboard. The Hungarian word for hemp
is "kender."
INDIA has stands of naturalized Cannabis and uses it for cordage,
textiles and seed.
ITALY has invested in the resurgence of hemp, especially for textile
production. 1,000 acres were planted for fiber in 2002. Giorgio Armani
grows its own hemp for specialized textiles.
JAPAN has a rich religious tradition involving hemp, and custom
requires that the Emperor and Shinto priests wear hemp garments in
certain ceremonies, so there are small plots maintained for these
purposes. Traditional spice mixes also include hemp seed. Japan
supports a thriving retail market for a variety of hemp products. The
Japanese word for hemp is "asa."
NETHERLANDS is conducting a four-year study to evaluate and
test hemp for paper, and is developing specialized processing
equipment. Seed breeders are developing new strains of low-THC
varieties. The Dutch word for hemp is "hennep."
NEW ZEALAND started hemp trials in 2001. Various cultivars are
being planted in the north and south islands.
130
POLAND currently grows hemp for fabric and cordage and
manufactures hemp particle board. They have demonstrated the benefits
of using hemp to cleanse soils contaminated by heavy metals. The Polish
word for hemp is "konopij."
ROMANIA is the largest commercial producer of hemp in Europe.
1993 acreage was 40,000 acres. Some of it is exported to Hungary for
processing. They also export hemp to Western Europe and the U.S. The
Romanian word for hemp is "cinepa."
RUSSIA maintains the largest hemp germplasm collection in the
world at the N.I. Vavilov Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry
(VIR) in St. Petersburg. They are in need of funding to maintain and
support the collection. The Russian word for hemp is "konoplya."
SLOVENIA grows hemp and manufactures currency paper.
SPAIN has never prohibited hemp, produces rope and textiles, and
exports hemp pulp for paper. The Spanish word for hemp is "cañamo."
SWITZERLAND is a producer of hemp and hosts one of the largest
hemp trade events, Cannatrade.
TURKEY has grown hemp for 2,800 years for rope, caulking,
birdseed, paper and fuel. The Turkish word for hemp is "kendir."
UKRAINE, EGYPT, KOREA, PORTUGAL and THAILAND also
produce hemp.
UNITED STATES granted the first hemp permit in over 40 years to
Hawaii for an experimental quarter-acre plot in 1999. The license was
renewed, but the project has since been closed due to DEA stalling
tactics and related funding problems. Importers and manufacturers have
thrived using imported raw materials. 22 states have introduced
legislation, including VT, HI, ND, MT, MN, IL, VA, NM, CA, AR, KY, MD, WV
and ME, addressing support, research or cultivation with bills or
resolutions. The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) has
endorsed industrial hemp for years.
B iblio g r a p hy
Chris Conrad, "Hemp: Lifeline to the Future"
Jack Frazier, "The Great American Hemp Industry"
Hemptech, "Industrial Hemp" and "Hemp Horizons"
Source: The Hemp Industries Association
http://www.thehia.org/facts.html#Countries
131
T h e Ma riju a n a Ta x A c t of 1937
Full Text of the Marihuana Tax Act as passed in 1937
Introduction (in italics) by David Solomon
T h e p o p ula r a n d th e r a p e uti c us e s of h e m p p r e p a r a tions a r e n ot
c a t e g oric ally p r ohibit e d b y th e p r ovision s of th e M a rihu a n a T a x A c t of
1937. T h e a p p a r e nt p ur p os e of th e A c t is to le vy a to k e n t a x of
a p p r oxim a t ely o n e d olla r o n all b uy e r s, s elle r s, im p ort e r s, g r o w e r s,
p hysicia ns, v e t e rin a ria ns, a n d a ny oth e r p e r sons w h o d e al in m a riju a n a
c om m e r c ially, p r e s c rib e it p r ofe ssion ally, or p oss e ss it.
T h e d e c e p tiv e n a tur e of th a t a p p a r e nt p u r p os e b e gins to c o m e into
fo c us w h e n th e r e a d e r r e a c h e s th e p e n alty p r ovisio ns of th e A c t: fiv e
y e a r s’ im p rison m e nt, a $2,000 fin e , or b oth s e e m r a th e r e x c e s siv e for
e v a din g a s um (p r ovid e d for b y th e p ur c h a s e of a T r e a sur y D e p a rtm e nt
t a x st a m p) th a t, e v e n if c oll e c t e d , w ould p r o d u c e o nly a minut e a mo unt of
g ov e r nm e nt r e v e nu e . (F in e s a n d jail s e nt e n c e s w e r e furth e r in c r e a s e d to
th e p oint of th e c r u el a n d un usu al in s u b s e q u e nt fe d e r a l d r u g le gisla tion
th a t in c or p or a t e d th e Ma riju a n a T a x A c t. It is n o w p ossible un d e r th e
la t e r v e r sio n of th e A c t to d r a w a life s e nt e n c e for s ellin g just on e
m a rih u a n a cig a r e tt e to a min or.) O n e mig ht w on d e r, too, w hy a sm all
cla u s e , a m ountin g to a n o p e n-e n d e d c a t c h all p r ovision, w a s in s e rt e d into
th e A c t, a uthorizin g th e S e c r e t a r y of th e T r e a sur y to g r a nt th e
C ommissio n e r (th e n H a r r y A nslin g e r) a n d a g e nts of th e T r e a su r y
D e p a rtm e nt’s B ur e a u of N a r c otic s a b solut e a d ministr a tiv e r e g ula tor y,
a n d p olic e p o w e r s in th e e nfor c e m e nt of th e la w . T h e m e s s a g e b e c om e s
e ntir ely cl e a r w h e n, h a vin g finis h e d th e s hort t e xt of th e A c t its elf, on e
p r o c e e d s to th e sixty-o d d p a g e s of a d ministr a tiv e a n d e nfor c e m e nt
p r o c e d ur e s e st a blis h e d b y th e
infa mo us R e g ul a tio n s N o. 1. T h a t
r e g ula tion, not fully r e p r o d u c e d
h e r e , c alls for a m a z e of affid a vits,
d e p osition s, s w or n st a t e m e nts,
a n d c o nst a nt T r e a su r y D e p a rtm e nt
p olic e in s p e c tion in e v e r y inst a n c e
th a t m a riju a n a is b ou g ht, sold ,
us e d , r ais e d , distrib ut e d , giv e n
a w a y, a n d so on. P hy sicia ns w ho
wish to p ur c h a s e th e on e-d olla r t a x
132
st a m p so th a t th e y mig ht p r e s c rib e it for th eir p a ti e nts a r e for c e d to
r e p ort su c h us e to th e F e d e r a l B ur e a u of N a r c otic s in s w or n a n d a tt e st e d
d e t ail, r e v e alin g th e n a m e a n d a d d r e ss of th e p a tie nt, th e n a tu r e of his
ailm e nt, th e d a t e s a n d a mou nts p r e s c rib e d , a n d so o n. If a p hy sicia n for
a ny r e a so n fa ils to d o so imm e dia t ely, b oth h e a n d his p a ti e nt a r e lia ble to
im p risonm e nt-a n d a h e a v y fin e . O b viously, th e d e t ails of th a t r e g ula tion
m a k e it f a r too ris k y for a ny on e to h a v e a n ythin g to d o with m a riju a n a in
a ny w a y w h a tso e v e r.
Regulations No. 1 was more than an invasion of the traditional right
of privacy between patient and physician; it was a hopelessly involved
set of rules that were obviously designed not merely to discourage but to
prohibit the medical and popular use of marijuana. In addition to the
Marihuana Tax Act and Regulations No. 1, the Bureau of Narcotics
prepared a standard bill for marihuana that more than forty state
legislatures enacted. This bill made possession and use of marihuana
illegal per se, and so reinforced the federal act.
U. S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT
BUREAU OF NARCOTICS
REGULATIONS No. 1
RELATING TO THE
IMPORTATION, MANUFACTURE, PRODUCTION
COMPOUNDING, SALE, DEALING IN, DISPENSING
PRESCRIBING, ADMINISTERING, AND
GIVING AWAY OF MARIHUANA UNDER THE
ACT OF AUGUST 2, 1937
PUBLIC, No. 238, 75TH CONGRESS
NARCOTIC-INTERNAL REVENUE REGULATIONS
JOINT MARIHUANA REGULATIONS MADE BY THE
COMMISSIONER OF NARCOTICS AND THE COMMISSIONER
OF INTERNAL REVENUE WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY EFFECTIVE DATE,
OCTOBER 1, 1937
LAW AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE IMPORTATION,
MANUFACTURE, PRODUCTION, COMPOUNDING, SALE,
DEALING IN, DISPENSING, PRESCRIBING, ADMINISTERING,
AND GIVING AWAY OF MARIHUANA
133
THE LAW
(Act of Aug. 2, 1937, Public 238, 75th Congress)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, that when used in this
Act,
(a) The term "person" means an individual, a partnership, trust,
association, company, or corporation and includes an officer or
employee of a trust, association, company, or corporation, or a member
or employee of a partnership, who, as such officer, employee, or
member, is under a duty to perform any act in respect of which any
violation of this Act occurs.
(b) The term "marihuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis
sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted
from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin- but
shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from
such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other
compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such
mature stalks (except the resin extracted there from), fiber, oil, or cake,
or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
(c) The term "producer" means any person who (1) plants,
cultivates, or in any way facilitates the natural growth of marihuana; or
(2) harvests and transfers or makes use of marihuana.
(d) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Treasury and
the term "collector means collector of internal revenue.
(e) The term "transfer" or "transferred" means any type of
disposition resulting in a change of possession but shall not include a
transfer to a common carrier for the purpose of transporting marihuana.
SEC. 2. (a) Every person who imports, manufactures, produces,
compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses, prescribes, administers, or gives
away marihuana shall ( 1 ) within fifteen days after the effective date of
this Act, or (2) before engaging after the expiration of such fifteen-day
period in any of the above mentioned activities, and (3) thereafter, on or
before July 1 of each year, pay the following special taxes respectively:
(1) Importers, manufacturers, and compounders of marihuana, $24
per year.
(2) Producers of marihuana (except those included within
subdivision (4) of this subsection), $1 per year, or fraction thereof, during
which they engage in such activity.
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(3) Physicians, dentists, veterinary surgeons, and other
practitioners who distribute, dispense, give away, administer, or
prescribe marihuana to patients upon whom they in the course of their
professional practice are in attendance, $1 per year or fraction thereof
during which they engage in any of such activities.
(4) Any person not registered as an importer, manufacturer,
producer, or compounder who obtains and uses marihuana in a
laboratory for the purpose of research, instruction, or analysis, or who
produces marihuana for any such purpose, $1 per year, or fraction
thereof, during which he engages in such activities.
(5) Any person who is not a physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon,
or other practitioner and who deals in, dispenses, or gives away
marihuana, $3 per year: Provided, That any person who has registered
and paid the special tax as an importer, manufacturer, compounder, or
producer, as required by subdivisions ( 1 ) and (2) of this subsection, may
deal in, dispense, or give away marihuana imported, manufactured,
compounded, or produced by him without further payment of the tax
imposed by this section.
(b) Where a tax under subdivision (1) or (5) is payable on July 1 of
any year it shall be computed for one year; where any such tax is payable
on any other day it shall be computed proportionately from the first day
of the month in which the liability for the tax accrued to the following July
1.
(c) In the event that any person subject to a tax imposed by this
section engages in any of the activities enumerated in subsection (a) of
this section at more than one place, such person shall pay the tax with
respect to each such place.
(d) Except as otherwise provided, whenever more than one of the
activities enumerated in subsection (a) of this section is carried on by the
same person at the same time, such person shall pay the tax for each
such activity, according to the respective rates prescribed.
(e) Any person subject to the tax imposed by this section shall,
upon payment of such tax, register his name or style and his place or
places of business with the collector of the district in which such place or
places of business are located.
(f) Collectors are authorized to furnish, upon written request, to
any person a certified copy of the names of any or all persons who may
be listed in their respective collection districts as special taxpayers
under this section, upon payment of a fee of $1 for each one hundred of
such names or fraction thereof upon such copy so requested.
SEC. 3. (a) No employee of any person who has paid the special tax
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and registered, as required by section 2 of this Act, acting within the
scope of his employment, shall be required to register and pay such
special tax.
(b) An officer or employee of the United States, any State,
Territory, the District of Columbia, or insular possession, or political
subdivision, who, in the exercise of his official duties, engages in any of
the activities enumerated in section 2 of this Act, shall not be required to
register or pay the special tax, but his right to this exemption shall be
evidenced in such manner as the Secretary may by regulations
prescribe.
SEC. 4. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person required to register
and pay the special tax under the provisions of section 2 to import,
manufacture, produce, compound, sell, deal in, dispense, distribute,
prescribe, administer, or give away marihuana without having so
registered and paid such tax.
(b) In any suit or proceeding to enforce the liability imposed by this
section or section 2, if proof is made that marihuana was at any time
growing upon land under the control of the defendant, such proof shall
be presumptive evidence that at such time the defendant was a producer
and liable under this section as well as under section 2.
SEC. 5. It shall be unlawful for any person who shall not have paid
the special tax and registered, as required by section 2, to send, ship,
carry, transport, or deliver any marihuana within any Territory, the
District of Columbia, or any insular possession, or from any State,
Territory, the District of Columbia, any insular possession of the United
States, or the Canal Zone, into any other State, Territory, the District of
Columbia, or insular possession of the United States: Provided, That
nothing contained in this section shall apply to any common carrier
engaged in transporting marihuana; or to any employee of any person
who shall have registered and paid the special tax as required by section
2 while acting within the scope of his employment; or to any person who
shall deliver marihuana which has been prescribed or dispensed by a
physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner registered
under section 2, who has been employed to prescribe for the particular
patient receiving such marihuana; or to any United States, State, county,
municipal, District, Territorial, or insular officer or official acting within
the scope of his official duties.
SEC. 6. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not
required to pay a special tax and register under section 2, to transfer
marihuana, except in pursuance of a written order of the person to whom
such marihuana is transferred, on a form to be issued in blank for that
136
purpose by the Secretary.
(b) Subject to such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe,
nothing contained in this section shall apply:
( 1 ) To a transfer of marihuana to a patient by a physician, dentist,
veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner registered under section 2, in
the course of his professional practice only: Provided, That such
physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner shall keep a
record of all such marihuana transferred, showing the amount
transferred and the name and address of the patient to whom such
marihuana is transferred, and such record shall be kept for a period of
two years from the date of the transfer of such marihuana, and subject to
inspection as provided in section 11.
(2) To a transfer of marihuana, made in good faith by a dealer to a
consumer under and in pursuance of a written prescription issued by a
physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner registered
under section 2: Provided, That such prescription shall be dated as of the
day on which signed and shall be signed by the physician, dentist,
veterinary surgeon, or other practitioner who issues the same; Provided
further, That such dealer shall preserve such prescription for a period of
two years from the day on which such prescription is filled so as to be
readily accessible for inspection by the officers, agents, employees, and
officials mentioned in section 11.
(3) To the sale, exportation, shipment, or delivery of marihuana by
any person within the United States, any Territory, the District of
Columbia, or any of the insular possessions of the United States, to any
person in any foreign country regulating the entry of marihuana, if such
sale, shipment, or delivery of marihuana is made in accordance with such
regulations for importation into such foreign country as are prescribed
by such foreign country, such regulations to be promulgated from time to
time by the Secretary of State of the United States.
(4) To a transfer of marihuana to any officer or employee of the
United States Government or of any State, Territorial, District, county, or
municipal or insular government lawfully engaged in making purchases
thereof for the various departments of the Army and Navy, the Public
Health Service, and for Government, State, Territorial, District, county,
or municipal or insular hospitals or prisons.
(S) To a transfer of any seeds of the plant Cannabis sativa L. to any
person registered under section 2.
(c) The Secretary shall cause suitable forms to be prepared for the
purposes before mentioned and shall cause them to be distributed to
collectors for sale. The price at which such forms shall be sold by said
137
collectors shall be fixed by the Secretary but shall not exceed 2 cents
each. Whenever any collector shall sell any of such forms he shall cause
the date of sale, the name and address of the proposed vendor, the name
and address of the purchaser, and the amount of marihuana ordered to
be plainly written or stamped thereon before delivering the same.
(d) Each such order form sold by a collector shall be prepared by
him and shall include an original and two copies, any one of which shall
be admissible in evidence as an original. The original and one copy shall
be given by the collector to the purchaser thereof. The original shall in
turn be given by the purchaser thereof to any person who shall, in
pursuance thereof, transfer marihuana to him and shall be preserved by
such person for a period of two years so as to be readily accessible for
inspection by any officer, agent, or employee mentioned in section 11.
The copy given to the purchaser by the collector shall be retained by the
purchaser and preserved for a period of two years so as to be readily
accessible to inspection by any officer, agent, or employee mentioned in
section 11. The second copy shall be preserved in the records of the
collector.
SEC. 7. (a) There shall be levied, collected, and paid upon all
transfers of marihuana which are required by section 6 to be carried out
in pursuance of written order forms taxes at the following rates:
(1) Upon each transfer to any person who has paid the special tax
and registered under section 2 of this Act, $1 per ounce of marihuana or
fraction thereof
(2) Upon each transfer to any person who has not paid the special
tax and registered under section 2 of this Act, $100 per ounce of
marihuana or fraction thereof.
(b) Such tax shall be paid by the transferee at the time of securing
each order form and shall be in addition to the price of such form. Such
transferee shall be liable for the tax imposed by this section but in the
event that the transfer is made in violation of section 6 without an order
form and without payment of the transfer tax imposed by this section, the
transferor shall also be liable for such tax.
(c) Payment of the tax herein provided shall be represented by
appropriate stamps to be provided by the Secretary and said stamps
shall be affixed by the collector or his representative to the original order
form.
(d) All provisions of law relating to the engraving, issuance, sale,
accountability, cancellation, and destruction of tax-paid stamps provided
for in the internal-revenue laws shall, insofar as applicable and not
inconsistent with this Act, be extended and made to apply to stamps
138
provided for in this section.
(e) All provisions of law (including penalties) applicable in respect
of the taxes imposed by the Act of December 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 785; U. S.
C., 1934 ed., title 26, secs. 1040-- 1061, 1383-1391), as amended, shall,
insofar as not inconsistent with this Act, be applicable in respect of the
taxes imposed by this Act.
SEC. 8. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who is a transferee
required to pay the transfer tax imposed by section 7 to acquire or
otherwise obtain any marihuana without having paid such tax; and proof
that any person shall have had in his possession any marihuana and shall
have failed, after reasonable notice and demand by the collector, to
produce the order form required by section 6 to be retained by him, shall
be presumptive evidence of guilt under this section and of liability for the
tax imposed by section 7.
(b) No liability shall be imposed by virtue of this section upon any
duly authorized officer of the Treasury Department engaged in the
enforcement of this Act or upon any duly authorized officer of any State,
or Territory, or of any political subdivision thereof, or the District of
Columbia, or of any insular possession of the United States, who shall be
engaged in the enforcement of any law or municipal ordinance dealing
with the production, sale, prescribing, dispensing, dealing in, or
distributing of marihuana.
SEC. 9. (a) Any marihuana which has been imported,
manufactured, compounded, transferred, or produced in violation of any
of the provisions of this Act shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture and,
except as inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, all the provisions of
internal-revenue laws relating to searches, seizures, and forfeitures are
extended to include marihuana.
(b) Any marihuana which may be seized by the United States
Government from any person or persons charged with any violation of
this Act shall upon conviction of the person or persons from whom seized
be confiscated by and forfeited to the United States.
(c) Any marihuana seized or coming into the possession of the
United States in the enforcement of this Act, the owner or owners of
which are unknown, shall be confiscated by and forfeited to the United
States.
(d) The Secretary is hereby directed to destroy any marihuana
confiscated by and forfeited to the United States under this section or to
deliver such marihuana to any department, bureau, or other agency of
the United States Government, upon proper application therefore under
such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary.
139
SEC. 10. (a) Every person liable to any tax imposed by this act shall
keep such books and records, render under oath such statements, make
such returns, and comply with such rules and regulations as the
Secretary may from time to time prescribe.
(b) Any person who shall be registered under the provisions of
section 2 in any internal- revenue district shall, whenever required so to
do by the collector of the district, render to the collector a true and
correct statement or return, verified by affidavits, setting forth the
quantity of marihuana received or harvested by him during such period
immediately preceding the demand of the collector, not exceeding three
months, as the said collector may fix and determine. If such person is not
solely a producer, he shall set forth in such statement or return the
names of the persons from which said marihuana was received, the
quantity in each instance received from such persons, and the date when
received.
SEC. 11. The order forms and copies thereof and the prescriptions
and records required to be preserved under the provisions of section 6,
and the statements or returns filed in the office of the collector of the
district under the provisions of section 10 (b) shall be open to inspection
by officers, agents, and employees of the Treasury Department duly
authorized for that purpose, and such officers of any State, or Territory,
or of any political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia, or of
any insular possession of the United States as shall be charged with the
enforcement of any law or municipal ordinance regulating the
production, sale, prescribing, dispensing, dealing in, or distributing of
marihuana. Each collector shall be authorized to furnish, upon written
request, copies of any of the said statements or returns filed in his office
to any of such officials of any State or Territory, or political subdivision
thereof, or the District of Columbia, or any insular possession of the
United States as shall be entitled to inspect the said statements or
returns filed in the office of the said collector, upon the payment of a fee
of $1 for each 100 words or fraction thereof in the copy or copies so
requested.
SEC. 12. Any person who is convicted of a violation of any
provision of this Act shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned
not more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
SEC. 13. It shall not be necessary to negative any exemptions set
forth in this Act in any complaint, information, indictment, or other writ or
proceeding laid or brought under this Act and the burden of proof of any
such exemption shall be upon the defendant. In the absence of the
production of evidence by the defendant that he has complied with the
140
provisions of section 6 relating to order forms, he shall be presumed not
to have complied with such provisions of such sections, as the case may
be.
SEC. 14. The Secretary is authorized to make, prescribe, and
publish all necessary rules and regulations for carrying out the
provisions of this Act and to confer or impose any of the rights,
privileges, powers, and duties conferred or imposed upon him by this Act
upon such officers or employees of the Treasury Department as he shall
designate or appoint.
SEC. 15. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Territory of Alaska, the Territory of
Hawaii, and the insular possessions of the United States, except the
Philippine Islands. In Puerto Rico the administration of this Act, the
collection of the special taxes and transfer taxes, and the issuance of the
order forms provided for in section 6 shall be performed by the
appropriate internal revenue officers of that government, and all
revenues collected under this Act in Puerto Rico shall accrue intact to
the general government thereof. The President is hereby authorized and
directed to issue such Executive orders as will carry into effect in the
Virgin Islands the intent and purpose of this Act by providing for the
registration with appropriate officers and the imposition of the special
and transfer taxes upon all persons in the Virgin Islands who import,
manufacture, produce, compound, sell, deal in, dispense, prescribe,
administer, or give away marihuana.
SEC. 16. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to
any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and
the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall
not be affected thereby.
SEC. 17. This Act shall take effect on the first day of the second
month during which it is enacted.
SEC. 18. This Act may be cited as the "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937."
(T. D. 28)
Order of the Secretary of the Treasury Relating to the Enforcement
of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
September 1, 1937
Section 14 of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (act of Congress
approved August 2, 1937, Public, No. 238), provides as follows:
The Secretary is authorized to make, prescribe, and publish all
necessary rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this
Act and to confer or impose any of the rights, privileges, powers, and
duties conferred or imposed upon him by this Act upon such officers or
141
employees of the Treasury Department as he shall designate or appoint.
In pursuance of the authority thus conferred upon the Secretary of
the Treasury, it is hereby ordered:
1. Rights, Privileges, Powers, and Duties Conferred and imposed
Upon the Commissioner of Narcotics
1. There are hereby conferred and imposed upon the
Commissioner of Narcotics, subject to the general supervision and
direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, all the rights, privileges,
powers, and duties conferred or imposed upon said Secretary by the
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, so far as such rights privileges, powers, and
duties relate to:
(a) Prescribing regulations, with the approval of the Secretary, as
to the manner in which the right of public officers to exemption from
registration and payment of special tax may be evidenced, in accordance
with section 3 (b) of the act.
(b) Prescribing the form of written order required by section 6 (a)
of the act, said form to be prepared and issued in blank by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue as hereinafter provided.
(c) Prescribing regulations, with the approval of the Secretary,
giving effect to the exceptions, specified in subsection (b), from the
operation of subsection (a) of section 6 of the act.
(d) The destruction of marihuana confiscated by and forfeited to
the United States, or delivery of such marihuana to any department,
bureau, or other agency of the United States Government, and
prescribing regulations, with the approval of the Secretary, governing
the manner of application for, and delivery of such marihuana.
(e) Prescribing rules and regulations, with the approval of the
Secretary, as to books and records to be kept, and statements and
information returns to be rendered under oath, as required by section 10
(a) of the act.
(f) The compromise of any criminal liability (except as relates to
delinquency in registration and delinquency in payment of tax) arising
under the act, in accordance with section 3229 of the Revised Statutes of
the United States (U. S. Code (1934 ed.) title 26, sec. 1661), and the
recommendation for assessment of civil liability for internal- revenue
taxes and ad valorem penalties under the act.
II. Rights, Privileges, Powers, and Duties Conferred and Imposed
upon the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
1. There are hereby conferred and imposed upon the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, subject to the general supervision
and direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, the rights, privileges,
142
powers, and duties conferred or imposed upon said Secretary of the
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, not otherwise assigned herein, so far as such
rights, privileges, powers, and duties relate to
(a) Preparation and issuance in blank to collectors of internal
revenue of the written orders, in the form prescribed by the
Commissioner of Narcotics, required by section 6 (a) of the act. The price
of the order form, as sold by the collector under section 6 (c) of the act
shall be two cents for the original and one copy.
(b) Providing appropriate stamps to represent payment of transfer
tax levied by section 7, and prescribing and providing appropriate
stamps for issuance of special tax payers registering under section 2 of
the act.
(c) The compromise of any civil liability involving delinquency in
registration, delinquency in payment of tax, and ad valorem penalties,
and of any criminal liability incurred through delinquency in registration
and delinquency in payment of tax, in connection with the act and in
accordance with Section 3229 of the Revised Statutes of the United
States (U. S. Code (1934 ed.), title 26, sec. 1661)- the determination of
liability for and the assessment and collection of special and transfer
taxes imposed by the act; the determination of liability for and the
assessment and collection of the ad valorem penalties imposed by
Section 3176 of the Revised Statutes, as modified by Section 406 of the
Revenue Act of 1935 (U. S. Code (1934 ed.) title 26, secs. 1512-1525), for
delinquency in registration; and the determination of liability for and the
assertion of the specific penalty imposed by the act, for delinquency in
registration and payment of tax.
G E N E R A L P R O VISI O N S
The investigation and the detection, and presentation to
prosecuting officers of evidence, of violations of the Marihuana Tax Act
of 1937, shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Narcotics and the
assistants, agents, inspectors, or employees under his direction. Except
as specifically inconsistent with the terms of said act and of this order,
the Commissioner of Narcotics and the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue and the assistants, agents, inspectors, or employees of the
Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, respectively,
shall have the same powers and duties in safeguarding the revenue
thereunder as they now have with respect to the enforcement of, and
collection of the revenue under, the act of December 17, 1914, as
amended (U. S. Code (1934 ed.), title 26, sec. 1049).
143
In any case where a general offer is made in compromise of civil
and criminal liability ordinarily compromisable hereunder by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue and of criminal liability ordinarily
compromisable hereunder by the Commissioner of Narcotics, the case
may be jointly compromisable by those officers, in accordance with
Section 3229 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (U. S. Code
(1934 ed.), title 26, sec. 1661).
Power is hereby conferred upon the Commissioner of Narcotics to
prescribe such regulations as he may deem necessary for the execution
of the functions imposed upon him or upon the officers or employees of
the Bureau of Narcotics, but all regulations and changes in regulations
shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Commissioner of
Narcotics may, if they are of the opinion that the good of the service will
be promoted thereby, prescribe regulations relating to internal revenue
taxes where no violation of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is involved,
jointly, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.
The right to amend or supplement this order or any provision
thereof from time to time, or to revoke this order or any provision thereof
at any time, is hereby reserved.
The effective date of this order shall be October 1, 1937, which is
the effective date of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
STEPHEN B. GIBBONS,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury.
R E G U L ATI O N S
Introductory
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, imposes special (occupational)
taxes upon persons engaging in activities involving articles or material
within the definition of "marihuana" contained in the act, and also taxes
the transfer of such articles or material.
These regulations deal with details as to tax computation,
procedure, the forms of records and returns, and similar matters. These
matters in some degree are controlled by certain sections of the United
States Revised Statutes and other statutes of general application.
Provisions of these statutes, as well as of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
are quoted, in whole or in part, as the immediate or general basis for the
regulatory provisions set forth. The quoted provisions are from the
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 unless otherwise indicated.
Provisions of the statutes upon which the various articles of the
regulations are based generally have not been repeated in the articles.
144
Therefore, the statutory excerpts preceding the several articles should
be examined to obtain complete information.
Chapter I
Laws Applicable
SEC. 7 (e) All provisions of law (including penalties) applicable in
respect of the taxes imposed by the Act of December 17, 1914 (38 Stat.
785; U. S. C., 1934 ed., title 26, secs. 1040- 1061, 1383-1391), as
amended, shall, insofar as not inconsistent with this Act, be applicable in
respect of the taxes imposed by this Act.
ART. 1. Statutes applicable. All general provisions of the internal
revenue laws, not inconsistent with the Marihuana Tax Act, are
applicable in the enforcement of the latter.
Chapter II
Definitions
SEC. 1. That when used in this Act:
(a) The term "person" means an individual, a partnership, trust,
association, company, or corporation and includes an officer or
employee of a trust, association, company, or corporation, or a member
or employee of a partnership, who as such officer, employee, or member
is under a duty to perform . any act in respect of which any violation of
this Act occurs.
(b) The term "marihuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis
sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted
from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resins; but
shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from
such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other
compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such
mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake,
or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
(c) The term "producer" means any person who ( 1 ) plants,
cultivates, or in any way facilitates the natural growth of marihuana; or
(2) harvests and transfers or makes use of marihuana.
(d) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Treasury and
the term "collector" means collector of internal revenue.
(e) The term "transfer" or "transferred" means any type of
disposition resulting in a change of possession but shall not include a
transfer to a common carrier for the purpose of transporting marihuana
ART. 2. As used in these regulations:
(a) The term "act" or "this act" shall mean the Marihuana Tax Act of
1937, unless otherwise indicated.
145
(b) The term "United States" shall include the several States, the
District of Columbia, the Territory of Alaska, the Territory of Hawaii, and
the insular possessions of the United States except Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands. It does not include the Canal Zone or the Philippine
Islands.
(c) The terms "manufacturer" and "compounder" shall include any
person who subjects marihuana to any process of separation, extraction,
mixing, compounding, or other manufacturing operation. They shall not
include one who merely gathers and destroys the plant, one who merely
threshes out the seeds on the premises where produced, or one who in
the conduct of a legitimate business merely subjects seeds to a cleaning
process.
(d) The term "producer" means any person who induces in any way
the growth of marihuana, and any person who harvests it, either in a
cultivated or wild state, from his own or any other land, and transfers or
makes use of it, including one who subjects the marihuana which he
harvests to any processes rendering him liable also as a manufacturer or
compounder. Generally all persons are included who gather marihuana
for any purpose other than to destroy it. The term does not include one
who merely plows under or otherwise destroys marihuana with or
without harvesting. It does not include one who grows marihuana for use
in his own laboratory for the purpose of research, instruction, or analysis
and who does not use it for any other purpose or transfer it.
(e) The term "special tax" is used to include any of the taxes,
pertaining to the several occupations or activities covered by the act,
imposed upon persons who import, manufacture, produce, compound,
sell, deal in, dispense, prescribe, administer, or give away marihuana.
(f ) The term "person" occurring in these regulations is used to
include individual, partnership, trust, association, company, or
corporation; also a hospital, college of pharmacy, medical or dental
clinic, sanatorium, or other institution or entity.
(g) Words importing the singular may include the plural; words
importing the masculine gender may be applied to the feminine or the
neuter.
The definitions contained herein shall not be deemed exclusive.
146
C o n g r e ssm a n Ro n Pa ul
U nit e d St a t e s H o us e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s B ill H .R. 3037
In d u stri al H e m p F a r min g A c t of 2005
Title: To amend the Controlled Substances Act
to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of
marihuana, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14-photo right]
(introduced 6/22/2005)
Cosponsors (11)
Latest Major Action: 7/1/2005
Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
S UMM A RY A S O F : 6/22/2005--Introduced.
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005 - Amends the Controlled
Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of
"marihuana." Defines "industrial hemp" to mean the plant Cannabis
sativa L. and any part of such plant with a delta-nine
tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed .3 percent on a
dry weight basis. Grants a state regulating the growing and processing
of industrial hemp exclusive authority, in any criminal or civil action or
administrative proceeding, to determine whether any such plant meets
that concentration limit.
MAJOR ACTIONS:***NONE***
ALL ACTIONS:
6/22/2005:
Introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1313-1314)
6/22/2005:
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned.
6/22/2005: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
7/1/2005: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
6/22/2005: Referred to House Judiciary
TITLE(S): (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill) ***NONE***
147
COSPONSORS(11),
ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]:
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)
HR 3037 IH
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3037
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial
hemp from the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2005
Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. FARR, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. STARK,
and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
B e it e n a c t e d b y th e S e n a t e a n d H ous e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s of th e
U nit e d St a t e s of A m e ric a in C on g r e ss a ss e m ble d ,
S E C TI O N 1. S H O R T TIT L E .
This Act may be cited as the ‘Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005’.
S E C . 2. E X C L U SI O N O F IN D U S T RIA L H E MP
F R O M D E F INITI O N O F M A RIH U A N A .
Paragraph (16) of section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802(16)) is amended-(1) by striking ‘(16)’ at the beginning and inserting ‘(16)(A)’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
(B) The term ‘marihuana’ does not include industrial hemp. As used
in the preceding sentence, the term ‘industrial hemp’ means the plant
Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not,
with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed
0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.’.
148
S E C . 3. IN D U S T RIA L H E MP D E T E RMIN A TI O N
T O B E M A D E B Y S T A T E S.
Section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘(i) Industrial Hemp Determination to Be Made by States- In any
criminal action, civil action, or administrative proceeding, a State
regulating the growing and processing of industrial hemp under State
law shall have exclusive authority to determine whether any such plant
meets the concentration limitation set forth in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (16) of section 102 and such determination shall be conclusive
and binding.’.
In d u stri al H e m p F a r min g A c t S p o n so r
C o n g r e ssm a n Ro n Pa ul’s D e s k sig n:
D O N’T ST E AL
T H E G O V E R NM E N T H AT E S C O MP E TITI O N
W W W. H O U S E . G O V/PA U L
149
In d u stri al H e m p F a r min g A c t of 2007
H R 1009 IH
110 T H C O N G R E SS
1 S T S E S SI O N
H . R. 1009
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
F e b ru a ry 13, 2007
Mr. PAUL (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FRANK of
Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. STARK, and Ms.
WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee
on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BIL L
B e it e n a c t e d b y th e S e n a t e a n d H ous e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s of th e
U nit e d St a t e s of A m e ric a in C on g r e ss a ss e m ble d ,
S E C TI O N 1. S H O RT TIT L E .
This Act may be cited as the ‘Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007’.
150
S E C. 2. E XC LU SI O N O F IN D U S T RIA L H E MP
F R O M D E FINITI O N O F M A RIH UA N A .
Paragraph (16) of section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802(16)) is amended-(1) by striking ‘(16)’ at the beginning and inserting ‘(16)(A)’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘(B) The term ‘marihuana’ does not include industrial hemp. As
used in the preceding sentence, the term ‘industrial hemp’ means the
plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or
not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not
exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.’
S E C . 3. IN D U S T RIA L H E MP D E T E RMIN A TI O N
T O B E M A D E B Y S T A T E S.
Section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘(i) Industrial Hemp Determination To Be Made by States- In any
criminal action, civil action, or administrative proceeding, a State
regulating the growing and processing of industrial hemp under State
law shall have exclusive authority to determine whether any such plant
meets the concentration limitation set forth in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (16) of section 102 and such determination shall be conclusive
and binding.’.
Not Passed—Lost In Committee Since 4/20/07
151
13. 50 T HIN G S Y O U C A N D O
T O FI G H T G L O B A L W A RMIN G
1.Learn about global warming and see Al Gore’s film on global warming, “An
Inconvenient Truth.” It is also in book form. Buy a copy for your kids,
parents, friends, etc.
2.Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation whenever possible.
Active pursuit of personal ways out of the ‘great car economy.’
3.Recycle and buy minimally packed goods as much as possible.
4.Support a sixty mile per hour maximum speed limit with teeth. Support
strict mileage standards.
5.Support green power initiatives of power companies to supply nonpolluting energy.
6.Adjust your thermostat. Expand your comfort range by a few degrees.
7.Wash clothes in cold or warm water, not hot.
8.Install low-flow shower heads to use less water. Shower with a friend.
9.Run the dishwasher only when full and don’t use heat to dry dishes.
10.Replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
11.Insulate the roof, the hot water tank, and the walls.
12.Plug air leaks in windows and doors to increase energy efficiency by
weather-stripping and double-glazing.
13.Replace old appliances with energy-efficient models.
14.Recycling of paper and avoidance of excess packaging and disposable
products. Landfill products generate the greenhouse gas methane.
15.Favoring organically farmed produce over intensive-farming products.
16.Favoring vegetarian produce over meat. Cows produce huge quantities
of methane gas and one pound of meat requires more than 5,000 gallons of
water to produce.
17.Exercise of consumer discretion concerning the products of companies
whose activities add to the greenhouse threat.
18.Use of the power of the pen in exerting pressure for anti-greenhouse
changes in society.
19.Buy hemp products, hemp food, and hemp fuel where possible. Support
the growing of hemp world-wide on an emergency basis.
20.Be a future hero by not reproducing yourself. Support family planning for
everyone in the world. The population of the earth increases by 260,000
people each day.
21.Join the fight to save farmland in your area. Our survival may depend on
hemp farmland to reverse global warming.
22.Lobby for reforestation and to stop deforestation with hemp.
23.Add to this list whatever you can to increase our chances for survival.
24.Share these simple steps with friends and family and increase
awareness!
25.Get these survival steps taught in your local school. Kids need to know
the truth about how humans have impacted the earth in just a few
generations.
26.Come up with 25 more things we can do to stop global warming.
152
14. T H E U.S. A . H E MP MU S E UM
C U R AT O R’S R O O M
Ri ch a rd M. D avis
F R E E D O M FI G H T E R, F E B. ’95 HI G H TIM E S M A G A ZIN E
I am Richard M. Davis, founder and
curator of the FIRST Virtual Traveling Hemp
Museum. The USA Hemp Museum, both the
Traveling Museum and the resource website
www.hempmuseum.org teach the benefits of
Cannabis/Hemp, as a medicine, as an
industrial resource and for the private use by
adults. There is also a private museum in my
home brimming with exhibits in Los Angeles,
California.
I was born in Arizona, graduated high
school in Willcox, Arizona, joined the Air
Force from Arizona, and was arrested for the
first time in Arizona at the age of fifty-five. I reside in Los Angeles,
California.
I hold a Masters Degree in Biology from California State University
at Los Angeles, and attended the School of Public Health at UCLA for
four years under a US Public Health Service Fellowship.
I have lived surrounded by hemp for forty of my 66 years (born
1940), the vast majority of my life. My introduction to hemp came, like
that of many in my generation, from hemp smoke. I was refused the
request to study the effects of pot at the School of Public Health at
U.C.L.A., in 1972, where I was working on a doctorate in Public Health. I
studied zoology (B.S.) and biology (M.A.).
I took a leave of absence and never went back. After a dozen
years in the mountains on a small farm, I ran for Congress in a
democratic primary as an admitted pot grower. Several years later when
the U.S. Army invaded that area in operation Greensweep, I found out
about hemp from Jack Herer’s book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes,
and started the Hemp Museum, with help of course.
153
T h e U S A H e m p Mu s e u m
H a d B e e n d oin g this a lo n g tim e
A n d it ’s still tru e –
H e m p Is A S olutio n To G lo b al Wa r min g!
Mendocino Mobile Marijuana Museum
AT THE CALIFORNIA CAPITOL BUILDING IN SACRAMENTO.
THE FIRST MUSEUM WAS IN A HONDA WAGON,
AND THE PLANT ON TOP
SEEMED AS LARGE AS THE WHOLE CAR.
We were first the Mendocino Mobile Marijuana Museum, a knock at
the government that wants to call hemp the marijuana word in law, when
it does not apply. With two card tables and one hemp shirt, we passed
out literature to hundreds of Capitol employees and elected officials on
the benefits of legal hemp and hemp medicines.
154
Hempmobile
with hemp branches
proudly displayed
on top at the
2006 Los Angeles
Million Marijuana
March
hosted by the late
Sister
Somayah
Kambui
155
T H E U S A H E MP MU S E UM T RU C K
N oti c e th e m e di c a l h e m p pl a nt
o n to p of th e c a m p e r.
Th e tru c k b ro u g ht
a n a d d e d dim e n sio n of
hig h visibility a n d lots of
bu m p e r stic ke r s p a c e.
When the virtual museum started, much of the site had to do with
my trial in Arizona as that was what was happening at the time. James
Dawson of Florida was our dedicated webmaster, who teamed with
Brenda Kershenbaum here in Los Angeles to do the initial web
work. Later the gallery came into being with some 60 pictures, taken by
photographer Bill Bridges, with the assistance of Tim Perkins. The plan
was to reconstruct the museum into various rooms where the focus will
be on some aspect of the hemp plant or the consequences of
prohibition. The virtual museum now contains 1700 picture files (some
repetition) and 18 virtual rooms, dealing
with hemp in history, agriculture, textiles,
plastics, medicine, rope, etc.
The Alterna Hemp Shampoo ads were
plastered all over the Los Angeles Area for
months and caused quite a stir. They got
heat for displaying the most famous leaf in
history. George Washington grew hemp!
What the hemp museum means in real
terms is a look at the hemp history of the
world, the issues of hemp prohibition, some people involved with hemp,
and of course the future of hemp. We feel the world with hemp will be a
better place. Our friends will be out of jail, issues will find new solutions,
patients will improve, and the war will end when hemp is free of its
prohibition.
W E MU S T A L L D O O U R S H A R E ...
N O M AT T E R T H E C O N S E Q U E N C E S,
T O E N D T HIS T E R RIB L E W A R O N AM E RI C A .
156
O d e Fo r A n A g ri c ultu r al C el e b r atio n
By
Willi a m C ull e n B ry a nt
Far back in the ages,
The plough with wreaths was crowned;
The hands of kings and sages
Entwined the chaplet round;
Till men of spoil disdained the toil
By which the world was nourished,
And dews of blood enriched the soil
Where green their laurels flourished:
---Now the world her fault repairs—
The guilt that stains her story;
And weeps her crimes amid the cares
That formed her earliest glory.
The proud throne shall crumble,
The diadem shall wane,
The tribes of earth shall humble
The pride of those who reign;
And War shall lay his pomp away; --The fame that heroes cherish,
The glory earned in deadly fray,
Shall fade, decay, and perish.
Honor waits, o’er all the Earth,
Through endless generations,
The art that calls her harvests forth,
And feeds the expectant nations.
157
A p p e n dix
Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status
159
Waste to Energy (WTE) & Biomass in California
161
Reports and Papers on Biomass & Waste to Energy
162
Vermont Legislative Research Shop -
163
Hemp Oil Fuels & How To Make Them by A. Das
176
The Yearbook of The US Department Of Agriculture, 1913 180
Hemp-knowledgements
227
The Research Application
228
158
Source: US Department of Agriculture
www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ages001E/ages001E.pdf
The USDA’s Industrial Hemp flow chart above
does not reveal the whole picture.
Hurds left out fuel or fuel alcohols.
Paper filler includes all types of paper
i.e. writing paper, wall paper, industrial grade packaging materials.
Cordage is a wide range of strong hemp ropes and twines.
Industrial Hemp can replace many toxic materials we use for
food, clothing, fuel, building materials, 50,000+ products.
159
160
Wa st e to E n e rg y (W T E)
& B io m a ss in C alifo r ni a
C A LI F O R NIA E N E R G Y C O MMIS SI O N
W W W. E N E R G Y. C A . G O V / D E V E L O PM E N T / BI O M A S S / # BI O M A S S
Californians create nearly 2,900 pounds of household garbage and
industrial waste each and every second; a total of 45 million tons of
waste per year (according to the California Integrated Waste
Management Board)! Until recently, the only place to put that trash was
in local landfills. Today, however, waste and its by-products are being
recycled into more useful products. Some waste materials can also be
used as a fuel in power plants to create electricity or other forms of
energy.
These power plants are defined by the type of fuel source they use:
biomass, digester gas, industrial waste, landfill gas, and municipal solid
waste. All together there are 90 waste-to-energy plants in California with
a total installed capacity of 971 megawatts. These plants produced 5,848
million kilowatt-hours of electricity in 1996, about 2.3 percent of the
state’s total electricity production.
BI O M A S S
L a n dfill G a s
Dig e st e r G a s
(A n a e ro bic Dig e stio n)
Mu nic ip a l S olid Wa st e
In d u stria l Wa st e
W a st e Tire C o nfe re n c e s
161
R e p o r ts a n d Pa p e rs o n B iom a ss
& Wa st e to E n e rg y
Energy Commission Activities Related to Item 11 of
Governor’s Executive Order D-5-99, of March 25, 1999
(Phasing out the use of MTBE in Gasoline) on the potential for
a California Waste-Based or Other Biomass Ethanol
Development
Energy Technology Status Report - Chapter 8: Biomass.
May 1999. File is Acrobat PDF listed in table of contents.
The Growing Importance of Biomass. Article by William J.
Keese, Chairman, California Energy Commission. California
Biodiversity News (California Diodiversity Council), Summer
1998 - Volume 5, Number 4.
New Hope for the Tahoe Basin. Article by Rob
Schlichting, California Energy Commission; and Karen Terrill
and Ross Henly, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
California Biodiversity News (California Diodiversity Council),
Summer 1998 - Volume 5, Number 4.
162
Ve r m o nt L e gisl ativ e
R e s e a r ch S ho p
Vi a bility of
In d u stri al H e m p
Industrial hemp is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, the same plant
that marijuana is derived from. The two plants differ in that marijuana comes
from the leaves and flowers. Industrial hemp is grown for use of the stalk and
seeds. They also differ in levels of tetrahydrocannibinol, the chemical that is
responsible for its psychoactive properties. Marijuana plants contain levels of 315% THC and plants grown for industrial hemp contain less than 1% of THC
(Frohling and Staton 1997). Research has consistently shown that the low THC
level in hemp plants is not capable of producing the psychoactive effects that
marijuana plants do (Hawaii House of Representatives). Three main raw
materials may be produced from industrial hemp plants: bast fiber, hurds and
seeds. Industrial hemp is a very versatile product; it produces textiles, rope,
cellulose plastics, resins, particleboard, paper products and oil. It is one of the
strongest natural fibers, is a high quality absorbent and is recyclable. All hempbased products are biodegradable. Hemp seeds contain 20-25% protein and
are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and vitamin A. Hemp
seed oil is high in essential fatty acids (EFAs) that help lower cholesterol levels.
It is used in various foods and to make non-dairy products. The oil is also used
for cosmetics, paints and varnishes, inks, and when combined with 15%
methanol a substitute for diesel fuel is produced that burns 70% cleaner than
petroleum diesel (Hawaii House of Representatives). See Appendix A for a
report from the National Conference of State Legislatures on the utility of hemp.
The pursuit and success rate of pro-industrial hemp legislation in the
United States since 1995 has dramatically increased. In 1995, there was only
one state to introduce legislation, which did not pass; while in 1999 a total of
nine states have passed legislation for research, study or production of the
crop. States to pass legislation in 1999 are: Arkansas, California, Hawaii,
Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Virginia. The state
that has taken hemp the farthest is North Dakota. On April 19, 1999 it passed
the first bill in the United States that legalized hemp for commercial farming. In
addition, seven states introduced legislation that did not pass in 1999. These
are: Iowa, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont and
Wisconsin. Therefore, a total of sixteen states introduced legislation in 1999,
representing over a third of all U.S. states. Strong pro-industrial hemp
constituencies are also located in: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri
and Pennsylvania. See Appendix B for a listing of recent legislation.
163
References
F rohlin g, R o b e rt E . a n d St a ton, E ri c C . 1997. " In d ustria l H e m p: F e rtil e D r e a m o r
L e g al Nig htm a r e ? " N C S L L e gis B ri ef. (D e n v e r, C O : N a tio n a l C o nf e r e n c e of St a t e
L e gisla tu r e s.)
H a w a ii H ou s e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s. In d u stri al H e m p [ C a nn a bis S a tiv a]- E c o no mi c
Vi a bility a n d P olitic a l C o n c e rn s. St a t e of H a w a ii. (H o nolulu, HI)
w w w.g a m e t e c . c o m/h e m p/h a w a ii.r pt.html
C o m pil e d b y K a s e a Hill, N a th a n B o s h a rd-B la c k e y, a n d Jim Simso n o n A p ril 3,
2000
APPENDIX A: NCSL Legis Brief
T h e follo win g lists of a g ri c ultu r a l o p p o rtunitie s, e c on o mic o p p o rtu niti e s,
e c o no mic b a rri e rs a n d l e g a l b a rrie rs a r e from th e N a tion a l C onfe r e n c e of St a t e
L e gisla tu r e s b ri ef e ntitl e d " In d u stri a l H e mp: F e rtile D r e a m o r L e g a l Nig htm a r e "
a n d c a n b e fou n d a t w w w .n c sl.o r g/l e gis/L B RIE F S/l e gis52.htm.
Agricultural Opportunities
T h e pl a nt s e rv e s a s a g o o d rot a tion c ro p—c ho kin g out w e e d s a n d
s u rvivin g witho ut th e aid of p ollutin g p e sti c id e s, w hil e t a kin g no mo r e nutrie nts
fro m th e soil th a n a c o rn c ro p.
T h e m a tu r e pl a nt’s str e n g th m a k e s it im p e rvio us to sto r m d a m a g e .
A ll p a rts of h e m p (fib e r, hu r d s a n d s e e d s) a r e e c o no mic a lly im p o rt a nt.
H e m p c a n b e g ro w n in m a n y c lim a t e s a n d u n d e r m a ny c on ditio ns.
Economic Opportunities
M a n y in d ustrie s, in c lu din g tho s e in t e xtile s, fo o d s, oil a n d b uildin g
m a t e ria ls, h a v e sho w n a g ro win g int e r e st in h e m p . A m e ric a n c lothin g
M a n uf a c tu r e rs g ro ss e d a b o ut $5 million in 1991 a n d $50 millio n in 1995 on h e mp
p ro d u c ts.
T h e p ro p os e d st a t e r e s e a r c h p roj e c ts a s w e ll a s th e n e w t e c h nolo g y a n d
m a c hin e ry n e e d e d fo r a d e v e lo pin g h e m p in d u stry will p ro vid e n e w jo b s.
Im p o rt c o sts fo r A m e ric a n in d u stri e s usin g h e m p , c u rr e ntly e stim a t e d a t
$120 million, w ould d ro p c o nsid e r a bly if it c ould b e p ro d u c e d d o m e stic a lly.
Legal Barriers
Int e rp r e t a tion of f e d e r a l l a w r e g a r din g m a riju a n a m a k e s le gisla tion
diffi c ult. D E A t e stimony in C olo r a d o st a t e d th a t th e y will not issu e a n y kin d of
r e gistr a tio n o r p e r mit u ntil th e fe d e r a l l a w c h a n g e s to a llo w in d u stria l h e mp
p ro d u c tion.
164
T h e D E A o p p o s e s in d ustri al
h e mp p ro d u c tion b e c a u s e it is diffi c ult
to distin g uis h a fi e ld of l e gitim a t e
h e mp , with lo w-n a r c otic
c on c e ntr a tio ns, fro m a fi e ld of illic it
c a n n a bis with hig h le v e ls. L a b o r a to ry
t e stin g is r e q uir e d .
T h e D E A f e a rs th a t in d u stria l
h e mp a d vo c a t e s h a v e a hid d e n a g e n d a
to le g a liz e m a riju a n a . L e g aliz a tio n of
in d u stria l h e m p c o uld giv e th e
im p r e ssio n th a t m a riju a n a is le g a l.
E c o no mi c B a rri e rs
It m a y c o st mo r e mon e y to h a rv e st h e m p . In th e p a st, h a rv e stin g h a s
b e e n v e ry l a b o r int e n siv e , in volvin g n o le ss th a n 11 s e p a r a t e o p e r a tio ns fro m
initi a l c uttin g to fin a l ship pin g to a p ro c e ssin g c e nt e r. T h e pl a nt’s b ulk a lso
m a k e s it diffi c ult to tr a n s p o rt.
H a rv e stin g h e mp h a s p ro v e d tou g h on to d a y’s a g ric ultu r a l m a c hin e ry.
E xistin g e q uip m e nt must b e mo difie d to d e a l with th e pl a nt’s rou g h fib e rs.
E u ro p e a n h e m p p ro d u c tio n h a s y e t to p ro v e e c o no mic a l. Mo st E u ro p e a n
g ov e rn m e nts p ro vid e su b st a ntia l su b sidi e s for g ro w e rs.
C u rr e ntly no o n e k no w s ju st h o w p rolific h e mp m a y b e . U nlik e c ro p s s u c h
a s c o rn, h e mp h a s not b e n efit e d fro m mo d e rn r e s e a r c h in pl a nt g e n e ti c s
APPENDIX B: Recent State Legislation
T his h e mp st a tus r e p ort w a s p r e p a r e d b y P e t e r A . N e lson a n d is
c o p y rig ht to A g ro-T e c h C o mmuni c a tion s of M e mp his, T e nn e ss e e . htt p://
w w w. a g rot e c hfib e r. c om. ©1999, A g ro-T e c h C o mmuni c a tion s, Me mp his,
T e n n e ss e e
ARK ANSAS
Senator James Scott
Senate Resolution 13
On March 25, 1999 Senate Resolution 13 passed after it’s third reading.
This Resolution calls for the University of Arkansas to study the potential uses
of Industrial Hemp and Kenaf. The Division of Agriculture will conduct studies
regarding the uses and economic benefits of Industrial Hemp to determine the
feasibility of growing hemp as an alternative and profitable crop in Arkansas.
The studies will include an analysis of required soils and growing conditions,
seed availability, harvest methods and environmental benefits. The Division of
Agriculture will report its finding to the House and Senate Interim Committees
on Agriculture and Economic Development no later than December 31, 2000.
165
Assembly Member Strom-Martin
House Resolution 32
CALIFORNIA
O n S e pt e mb e r 10, 1999 H o us e R e solutio n 32 p a ss e d with 41 A y e s a n d 30
N o e s. It w a s r e solv e d th a t th e A ss e m bly fou n d a n d d e cl a r e d th a t in d ustria l
h e mp is a vit a l su st a in a ble , r e n e w a bl e r e so ur c e fo r b uildin g m a t e ria ls, c loth,
c o rd a g e , fib e r, foo d, fu e l, in d ustria l c h e mi c a ls, oil, p a int, p a p e r, pl a stic s, s e e d,
y a rn, a n d m a n y oth e r us e ful p ro d u c ts. It w a s fu rth e r r e s olv e d th a t th e A ss e m bly
fou n d a n d d e c la r e d th a t th e d o m e sti c p ro d u c tio n of in d u stri a l h e mp c a n h e lp
p rot e c t C a lifo rnia’s e nviron m e nt, c o ntrib ut e to th e g ro wth of th e st a t e e c o no my,
a n d b e r e g ula t e d in a m a nn e r th a t will not int e rf e r e with th e e nfo r c e m e nt of
m a riju a n a la w s. It w a s fu rth e r r e solv e d th a t th e A ss e mbly fo un d a n d d e c l a r e d
th a t th e L e gisl a tu r e sho uld c on sid e r a c tion to r e vis e th e l e g a l st a tus of
in d u stria l h e m p to allo w fo r its g ro wth in C a lifo rnia a s a n a g ric ultu r al a n d
in d u stria l c ro p. A n d furth e r r e solv e d th a t th e A ss e mbly foun d a n d d e c la r e d th a t
th e L e gisla tu r e s hould c on sid e r dir e c tin g th e U niv e rsity of C a lifo rnia , th e
C a lifo rni a St a t e U niv e rsity, a n d oth e r st a t e a g e n c i e s to p r e p a r e stu di e s in
c onju n c tion with p riv a t e in d u stry on th e c ultiv a tio n, p ro c e ssin g, a n d m a r k e tin g
of in d ustria l h e mp . T his a c tio n follo w s th e C a lifo rni a D e mo c r a tic P a rty fo r m a l
e n d o rs e m e nt of a r e solution su p p o rtin g th e d e v elo p m e nt of a n in d ustri al h e m p
in d u stry in C a lifo rni a w hi c h th e y p a ss e d in A p ril of 1999. In J un e of 1999, a
r e s olution w a s p ro p o s e d fo r a d o p tion b y C a lifo rni a C ou nty & St a t e F a r m B u r e a u
F e d e r a tion s. T his r e solution c a lls fo r th e St a t e of C alifo rnia to fun d r e s e a r c h,
e xp e rim e nt a tion a n d d e v elo p m e nt of In d u stria l H e m p fo r a g ri c ultu r a l a n d
in d u stria l p u rp os e s. T his w o r k is to b e c on d u c t e d b y th e U niv e rsitie s of
C a lifo rni a , th e C a lifo rni a St a t e C oll e g e s a n d U niv e rsitie s, a n d oth e r p u blic a n d
p riv a t e c o m p a ni e s, a g e n c i e s a n d institution s. T h e r e solutio n a lso c a lls fo r th e
(A B C) C ou nty F a r m B ur e a u F e d e r a tio n to fully e n d o rs e th e r e intro d u c tion of
In d ustria l H e m p, a n d stron gly r e c o mm e n d th a t la w s b e a d o p t e d b y th e St a t e of
C a lifo rni a to p e r mit th e c ultiv a tion a n d h a rv e stin g of In d u stria l H e mp a s a
c o mm e r c ia l c ro p, un d e r th e c ontrol a n d r e g ul a tion of th e C alifo rnia St a t e
D e p a rtm e nt of F oo d a n d A g ri c ultu r e .
COLORADO
C olo r a d o w a s th e first st a t e to intro d u c e in d ustri al h e m p l e gisla tion. B ills
w e r e intro d u c e d in 1995, 1996 a n d 1997. A ltho u g h no le gisla tion h a s p a ss e d ,
C olo r a d o’s l e a d e rship h a s h e lp e d oth e r st a t e s s u p p o rt U S in d ustria l h e mp
d e v e lo p m e nt.
Representative Cynthia Thielen
HAWAII
O n A p ril 8, 1999 t w o in d ustria l h e mp r e solutio ns p a ss e d th e ir fin al H ou s e
C o mmitt e e . H ou s e R e solutio n 122/H R109 r e q u e sts th a t th e U nit e d St a t e s
D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e , N a tu r a l R e so u r c e C o ns e rv a tion S e rvi c e
166
r e c o mm e n d s th e u s e of in d u stri a l h e mp e ro sio n c ontrol m a ts w h e r e v e r fe a sibl e .
T his r e s olution n o w g o e s to th e S e n a t e fo r c on sid e r a tion. R e solution 123/H R110
r e q u e sts th a t th e D e p a rtm e nt of B u sin e ss, E c o no mi c D e v e lo p m e nt a n d T o u ris m
(D B E B &T) e x a min e th e f e a sibility of g ro win g in d u stri al h e m p in H a w a ii fo r
B io m a ss E n e rg y P ro d u c tio n. T h e D B E D &T a r e su p p o rtiv e of th e r e solutio n a n d
will c o mpl e t e th e stu d y r e g a r dle ss of fu rth e r S e n a t e a c tion. R e p r e s e nt a tiv e
C y nthia T hi e le n, H B 32
T h e H a w a ii Str a t e gi c In d u stri al H e mp D e v e lo p m e nt A c t of 1999 r e q uir e s
th e U niv e rsity of H a w aii a t Hilo to stu d y th e fe a sibility a n d d e sir a bility of
in d u stria l h e m p p ro d u c tio n in H a w a ii. T his bill d efin e s " in d u stri a l h e m p " a n d
a utho riz e s th e St a t e to a llo w p riv a t e ly fun d e d in d ustria l h e mp r e s e a r c h to b e
c on d u c t e d in H a w a ii. T his a c tio n is p e n din g a c ontrolle d s u b st a n c e r e gistr a tion
fro m th e St a t e D e p a rtm e nt a n d a f e d e r a l su b st a n c e r e gistr a tion from th e U .S.
D e p a rtm e nt of J ustic e , D ru g E nfo r c e m e nt A d ministr a tion. O n Ma y 4, 1999,
H ou s e B ill 32 p a ss e d in b oth th e S e n a t e a n d th e H o us e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s. T h e
S e n a t e vot e w a s 13 to 11 a n d a ll h ou s e m e mb e rs, e x c e p t 3, vot e d in f a vo r of th e
l e gisla tio n. G o v e rno r C a y e t a no w a s s u p p o rtiv e of th e le gisl a tio n a n d sig n e d th e
bill into la w on J un e 7, 1999. T his bill utiliz e s a str a t e g y intro d u c e d in T e n n e ss e e
in 1998 with th e T e n n e ss e e Str a t e gic In d ustria l H e m p S e e d D e v elo p m e nt A c t of
1998 w hic h w a s intro d u c e d b y R e p r e s e nt a tiv e K a th ry n B o w e rs. T his l e gisla tion
is d e sig n e d to utiliz e p riv a t e fun d s fro m int e r e st e d c o r p o r a tio ns in d e v e lo pin g
r e s e a r c h p ro g r a ms a t th e st a t e-univ e rsity. T h e bill s p e c ifi e s th a t all a g ro no mic
d a t a d e riv e d fro m r e s e a r c h un d e r this bill b e d e e m e d to b e p ro p rie t a ry in n a tu r e
a n d n ot su bj e c t to dis clo su r e p u rs u a nt to th e u nifo r m info r m a tio n p r a c ti c e s a c t.
T h e p riv a t e in d u stry p a rtic ip a nt in th e tria ls is e xp e c t e d to b e Alt e rn a A p plie d
R e s e a r c h L a b o r a to rie s, a C a lifo rnia b a s e d s a lon p ro d u c ts m a nufa c tu r e r.
U n c on v e ntio n a l in its a p p ro a c h, A lt e rn a c on sist e ntly s e ts n e w st a n d a r d s in th e
b e a uty in d ustry in th e fi e ld s of a d v a n c e d fo r mul a tio n a n d p ro d u c t p e rfo r m a n c e .
T h e first p rofe ssion a l h a ir
C o m p a n y to h a rn e ss th e p o w e r of nutrie nt-ric h h e mp s e e d oil in J a n u a ry
of 1997, A lt e rn a c ontinu a lly r e d efin e s its e lf a s a n in d ustry inno v a to r. T h e fi e ld
tri a ls s c h e d ule d in H a w a ii will b e c on d u c t e d a t th e C olle g e of A g ri c ultu r e ,
F o r e stry a n d N a tu r a l R e s ou r c e M a n a g e m e nt th a t is p a rt of th e U niv e rsity of
H a w a ii a t Hilo. It is lo c a t e d on th e B ig Isla n d of H a w a ii, th e l a rg e st isl a n d in th e
H a w a iia n A r c hip e la g o. T h e C olle g e of A g ri c ultu r e , F o r e stry a n d N a tu r a l
R e so u r c e M a n a g e m e nt o p e n e d its d o o rs in th e F a ll of 1975 with th e m a in
o bje c tiv e of p r e p a rin g stu d e nts with a b ro a d a n d full un d e rst a n din g of b a si c
f a c to rs in volv e d in p ro d u c tion, m a n a g e m e nt, p ro c e ssin g, distrib ution,
m a r k e tin g, s al e s, a n d s e rvic e s in th e fi eld of a g ric ultu r a l s c ie n c e s in c lu din g ,
a g rib u sin e ss, a nim a l s c i e n c e s, a q u a c ultu r e , a g ro-e c olo g y & e nviron m e nt a l
s c ie n c e , c ro p p rot e c tio n, fo r e stry, p r e-v e t e rin a ry m e di c in e , su st a in a ble
a g ric ultu r e , tiss u e c ultu r e a n d tro pi c ho rtic ultu r e . T h e C oll e g e of A g ri c ultu r e
h a s a p p roxim a t e ly 130 stu d e nts a n d 11 full-tim e f a c ulty.
167
IDAHO
Id a ho F a r m B u r e a u Su p p o rts In d u stri al H e m p
O n D e c e m b e r 30, 1998 in Id a ho F a lls, Id a ho th e Id a h o F a r m B u r e a u
s u p p o rt e d th e d e v e lo p m e nt of a U S in d u stri a l h e mp in d u stry. T h e st a t e g ro u p
v ot e d to a d o p t p oli c y #120 w hi c h st a t e s " W e e n c ou r a g e th e l e g a liz a tion of
c ultiv a tion a n d p ro d u c tion of in d ustria l g r a d e h e mp . "
ILLINOIS
Senate Resolution 49 & House Resolution 168
Illinois S e n a t e R e solutio n 49 a n d H ou s e R e s olution 168 w e r e p a ss e d into
l a w a t th e e n d of M a r c h 1999. T h e s e r e s olutio ns c r e a t e th e In d ustria l H e m p
In v e stig a tiv e a n d A d vis o ry T a s k F o r c e c o nsistin g of th e Dir e c to r of A g ri c ultu r e
o r a d e sig n e e a n d 12 c o mmitt e e m e mb e rs. Six m e m b e rs fo r this t a s k fo r c e a r e
c ho s e n b y th e P r e sid e nt of th e S e n a t e a n d six m e m b e rs a r e c ho s e n b y th e
Mino rity L e a d e r of th e S e n a t e . T h e m e mb e rs of th e In d ustria l H e m p
In v e stig a tiv e a n d A d vis o ry T a s k F o r c e s hould r e p r e s e nt e xp e rtis e in th e fie ld s
of pla nt s c i e n c e , fo o d p ro c e ssin g s c ie n c e , la w e nfo r c e m e nt, h e r b olo g y,
m a nufa c tu rin g a n d th e Illinois S p e c ia lty G ro w e rs A sso c i a tio n. T h e m e m b e rs of
this t a s k fo r c e will s e rv e without c o mp e ns a tion.
IOWA
House File 320
Representative Cecelia Burnett
Io w a’s H ou s e Fil e 320 b y R e p r e s e nt a tiv e C e c e li a B u rn e tt a llo w s fo r
r e s e a r c h into in d u stri al h e mp p ro d u c tion a t Io w a St a t e U niv e rsity. T h e bill
st a t e s, " T h e g e n e r a l a ss e mbly fin d s th a t th e r e is a tr e n d a mon g st a t e s to
c on sid e r th e e c o no mic im p o rt a n c e of in d ustria l h e mp w hi c h is a m a jo r c ro p in
oth e r n a tio ns... T h e p ur p o s e of this A c t is to p ro mot e th e e c o no my of this st a t e
b y p rovidin g fo r r e s e a r c h n e c e ss a ry to d e v e lo p in d u stria l h e mp a s a via ble
c ro p . A lthou g h th e bill is still aliv e in c o mmitt e e it will n ot p a ss in 1999. T h e bill
will b e c a rrie d o v e r to th e 2000 l e gisla tiv e s e ssion s. Yo u c a n e m a il Io w a St a t e
R e p r e s e nt a tiv e C e c e lia B u rn e tt a t c e c e lia_b u rn e tt @ le gis.st a t e .ia .us. T h e 1999
l e gisla tio n w a s roll e d into th e 2000 s e ssion without p a ssin g .
KANSAS
K a ns a s l e gisl a to rs h a v e intro d u c e d l e gisl a tion in 1997 a n d in 1998. T h e r e
is a stron g c on stitu e n c y of in d u stri a l h e mp a d v o c a t e s in th e st a t e .
KENTUCKY
T h e F a y e tt e C ounty F a r m B u r e a u of L e xin gton, K e ntu c k y p a ss e d a
r e s olution su p p o rtin g in d u stri al h e m p in O c to b e r of 1999. A c to r, Woo d y
H a rr e ls on c u rr e ntly h a s a c a s e b efo r e th e K e ntu c k y Su p r e m e C ou rt d efinin g
w h e th e r la w s a g a inst m a riju a n a in K e ntu c k y a r e o v e rly b ro a d b y in clu din g
in d u stria l h e m p. O n J uly 7, 1998 th e K e ntu c k y H e mp G ro w e rs C o o p e r a tiv e
168
A ss o c ia tio n r e le a s e d a l a n d m a r k stu d y in c onju n c tion with th e U niv e rsity of
K e ntu c k y. T his stu d y a n a ly z e d th e e c o no mi c p ot e nti a l fo r in d u stri a l h e mp in
K e ntu c k y. T h e r e p o rt, b y th e s c hool’s C e nt e r fo r B u sin e ss a n d E c ono mi c
R e s e a r c h s a id th a t c ultiv a tin g a n d p ro c e ssin g in d u stri a l h e m p in K e ntu c k y
w ould b rin g th e st a t e u p to 771 n e w jo b s a n d $17.6 millio n in w o r k e r e a rnin g s in
th e c u rr e nt m a r k e t. T h e K e ntu c k y H e mp G ro w e rs C oo p e r a tiv e p ro vid e d a
p u blic fo ru m fo r l e gisl a to rs a n d a ll K e ntu c k y le a d e rs to b e c o m e mo r e info r m e d
o n in d ustria l h e mp a t th e ir a nnu a l m e e tin g in L e xin g ton, K e ntu c k y on J u n e 26,
1999. S p e c ia l g u e sts in c lu d e d A nit a Ro d dic k, foun d e r of T h e B o d y S h o p; J e a n
L a p ris e , fou n d e r of on e of C a n a d a’s la r g e st in d u stri al h e m p g ro win g a n d
p ro c e ssin g c o m p a nie s, K e n e x Lt d., P a m Mill e r th e Ma yo r of L e xin g ton, D r. C a rl
W e b st e r of K e ntu c k y St a t e U niv e rsity a n d D e n nis C ron e a t e xtile a n d
a g ric ultu r a l fib e r s p e c ia list.
MARYLAND
House Bill 374 Agriculture - Commercial Use of Industrial Hemp Act
Delegate Clarence Davis
M a ryla n d’s 1999 C o mm e r c i al U s e of In d ustria l H e m p A c t a uth o riz e s th e
g ro w th, m a int e n a n c e , m a nufa c tu r e , a n d th e r e g e n e r a tio n of s e e d for th e g ro wth
of in d ustria l h e mp . T h e bill r e q uir e s th e S e c r e t a ry of A g ric ultu r e to d e v elo p
c rit e ri a fo r issuin g a lic e n s e to e n g a g e in th e c o mm e r c ia l us e of in d u stria l h e mp .
T his bill, intro d u c e d b y M a ryl a n d D e le g a t e C la r e n c e D a vis, r e c e iv e d a n
u nf a v o r a ble r e p o rt from th e E nviron m e nt a l Ma tt e rs c o mmitt e e on Ma r c h 15,
1999. T h e bill h a s n ot h a d a ny fu rth e r a c tio n a s of l a t e A p ril 1999.
MINNESOTA
House File 64 moved to House File 1238
Representative Kahn moved to Representative Steve Dayler
O n S e pt e mb e r 30, 1999 in St. P a ul, MN , G ov e rn o r V e ntu r a a nn ou n c e d
th a t a n info r m a tion a l s e min a r w o uld b e h e ld o n N ov e mb e r 19, 1999, to t e a c h
in divid u a l f a r m e rs ho w to a p ply fo r a p e r mit to g ro w in d u stria l h e mp. T h e
info r m a tion a l s e min a r is in r e s p on s e to le gisla tion p a ss e d b y th e 1999
Minn e sot a L e gisla tu r e r e q uirin g th e st a t e to a p ply b y S e pt e mb e r 30 fo r a f e d e r a l
p e r mit to g ro w in d u stria l h e mp . T h e D ru g E nfo r c e m e nt A g e n c y (D E A) r e c e ntly
info r m e d Minn e s ot a offi c i als th a t a st a t e c a nnot a p ply fo r a g e n e r a l bl a n k e t
p e r mit. R a th e r, in divid u a l f a r m e rs must a p ply dir e c tly to th e D E A a n d th e
Minn e sot a B o a r d of P h a r m a c y fo r a p e r mit to g ro w e xp e rim e nt a l plots of
in d u stria l h e m p. Minn e s ot a A g ri c ultu r e C o mmission e rs G e n e H u g os on a n d
T r a d e a n d E c ono mi c D e v elo p m e nt C o mmissio n e r J e rry C a rls on will c o-ho st th e
N o v e m b e r 19 s e min a r, givin g fa r m e rs tip s o n h o w to a p ply fo r th e f e d e r a l a n d
st a t e p e r mits th e y will n e e d to g ro w e xp e rim e nt a l plots. T h e y will also dis c u ss
a n y s p e c i a l c o n ditio n s D E A h a s s e t fo r la wful c ultiv a tion of th e c ro p . O n J un e 4,
1999 th e Minn e s ot a L e gisla tu r e p a ss e d a bill p a vin g th e w a y fo r g ro win g
e xp e rim e nt a l a n d d e mo nstr a tio n plots of in d ustri al h e m p in th e st a t e , a c c o r din g
to St a t e R e p r e s e nt a tiv e P h yllis K a h n (D F L-Min n e a p olis). R e p. K a hn w a s c hi ef
169
a utho r of th e la n g u a g e th a t w a s in c o r p o r a t e d in th e H o us e O mnib u s St a t e
G o v e rn m e nt F in a n c e Bill. G o v e rno r J e ss e V e ntu r a sig n e d this la w into o r d e r on
M a y 25, 1999. U n d e r th e n e w la w, " b y S e pt. 30, 1999, th e g o v e rn o r, in
c on sult a tion with th e c o mmission e rs of th e D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultur e a n d th e
D e p a rtm e nt of T r a d e a n d E c ono mi c D e v e lo p m e nt will su b mit a n a p plic a tion fo r
f e d e r a l p e r mits, a s m a y b e n e e d e d to a utho riz e th e g ro win g of e xp e rim e nt a l a n d
d e mo nstr a tion plots of in d u stria l h e m p, b y S e p t. 30, 1999. T h e g o v e rn o r s h a ll
a lso dir e c t th e c o mmission e r of th e D e p a rtm e nt of A g ric ultu r e , in c on sult a tion
with th e c o mmission e r of th e D e p a rtm e nt of Pu bli c S a fe ty a n d oth e r a p p ro p ria t e
c o mmissio n e rs, to e st a blis h st a n d a r d s a n d fo r ms fo r p e rso ns wis hin g to
r e gist e r fo r g ro win g e xp e rim e nt al a n d d e monstr a tio n plots of in d u stri a l h e mp . "
MISSOURI
T h e Missou ri l e gisl a tu r e c o nsid e r e d a n in d u stri a l h e mp bill in 1996, 1997
a n d b ri efly in 1998. In w h a t w a s virtu a lly a o n e fa mily e ffo rt, B o y d a n d St a c ie
V a n c il a rr a n g e d fo r R e p r e s e nt a tiv e a n d S e n a t e s p o ns o rs hip , h e lp e d d r aft
l e gisla tio n a n d r e c e iv e d b a c kin g fro m th e Miss ou ri F a r m B u r e a u. T h e Misso u ri
c a mp a ig n m a tu r e d o v e r 1996 a n d 1997. Missou ri q uic kly b e c a m e th e n a tio n a l
fo c us fo r in d u stri a l h e m p p olic y. U nfo rtu n a t ely, Missou ri l e gisl a to rs w e r e
t a rg e t e d b y in d ustria l h e mp o p p on e nts a n d th e p r e ssu r e o n th e st a t e b e c a m e
too mu c h. Missou ri c ontinu e s to b e a p roje c t e d a r e a fo r la r g e-s c al e in d ustria l
h e mp o p e r a tion s a s f e d e r a l la w shifts a n d mor e st a t e s b e c o m e in volv e d .
B u sin e ss d e v e lo p m e nts with in d ustria l h e mp in th e r e gion c ontinu e to e xp a n d .
House Resolution 2
MONTANA
P rim a ry S p o ns o r: J o a n H u rdl e
Mont a n a H ou s e R e s olution 2 of th e H o us e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s of th e St a t e
of Mont a n a r e q u e sts th a t th e fe d e r a l g o v e rn m e nt r e p e a l r e stric tion s o n th e
p ro d u c tion of in d ustrial h e mp a s a n a g ric ultu r a l a n d in d u stri a l p ro d u c t. T h e bill
st a t e s " Wh e r e a s, it is a c u rr e nt m a jo r e c o no mi c g o a l to div e rsify th e a g ric ultu r e
of Mont a n a; a n d Wh e r e a s, in ov e r 30 c ountrie s,..., e xistin g int e rn a tio n a l tr e a tie s
p ro vid e fo r th e a g ric ultu r a l p ro d u c tio n a n d s al e of in d u stri al h e m p a s a v a lu a ble
a g ric ultu r a l p ro d u c t; a n d Wh e r e a s, c u rr e nt fe d e r a l p olic y is in c on sist e nt with
int e rn a tion a l a g ri c ultur a l p olic y a n d pl a c e s a n unn e c e ss a ry fin a n cia l r e stric tio n
o n th e Mont a n a a g ri c ultu r a l c o mmunity. N o w th e r efo r e , b e it r e s olv e d th a t th e
H ou s e of R e p r e s e nt a tiv e s of th e St a t e of Mo nt a n a u r g e th e fe d e r al g o v e rn m e nt
to r e p e al r e stri c tio ns on th e p ro d u c tio n of in d u stria l h e mp a s a n a g ric ultu r a l
a n d in d u stri al p ro d u c t. " T his r e s olution is no w l a w in th e St a t e of Mo nt a n a . T h e
H ou s e A g C o mmitt e e p a ss e d this r e solutio n 19-0 a n d th e H ou s e Floor p a ss e d it
95-4.
170
NEW HAMPSHIRE
House Bill 239
Sponsored by: Derek Owens, David Babson, Peter Leishman, Irene Messier and
Amy Robb-Theroux
T his bill p e r mits th e p ro d u c tio n of in d u stri a l h e m p in N e w H a mp shir e . A
p e rson o r b u sin e ss e ntity wishin g to g ro w a n d p ro d u c e in d u stri a l h e m p must b e
li c e n s e d b y th e c o mmission e r of a g ri c ultu r e , m a r k e ts, a n d fo o d . T h e
c o mmissio n e r of a g ric ultu r e , m a r k e ts, a n d foo d will b e th e s ol e s ou r c e a n d
s u p pli e r of s e e d fo r u s e in in d u stria l h e mp p ro d u c tio n.
T h e c o mmission e r of a g ri c ultu r e , m a r k e ts, a n d foo d s h a ll c h a r g e a fe e
fo r e a c h li c e ns e g r a nt e d to in d u stri a l h e mp g ro w e rs. T h e r e v e n u e fro m th e s e
f e e s is to b e u s e d to d efr a y th e c o sts of li c e n sin g a n d r e g ula tin g in d ustri al h e m p
g ro w e rs a n d to fu n d a r e s e a r c h p ro g r a m o n in d u stri al h e m p p ro d u c tion to b e
c on d u c t e d b y th e U niv e rsity of N e w H a mp shir e . T h e bill g r a nts th e
c o mmissio n e r of a g ric ultu r e , m a r k e ts, a n d foo d rule m a kin g a utho rity with
r e s p e c t to li c e nsin g a n d in s p e c tion of in d u stria l h e mp g ro w e rs.
T h e 1999 le gisla tion is still in th e w o r k s! It p a ss e d a v ot e b y th e
E n viron m e nt a n d A g ric ultu r e c o mmitt e e in O c to b e r (alth ou g h it did not g e t a n
" o u g ht to p a ss " r e c o mm e n d a tio n b y th e c o mmitt e e) a n d th e bill will c o m e to th e
full H ou s e floo r in J a nu a ry.
NEW MEXICO
House Bill 104
Representative Pauline K. Gubbels
N e w Me xic o H ou s e B ill 104 m a k e s a n a p p ro p ri a tion of F ifty thou s a n d
d oll a rs ($50,000) fo r th e stu d y of in d ustria l h e m p a s a c o mm e r c ia l c ro p in th e
st a t e . T h e s e fu n d s a r e to b e p ro vid e d fro m th e g e n e r al fu n d to th e b o a rd of
r e g e nts of N e w Me xic o st a t e univ e rsity fo r e xp e n ditu r e in fis c a l y e a rs 2000 a n d
2001 fo r th e p u rp o s e of th e N e w Me xic o d e p a rtm e nt of a g ric ultu r e c o n d u c tin g a
stu d y of th e fe a sibility of g ro win g in d u stria l h e m p a s a c o mm e r c i a l c ro p . T h e
N e w Me xic o d e p a rtm e nt of a g ri c ultu r e sh a ll r e p o rt its fin din g s to th e
a p p ro p ria t e c o mmitt e e d u rin g th e s e c o n d s e ssion of th e fo rty-fou rth l e gisla tu r e
a n d first s e ssio n of th e fo rty-fifth l e gisl a tu r e . A n y u n e xp e n d e d o r un e n c u mb e r e d
b a la n c e r e m ainin g a t th e e n d of fis c al y e a r 2001 sh a ll r e v e rt to th e g e n e r a l fun d.
T his bill is l a w in N e w M e xi c o.
NORTH DAKOTA
House Bill 1428
Rep. Monson, D.Johnson, Nowatzki, Sen. Heitkamp
O n S a tu r d a y, A p ril 17, 1999 N o rth D a k ot a’s G o v e rno r S c h af e r sig n e d H B
1428 le g a lizin g in d ustri a l h e mp b y d e c r e ein g , " a ny p e rso n in this st a t e m a y
pl a nt, g ro w , h a rv e st, p o ss e ss, p ro c e ss, s e ll, a n d b uy in d u stri a l h e m p . "
171
O n A p ril 12, 1999 N o rth D a k ot a’s S e n a t e p a ss e d in d u stri a l h e m p bill
H B 1428 b y a la n d slid e v ot e of 44-3. T h e w e e k b efo r e , th e H o us e p a ss e d th e bill
b y 86-7. T h e C o mmissio n e r of A g ri c ultu r e will n o w b e d e v e lo pin g r e g ula tion s
n e e d e d to impl e m e nt th e la w w hi c h allo w s N o rth D a k ot a fa r m e rs to l e g a lly g ro w
in d u stria l h e m p.
T h e full t e xt of th e la w is lo c a t e d a t:
htt p://r a n c h.st a t e .n d .us/L R/t e xt/BIL L_IN D EX/BI1428.html
F o r fu rth e r info r m a tion c ont a c t: G ov. E d S c h af e r (701) 328-2200
House Bill 2933
Representative Prozanski
OREGON
O r e g on’s H ou s e B ill 2933 d e sig n a t e s d efinition s fo r in d u stria l h e mp a n d
p e r mits g ro win g th e c ro p in O r e g on. O n A p ril 22, 1999 a p u bli c h e a rin g w a s
h e ld o n this bill. P ro z a n s ki s aid th a t s e v e n of th e nin e m e mb e rs of th e H o us e
A g ri c ultu r e a n d F o r e stry C o mmitt e e - in c lu din g C h a ir m a n L a rry W e lls, RJ e ff e rs on - h a d told him th e y w e r e willin g to s e n d th e bill out fo r a flo o r v ot e . B ut
H ou s e S p e a k e r L yn n Sn o d g r a ss told W ells n ot to t a k e u p th e bill a g ain. W e lls,
r e a c h e d T h u rs d a y e v e nin g , a g r e e d th a t P ro z a n s ki p ro b a bly h a d th e v ot e s to
s e n d th e bill to th e flo or. B ut, h e s a id , h e h a d p r e viou sly a ss u r e d S no d g r a ss h e
w ould hold ju st th e on e info r m a tio n a l h e a rin g o n th e bill, a n d w o uld n’t b rin g it u p
fo r a c o mmitt e e vot e unl e ss sh e a p p ro v e d . Sn o d g r a ss, R-B o rin g , c o uld n ot b e
r e a c h e d fo r c o mm e nt T hu rs d a y e v e nin g. B ut P ro z a n s ki r e le a s e d c o pi e s of a
h a n d w ritt e n not e , w ritt e n o n th e s p e a k e r’s offi c i al l e tt e rh e a d , th a t h e s aid
S n o d g r a ss s e nt to him W e d n e s d a y. T h e not e r e a d s, in p a rt: " I fa ll b a c k o n my
o rigin a l fe elin g s, a m not p e rs u a d e d to h a v e th e bill mo v e fo r w a r d a t this tim e . I
s p o k e with oth e r m e mb e rs of th e c o mmitt e e p rio r to m a kin g this d e c isio n. " It
c on c lu d e s: " K e e p e d u c a tin g th e p u blic . P e rh a p s futu r e s e ssio ns a r e p o ssibl e . "
D e s pit e this motio n, P ro z a n s ki’s bill m a y not b e c o m pl e t e ly k a p ut. Me a su r e s
th a t p a ss on e c h a m b e r c a n still b e a m e n d e d in th e oth e r, a n d p ro p os a ls lon g
sin c e giv e n u p fo r d e a d h a v e b e e n k no w n to r e a p p e a r in th e w a nin g d a ys of th e
s e ssion.
PENNSYLVANIA
O n A p ril 16, 1999 th e fo r min g m e e tin g fo r th e P e nn sylv a nia H e m p
G ro w e rs a n d P ro c e ssor C o o p e r a tiv e w a s h e ld in N e w H olla n d. R e c e ntly th e
L a n c a st e r c ounty’s fa rm b u r e a u p a ss e d a r e solutio n to inv e stig a t e th e
c o mm e r c ia l p ot e ntia l fo r in d u stri a l h e mp . L a n c a st e r C o unty F a r m B u r e a u
P r e sid e nt, J a n e P a lm e r s a id " With sin kin g p ric e s fo r c o rn, s oy b e a n s a n d
to b a c c o, th e tim e is rip e fo r fa r m e rs to c o n sid e r pla ntin g a lt e rn a tiv e c ro p s. "
172
RHODE ISLAND
In th e 1999, TIT L E 47, W e ig hts a n d m e a su r e s fo r th e St a t e of Rh o d e
Isl a n d th e st a t e p ro mot e s l e g al st a tu s to in d ustri al h e m p b y tr e a tin g th e c ro p a s
a c o mmo dity. In S e c tion 47-4-2 of St a n d a r d Me a su r e s th e follo win g is st a t e d:§
47-4-2 W e ig hts of b u sh e ls, b a rr e ls, a n d to ns of s p e c ific c o mmo ditie s. – T h e l e g al
w e ig hts of c e rt a in c o mmo ditie s in th e st a t e of R h o d e Isla n d s h a ll b e a s follo w s:
(21) A b u sh e l of h e m p s h all w e ig h fo rty-fo u r p o un d s (44 lb s.).
TENNESSEE
House Bill 864
Tennessee Strategic Industrial Hemp Seed Development Act
Representative Kathryn I. Bowers
T h e 1999 Str a t e gi c In d u stria l H e mp S e e d D e v e lo p m e nt A c t w ould
a utho riz e a g rib usin e ss lo c a t e d in T e nn e ss e e to d e v e lo p in d ustria l h e m p s e e d
v a ri e tie s suit a ble fo r p ro p a g a tion in th e U nit e d St a t e s. T h e bill w o uld a ls o,
s u bj e c t to th e a p p ro v a l of th e c o mmissio n e r of a g ri c ultu r e , a ll imp o rt of
in d u stria l h e m p s e e d a g rib u sin e ss f a c ility. In d ustria l h e mp is C a n n a bis s a tiv a L.
with a T H C c on c e ntr a tio n of 1 p e r c e nt o r le ss o n a d ry w e ig ht b a sis th a t m e e ts
E u ro p e a n a n d C a n a dia n st a n d a rd s. T his bill w o uld a uth o riz e th e c o mmission e r
to p ro mulg a t e rule s c ontrollin g th e d e v elo p m e nt a n d im p o rt a tion of s e e d . T his
bill is d e sig n e d to w o r k with th e fe d e r a l g o v e rn m e nt a s F e d e r a l rul e s a r e
d r aft e d o v e r th e n e xt s e v e r a l y e a rs. T his bill s e ts th e g roun d w o r k fo r th e
d e v e lo p m e nt of a g rib usin e ss in c e ntiv e s fo r g e n e tic r e s e a r c h c on d u c t e d in
T e n n e ss e e with in d u stri a l h e mp . V a rie ti e s to b e d e v elo p e d u n d e r this a c t
in c lu d e v a rie tie s s uit a bl e to a ll U nit e d St a t e s r e gio ns fo r fib e r a n d oil p ro d u c tio n
a n d fo r int e rn a tion a l e xp o rt. T e nn e ss e e H ou s e B ill 864 will b e rolle d into th e
2000 le gisla tiv e s e ssion s a s T e n n e ss e e l e gisla to r loo k fo r fe d e r a l g ov e rn m e nt
g uid a n c e in la yin g o ut a p p ro p ria t e in d u stry g uid e lin e s.
F o r mo r e info r m a tio n c o n c e rnin g th e 1999 T e n n e ss e e Str a t e gic
In d ustria l H e m p S e e d D e v e lo p m e nt A c t, c ont a c t P e t e r N e lson of A g ro-T e c h
C o mmuni c a tion s a t fib e r @ n e tt e n.n e t o r http://w w w . a g rot e c hfib e r. c o m.
VERMONT
Senate Bill 11 - Agriculture - Industrial Hemp
Senator Ready
T his bill p ro p o s e s to p e r mit th e d e v e lo p m e nt in V e r mo nt of a n in d ustri a l
h e mp in d u stry a n d a ssu r e th a t p ro d u c tio n of in d u stri al h e m p is in c om pli a n c e
with st a t e a n d f e d e r a l la w s a n d U nit e d St a t e s’ o blig a tion s un d e r int e rn a tion al
tr e a tie s, c o n v e ntion s, a n d p roto c ols. Alth ou g h this bill did not p a ss, V e r mo nt
h a s p a ss e d l e gisl a tio n in p r e viou s y e a rs th a t c a ll fo r univ e rsity stu d y of
e c o no mic a n d m a r k e t p ot e nti a l of th e c ro p .
173
VIRGINIA
House Joint Resolution 94
Industrial Hemp
Patrons-- Van Yahres, Bloxom,
Murphy and Wardrup; Senators: Whipple and - Woods , Mitchell Van Yahres
S u mm a ry a s p a ss e d H o us e :
In d ustria l h e mp . M e mori a liz e s th e S e c r e t a ry of A g ri c ultu r e , th e Dir e c to r
of th e D ru g E nfo r c e m e nt A d ministr a tion, a n d th e Dir e c to r of th e O ffic e of
N a tion al D ru g C o ntrol P oli c y to p e r mit th e c ontroll e d, e xp e rim e nt a l c ultiv a tion
of in d ustria l h e mp in Vir ginia . In d u stri a l h e mp is s e e n in c r e a sin gly a s a
p ot e nti a lly v a lu a bl e a lt e rn a tiv e c ro p fo r fa r m e rs in Vir ginia , b ut c u rr e nt fe d e r a l
r e g ul a tio ns m a k e e v e n th e e xp e rim e nt a l c ultiv a tion of in d u stria l h e m p
e ffe c tiv e ly im p o ssibl e . T h e C o mmon w e a lth is a lso a utho riz e d to b e c o m e a
m e m b e r of th e N o rth A m e ri c a n In d ustria l H e m p C oun c il.
Assembly Joint Resolution 49
WISCONSIN
Wis c o nsin A J R 49 r e q u e sts th a t th e C on g r e ss of th e U nit e d St a t e s
a c k no wle d g e th e diff e r e n c e b e t w e e n th e m a riju a n a pla nt a n d th e a g ri c ultu r a l
c ro p k n o w n a s in d u stria l h e mp . O n M a y 6, 1999 a p u blic h e a rin g w a s h e ld.
Wis c o nsin is th e ho m e of th e N o rth A m e ri c a n In d ustria l H e m p C ou n cil, a s w e ll
a s a stro n g c o a litio n of in d ustria l h e mp a d vo c a t e s. T h e Wis c o nsin Initi a tiv e fo r
In d ustria l H e m p is e n d o rs e d b y th e Wis c o nsin N a tion a l F a r m e rs O rg a niz a tion,
Wis c o nsin A g rib u sin e ss C ou n c il, Wis c on sin F e d e r a tion of C oo p e r a tiv e s,
Wis c o nsin F a r m e rs U nio n a n d th e Wis c o nsin F e rtiliz e r a n d C h e mic al
A ss o c ia tio n.
174
A P P E N DIX C :
Estimates of Net Returns Per Acre for Kentucky Crops
PROCESSING TOMATOES
$ 775.0
HIGH FIBER HEMP*
$ 500.0
LOW FIBER HEMP**
$ 200.0
WHEAT AND SOYBEANS
$ 175.0
SOYBEANS
$ 100.0
HAY/SILAGE
$ 100.0
CORN
$ 75.0
* HIGH FIBER HEMP IS GROWN MORE FOR ITS FIBER.
**LOW FIBER HEMP IS GROWN MORE FOR ITS SEEDS AND
HURDS THAN ITS FIBER.
REPORT TO THE (KENTUCKY) GOVERNOR’S
HEMP AND RELATED FIBER CORP.
ARTICLE SOURCE: VERMONT LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH SHOP
VIABILITY OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP
WWW.VOTEHEMP.COM/PDF/VLRS_HEMP.PDF
175
H e m p O il F u els & H o w to M a ke T h e m
htt p://w e b sit e .lin e on e .n e t/~s u p e rs no w y1/Me dl a b_A plic a tio ns oil F u el.htm
By: A. Das
Introduction of Hemp Biodiesel maybe the liquid fuel of the future.
Hemp is a high yield C-4 photosynthesis plant. Hemp can Boost a higher
oilseed yield than any of today’s oilseed crops (soy, canola or safflower).
Thirty years ago soy beans were a joke to American farmers. Who
would have guessed that in thirty years soy beans would become the
largest oil and protein crop in American farming. Right now Hemp
farming is a joke to American farmers. Who knows what the next thirty
years will do to American Hemp farming.
Hemp fuels are yet another benefit of Domestic Industrial Hemp
Farming. As we enter 1997 more than ten states will be considering
Industrial Hemp Farm Bills. In the mean times Hempseed must be grown
out side the country. The major part of the cost of the inexpensive
hempseed is transportation from across the globe. The seed to produce
a gallon of hempseed oil can cost up to $100. All foreign production and
shipping plans are doomed to high costs. I look forward to the days when
a farmer can produce his own hempseed oil fuel as low as a dollar a
gallon.
The following formula for making Hemp Diesel Fuel will work nicely
to make small quantities of fuel to run the sound stage at your Hemp Rally
this summer. A 4 kilowatt diesel generator uses around one litre an
hour .Imagine walking to the microphone and saying, "The sound of my
voice is coming to you with the power of Hemp Fuel !". Seeing is
believing. I’ll drive you around the state capital, Senator, In my Hemp
Fueled Vehicle!
Bio Diesels not a new fuel. The DOE and USDA have provided
funding for research for years. The Biomass Conference of The Americas
in Burlington Vermont had over a dozen papers presented on all aspects
of Hemp as an oilseed cultivars. Let’s get on with it!
H e m p, fou r tim e s m or e e ffi ci e nt th a n c o r n a s biofu el,
is a cl e a n, sm a r t a n d e c on o mi c a l e n e rg y c h oi c e.
176
H o w to M a ke B io Di e s el
By: A. Das
CAUTION!
TITRATION OF FREE FATTY ACIDS
Measure Free Fatty Acid content of your oil: Mix 1 ml oil with 10 ml
Isopropyl alcohol = 2 drops phenolthalian solution (available in a hobby shop
chemistry set suppliers). Drop wise add 0.1% lye solution ( 1 gm lye in one litre
water ) until the solution stays pink for 10 seconds. (20 drops = 1 ml) Record the
millilitres of 0.1% lye solution used.
METHANOL
You will need 200 ml of methanol per litre of Hemp Seed oil. Methanol
may be purchased as Drigas available at most automotive stores, read the label
for methanol. Also Methanol is available from racing stores. Avoid hardware
store methanol (wood alcohol) as it may contain excessive water content.
SODIUM METHOXIDE
For each liter of hemp seed oil you need one gram of granular solid lye
for each ml of 0.1% lye solution used in titration of free fatty acids plus 3.5
grams. Completely dissolve the proper amount of Lye in the methanol (Red Devil
Lye can be purchased from the Grocery Store). This combined mixture makes
sodium methoxide.
MIXER
The type of mixer depends on the size of the batch. A blender works fine
for a small batch. An electric drill and paint mixer on an extended shaft works
well in a 5 gallon bucket. An electric light dimmer switch provides a good speed
control.
TRANSESTERFICATION
Once the lye catalyst is dissolved completely so that there is no
sediment, then the oil may be added to the methanol lye mixture while mixing
continuously. At first the mixture becomes thicker, th e n thinn e r a s th e r e a c tion
p ro c e e d s. C olle c t s a mpl e s e v e ry 5 min ut e s with a n e y e d ro p p e r into a t e st tu b e
o r c le a r c ont a in e r. T h e Mixtu r e will s e p a r a t e into a lig ht to p l a y e r of bio die s e l
a n d a d a r k e r b otto m l a y e r of gly c e rin, s o a p a n d c a t a lyst. C ontinu e d mixin g 30 60 min ut e s u ntil th e yield r e m a in s c on st a nt. T h e n sto p mixin g . G o h a v e lu n c h.
177
Wh e n yo u c o m e b a c k it will h a v e s e ttl e d into t w o distin c t la y e rs. You h a v e
ju st m a d e w h a t c o uld b e th e fu e l of th e futu r e fo r a s elf r e li a nt so c ie ty. L e t th e
mixtu r e s e ttle fo r a t l e a st 8 ho u rs. P ou r off a n d s a v e th e bio di e s e l to p l a y e r into
a noth e r c o nt a in e r. A cle a r fun n e l b otto m e d c o nt a in e r is h e lpful.
RINSING
T h e r a w bio die s e l th a t y ou h a v e ju st p ro d u c e d m a y h a v e so m e c a t a lyst,
a l c o hol, a n d gly c e rin r e m a inin g w hi c h c ould c a u s e e n gin e p ro bl e ms, so fo r lo n g
t e r m e n gin e r e li a bility this r a w fu e l s hould b e rin s e d with w a t e r. G e ntly a t first
th e n mo r e vig o ro usly rin s e with w a t e r until th e rins e w a t e r is c le a r a n d th e p H of
th e rins e w a t e r is th e s a m e p H a s th e su p ply w a t e r. S e ttl e , D e c a nt.
DRYING
W a t e r in th e bio Die s el m a k e s c lou d y so it must b e c a r e fully h e a t e d . A t
100 C most of th e w a t e r c o a l e s c e s a n d fa lls to th e b otto m. T his w a t e r mu st b e
c o mpl e t ely r e mo v e d fro m th e b otto m of th e c o nt a in e r b e fo r e h e a tin g to hig h e r
t e mp e r a tu r e .
CAUTION!
WEAR PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AND EYEWEAR.
FAILURE TO REMOVE THIS WATER BEFORE FURTHER HEATING
CAN CAUSE VIOLENT ERUPTION OF HOT LIQUID!
Once all water has been removed then heat the bio diesel to 300 f (150 c)
to complete dryness. Cool, filter, and store bio diesel in a well marked dry
closed container. 100% HEMP DIESEL FUEL (HEMP OIL METHYL ESTER - HOME
FUEL)
This fuel may be mixed in any ratio with petroleum diesel. Dynamometer
tests indicate full power output with up to 75% reduction in soot and
particulates. No engine modification is needed to burn bio diesel fuel.
178
O th e r O il F e e d Sto cks
By: A. Das
Hemp Seed Oil at present is too expensive to drive across the country.
That is not the object of this article. Our propose is to demonstrate proof of
feasibility of this fuel concept. The time is now to give hemp a chance. The small
quantities of Hemp Diesel Fuel can play a powerful role in educating ourselves
and the policy makers about the hope in hemp.
For other readers the question will be raised. What else can I use can I
use as a feedstock that is cheaper between now and domestic hemp seed
crops? Soy, Sunflower, Canola, and Safflower oils are being used in field testing
programs right now. The ground support vehicles at the Kansas City Airport are
operating on Soya diesel. Lincoln Nebraska City busses are operating on Bio
Diesel.
Go ahead practice your fuel making technique on any vegetable oil
available. The most important change for us may start within ourselves. Let us
get on with the curriculum.
F at O f Th e L a n d
A four woman video crew recently traveled across the country from new
York city to San Francisco in a Diesel Chevy Van fueled by French Fryer Bio
Diesel. They would drive past the gas pumps and the diesel pumps. They would
drive around the back of the burger joint and ask for drippings from the fryer in
day-glow pink waitress outfits. The video is both entertaining and informative.
Video is both available from Original Sources (303) 237 - 3579.
SEVEN WAYS AROUND THE GAS PUMP USING HEMP FUEL
BY: A. DAS
A B O O K IS F O R T H C O MIN G O N S E V E N W A YS T O R U N Y O U R C A R
U SIN G H E MP S T A L K S A N D S E E D S.
179
Text of the Yearbook of
The United States Department Of Agriculture—1913, pages 283-346
H E MP
B Y: LYS T E R H . D E W E Y
B O T A NIS T IN C H A R G E O F F IB E R P L A N T IN V E S TI G A TI O N S
B U R E A U O F P L A N T IN D U S T RY
INTRODUCTION
T h e t w o fib e r-p ro d u c in g pl a nts most p ro misin g fo r c ultiv a tion in th e
c e ntr a l U nit e d St a t e s a n d mo st c e rt a in to yie ld s a tisfa c to ry p rofits a r e h e m p
a n d fl a x. T h e old e st c ultiv a t e d fib e r pla nt, o n e fo r w hic h th e c on ditions in th e
U nit e d St a t e s a r e a s f a v o r a ble a s a n y w h e r e in th e w o rld, on e w hi c h p ro p e rly
h a n dl e d imp ro v e s th e la n d , a n d w hic h yie ld s o n e of th e stron g e st a n d most
d u r a bl e fib e rs of c o mm e r c e , is h e mp . H e mp fib e r, fo r m e rly th e mo st im p o rt a nt
m a t e ria l in h o m e s p un fa b ric s, is n o w most f a mili a r to th e p u r c h a sin g p u blic in
this c ou ntry in th e stron g g r a y tyin g t win e s on e-sixt e e nth to o n e-fourth in c h in
di a m e t e r, k no w n b y th e tr a d e n a m e " c o mm e r c i a l t win e s. "
NAME
T h e n a m e " h e m p " b e lon g s p rim a rily to th e pla nt C a n n a bis s a tiv a . (pl. XL,
fig.1.) It h a s lon g b e e n u s e d to d e sig n a t e a lso th e lo n g fib e r o bt a in e d fro m th e
h e mp pl a nt. (Pl. XL, fig . 4.) H e mp fib e r, b ein g o n e of th e e a rlie st a n d b e st-k n o w n
t e xtile fib e rs a n d until r e c e nt tim e s th e mo st wid ely u s e d of its c la ss, h a s b e e n
r e g a r d e d a s th e ty pi c al r e p r e s e nt a tiv e of lo n g fib e rs. U nfo rtun a t e ly, its n a m e
a lso c a m e to b e r e g a rd e d a s a kin d of c o mmo n n a m e fo r a ll lo n g fib e rs, u ntil on e
n o w fin d s in th e m a r k e t q uot a tion s " M a nila h e m p " fo r a b a c a , " sis al h e m p " fo r
sis a l a n d h e n e q u e n, " M a u ritiu s h e m p " fo r F ur c r a e a fib e r, " N e w Z e al a n d h e mp "
fo r p ho r miu m, " S unn h e m p " fo r C rot a la ri a fib e r, a n d " In di a h e mp " fo r jut e . A ll of
th e s e fib e rs in a p p e a r a n c e a n d in e c o no mic p ro p e rti e s a r e unlik e tru e h e mp ,
w hile th e n a m e is n e v e r a p plie d to fla x, w hi c h is mo r e n e a rly lik e h e m p th a n a ny
oth e r c o mm e r c ia l fib e r.
T h e tru e h e m p is k no w n in diffe r e nt l a n g u a g e s b y th e follo win g n a m e s:
C a nn a bis, L a tin; c h a nvr e , F r e n c h; c a n a mo, S p a nish; c a nh a mo, Po rtu g u e s e;
c a n a p a , It a li a n; c a n e p , A lb a nia n; k on o pli, R ussi a n; k on o pj a n d p e n e k , P olish;
k e mp , B e lgi a n; h a nf, G e r m a n; h e n n e p, D ut c h; h a mp , S w e dish; h a mp a , D a nis h;
k e n e vir, B ulg a ri a n; t a-m a , si-m a , a n d ts e-m a , C hin e s e ; a s a , J a p a n e s e ; n a s h a ,
T u r kish; k a n a bir a , Sy ria n; k a nn a b , A r a bi c .
180
IMPORTANCE OF HEMP
H e m p w a s fo r m e rly th e mo st imp o rt a nt lon g fib e r, a n d it is n o w us e d
mo r e e xt e nsiv e ly th a n a n y oth e r soft fib e r e x c e pt jut e . F ro m 10,000 to 15,000
ton s a r e u s e d in th e U nit e d St a t e s e v e ry y e a r. T h e a p p roxim a t e a mount
c on su m e d in A m e ric a n s pinnin g mills is in dic a t e d b y th e follo win g t a bl e ,
s ho win g th e a v e r a g e a n nu al im p o rt a tion s ( C om p ut e d fro m r e p o rts of th e
B u r e a u of N a vig a tion a n d C o mm e r c e , U .S. T r e a su ry D e p a rtm e nt B ur e a u of
St a tisti c s D e p a rtm e nt of C o mm e r c e) a n d e stim a t e s of a v e r a g e d o m e sti c
p ro d u c tion of h e mp fib e r fo r 35 y e a rs:
A v e r a g e a n nu a l imp o rts a n d e stim a t e s of a v e r a g e a n nu a l p ro d u c tion of
h e mp fib e r in 5-y e a r p e rio d s fro m 1876 to 1910, in c lu siv e , a n d fro m 1911 to
1913, in c lu siv e . (Missin g c h a rt fro m p . 284)
T h e r e a r e no st a tisti c s a v ail a ble , su c h a s m a y b e foun d fo r w h e a t, c orn,
o r c otton, s ho win g with c e rt a inty th e a c r e a g e a n d p ro d u c tion of h e m p in this
c ou ntry. T h e e stim a t e s of p ro d u c tio n in th e for e g oin g t a ble a r e b a s e d on th e
r e tu rn s of th e C o mmission e r of A g ric ultu r e of K e ntu c k y fo r e a rli e r y e a rs with
a mou nts a d d e d to c o v e r th e p ro d u c tio n in oth e r St a t e s, a n d on e stim a t e s of
h e mp d e a l e rs fo r mo r e r e c e nt y e a rs. Whil e th e s e fig u r e s c a n n ot b e r e g a r d e d a s
a c c u r a t e st a tisti c s, a n d th e y a r e p ro b a bly b e lo w r a th e r th a n a b ov e th e a c tu a l
p ro d u c tion, e s p e c ia lly in th e e a rli e r y e a rs, th e y in di c a t e a c o n dition w e ll
r e c o g niz e d b y a ll c o nn e c t e d with th e in d u stry. T h e c on su mp tion of h e m p fib e r
h a s a slig ht t e n d e n c y to in c r e a s e , b ut th e in c r e a s e is m a d e u p th rou g h
in c r e a s e d imp o rt a tions, w hile th e d o m e stic p ro d u c tio n s ho w s a t e n d e n c y
to w a rd r e d u c tion.
PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES DECLINING
T his fa llin g off in d o m e stic p ro d u c tion h a s b e e n d u e p rim a rily to th e
in c r e a sin g diffic ulty in s e c u rin g s uffic ie nt la b o r to t a k e c a r e of th e c ro p;
s e c on d a rily, to th e l a c k of d e v e lo p m e nt of la b o r-s a vin g m a c hin e ry a s c o mp a r e d
with th e m a c hin e ry fo r h a n dlin g oth e r c ro p s a n d to th e in c r e a sin g p rofits in
r a isin g sto c k , to b a c c o, a n d c o rn, w hic h h a v e la r g e ly t a k e n th e a tt e ntio n of
f a r m e rs in h e m p-g ro win g r e gion s. T h e w o r k of r e ttin g , b r e a kin g, a n d p r e p a rin g
th e fib e r fo r m a r k e t r e q uir e s a s p e c ia l k no wle d g e , diff e r e nt fro m th a t fo r
h a n dlin g g r a in c ro p s, a n d a s kill b e st a c q uir e d b y e xp e rie n c e . T h e s e fa c to rs
h a v e b e e n mo r e im p o rt a nt th a n a ll oth e rs in r e stric tin g th e in d u stry to th e
blu e g r a ss r e gio n of K e ntu c k y, w h e r e th e pla nt a tion o w n e rs a s w e ll a s th e f a r m
l a b o r e rs a r e fa mili a r with e v e ry st e p in h a n dlin g th e c ro p a n d p ro d u c in g th e
fib e r.
A n imp o rt a nt f a c to r, t e n din g to r e stric t th e u s e of h e mp , h a s b e e n th e
r a pidly in c r e a sin g us e of oth e r fib e rs, e s p e cia lly jut e , in th e m a nufa c tu r e of
m a t e ria ls fo r m e rly m a d e of h e m p. F a c to ry-m a d e w o v e n g o o d s of c otto n o r w ool,
181
mo r e e a sily s p u n b y m a c hin e ry, h a v e r e pl a c e d th e h e m p e n " ho m e s p un " fo r
c lothin g; wir e ro p e s, stro n g e r, lig ht e r, a n d mor e rigid , h a v e t a k e n its pl a c e in
st a n din g rig gin g fo r s hip s; a b a c a (M a nila h e mp), lig ht e r a n d mo r e d ur a ble in s a lt
w a t e r; h a s su p e rs e d e d it fo r to win g h a w s e rs a n d h oistin g ro p e s; w hil e jut e ,
infe rio r in str e n g th a n d d u r a bility, a n d with o nly th e e le m e nt of c h e a p n e ss in its
f a vo r, is us u rpin g th e le gitim a t e pl a c e of h e m p in c a r p e t w a rp s, so-c a ll e d " h e mp
c a rp e ts, " t win e s, a n d fo r m a n y p u rp o s e s w h e r e th e str e n g th a n d d ur a bility of
h e mp a r e d e sir e d . T h e intro d u c tion of m a c hin e ry fo r h a rv e stin g h e mp a n d a ls o
fo r p r e p a rin g th e fib e r, to g e th e r with th e hig h e r p ric e s p a id fo r h e mp d u rin g th e
p a st th r e e y e a rs, h a s a ro u s e d a n int e r e st in th e in d ustry, a n d m a n y e xp e rim e nts
a r e b e in g trie d with a vi e w to th e c ultiv a tion of th e c ro p in n e w a r e a s.
BOTANICAL STUDY OF HEMP
THE PLANT
T h e h e mp pl a nt, C a nn a bis
s a tiv a L., (Lin n a e u s. S p e c i e s
Pl a nt a ru m, e d. 1,1027, 1753.
Dio s c o rid e s. M e dic a Ma t e ri a , lib ri
s e x, p . 147, 1537. Syn on y ms:
C a nn a bis e rr a tic a p a lu d e s a
A n d e rs. Lo b e l. Stirpium Histo ri a ,
184, 1576. C a n n a bis in di c a
L a m a r c k. E n c y c lo p e dia , 1: 695,
1788. C a n n a bis m a c ros p e r m a
Sto k e s. B ot. M a t. Me d., IV, 539,
1812. C a n n a bis c hin e nsis D e lile .
In d . S e m. H o rt. Mo nst. in A n n. S c i.
N a t. B ot., 12: 365, 1849. C a nn a bis gig a nt e a D e lile . L. Vilmo rin. R e v. H o rt., 5: s.
3, 109, 1851.) is a n a n nu a l, g ro win g e a c h y e a r fro m th e s e e d . It h a s a rigid ,
h e rb a c e ou s st a lk , a tt ainin g a h e ig ht of 1 to 5 m e t e rs (3 to 16 f e e t), o b tu s e ly 4c o rn e r e d, mo r e o r le ss flut e d o r c h a nn e le d , a n d with w e ll-m a r k e d no d e s a t
int e rv a ls of 10 to 50 c e ntim e t e rs (4 to 20 in c h e s). Wh e n not c ro w d e d it h a s
n u m e rou s s p r e a din g b r a n c h e s, a n d th e c e ntr a l st a lk a tt a in s a thic k n e ss of 3 to
6 c e ntim e t e rs (1 to 2 in c h e s), with a rou g h b a r k n e a r th e b a s e . If c ro w d e d, a s
w h e n s o w n b ro a d c a st fo r fib e r, th e st a lk s a r e witho ut b r a n c h e s o r foli a g e
e x c e p t a t th e to p , a n d th e s mooth flut e d st e ms a r e 6 to 20 millim e t e rs (1/4 to 3/4
in c h) in dia m e t e r. T h e le a v e s, o p p osit e , e x c e pt n e a r th e to p o r on th e s ho rt e n e d
b r a n c h e s, a p p e a rin g fa s ci c le d, a r e p a lm a t e ly c o m p o un d a n d c o m p o s e d of 5 to
11--u su a lly 7--le afle ts. (Pl. XLI, fig. 1). T h e le afl e ts a r e d a r k g r e e n, lig ht e r b e lo w ,
l a n c e ola t e , p oint e d a t b oth e n d s, s e rr a t e , 5 to 15 c e ntim e t e rs (2 to 6 in c h e s)
lo n g , a n d 1 to 2 c e ntim e t e rs (3/8 to 3/4 in c h) wid e . H e mp is dio e c iou s, th e
st a min a t e o r p oll e n-b e a rin g flo w e rs a n d th e pistilla t e o r s e e d-p ro d u c in g flo w e rs
b e in g b o rn e o n s e p a r a t e pla nts. T h e st a min a t e flo w e rs (Pl. XL, fig . 2) a r e b o rn e
in s m a ll a xilla ry p a nic le s, a n d c on sist of fiv e g r e e nis h y e llo w o r p u r plish s e p a ls
182
o p e nin g wid e a t m a tu rity a n d dis c losin g fiv e st a m e n s w hi c h dis c h a rg e a b un d a nt
y e llo w p olle n. T h e pistill a t e flo w e rs (Pl. XL, fig. 3) a r e st e ml e ss a n d solit a ry in
th e a xils of th e s m a ll le a v e s n e a r th e e n d s of th e b r a n c h e s, oft e n c ro w d e d s o a s
to a p p e a r lik e a thic k s pik e . T h e pistilla t e flo w e r is in c on s pi c uo u s, c o nsistin g of
a thin, e ntir e , g r e e n c alyx, p oint e d , with a slit a t o n e sid e , b ut r e m a inin g n e a rly
c los e d o v e r th e o v a ry a n d m e r e ly p e r mittin g th e t w o s m a ll stig m a s to p rotru d e
a t th e a p e x. T h e o v a ry is on e s e e d, d e v e lo pin g into a s mooth, c o m p r e ss e d o r
n e a rly s p h e ric a l a c h e n e (th e " s e e d " ), 2.5 to 4 millim e t e rs (1/10 to 3/16 in c h)
thic k a n d 3 to 6 millim e t e rs (1/8 to 1/4 in c h) lon g, fro m d a r k g r a y to lig ht b ro w n
in c olo r a n d mottle d (Pl. XLI, fig . 2). T h e s e e d s c le a n e d fo r m a r k e tn e a rly a lw a ys
in c lu d e s o m e still c ov e r e d with th e g r e e n, g ummy c a lyx. T h e s e e d s v a ry in
w e ig ht fro m 0.008 to 0.027 g r a m, th e d a r k-c olo r e d s e e d s b ein g g e n e r a lly mu c h
h e a vie r th a n th e lig ht-c olo r e d s e e d s of th e s a m e s a mple . T h e lig ht-c olo r e d
s e e d s a r e oft e n imp e rfe c tly d e v e lo p e d . D a r k-c olo r e d a n d distin c tly mottl e d
s e e d s a r e g e n e r a lly p r e fe rr e d. T h e st a min a t e pl a nts a r e oft e n c a lle d th e
flo w e rin g h e m p, sin c e th e pistill a t e flo w e rs a r e r a r ely o b s e rv e d. T h e st a min a t e
pl a nts di e a ft e r th e p olle n is sh e d , b ut th e pistill a t e pl a nts r e m a in a liv e a n d
g r e e n t w o mo nths l a t e r, o r until th e s e e d s a r e fully d e v elo p e d.
THE STALK
T h e h e mp st a lk is hollo w , a n d in th e b e st fib e r-p ro d u c in g ty p e s th e
h ollo w s p a c e o c c u pi e s a t le a st on e-h a lf th e dia m e t e r. T h e h ollo w s p a c e is
wid e st, o r th e s u rro un din g s h e ll thinn e st, a b o ut mid w a y b e t w e e n th e b a s e a n d
th e to p of th e pl a nt. T h e w o o d y s h e ll is thic k e n e d a t e a c h no d e , dividin g th e
h ollo w s p a c e into a s e ri e s of p a rtly s e p a r a t e d c o mp a rtm e nts. (Pl. XLI, fig . 4.) If
th e st a lk is c ut c ro ss wis e a l a y e r of pith, o r thin-w a lle d tissu e , is fou n d n e xt to
th e hollo w c e nt e r, a n d o utsid e of this a la y e r of w oo d c o m p o s e d of h a rd , thic kw a lle d c e lls. T his l a y e r, w hi c h fo r ms th e " h u rd s, " is a v e ry thin sh e ll in th e b e st
fib e r-p ro d u c in g v a ri e tie s. It e xt e n d s c le a r a c ro ss th e st e m b e lo w th e lo w e st
n o d e , a n d in l a rg e , c o a rs e st a lk s g ro w n in th e o p e n it is mu c h thic k e r a n d th e
c e ntr a l hollo w r e la tiv e ly s m a lle r. O utsid e of th e h a r d w oo d y p o rtio n is th e soft
c a mbiu m, o r g ro win g tiss u e , th e c e lls of w hic h d e v e lo p into th e w oo d on th e
in sid e , o r into th e b a st a n d b a r k on th e outsid e . It is c hi efly th rou g h this
c a mbiu m l a y e r th a t th e fib e r-b e a rin g b a st s plits a w a y fro m th e w o o d in th e
p ro c e ss e s of r e ttin g a n d b r e a kin g . O utsid e of th e c a mbiu m is th e inn e r b a r k , o r
b a st, c o m p risin g sho rt, thin-w a lle d c ells fille d with c hlo ro p h yll, givin g it a g r e e n
c olo r, a n d lon g thi c k-w a ll e d c e lls, m a kin g th e b a st fib e rs. T h e s e b a st fib e rs a r e
of t w o kin d s, th e s m a lle r on e s (s e c on d a ry b a st fib e rs) to w a r d th e inn e r p o rtio n
m a kin g u p r a th e r sh o rt, fin e fib e rs, m a n y of w hi c h a d h e r e to th e w oo d o r hu r d s
w h e n th e h e mp is b ro k e n, a n d th e c o a rs e r on e s (p rim a ry b a st fib e rs) to w a r d th e
o ut e r p a rt, e xt e n din g n e a rly th rou g ho ut th e l e n gth of th e st a lk . O utsid e of th e
p rim a ry b a st fib e r is a c ontinu a tio n of th e thin-w all e d c hlo ro p h yll-b e a rin g c e lls
fr e e fro m fib e r, a n d s urro un din g all is th e thin e pid e r mis.
183
T H E FIB E R
Hemp Fibers
1913 Yearbook
T h e h e mp fib e r of c o mm e r c e is c o mp os e d of
th e p rim a ry b a st fib e rs, with s o m e a d h e r e nt b a r k a n d
a lso so m e s e c on d a ry b a st fib e r. T h e b a st fib e rs
c on sist of nu m e ro u s lon g, ov e rla p pin g , thic k-w a lle d
c e lls with lon g , t a p e rin g e n d s. T h e in divid u a l c e lls,
a lmost too s m a ll to b e s e e n b y th e u n a id e d e y e a r e
0.015 to 0.05 millim e t e r (3/1000 to 12/1000 in c h ) in
di a m e t e r, a n d 5 to 55 millim e t e rs (3/16 to 2 1/8 in c h e s)
lo n g . S o m e of th e b a st fib e rs e xt e n d th rou g h th e
l e n gth of th e st a lk, b ut s o m e a r e b r a n c h e d, a n d s o m e
t e r min a t e a t e a c h no d e . T h e y a r e w e a k e st a t th e
n o d e s.
RELATIONSHIPS
T h e h e mp pl a nt b e lon g s to th e mulb e rry f a mily, Mo r a c e a e , w hic h
in c lu d e s th e mulb e rry, th e O s a g e o r a n g e , th e p a p e r mulb e rry, fro m th e b a st of
w hic h th e t a p a of th e S o uth S e a Isla n d s is m a d e , a n d th e ho p, w hi c h c ont a in s a
stron g b a st fib e r. H e mp is c lo s ely r el a t e d to th e n e ttl e f a mily, w hic h in c lu d e s
r a mi e , a n im p o rt a nt fib e r-p ro d u c in g pla nt of A si a a n d s e v e r a l s p e cie s of n e ttl e s
h a vin g stron g b a st fib e rs. T h e g e nu s C a n n a bis is g e n e r a lly r e g a rd e d b y
b ot a nists a s mon oty pic , a n d th e on e s p e c i e s C a nn a bis s a tiv a is no w h e ld to
in c lu d e th e h a lf d o z e n fo r ms w hic h h a v e b e e n d e s c rib e d un d e r diffe r e nt n a m e s
(s e e footnot e , p . 286) a n d w hi c h a r e c ultiv a t e d fo r diff e r e nt p u rp os e s. T h e
fo r e g oin g d e s c ription r e fe rs e s p e ci a lly to th e fo r ms c ultiv a t e d fo r th e
p ro d u c tion of fib e r.
HISTORY
EARLY CULTIVATION IN CHINA
H e m p w a s p ro b a bly th e e a rli e st pla nt
c ultiv a t e d fo r th e p ro d u c tion of a t e xtile fib e r. T h e
" L u Shi, " a Chinese work of the Sung dynasty, about
500 A.D., contains a statement that the Emperor
Shen Nung, in the twenty-eighth century B.C., first
taught the people of China to cultivate "ma" (hemp)
for making hempen cloth. The name ma (fig. 17)
occurring in the earliest Chinese writings
designated a plant of two forms, male and female,
used primarily for fiber. Later the seeds of this plant
were used for food. (- Bretschneider, E. Botannicum
184
Sinicum, in Journal of the North C hin a B r a n c h of th e Ro y a l A sia ti c So c i e ty, n.s.,
v. 25, p .203, 1893, S h a n h a i.) T h e d efinit e st a t e m e nt r e g a r din g th e st a min a t e
a n d pistilla t e fo r ms e limin a t e s oth e r fib e r pl a nts in c lu d e d in l a t e r tim e s un d e r
th e C hin e s e n a m e m a . T h e C hin e s e h a v e c ultiv a t e d th e pla nt fo r th e p ro d u c tion
of fib e r a n d fo r th e s e e d s, w hi c h w e r e u s e d for foo d a n d l a t e r fo r oil, w hile in
s o m e pla c e s th e st alk s a r e u s e d fo r fu e l, b ut th e r e s e e ms to b e no r e c o rd th a t
th e y h a v e u s e d th e pla nt fo r th e p ro d u c tion of th e n a r c oti c d ru g s b h a n g , c h a r a s,
a n d g a n g a . (sic)‘ T h e p ro d u c tio n a n d u s e of th e s e d ru g s w e r e d e v e lo p e d fa rth e r
w e st.
CULTIVATION FOR NARCOTIC DRUGS
T h e u s e of h e m p in m e di cin e a n d fo r th e p ro d u c tion of th e n a r c otic d ru g
In di a n h e mp , o r c a nn a bis, is of int e r e st in this p a p e r only b e c a u s e of its b e a rin g
o n th e o rigin a n d d e v e lo p m e nt of diffe r e nt fo rms of th e pla nt. T h e o rigin of this
u s e is n ot d efinit e ly k no w n, b ut th e w e ig ht of e vid e n c e s e e ms to in dic a t e c e ntr a l
A si a o r P e rsia a n d a d a t e m a ny c e ntu rie s l a t e r th a n its first c ultiv a tion fo r fib e r.
T h e n a m e b h a n g a o c c u rs in th e S a n s k rit " A th a rv a v e d a " (a b out 1400 B . C .), b ut
th e first m e ntio n of it a s a m e dic in e s e e ms to b e in th e w o r k of S u s rut a (b e fo r e
th e e ig hth c e ntu ry A . D.), w hil e in th e t e nth c e ntu ry A .D. its intoxic a tin g n a tu r e
s e e ms to h a v e b e e n k no w n, a n d th e n a m e " in d r a c a n a " (In d r a’s foo d) first
a p p e a rs in lit e r a tu r e . (W a tt, Sir G e o r g e . C o mm e ri c al P ro d u c ts of In di a , p. 251,
1908.) A fu rth e r e vid e n c e th a t h e m p, fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of fib e r a s w e ll a s th e
d ru g , h a s b e e n distrib ut e d fro m c e ntr a l A si a o r P e rsia is fo un d in th e c o mmon
o rigin of th e n a m e s u s e d. T h e S a n s k rit n a m e s " b h a n g a " a n d " g a n gik a , " slig htly
mo difie d to " b h a n g " a n d " g a nj a , " a r e still a p pli e d to th e d ru g s, a n d th e ro ots of
th e s e w o r d s, " a n d " a n d " a n, " r e c u r in th e n a m e s of h e mp in a ll of th e In d oE u ro p e a n a n d mo d e rn S e mitic l a n g u a g e s, a s b h a n g , g a nj a , h a nf, h a m p , h e mp ,
c h a nv r e , c a n a mo, k a nn a b , c a nn a bis. (D e C a n d olle , A lp h on s e . O rigin of
C ultiv a t e d Pla nts, p. 143, 1886)
HEMP IN INDIA
N o rth e rn In di a h a s b e e n r e g a rd e d b y s o m e w rit e rs a s th e h o m e of th e
h e mp pl a nt, b ut it s e e ms to h a v e b e e n u n k no w n in a ny fo r m in In dia b efo r e th e
e ig hth c e ntu ry, a n d it is no w thou g ht to h a v e b e e n intro d u c e d th e r e first a s a
fib e r pl a nt. It is still c ultiv a t e d to a limit e d e xt e nt fo r fib e r in K a sh mir a n d in th e
c ool, moist v a lle ys of th e Him a la y a s, b ut in th e w a r m e r pl a in s r e gions it is g ro w n
a lmost e x clusiv e ly fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of th e d ru g s. (W a tt, Sir G e o rg e .
C o mm e r ci a l P ro d u c ts of In dia , p . 253, 1908.) H e m p w a s n ot k no w n to th e
H e b r e w s no r to th e a n c i e nt E g y pti a n s, b ut in m e die v a l tim e s it w a s intro d u c e d
into N o rth Afri c a , w h e r e it h a s b e e n c ultiv a t e d only fo r th e d ru g. It is k no w n in
Mo ro c c o a s " kif, " a n d a s m a ll fo r m, 1 to 3 f e e t hig h, c ultiv a t e d th e r e h a s b e e n
d e s c rib e d a s a distin c t v a ri e ty, C a nn a bis s a tiv a kif. (D e C a n d oll e , A lp hon s e .
P ro d ro mu s, v. 16, p t. 1, p .31,1869.)
185
INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE
According to Herodotus (about 450 B.C.), the Thracians and Scythians,
beyon d th e C a s pia n S e a , u s e d h e mp , a n d it is p ro b a ble th a t th e S c ythi a n s
intro d u c e d th e pl a nt into E u ro p e in th e ir w e st w a rd mig r a tion, a b out 1500 B . C .,
tho u g h it s e e ms to h a v e r e m ain e d a lmo st un k n o w n to th e G r e e k s a n d R o m a n s
u ntil th e b e gin nin g of th e C h ristia n e r a . T h e e a rli e st d efinit e r e c o rd of h e mp in
E u ro p e is th e st a t e m e nt th a t " Hie ro II, K in g of Sy r a c us e (270 B . C .), b ou g ht
h e mp in G a ul fo r th e c o r d a g e of his v e ss els. " (D e C a n d olle , A lp h on s e . O rigin of
C ultiv a t e d Pla nts, p. 148, 1886.) F ro m th e r e c o rd s of T r a g u s (1539 A . D.), h e mp
in th e sixt e e nth c e ntu ry h a d b e c o m e wid e ly distrib ut e d in E u ro p e . It w a s
c ultiv a t e d fo r fib e r, a n d its s e e d s w e r e c oo k e d with b a rl e y a n d oth e r g r a in s a n d
e a t e n, thou g h it w a s fou n d d a n g e ro us to e a t to o mu c h o r to o fr e q u e ntly.
Dio s c o rid e s c a lle d th e pl a nt C a nn a bis s a tiv a , a n a m e it h a s c o ntin u e d to b e a r to
th e p r e s e nt tim e , a n d h e w rot e of its u s e in " m a kin g th e sto ut e st c o r d s " a n d a lso
of its m e di c in al p ro p e rti e s. ( (Dio s c o rid e s. Me di c a M a t e ria , li b ri s e x, p . 147,
1537.) N e a rly all of th e e a rly h e r b a lists a n d b ot a ni c a l w rit e rs of E u ro p e m e ntio n
h e mp , b ut th e r e is no r e c o r d of a n y fu rth e r intro d u c tio n of im p o rt a n c e in th e
fib e r in d u stry u ntil th e l a st c e ntu ry.
INTRODUCTION OF CHINESE HEMP INTO EUROPE
In 1846 M. H e b e rt s e nt fro m C hin a to th e Mus e u m a t P a ris s o m e s e e d s of
th e " tsin g-m a " g r e a t h e m p , of C hin a . Pla nts fro m this s e e d, g ro w n a t P a ris b y
M.L. Vilmo rin, a tt a in e d a h e ig ht of mo r e th a n 15 fe e t, b ut did not p ro d u c e s e e d s.
In th e s a m e y e a r M. Itie r s e nt fro m C hin a to M. D e lile , of th e G a rd e n a t
Montp e llie r, F r a n c e , s e e d s of a simila r kin d of h e mp . T h e s e s e e d s were
distributed in the southern part of France, where the plants not only grew tall,
some of them measuring 21 feet, but th e y a lso p ro d u c e d m a tu r e s e e d s. M. D e lile
c a lle d this v a rie ty C a nn a bis c hin e nsis (D e lile , R a ff e n a u. In d e x s e min u m h o rtl
b ot a nic i Mon s p eli e n sis. A nn. S ci. N a t. B ot., v. 12, p . 365, 1849.) a n d th e o n e
fro m th e s e e d s s e nt b y M. H e b e rt h e c a lle d C . gig a nt e a . (Vilmo rin, L. C h a n v r e d e
C hin e . R e v. H o rt. 5: s. 3, p . 109, 1851) T h e s e t w o fo r ms of h e mp w e r e r e g a rd e d
a s th e s a m e b y M.L. Vilmo rin, w h o st a t e s th a t th e y diff e r v e ry mu c h in h a bit fro m
th e c o mmon h e mp of E u ro p e , w hic h w a s sh o rt e r a n d le ss v a lu a ble fo r fib e r
p ro d u c tion. W e a r e a lso told th a t this c h a nv r e d e C hin e did n ot a p p e a r to b e th e
s a m e a s th e c h a nv r e d e Pi e d mont, (5-fo otnot e missin g fro m tr a ns c rip tion, p .
290) th e t a ll h e m p of e a st e rn F r a n c e a n d n o rth e rn It a ly, th e o rigin of w hic h h a s
s o m e tim e s b e e n r e fe rr e d to this intro d u c tion, b ut this m a y h a v e o rigin a t e d in a
p r e viou s intro d u c tion, sin c e C a n n a bis c hin e nsis is m e ntio n e d a s h a vin g b e e n in
th e B ot a nic al G a r d e n a t Vi e n n a in 1827. In th e s a m e st a t e m e nt, ho w e v e r, C .
s a tiv a p e d e mont a n a is d e s c rib e d a s a distin c t v a ri e ty. ( D e C a n d olle , A lp h on s e .
P ro d ro mu s, v. 16, p t. 1, p .31, 1869.) P a rti c ula r a tt e ntion is c a ll e d to th e
intro d u c tion of this l a rg e C hin e s e h e mp into E u ro p e , sin c e it w a s d o u btl e ss fro m
th e s a m e sou r c e a s th e b e st h e mp s e e d no w b rou g ht fro m C hin a to th e U nit e d
St a t e s.
186
INTRODUCTION INTO SOUTH AMERICA
H e m p fro m S p a in w a s intro d u c e d into C hil e a b out 1545. (H u s b a n d s, J o s e
D. U .S. D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e , B u r e a u of Pl a nt In d u stry, B ulle tin 153, p . 42,
1909.) It h a s b e e n la r g e ly g ro w n in th a t c o untry, b ut a t p r e s e nt its c ultiv a tio n is
c onfin e d c hi efly to th e f e rtil e la n d s in th e v a lle y of th e Rio A c on c a g u a , b e t w e e n
V a lp a r a is o a n d Lo s A n d e s, w h e r e th e r e a r e la r g e c o r d a g e a n d t win e mills. T h e
fib e r is a ll c on su m e d in th e s e mills.
INTRODUCTION INTO NORTH AMERICA
H e m p w a s intro d u c e d into N e w E n gl a n d so on a ft e r th e P u rit a n
s e ttle m e nts w e r e e st a blish e d , a n d th e f a c t th a t it g r e w " t wi c e so hig h " a s it did
in old E n gl a n d w a s c it e d a s e vid e n c e of th e su p e rio r fe rtility of th e s oil of N e w
E n gla n d. (Mo rton, T h om a s. N e w E n glish C a n a a n, p . 64, 1632. In F o r c e , P e t e r,
T r a c ts a n d O th e r P a p e rs, v. 2, 1838.) A f e w y e a rs la t e r a w rit e r in Vir ginia
r e c o r d s th e st a t e m e nt th a t " T h e y b e gin to pl a nt mu c h H e m p e a n d F la x w hic h
th e y fin d g ro w e s w e ll a n d g o o d . " (Virgini a , p rint e d fo r Ri c h a rd Wo d e n oth, 1649.
In F o r c e , P e t e r, T r a c ts a n d O th e r P a p e rs, v. 2, 1838.) T h e c ultiv a tio n of h e mp in
th e N e w E n gl a n d c oloni e s, w hil e c o ntin u e d for s o m e tim e in Ma ss a c h us e tts a n d
C o nn e c ti c ut, did not a tt a in a s mu c h im p o rt a n c e a s th e c ultiv a tion of fl a x fo r
s u p plyin g fib e r fo r h ous e hold in d u stry. In th e S o uth h e m p r e c e iv e d mo r e
a tt e ntion, e s p e c i ally fro m th e Virgini a L e gisla tu r e , w hic h p a ss e d m a n y a c ts
d e sig n e d to p ro mot e th e in d ustry, b ut a ll in v a in. (Mo o r e , B r e nt. A Stu d y of th e
P a st, th e P r e s e nt, a n d th e P ossibiliti e s of th e H e m p In d u stry in K e ntu c k y, p . 14,
1905.)
T h e c ultiv a tion of h e mp s e e ms to h a v e b e e n a flo u ris hin g in d u stry in
L a n c a st e r C ou nty, P a ., b efo r e th e R e v olution. A n el a b o r a t e a c c ou nt of th e
m e th o d s th e n e mplo y e d in g ro win g h e mp , w ritt e n a b out 1775 b y J a m e s Wrig ht,
of C olu m bia , P a ., (N e w E r a ,
L a n c a st e r, P a ., J u n e 25, 1905.) w a s
r e c e ntly p u blis h e d a s a n histo ri c a l
d o c u m e nt. T h e m e tho d s d e s c rib e d
fo r p r e p a rin g th e l a n d w e r e e q u a l to
th e b e st mo d e rn p r a c tic e , b ut th e
h e mp w a s p ull e d b y h a n d inst e a d of
c ut. V a riou s kin d s of m a c hin e b r a k e s
h a d b e e n tri e d , b ut th e h a d a ll " giv e n
W a y to o n e sim ple B r e a k of a
p a rti c ula r C on stru c tion, w hic h w a s
first inv e nt e d & m a d e U s e of in this
c ou ntry. " T h e b rie f d e s c riptio n
in di c a t e s th e c o mmo n h a n d b r a k e
USDA Workers With Hemp Bundles
still in u s e in K e ntu c k y.
1913 Yearbook
187
EARLY CULTIVATION IN KENTUCKY
T h e first c ro p of h e mp in K e ntu c k y w a s r ais e d b y Mr. A r c hib a ld M c N e il,
n e a r D a n vill e , in 1775. (Mo o r e , B r e nt. A Stu d y of th e P a st, th e P r e s e nt, a n d th e
P o ssibilitie s of th e H e m p In d u stry in K e ntu c k y, p . 16, 1905.) It w a s fou n d th a t
h e mp g r e w w ell in th e fe rtile soils of th e blu e g r a ss c ou ntry, a n d th e in d u stry
w a s d e v elo p e d th e r e to a g r e a t e r e xt e nt th a n it h a d b e e n in th e e a st e rn
c oloni e s. Whil e it w a s dis c ontinu e d in M a ss a c hu s e tts, Vir ginia , a n d
P e nn sylv a nia , it h a s c ontinu e d in K e ntu c k y to th e p r e s e nt tim e . In th e e a rly d a ys
of this in d u stry in K e ntu c k y, fib e r w a s p ro d u c e d fo r th e h o m e s p un c loth w o v e n
b y th e wiv e s a n d d a u g ht e rs of th e pion e e r s e ttle rs, a n d a n e xp o rt tr a d e b y w a y
of N e w O rle a n s w a s d e v e lo p e d . In 1802 th e r e w e r e t w o e xt e n siv e ro p e w a lk s in
L e xin g ton, K y., a n d th e r e w a s a nn oun c e d " a m a c hin e , mo v e d b y a ho rs e o r a
c u rr e nt of w a t e r, c a p a bl e , a c c o rdin g to w h a t th e in v e nto r s a id , to b r e a k a n d
c l e a n e ig ht thou s a n d w e ig ht of h e mp p e r d a y. " (Mic h a ux, F . A n d r e . T r a v e ls to
th e w e st of th e A lle g h a ni e s, p . 152, 1805. In T h w a it e s, E a rly W e st e rn T r a v e ls, v.
3, p . 200, 1904.) H e m p w a s l a t e r e xt e n siv e ly us e d fo r m a kin g c otton-b a le
c o v e rin g. C otton b a le s w e r e a ls o b o un d with h e mp ro p e until iron tie s w e r e
intro d u c e d , a b out 1865. T h e r e w a s a d e m a n d fo r th e b e tt e r g r a d e s of h e mp fo r
s a ilc loth a n d fo r c o r d a g e fo r th e N a vy, a n d th e in d u stry w a s c a rrie d o n mo r e
e xt e nsiv e ly fro m 1840 to 1860 th a n it h a s b e e n sin c e .
EXTENSION OF THE INDUSTRY TO OTHER STATES
H e m p w a s first g ro w n in Misso u ri a b out 1835, a n d in 1840 1,600 to ns
w e r e p ro d u c e d in th a t St a t e . F o u r y e a rs l a t e r th e out p ut h a d in c r e a s e d to
12,500 ton s, a n d it w a s thou g ht th a t Misso u ri w ould e x c el K e ntu c k y in th e
p ro d u c tion of this fib e r. With th e un s a tisfa c tory m e th o d s of c le a nin g th e fib e r on
h a n d b r a k e s a n d th e diffic ultie s of tr a n s p o rtin g th e fib e r to th e e a st e rn m a r k e ts,
h e mp p ro v e d l e ss p rofit a bl e th a n oth e r c ro p s, a n d th e in d u stry w a s fin a lly
a b a n d o n e d a b o ut 1890. H e mp w a s first g ro w n a t C h a m p a ig n, Ill., a b out 1875. A
c o rd a g e mill w a s e st a blish e d th e r e fo r m a kin g t win e s fro m th e fib e r, w hic h w a s
p r e p a r e d in th e fo r m of lo n g to w b y a l a rg e m a c hin e b r a k e . T h e c o rd a g e mill
b u rn e d a n d th e in d u stry w a s dis c ontinu e d in 1902 b e c a u s e th e r e w a s n o
s a tisfa c to ry m a r k e t fo r th e kin d of to w p ro d u c e d.
In N e b r a s k a , h e m p w a s first g ro w n a t F r e mont in 1887 b y m e n fro m
C h a mp aig n, Ill. A bin d e r-t win e pla nt w a s b uilt, b ut o win g to th e lo w p ri c e of
sis a l, mo r e suit a bl e fo r bin d e r t win e , mo st of th e h e mp w a s s old to e a st e rn mills
to b e us e d in c o mm e r ci a l t win e s. A ft e r e xp e rim e ntin g with m a c hin e b r a k e s th e
c o mp a n y b rou g ht h a n d b r a k e s fro m K e ntu c k y a n d c olo r e d l a b o r e rs to o p e r a t e
th e m. T h e la b o r e rs did n ot st a y, a n d th e w o r k w a s dis c o ntin u e d in 1900. S o m e
of th e m e n w ho h a d b e e n c onn e c t e d with th e c o mp a n y a t F r e mont b e g a n
g ro win g h e mp a t H a v e lo c k , n e a r Lin c oln, in 1895. A m a c hin e fo r m a kin g lo n g
to w , imp rov e d so m e w h a t fro m th e on e a t C h a m p a ig n, w a s b uilt. F urth e r
im p rov e m e nts w e r e m a d e in th e m a c hin e a n d a ls o in th e m e th o d s of h a n dlin g
188
th e c ro p, b ut th e in d u stry w a s dis c o ntinu e d in 1910, o win g to th e la c k of a
s a tisfa c to ry m a r k e t fo r th e kin d of to w p ro d u c e d. H e mp w a s first g ro w n o n a
c o mm e r c ia l s c a le in C a lifo rni a a t G ridl e y, in B utt e C ou nty, b y Mr. J o hn H e a n e y,
w ho h a d g ro w n it a t C h a m p a ig n a n d w ho d e vis e d th e m a c hin e u s e d th e r e fo r
m a kin g lon g to w. Mr. H e a n e y b uilt a m a c hin e with so m e imp ro v e m e nts a t
G ridle y, a n d a ft e r th r e e dis a stro us inun d a tion s fro m th e F e a th e r Riv e r mov e d to
C o u rtl a n d , in th e lo w e r S a c r a m e nto V a lle y, w h e r e th e r e c la im e d la n d s a r e
p rot e c t e d b y dik e s. T h e w o r k is no w b e in g c ontinu e d a t Rio Vist a , in S ol a n o
C o unty, un d e r mo r e fa v o r a ble c on ditio ns a n d with a m a c hin e still fu rth e r
im p rov e d . T h e h e mp fib e r p ro d u c e d in C a liforni a is v e ry stron g a n d is g e n e r a lly
lig ht e r in c olo r th a n th a t p ro d u c e d in K e ntu c k y. In 1912 h e mp w a s first
c ultiv a t e d on a c o mm e r c i a l s c a l e un d e r irrig a tion a t L e rd o, n e a r B a k e rsfie ld ,
C a l., a n d a la r g e r a c r e a g e w a s g ro w n th e r e in 1913. T h e s e e d fo r b oth c ro p s
w a s o b t a in e d in K e ntu c k y.
IN T R O D U C TIO N O F C HIN E S E H E MP IN T O AM E RI C A
In 1857 th e first C hin e s e h e m p s e e d w a s imp ort e d . It m e t with su c h fa v o r
th a t s o m e of this s e e d is s a id to h a v e b ro u g ht $10 p e r q u a rt. (Moo r e , B r e nt. T h e
H e m p In d u stry in K e ntu c k y, p p . 60-61, 1905.) Sin c e th a t tim e th e c ommo n h e mp
of E u ro p e a n o rigin h a s giv e n pla c e in this c o untry to th e l a rg e r a n d b e tt e r ty p e s
fro m C hin a .
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
T h e o rigin a l ho m e of th e h e m p pla nt w a s in A si a , a n d th e e vid e n c e p oints
to c e ntr a l A si a , o r th e r e gion b e t w e e n th e Him a l a y a s a n d Sib e ri a . Histo ric a l
e vid e n c e must b e a c c e p t e d r a th e r th a n th e c oll e c tio n of wild s p e c im e n s, fo r
h e mp r e a dily b e c o m e s n a tu r a liz e d , a n d it is no w foun d g ro win g witho ut
c ultiv a tion in a ll p a rts of th e w o rld w h e r e it h a s b e e n intro d u c e d. H e m p is
a b u n d a nt a s a wild pl a nt in m a n y lo c alitie s in w e st e rn Missou ri, Io w a , a n d in
s outh e rn Minn e s ot a , a n d it is oft e n fo un d a s a ro a d sid e w e e d th ro u g h out th e
Mid dle W e st. D e C a n d oll e (D e C a n d oll e , A lp ho ns e . O rigin of C ultiv a t e d Pla nts, p.
148, 1886.) w rit e s of its o rigin a s follo w s:
T h e s p e c ie s h a s b e e n fo un d wild , b e yo n d a d ou bt, s outh of th e C a s pia n
S e a (D e B un g e); in Sib e ri a , n e a r th e Irty a c h; a n d in th e D e s e rt of K irg hiz ,
b e y on d L a k e B aik a l, in D a hu ria (G o v e rn m e nt of Ir k utsh). It is foun d th rou g ho ut
c e ntr a l a n d so uth e rn Ru ssia a n d south of th e C a u c a s us, b ut its wild n a tu r e h e r e
is l e ss c e rt a in. I d o u bt w h e th e r it is in dig e no us in P e rsi a , fo r th e G r e e k s a n d
H e b r e w s w ould h a v e k n o w n of it e a rli e r.
H e m p is n o w c ultiv a t e d fo r th e p ro d u c tion of fib e r in C hin a , M a n c huri a ,
J a p a n, n o rth e rn In dia , T u r k e y, Ru ssia , A u stria-H un g a ry, It a ly, F r a n c e , B e lgiu m,
G e r m a n y, S w e d e n, C hil e , a n d in th e U nit e d St a t e s. It is g ro w n fo r th e p ro d u c tion
of th e d ru g s b h a n g, g a nj a , kif, m a rihu a n a , h a s h e e sh, e t c ., in th e w a r m, a rid, o r
189
s e mi a rid c lim a t e s of In di a , P e rsia , T u r k e y, A lg e ria , c e ntr a l a n d so uth e rn A fric a ,
a n d in Me xic o, a n d fo r th e p ro d u c tion of s e e d fo r oil in C hin a a n d M a n c h u ria . In
th e U nit e d St a t e s h e mp is no w c ultiv a t e d in th e blu e g r a ss r e gion of K e ntu c k y
within a r a diu s of 50 mil e s of L e xin gton; in th e r e gio n of W a u p un, Wis.; in
n o rth e rn In dia n a ; n e a r Lim a , O hio; a n d a t L e rd o a n d Rio Vist a , C a l. T h e r e a r e
n u m e rou s s m a ll e xp e rim e nt a l pla ts in oth e r pla c e s. T h e p rin c ip al c ou ntri e s
p ro d u c in g h e m p fib e r fo r e xp o rt a r e Ru ssi a , It a ly, H un g a ry, a n d R oum a nia .
C hin a a n d J a p a n p ro d u c e h e mp fib e r of e x c ell e nt q u a lity, b ut it is n e a rly all us e d
fo r h o m e c on su m ption. H e mp is not c ultiv a t e d fo r fib e r in th e T ro pic s o r in a n y
of th e w a r m c ou ntri e s. T h e histo ric a l distrib utio n of h e m p, a s n e a rly a s m a y b e
tr a c e d fro m th e r e c o rd s, a n d th e a r e a s w h e r e h e mp is no w c ultiv a t e d a r e
in di c a t e d in th e a c c o mp a n yin g m a p , fig u r e 6.
VARIETIES
H e m p, c ultiv a t e d fo r thr e e diff e r e nt p ro d u c ts--fib e r fro m th e b a st, oil
fro m th e s e e d s, a n d r e sino us d ru g s fro m th e flo w e rs a n d le a v e s--h a s d e v e lo p e d
into th r e e r a th e r distin c t ty p e s o r g rou p s of fo r ms. T h e e xtr e m e , o r mo r e ty pi c a l,
fo r ms of e a c h g rou p h a v e b e e n d e s c rib e d a s diff e r e nt s p e c ie s, b ut th e
p r e s e n c e of int e r g r a din g fo r ms a n d th e f a c t th a t th e ty p e s d o not r e m a in
distin c t w h e n c ultiv a t e d un d e r n e w c on ditions m a k e it im p o ssibl e to r e g a r d
th e m a s v alid s p e c i e s. T h e r e a r e f e w r e c o g niz e d v a rie ti e s in e ith e r g rou p . L e ss
th a n 20 v a rie ti e s of fib e r-p ro d u c in g h e m p a r e k n o w n, a lth ou g h h e m p h a s b e e n
c ultiv a t e d fo r mo r e th a n 40 c e ntu ri e s, o r mu c h lon g e r th a n e ith e r c otto n o r
c o rn, b oth of w hic h no w h a v e hun d r e d s of n a m e d v a rie tie s.
CHINA
T h e o rigin a l ho m e of th e h e m p pla nt w a s in C hin a , a n d mo r e v a rie tie s a r e
fou n d th e r e th a n e ls e w h e r e . It is c ultiv a t e d for fib e r in n e a rly a ll p a rts of th e
C hin e s e R e p u bli c , e x c e pt in th e e xtr e m e so uth, a n d o v e r a wid e r a n g e of
diff e r e n c e s in soil a n d c lim a t e with littl e int e r c h a n g e of s e e d , thu s fa v o rin g th e
d e v e lo p m e nt a n d p e rp e tu a tio n of v a rie t a l diffe r e n c e s. T h e v a rie ty c a ll e d " t am a " (g r e a t h e m p) is c ultiv a t e d c hi efly in th e p ro vin c e s of C h e kia n g , K i a n g su,
a n d F u ki e n, s outh of th e Y a n gt z e . In th e ri c h lo wla n d s oils, oft e n in rot a tion with
ri c e , b ut not irrig a t e d, a n d with a w a r m e r a n d lo n g e r g ro win g s e a s on th a n in
K e ntu c k y, this h e mp a tt a in s a h e ig ht of 10 to 15 f e e t. T h e s e e d is d a r k c olo r e d,
u su a lly w e ll mottl e d , sm a ll, w e ig hin g a b out 1.2 g r a ms p e r hu n d r e d . T h e
int e rno d e s of th e m a in st e m a r e 6 to 10 in c h e s lon g; th e b r a n c h e s lon g a n d
sl e n d e r, u su a lly d roo pin g a t th e e n d s; th e l e a v e s la r g e ; a n d th e pistill a t e flo w e rs
in s m a ll c lust e rs. S e e d b rou g ht fro m C hin a to K e ntu c k y in r e c e nt y e a rs is mostly
of this v a ri e ty. Wh e n first intro d u c e d it is too lo n g in m a tu rin g to p e rmit a ll of th e
s e e d s to rip e n. T h e most imp o rt a nt fib e r pla nt of w e st e rn C hin a is th e v a rie ty of
h e mp c a lle d " ho a-m a . " It is g ro w n in th e p ro vin c e of S z e c h w a n a n d a s a wint e r
c ro p on th e pl a in s of C h e n gtu in th a t p ro vin c e . It is s ho rt e r a n d mo r e c o m p a c t in
its h a bit of g ro w th a n d e a rlie r in m a tu rin g th a n th e t a-m a of th e lo wla n d s.
190
A v a rie ty c a ll e d " s h a n-m a-ts e " is c ultiv a t e d in th e mount a in v all e ys in th e
p ro vin c e s of S h a n si a n d C hihli, in n o rth e rn C hin a . Its fib e r is r e g a r d e d a s th e
b e st in N o rth C hin a , a n d in so m e r e s p e c ts a s s u p e rio r to th a t of t a-m a , tho u g h
th e yie ld is u su ally s m all e r. T h e pl a nts a tt a in a h e ig ht of 6 to 9 fe e t, with a v e ry
thin w oo d y sh e ll, sho rt a s c e n din g b r a n c h e s, r a th e r s m a ll le a v e s, a n d l a rg e r
s e e d s in la rg e r c lust e rs th a n tho s e of t a-m a . Im p o rt e d s e e d of this v a ri e ty,
g ro w n in a tria l pla t in K e ntu c k y, p ro d u c e d pla nts s m a lle r in siz e a n d m a tu rin g
e a rlie r th a n K e ntu c k y h e mp . In th e mount a ins b oth n o rth a n d s outh of Ic h a n g in
c e ntr a l C hin a a v a rie ty c a lle d " t’a n g-m a " (c old h e mp) is c ultiv a t e d p rim a rily fo r
th e p ro d u c tion of s e e d s, fro m w hi c h oil is e xp r e ss e d. It is a v e ry ro b u st fo r m,
with st a lk s 6 to 12 f e e t hig h a n d 2 to 4 in c h e s in di a m e t e r. T h e s e st a lk s a r e us e d
fo r fu e l, a n d o c c a sion ally a littl e fib e r is strip p e d off fo r d o m e sti c u s e .
[Fig. 18 Map in original]
In M a n c hu ri a t w o distin c t kin d s of h e mp a r e c ultiv a t e d . O n e , c a lle d
" h sie n-m a , " v e ry simila r to th e sh a n-m a-ts e of n o rth e rn C hin a , is g ro w n fo r fib e r.
It a tt a in s a h e ig ht of 8 to 9 f e e t, a n d r e q uir e s n e a rly 150 d a ys fro m s e e din g to
full m a tu rity. T h e oth e r, c all e d " sh e m-m a , " is g ro w n fo r oils e e d p ro d u c tion. It
a tt a in s a h e ig ht of 3 to 5 fe e t a n d is rip e with fully m a tu r e d s e e d s in le ss th a n
100 d a ys. T h e b r a n c h e s u su ally r e m a in un d e v e lo p e d, so th a t th e c lust e rs of
s e e d s a r e b o rn e in c om p a c t h e a d s a t th e to p s of th e sim pl e st a lk s. (Pl. XLII,
fig.1.) It is s aid th a t in M a n c hu ri a th e s e t w o fo r ms r e m a in distin c t without
c ro ssin g o r p ro d u c in g a n y int e rg r a din g fo r ms. T h e C hin e s e n a m e " m a " (fig . 17),
o rigin a lly a p pli e d o nly to th e tru e h e m p ( C a nn a bis s a tiv a ), is no w u s e d a s a
g e n e r a l t e r m to d e sig n a t e n e a rly a ll t e xtil e pla nts in C hin a . (B r e ts c hn e id e r, E .
B ot a ni c u m Sinic u m, p . 203, 1893.) T his g e n e r a l us e le a d s to n e a rly a s mu c h
c onfu sion a mo n g E n glis h-s p e a kin g p e o ple in C hin a a s d o e s th e u nfortun a t e u s e
of th e n a m e h e m p a s a sy non y m fo r fib e r in this c o untry. T h e st a min a t e h e mp
pl a nt is c a ll e d " si-m a , " a n d th e pistill a t e pla nt " tsu-m a . " F l a x, c ultiv a t e d to a
limit e d e xt e nt in n o rth e rn C hin a , is c a ll e d " si a o-m a " (s m a ll h e m p), b ut this n a m e
is a ls o a p pli e d to s m a ll pl a nts of tru e h e mp . R a mi e , c ultiv a t e d in c e ntr a l a n d
s outh e rn C hin a , is " c h’u-m a " o r " tsu-m a . " C hin a jut e , c ultiv a t e d in c e ntr a l a n d
n o rth e rn C hin a a n d in M a n c hu ri a a n d C ho s e n ( K o r e a), is c a lle d " tsin g-m a , " o r
" c hin g-m a , " a n d its fib e r, e xp o rt e d fro m Tie ntsin, is c a lle d " p e i-m a . " In di a jut e ,
c ultiv a t e d in so uth e rn C hin a a n d T a iw a n, is c a ll e d " oi-m a . " T h e n a m e " c hih-m a "
is a ls o a p pli e d in C hin a to s e s a m e , w hic h is not a fib e r pl a nt.
JAPAN
H e m p, c a lle d " a s a " in th e J a p a n e s e l a n g u a g e , is c ultiv a t e d c hi efly in th e
p ro vin c e s o r distric ts of Hiro shim a , T o c higi, S him a n e , Iw a t e , a n d Aid z u, a n d to a
l e ss e xt e nt in H o k us hu (H o k k a id o) in th e no rth a n d K iu shu in th e s outh. It is
c ultiv a t e d c hie fly in th e mou nt ain v a lle ys, o r in th e no rth on th e int e rio r pl a in s,
w h e r e it is to o c ool fo r c otton a n d ri c e a n d w h e r e it is d rie r th a n o n th e c o a st a l
pl ain. T h a t g ro w n in Hiro s him a , in th e south, is t all, with a r a th e r c o a rs e fib e r;
th a t in T o c higi, th e p rin c ip a l h e mp-p ro d u c in g p ro vin c e , is sho rt e r, 5 to 7 f e e t
191
hig h, with th e b e st a n d fin e st fib e r, a n d in H o k u sh u it is still sho rt e r. S e e d s fro m
Hiro shim a , S him a n e , Aid z u, T o c higi, a n d Iw a t e w e r e tri e d b y th e U nit e d St a t e s
D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e in 1901 a n d 1902. T h e pl a nts sh o w e d no m a r k e d
v a ri e t al diffe r e n c e s. T h e y w e r e a ll s m a ll e r th a n th e b e st K e ntu c k y h e m p . T h e
s e e d s v a rie d fro m lig ht g r a yish b ro w n, 5 millim e t e rs (1/5 in c h) lon g, to d a r k
g r a y, 4 millim e t e rs (1/6 in c h) lon g . T h e la r g e st pl a nts in e v e ry tria l pla t w e r e
fro m Hiro shim a s e e d s, a n d th e s e s e e d s w e r e l a r g e r a n d lig ht e r c olor e d th a n
tho s e of a n y oth e r v a rie ty e x c e pt S him a n e , th e s e e d s of w hi c h w e r e slig htly
l a r g e r a n d th e pla nts slig htly s m a ll e r.
RUSSIA
H e m p is c ultiv a t e d th ro u g h out th e g r e a t e r p a rt of R ussia , a n d it is on e of
th e p rin c ip a l c ro p s in th e p rovin c e s of O r e l, K u rs k, S a m a r a , S mol e ns k , T ul a ,
V o ron e z h, a n d Pola n d . T w o distin c t ty p e s, simil a r to th e t a ll fib e r h e m p a n d th e
s ho rt oil-s e e d h e m p of M a n c hu ri a , a r e c ultiv a t e d, a n d th e r e a r e d ou btl e ss m a n y
lo c a l v a ri e tie s in isola t e d distric ts w h e r e th e r e is littl e int e r c h a n g e of s e e d . T h e
c ro p is r a th e r c ru d e ly c ultiv a t e d , with n o a tt e m p t a t s e e d s el e c tion o r
im p rov e m e nt, a n d th e pl a nts a r e g e n e r a lly s ho rt e r a n d c o a rs e r th a n th e h e mp
g ro w n in K e ntu c k y. T h e sh o rt oil-s e e d h e mp with sle n d e r st e ms, a b o ut 30
in c h e s hig h, b e a rin g c o m p a c t clust e rs of s e e d s a n d m a tu rin g in 60 to 90 d a ys, is
of littl e v a lu e fo r fib e r p ro d u c tion, b ut th e e xp e rim e nt al pla ts, g ro w n fro m s e e d
im p o rt e d fro m Ru ssia , in di c a t e th a t it m a y b e v a lu a ble a s a n oil-s e e d c ro p to b e
h a rv e st e d a n d th r a s h e d in th e s a m e m a n n e r a s oil-s e e d fla x.
HUNGARY
T h e h e mp in H u n g a ry h a s r e c e iv e d mo r e a tt e ntion in r e c e nt y e a rs th a n
th a t in Ru ssi a , a n d this h a s r e sult e d in a b e tt e r ty p e of pla nts. A n e xp e rim e nt a l
pl a t g ro w n a t W a shin gto n fro m H un g a ria n s e e d a tt a in e d a h e ig ht of 6 to 10 f e e t
in th e s e e d ro w . T h e int e rn o d e s w e r e r a th e r sh o rt, th e b r a n c h e s num e rou s,
c u rv e d u p w a rd , a n d b e a rin g c ro w d e d s e e d clu st e rs a n d s m a ll l e a v e s. A b out
o n e-thir d of th e pla nts h a d d a r k-p u rpl e o r c o p p e r-c olo r e d folia g e a n d w e r e
mo r e c o mp a c t in h a bit th a n th os e with n o r m a l g r e e n foli a g e .
ITALY
T h e hig h e st-p ri c e d h e m p fib e r in th e m a r k e ts of e ith e r A m e ric a o r
E u ro p e is p ro d u c e d in It aly, (B ru c k, W e rn e r F . Stu die n u b e r d e n H a nfb a u in
It ali e n, p . 7, 1911.) b ut it is o b t a in e d fro m pl a nts simil a r to th o s e in K e ntu c k y.
T h e hig h e r p ric e of th e fib e r is d u e not to s u p e rio r pl a nts, b ut to w a t e r r e ttin g
a n d to in c r e a s e d c a r e a n d la b o r in th e p r e p a r a tio n of th e fib e r. F ou r v a ri e tie s
a r e c ultiv a t e d in It a ly:
(1) " B olo g n a , " o r g r e a t h e mp , c a ll e d in F r a n c e " c h a n v r e d e Pie d mont, " is
g ro w n in n o rth e rn It a ly in th e p ro vin c e s of B olo g n a , F e rr a r a , Ro vig a , a n d
Mo d e n a . In th e ri c h a llu via l soils a n d un d e r th e int e n siv e c ultiv a tio n th e r e
p r a c tic e d this v a ri e ty a v e r a g e s n e a rly 12 f e e t in h e ig ht, b ut it is s a id to
192
d e t e rio r a t e r a pidly w h e n c ultiv a t e d els e w h e r e . (2) " C a nn a p a pic ol a , " s m a ll
h e mp , a tt a inin g a h eig ht of 4 to 7 fe e t, with a r a th e r sle n d e r r e d dish st alk , is
c ultiv a t e d in th e v a ll e y of th e A rn o in th e d e p a rtm e nt of T u s c a n y. (D o d g e ,
C h a rle s Ric h a rd s. C ultu r e of h e mp in E u ro p e . U .S. D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e ,
F ib e r In v e stig a tion s, R e p o rt N o. 11, p . 5, 1898.) (3) " N e a p olit a n, " l a rg e s e e d e d .
(4) " N e a p olit a n, " s m a ll s e e d e d.
T h e t w o v a ri e ti e s of N e a p olit a n h e mp a r e c ultiv a t e d in th e vi c inity of
N a pl e s, a n d e v e n so fa r u p on th e sid e s of V e s u viu s th a t fie ld s of h e m p a r e
o c c a sion ally d e stro y e d b y th e e ru ptio ns of th a t volc a no. S e e d of e a c h of th e s e
It ali a n v a ri e tie s h a s b e e n g ro w n in tria l pl a ts a t W a shin gton, D. C ., a n d
L e xin g ton, K y. T h e B olo g n a , o r Pi e d mont, h e m p in s e e d ro w s a tt a in e d a h e ig ht
of 8 to 11 f e e t, n e a rly a s t all a s K e ntu c k y s e e d h e mp g ro w n fo r c o mp a ris on, b ut
with thic k e r st a lk s, s hort e r a n d mo r e rigid b r a n c h e s, a n d s m a lle r a n d mo r e
d e n s e ly c lu st e r e d le a v e s. T h e s m a ll h e mp , c a n n a p a pi c ola , w a s only 4 to 6 fe e t
hig h. T h e l a rg e-s e e d e d N e a p olit a n w a s 7 to 10 f e e t hig h, s m a ll e r th a n th e
B olo g n a , b ut oth e r wis e mo r e lik e K e ntu c k y h e m p , with mo r e sl e n d e r st a lk s a n d
mo r e o p e n foli a g e . T h e s m a ll s e e d e d N e a p olit a n, with s e e d s w e ig hin g l e ss th a n
1 g r a m p e r 100, r a r e ly e x c e e d e d 4 fe e t in h e ig ht in th e s e rie s of pla ts w h e r e a ll
w e r e trie d.
FRANCE
H e m p is c ultiv a t e d in F r a n c e c hie fly in th e d e p a rtm e nts of S a rth e a n d Illee t-Vil a in e , in th e v all e y of th e L oir e Riv e r. T w o v a ri e tie s a r e g ro w n, th e
Pi e d mo nt, fro m It a li a n s e e d , a n d th e c o mmo n h e mp of E u ro p e . T h e fo r m e r
g ro w s la r g e a n d c o a rs e , tho u g h not a s t a ll a s in th e B olo g n a r e gion, a n d it
p ro d u c e s a r a th e r c o a rs e fib e r s uit a bl e fo r c o a rs e t win e s. T h e la tt e r, s e e d of
w hic h is so w n a t th e r a t e of 1 1/2 to 2 b u s h e ls p e r a c r e , h a s a v e ry sle n d e r st a lk,
r a r e ly mo r e th a n 4 o r 5 f e e t hig h, p ro d u c in g a fin e fla x-lik e fib e r th a t is l a rg e ly
u s e d in w ov e n h e mp lin e n s. T h e c o mmon h e m p of E u ro p e , w hi c h in c lu d e s th e
s ho rt h e mp of F r a n c e , is a ls o c ultiv a t e d to a limit e d e xt e nt in S p a in, B e lgiu m,
a n d G e r m a n y. It g ro w s t a lle r a n d c o a rs e r w h e n so w n le ss thi c kly o n ri c h la n d,
b ut it n e v e r a tt a in s th e siz e of th e B olo g n a ty p e .
CHILE
C hile a n h e mp , o rigin a lly fro m s e e d of th e c o mmo n h e mp of E u ro p e , h a s
d e v e lo p e d in th r e e a n d a h a lf c e ntu rie s into c o a rs e r pl a nts with l a rg e r s e e d s.
Wh e n so w n b ro a d c a st fo r fib e r in C hil e th e pla nts a tt a in a h e ig ht of 6 to 8 f e e t,
a n d w h e n in c h e c k s o r d rills fo r s e e d th e y r e a c h 10 to 12 fe e t. H e mp fro m
C hile a n s e e d (S.P. I. N o. 24307), g ro w n a t th e e xp e rim e nt st a tion s a t L e xin gton,
K y., a n d St. P a ul, Min n., in 1909, w a s 4 to 9 fe e t hig h in th e b ro a d c a st pla ts a n d
a b o ut th e s a m e h eig ht in th e s e e d d rills. It m a tu r e d e a rli e r th a n h e m p of C hin e s e
o rigin. Its l e a v e s w e r e s m a ll a n d c ro w d e d, with th e s e e d c lust e rs n e a r th e e n d s
of sl e n d e r, s p r e a din g b r a n c h e s. T h e fib e r w a s c o a rs e a n d h a rsh. T h e s e e d s
w e r e v e ry l a rg e , 5 to 6 millim e t e rs lon g, a n d w e ig h e d a b o ut 2 g r a ms p e r 100.
193
TURKEY
A v a rie ty of h e m p, int e r m e dia t e b e t w e e n th e fib e r-p ro d u c in g a n d th e
ty pi c a l d ru g-p ro d u cin g ty p e s, is c ultiv a t e d in A si a ti c T u r k e y, e s p e c ia lly in th e
r e gio n of D a m a s c us, a n d to a limit e d e xt e nt in E u ro p e a n T u r k e y. T his v a rie ty,
c a lle d S my rn a , is a b o ut th e p o o r e st v a ri e ty fro m w hi c h fib e r is o b t a in e d . It is
c ultiv a t e d c hie fly fo r th e n a r c otic d ru g , b ut fib e r is a lso o bt a in e d from th e
st alk s. It g ro w s 3 to 6 fe e t hig h, with sho rt int e rno d e s, nu m e ro us a s c e n din g
b r a n c h e s, d e n s e ly c ro w d e d foli a g e of s m a ll le a v e s, a n d a b un d a nt s e e d s
m a tu rin g e a rly. It s e e ms w ell suit e d fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of bir d s e e d , b ut its p oo r
ty p e , c o m bin e d with p rolifi c s e e d p ro d u c tio n, m a k e s it a d a n g e ro us pl a nt to
g ro w in c o nn e c tion with fib e r c ro p s.
INDIA
H e m p is c ultiv a t e d in In dia o v e r a n a r e a of 2,000 to 5,000 a c r e s a nnu a lly
fo r th e p ro d u c tion of th e n a r c otic d ru g s k no w n a s h a shish, c h a rr a s, b h a n g , a n d
g a nja . S o m e fib e r is o bt a in e d , e s p e c ia lly fro m th e st a min a t e pla nts, in th e
n o rth e rn p a rt of K a shmir, w h e r e th e h e mp g ro w n fo r th e p ro d u c tion of c h a rr a s
is mo r e lik e th e fib e r ty p e s th a n th a t g ro w n for b h a n g f a rth e r so uth. Pl a nts
g ro w n b y th e D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e a t W a s hin gton fro m s e e d r e c e iv e d fro m
th e B ot a nic al G a r d e n a t Sib p u r, C a l c utt a , In dia , a g r e e d almo st p e rf e c tly with
th e d e s c rip tion of C a nn a bis in dic a (L a m a r c k . E n c y c lo p e di e , v. 1, p . 695, 1788.)
w ritt e n b y L a m a r c k mor e th a n a c e ntu ry a g o. (Pl. XLII, fig . 2.) T h e y w e r e
distin c tly diff e r e nt in g e n e r a l a p p e a r a n c e from a n y of th e nu m e ro us fo r ms
g ro w n b y this d e p a rtm e nt fro m s e e d o bt a in e d in n e a rly a ll c o untri e s w h e r e
h e mp is c ultiv a t e d , b ut th e diff e r e n c e s in b ot a ni c a l c h a r a c t e rs w e r e le ss
m a r k e d . T h e In dia n h e m p diffe r e d fro m K e ntu c k y h e mp in its mo r e d e n s e ly
b r a n c hin g h a bit, its v e ry d e n s e folia g e , th e l e a v e s mostly a lt e rn a t e , 7 to 11
(u su a lly 9) v e ry n a rro w l e afl e ts, a n d in its n e a rly s olid st a lk. It w a s im p e rfe c tly
dio e c iou s, a c h a r a c t e r n ot o b s e rv e d in a n y oth e r v a ri e ty. Its folia g e r e m a in e d
g r e e n until aft e r th e la st le a v e s of e v e n th e pistilla t e pl a nts of K e ntu c k y h e m p
h a d with e r e d a n d f all e n. It w a s v e ry a ttr a c tiv e a s a n o rn a m e nt a l pl a nt b ut of no
v a lu e fo r fib e r.
ARABIA AND AFRICA
H e m p is so m e w h a t simil a r to th a t of In dia , b ut g e n e r a lly s ho rt e r, is
c ultiv a t e d in A r a bi a , no rth e rn A fric a , a n d a lso b y so m e of th e n a tiv e s in c e ntr a l
a n d south e rn A fric a for th e p ro d u c tion of th e d ru g , b ut n ot fo r fib e r. In A r a bia it
is c a ll e d " t a k rou si, " in Mo ro c c o " kie f " o r " kif, " a n d in S outh Afri c a " d a k k a n. "
N on e of th e s e pl a nts is s uit a ble fo r fib e r p ro d u c tion.
KENTUCKY
P r a c tic a lly a ll of th e h e m p g ro w n in th e U nit e d St a t e s is fro m s e e d
p ro d u c e d in K e ntu c k y. T h e first h e m p g ro w n in K e ntu c k y w a s of E u ro p e a n
o rigin, th e s e e d h a vin g b e e n b ro u g ht to th e c olonie s, e s p e c ia lly Virgini a , a n d
t a k e n fro m th e r e to K e ntu c k y. In r e c e nt y e a rs th e r e h a s b e e n p r a c tic a lly no
194
im p o rt a tio n of s e e d from E u ro p e . R e mn a nts of th e E u ro p e a n ty p e s a r e
o c c a sion ally foun d in th e s ho rt e r, mo r e d e n s e ly b r a n c hin g st a lk s t e r min a tin g in
thic k c lu st e rs of s m a ll le a v e s. T h e s e pla nts yie ld mo r e s e e d a n d m a tu r e e a rlie r
th a n th e mo r e d e sir a ble fib e r ty p e s intro d u c e d fro m C hin a . N e a rly all of th e
h e mp no w g ro w n in K e ntu c k y is of C hin e s e o rigin. S m a ll p a c k e ts of s e e d a r e
r e c eiv e d fro m A m e ri c a n mission a rie s in C hin a . T h e s e s e e d s a r e c a r e fully
c ultiv a t e d fo r t w o o r thr e e g e n e r a tion s in o r d e r to s e c u r e a suffi c ie nt q u a ntity
fo r fi e ld c ultiv a tion, a n d a ls o to a c c lim a t e th e pl a nts to K e ntu c k y c on dition s.
A tt e m pts to p ro d u c e fib e r pla nts b y s o win g im p o rt e d s e e d b ro a d c a st h a v e n ot
giv e n s a tisf a c to ry r e sults. S e e d of th e s e c on d o r third g e n e r a tio n from C hin a is
g e n e r a lly r e g a rd e d a s mo st d e sir a ble . T his K e ntu c k y h e m p of C hin e s e o rigin
h a s lon g int e rno d e s, lon g, sle n d e r b r a n c h e s, o p p o sit e a n d n e a rly horiz ont a l
e x c e p t th e u p p e r on e s, l a r g e le a v e s u su ally d ro o pin g a n d not c ro w d e d , with th e
s e e d s in s m a ll c lu st e rs n e a r th e e n d s of th e b r a n c h e s. S m a ll, d a r k-c olo r e d
s e e d s distin c tly mottle d a r e p r e fe rr e d b y th e K e ntu c k y h e mp g ro w e rs. U n d e r
f a vo r a ble c on ditio ns K e ntu c k y h e m p a tt a ins a h e ig ht of 7 to 10 f e e t w h e n g ro w n
b ro a d c a st fo r fib e r a n d 9 to 14 fe e t w h e n c ultiv a t e d fo r s e e d.
IMPROVEMENT BY SEED INTRODUCTION
Without s e le c tio n o r c ontinu e d effo rts to m aint a in su p e rio r ty p e s, th e
h e mp in K e ntu c k y d e t e rio r a t e s. A s st a t e d b y th e g ro w e rs, th e h e m p " ru ns out. "
T h e p oo r e r ty p e s of pla nts fo r fib e r a r e u s u a lly th e mo st p rolifi c s e e d b e a r e rs,
a n d th e y a r e oft e n e a rli e r in m a tu rin g; th e r e for e , with out s e le c tio n or ro g uin g,
th e s e e d of th e s e un d e sir a bl e ty p e s in c r e a s e s mo r e r a pidly th a n th a t of th e t a ll,
l a t e-m a tu rin g , b e tt e r ty p e s w hic h b e a r f e w e r s e e d s. N e w s u p pli e s of s e e d a r e
b rou g ht fro m C hin a to r e n e w th e sto c k. O win g to th e c onfu sio n of n a m e s th e
s e e d r e c e iv e d is n ot a lw a ys of a d e sir a ble kin d , a n d so m e tim e s jut e , C hin a jut e ,
o r r a mie s e e d s a r e o bt a in e d . Wh e n s e e d of th e t a-m a v a rie ty is s e c ur e d a n d is
p ro p e rly c ultiv a t e d fo r t w o o r th r e e g e n e r a tion s th e r e is a m a r k e d im p ro v e m e nt,
b ut th e s e im p ro v e d str a ins run o ut in l e ss th a n 10 y e a rs. T h e nu m e ro us tria ls
th a t h a v e b e e n m a d e b y th e D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e with h e mp s e e d fro m
n e a rly a ll of th e sou r c e s m e ntio n e d a n d r e p e a t e d intro d u c tio ns fro m th e mo r e
p ro misin g sou r c e s in dic a t e th a t little p e r m a n e nt imp ro v e m e nt m a y b e e xp e c t e d
fro m m e r e intro d u c tion not follo w e d b y b r e e din g a n d c ontinu e d s e le c tion. In no
in st a n c e , s o f a r a s o b s e rv e d , h a v e a n y of th e pl a nts fro m imp o rt e d s e e d g ro w n
a s w e ll th e first y e a r a s th e K e ntu c k y h e m p c ultiv a t e d fo r c o m p a rison. F u rth e r
intro d u c tion of s e e d in s m a ll q u a ntitie s is n e e d e d to fu rnish sto c k for b r e e din g
a n d s e l e c tion. T h e most p ro misin g v a ri e tie s fo r intro d u c tio n a r e t a-m a a n d
s h a n-m a-t z e , fro m C hin a ; Hiro s him a a n d T o c higi, fro m J a p a n; B olo g n a , fro m
It aly; a n d imp rov e d ty p e s fro m H u n g a ry.
IMPROVEMENT BY SELECTION
K e ntu c k y h e mp is r e a so n a bly u nifo r m, not b e c a u s e of s e l e c tion, o r e v e n
g r a din g th e s e e d s, b ut b e c a u s e all ty p e s h a v e b e c o m e mix e d to g e th e r. N e a rly
a ll th e s e e d is r a is e d in a limit e d a r e a . H e m p b e in g c ro ss-f e rtiliz e d , it is mo r e
195
diffi c ult to k e e p distin c t ty p e s s e p a r a t e th a n in th e c a s e of w h e a t, fla x, o r oth e r
c ro p s with s e lf-p ollin a t e d flo w e rs, b ut it is m e r e ly n e c e ss a ry to isola t e th e
pl a nts c ultiv a t e d fo r s e e d a n d th e n e x e r c is e c a r e to p r e v e nt th e s e e d fro m
b e c o min g mix e d. U ntil 1903 n o w e ll-pla nn e d a n d c o ntin u e d e ffo rt s e e ms to h a v e
b e e n un d e rt a k e n in this c o untry to p ro d u c e a n im p ro v e d v a rie ty of h e m p . A t th a t
tim e th e r e s ults of b r e e din g b y c a r eful s el e c tio n im p ro v e d v a rie tie s of w h e a t
a n d fl a x a t th e Min n e sot a A g ri c ultu r a l E xp e rim e nt St a tion w e r e b e gin nin g to
yi e ld p r a c tic a l r e tu rn s to th e f a r m e rs of th a t St a t e . Mr. F rit z K n o rr, fro m
K e ntu c k y, th e n a stu d e nt in th e Minn e s ot a C oll e g e of A g ri c ultu r e , w a s
e n c ou r a g e d to t a k e u p th e w o r k with h e mp . S e e d p u r c h a s e d fro m a d e a l e r in
Ni c h ola sville , K y., w a s fu rnish e d b y th e U nit e d St a t e s D e p a rtm e nt of
A g ri c ultu r e . T h e w o r k of s e le c tio n w a s c o ntinu e d u ntil 1909 un d e r th e dir e c tio n
of P rof. C . P. B ull, a g ron o mist a t th e st a tion. Points e s p e c ia lly not e d in s e l e c tin g
pl a nts fro m w hic h to s a v e s e e d fo r p ro p a g a tio n w e r e l e n g th of int e rn o d e ,
thinn e ss of sh ell, h e ig ht, a n d t e n d e n c y of th e st e ms to b e w e ll flut e d . T h e
s e a s on s th e r e w e r e too sh o rt to p e r mit s e l e c tion fo r pl a nts t a kin g a lo n g e r
s e a s on fo r g ro w th. T h e im p ro v e d str a in of h e m p th us d e v e lo p e d w a s c all e d
Minn e sot a N o. 8. S e e d of this str a in so w n a t th e e xp e rim e nt st a tio n a t L e xin gton,
K y., in 1910 a n d 1911 p ro d u c e d pla nts mo r e u nifo r m th a n tho s e from
u ns e le c t e d K e ntu c k y s e e d , a n d th e fib e r w a s s u p e rio r in b oth yi e ld a n d q u a lity.
A s m a ll s u p ply of this s e e d , g ro w n b y th e D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e a t
W a s hin gton, D. C ., in 1912, w a s distrib ut e d to K e ntu c k y h e mp-s e e d g ro w e rs in
1913, a n d in e v e ry in st a n c e th e r e s ultin g s e e d pl a nts w e r e d e c id e dly s u p e rio r to
tho s e fro m o rdin a ry K e ntu c k y s e e d. S e e d s e le c tion is p r a c ti c e d to a limit e d
e xt e nt o n s o m e of th e b e st h e mp-s e e d fa r ms in K e ntu c k y. B e fo r e th e s e e d-h e mp
pl a nts a r e c ut th e g ro w e r g o e s th ro u g h th e fi e ld a n d m a r k s th e pla nts fro m
w hic h s e e d is to b e s a v e d fo r th e s e e d c ro p of th e follo win g y e a r. Pl a nts a r e
u su a lly s e l e c t e d fo r h eig ht, l a t e n e ss, a n d le n g th of int e rno d e s. C o ntin u e d
s e le c tion in this m a n n e r will imp ro v e th e ty p e . Without s e le c tio n c o ntin u e d e a c h
s e a s on, th e g e n e r a l a v e r a g e of th e c ro p d e t e rio r a t e s.
CLIMATE
H e m p r e q uir e s a hu mid t e m p e r a t e c lim a t e , su c h a s th a t th ro u g h out th e
g r e a t e r p a rt of th e Mississip pi V all e y. It h a s b e e n g ro w n e xp e rim e nt a lly a s f a r
n o rth a s S a s k a too n, in n o rth w e st e rn C a n a d a , a n d a s fa r so uth a s N e w O rl e a n s,
L a ., a n d B run s wi c k , G a .
TEMPERATURE
T h e b e st fib e r-p ro d u c in g ty p e s of h e mp r e q uir e a b out fo u r mo nth s fr e e
fro m killin g frosts fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of fib e r a n d a b o ut fiv e a n d on e-h a lf mo nth s
fo r th e full m a tu rity of th e s e e d s. T h e clim a ti c c on dition s d u rin g th e fo u r mo nth s
of th e h e mp-g ro win g s e a son in th e r e gion a b o ut L e xin g ton, K y., a r e in di c a t e d b y
th e follo win g t a bl e:
196
(Ins e rt t a bl e fro m p . 305 h e r e .) T a ble : T e mp e r a tu r e a n d r ainf a ll in th e
h e mp-g ro win g r e gion of K e ntu c k y (H e n ry, A lfr e d J u d s on. C lim a tolo g y of th e
U nit e d St a t e s. U .S. D e p a rtm e nt of A g ric ultu r e , W e a th e r B u r e a u, B ull e tin Q ,
p .763, 1906.)
H e m p g ro w s b e st w h e r e th e t e mp e r a tu r e r a n g e s b e t w e e n 60 d e g r e e s
a n d 80 d e g r e e s F ., b ut it will e n d u r e c old e r a n d w a r m e r t e mp e r a tu r e s. You n g
s e e dlin g s a n d a lso m a tu r e pl a nts will e n d u r e with little inju ry lig ht fro sts of sho rt
d u r a tion. Youn g h e m p is l e ss su s c e p tibl e th a n o a ts to inju ry fro m fro st, a n d
fi e ld s of h e m p r e a d y for h a rv e st h a v e b e e n uninju r e d b y fro sts w hic h ruin e d
fi e ld s of c o rn a ll a rou n d th e m. F ro sts a r e injurio us to n e a rly m a tu r e pl a nts
c ultiv a t e d fo r s e e d p ro d u c tion.
RAINFALL
H e m p r e q uir e s a pl e ntiful s u p ply of moistu r e th rou g ho ut its g ro win g
s e a s on, a n d e s p e c ia lly d u rin g th e first six w e e k s. A ft e r it h a s b e c o m e w e ll
ro ot e d a n d th e st a lk s a r e 20 to 30 in c h e s hig h it will e n d u r e d ri e r c on dition s, b ut
a s e v e r e d rou g ht h a st e n s its m a tu rity a n d t e n d s to d w a rf its g ro w th. It will
e n d u r e h e a vy r a ins, o r e v e n a floo d of s ho rt d u r a tion, on lig ht, w e ll-d r a in e d
s oils, b ut o n h e a vy, imp e rviou s s oils e x c e ssiv e r a in, e s p e c i ally w h e n th e pl a nts
a r e you n g will ruin th e c ro p . In 1903, a la r g e fie ld of h e m p on ri c h, s a n d y-lo a m
s oil of a llu via l d e p o sit, w e ll s u p plie d with hu mu s, n e a r G ridle y, C a l., w a s flo o d e d
to a d e p th of 2 to 6 in c h e s b y hig h w a t e r in th e F e a th e r Riv e r. T h e h e m p h a d
g e r min a t e d b ut a fe w d a ys b efo r e a n d w a s only 1 to 3 in c h e s hig h. T h e w a t e r
r e m a in e d o n th e la n d a b out th r e e d a ys. T h e h e m p st a rt e d slo wly a ft e r th e w a t e r
r e c e d e d, b ut in s pit e of th e fa c t th a t th e r e w a s n o r a in fro m this tim e , th e l a st of
M a r c h, until h a rv e st, th e la st of A u g u st, it m a d e a v e ry s a tisfa c to ry c ro p , 6 to 12
f e e t in h e ig ht. T h e s oil, of p o rou s, s p on g y t e xtu r e , r e m a in e d moist b e lo w th e
d usty su rf a c e d u rin g th e e ntir e g ro win g s e a so n.
A n e xp e rim e nt a l c ro p of a b out 15 a c r e s o n im p e rviou s c l a y a n d silt of
a lluvi al d e p osit, b ut l a c kin g in h u mu s, in e a st e rn Lo uisia n a w a s c o mpl e t e ly
ruin e d b y a h e a vy r a in w hile th e pl a nts w e r e sm a ll. T h e tot a l a v e r a g e r a inf a ll
d u rin g th e fo u r mo nth s of th e h e mp-g ro win g s e a son in K e ntu c k y is 15.6 in c h e s,
a s sh o w n in th e t a ble on p a g e 305, a n d this is distrib ut e d th ro u g h out th e
s e a s on. Wh e n th e r e is a n u nu su a l d rou g ht in th a t r e gio n, a s in 1913, th e h e mp is
s e v e r e ly inju r e d. It is not lik e ly to s u c c e e d o n u pla n d s oils in lo c a liti e s w h e r e
c o rn l e a v e s c u rl b e c a us e of d rou g ht b efo r e th e mid dle of A u g u st.
IRRIGATION
In 1912, a n d a g a in in 1913, c ro p s of h e mp w e r e c ultiv a t e d u n d e r
irrig a tio n a t L e r d o, C a l. T h e s oil th e r e is a n a llu via l s a n d y lo a m of r a th e r fir m
t e xtu r e , b ut with g oo d n a tu r a l d r a in a g e a n d not e nou g h c l a y to fo r m a c ru st on
th e su rfa c e aft e r floo din g with w a t e r. T h e l a n d is plo w e d d e e ply, le v e l e d , a n d
197
m a d e u p into irrig a tio n blo c k s with lo w b o rd e rs o v e r w hi c h d rills a n d h a rv e stin g
m a c hin e ry m a y e a sily w o r k. T h e s e e d is d rille d in th e dir e c tion of th e fa ll, s o th a t
w h e n flo o d e d th e w a t e r ru n s slo wly d o w n th e d rill fu rro w s. T h r e e irrig a tio ns a r e
s uffic i e nt, p ro vid e d th e s e e d is s o w n e a rly e n ou g h to g e t th e b e n e fit of th e
M a r c h r a ins. T h e fib e r thu s p ro d u c e d is stron g a n d of g oo d q u a lity.
WEATHER FOR RETTING AND BREAKING
C o ol, moist w e a th e r, lig ht sno w s o r alt e rn a t e fr e e zin g a n d th a win g a r e
f a vo r a ble fo r r e ttin g h e m p . D ry w e a th e r, not n e c e ss a rily fr e e fro m r ain b ut with
a r a th e r lo w r e la tiv e hu midity, is e ss e ntia l for s a tisfa c to ry w o r k in b r e a kin g
h e mp . T h e r el a tiv e humidity a t L e xin g ton in J a nu a ry, F e b ru a ry, a n d M a r c h,
w h e n mo st of th e h e mp is b ro k e n, r a n g e s from 62 to 82 p e r c e nt. T h e w o r k of
b r e a kin g h e m p is r a r e ly c a rrie d on w h e n th e r e is sno w on th e g ro un d . T h e w o r k
of c oll e c tin g a n d c le a nin g h e m p s e e d c a n b e d on e only in d ry w e a th e r.
SOIL
SOILS IN THE HEMP-GROWING REGION OF KENTUCKY
T h e soil in mo st of th e h e mp fie ld s of K e ntu c k y is of a y e llo wish c l a y lo a m,
oft e n v e ry d a r k a s a r e s ult of d e c a yin g v e g e t a ble m a tt e r, a n d mo st of it
o v e rlyin g e ith e r L e xin gton o r C in c in n a ti lim e ston e . T h e r e a r e fr e q u e nt
o ut c ro p pin g s of lim e ro c k th rou g hout th e r e gio n. T h e soil is d e e p , f e rtil e , w e ll
s u p pli e d with hu mu s, a n d its m e c h a nic al c o n dition is s u c h th a t it d o e s n ot
q uic kly d ry o ut o r b e c om e b a k e d a n d h a r d . T h e l a n d is rollin g , affo rdin g g o o d
n a tu r a l d r a in a g e .
HEMP SOILS IN OTHER STATES
In e a st e rn N e b r a s k a , h e m p h a s b e e n g ro w n on a d e e p cl a y-lo a m p r airi e
s oil un d e rl ain with lim e ro c k . In so m e of th e fie ld s th e r e a r e s m a ll a r e a s of
g u mb o soil, b ut h e mp d o e s not g ro w w e ll on th e s e a r e a s. In C alifo rni a , h e m p is
c ultiv a t e d on th e r e c l aim e d la n d s of a lluvi a l d e p o sits in th e lo w e r v all e y of th e
S a c r a m e nto Riv e r. T his is a d e e p soil m a d e u p of silt a n d s a n d a n d with a v e ry
l a r g e p ro p o rtio n of d e c a yin g v e g e t a bl e m a tt e r. T h e s e ri c h, a llu via l s oils, w hic h
a r e n e v e r su bj e c t to d ro u g ht, p ro d u c e a h e a vie r g ro wth of h e m p th a n th e mo r e
s h allo w u pla n d s oils in K e ntu c k y. In In di a n a , c ro p s of h e mp h a v e b e e n g ro w n in
th e K a n k a k e e V a lle y on p e a ty s oils o v e rlyin g m a rl o r y e llo w c la y c ont a inin g a n
a b u n d a n c e of lim e . T h e s e l a n d s h a v e b e e n d r a in e d b y l a rg e , o p e n dit c h e s.
T h e r e is su c h a l a rg e p ro p o rtion of p e a t in th e s oil th a t it will b u rn fo r mo nths if
s e t on fir e d u rin g th e d ry s e a so n, y e t this soil c ont a in s so mu c h lim e th a t w h e n
th e v e g e t a tion is c le a r e d a w a y K e ntu c k y blu e g r a ss c o m e s in r a th e r th a n
s e d g e s. It is a n a lk a lin e r a th e r th a n a n a c id soil. T h e la rg e a mou nt of p e a t giv e s
th e s e soils a lo os e , s p o n g y t e xtu r e , w e ll a d a p t e d to hold moistu r e d u rin g d ry
s e a s on s. W a t e r r e m a ins in th e dit c h e s 6 to 10 f e e t b elo w th e s u rf a c e n e a rly a ll
s u mm e r, a n d th e h e mp c ro p s h a v e not b e e n aff e c t e d b y th e s e v e r e d ro u g ht
198
w hic h h a s inju r e d oth e r c ro p s o n th e su rroun din g u pl a n d s. In s outh e a st e rn
P e nn sylv a nia , a n d in In di a n a , Wis c o nsin, a n d Minn e sot a , th e b e st c ro p s,
p ro d u c in g th e l a rg e st yi e ld s of fib e r a n d fib e r of th e b e st q u a lity, h a v e b e e n
g ro w n on c la y-lo a m u pl a n d soils. In so m e inst a n c e s, h o w e v e r, th e u pl a n d c ro p s
h a v e suff e r e d fro m d rou g ht.
SOILS SUITED TO HEMP
H e m p r e q uir e s fo r th e b e st d e v e lo p m e nt of th e pla nt, a n d a lso fo r th e
p ro d u c tion of a la r g e q u a ntity a n d g o o d q u a lity of fib e r, a ric h, moist s oil h a vin g
g oo d n a tu r al d r a in a g e , y e t not s u bje c t to s e v e r e d ro u g ht a t a n y tim e d u rin g th e
g ro win g s e a so n. A c la y lo a m of r a th e r lo os e t e xtu r e a n d c ont a inin g a ple ntiful
s u p ply of d e c a yin g v e g e t a ble m a tt e r o r a n a llu via l d e p osit a lk a lin e a n d not a cid
in r e a c tio n s hould b e c h os e n fo r this c ro p.
SOILS TO BE AVOIDED
H e m p will not g ro w w ell on stiff, imp e rviou s, c l a y soils, o r o n lig ht s a n d y
o r g r a v elly soils. It will n ot g ro w w e ll o n s oils th a t in th eir wild st a t e a r e
o v e rg ro w n with e ith e r s e d g e s o r hu c kle b e rry b us h e s. T h e s e pla nts u su a lly
in di c a t e a c id soils. It will m a k e o nly a p o o r g ro wth on soils with a h a r d p a n n e a r
th e su rfa c e o r in fi e ld s w o rn out b y lon g c ultiv a tio n. C la y lo a ms o r h e a vie r s oils
giv e h e a vi e r yi eld s of stron g b ut c o a rs e r fib e r th a n a r e o b t a in e d o n s a n d y lo a ms
a n d lig ht e r soils.
EFFECT OF HEMP ON THE LAND
H e m p c ultiv a t e d fo r th e p ro d u c tion of fib e r, c ut b efo r e th e s e e d s a r e
fo r m e d a n d r e tt e d on th e la n d w h e r e it h a s b e e n g ro w n, t e n d s to imp ro v e r a th e r
th a n inju r e th e s oil. It im p ro v e s its p h ysi c a l c o n dition, d e stro ys w e e d s, a n d d o e s
n ot e xh a ust its f e rtility.
PHYSICAL CONDITION
H e m p loo s e ns th e soil a n d m a k e s it mo r e m e llo w. T h e soil is s h a d e d b y
h e mp mo r e th a n b y a ny oth e r c ro p. T h e folia g e a t th e to p of th e g ro win g pl a nts
m a k e s a d e ns e sh a d e a n d , in a d ditio n, a ll of th e le a v e s b e lo w th e to p fa ll off,
fo r min g a mul c h o n th e g roun d, so th a t th e surf a c e of th e soil r e m a ins moist a n d
in b e tt e r c o n ditio n fo r th e a c tio n of s oil b a c t e ri a . T h e r a th e r c o a rs e t a p ro ots (Pl.
XLI, fig. 3), p e n e tr a tin g d e e ply a n d b rin gin g u p pl a nt fo o d fro m th e su b s oil,
d e c a y q uic kly aft e r th e c ro p is h a rv e st e d a n d t e n d to lo o s e n th e s oil mo r e th a n
d o th e fib rou s ro ots of w h e a t, o a ts, a n d simila r b ro a d c a st c ro p s. L a n d is mo r e
e a sily plo w e d a ft e r h e m p th a n a ft e r c o rn o r sm a ll g r a in.
HEMP DESTROYS WEEDS
V e ry fe w of th e c o mmon w e e d s trou bl e s o m e o n th e f a r m c a n su rviv e th e
d e n s e sh a d e of a g o o d c ro p of h e mp . If th e h e m p m a k e s a sho rt, w e a k g ro wth,
o win g to u n suit a ble soil, d ro u g ht, o r oth e r c a u s e s, it will h a v e littl e eff e c t in
c h e c kin g th e g ro w th of w e e d s, b ut a g oo d, d e n s e c ro p, 6 f e e t o r mo r e in h e ig ht,
199
H E MP G R O W S U P T O 4 C R O P S A Y E A R
A N D E N RI C H E S T H E S O IL’ S F E R TILITY
will le a v e th e g rou n d p r a c ti c a lly fr e e fro m
w e e d s a t h a rv e st tim e . In Wis c o nsin,
C a n a d a thistle h a s b e e n c o m pl e t e ly kill e d
a n d q u a c k-g r a ss s e v e r e ly c h e c k e d b y o n e
c ro p of h e mp . In o n e 4-a c r e fie ld in V e rnon
C o unty, Wis., w h e r e C a n a d a thistle s w e r e
v e ry thic k, fully 95 p e r c e nt of th e thistl e s
w e r e kille d w h e r e th e h e mp a tt a in e d a h e ig ht of 5 fe e t o r mo r e , b ut o n a d ry,
g r a v e lly hillsid e in this s a m e fi eld w h e r e it g r e w only 2 to 3 fe e t hig h, th e thistle s
w e r e c h e c k e d no mo r e th a n th e y w o uld h a v e b e e n in a g r a in c ro p . So m e vin e s,
lik e th e wild mo rnin g-glo ry a n d bin d w e e d c lim b u p th e h e mp st a lk s a n d s e c u r e
lig ht e nou g h fo r g ro w th, b ut lo w g ro win g w e e d s c a n not liv e in a h e m p fie ld .
A n a b u n d a nt su p ply of pl a nt fo o d is r e q uir e d b y h e mp , b ut mo st of it is
m e r e ly b o rro w e d d u rin g d e v e lo p m e nt a n d r e tu rn e d to th e s oil a t th e c los e of th e
s e a s on. T h e a mounts of th e p rin c ip a l fe rtilizin g e le m e nts c ont a in e d in m a tu r e
c ro p s of h e mp , a s c o mp a r e d with oth e r c ro p s, a r e s ho w n in th e a c c o m p a nyin g
t a bl e .
A mo unts of p rin c ip a l fe rtilizin g e l e m e nts in a n a c r e of h e m p , c o rn, w h e a t,
o a ts, s u g a r b e e ts, a n d c otton. (Ins e rt first t a ble fro m p. 310 h e r e)
T h e d a t a in th e t a bl e in di c a t e th a t h e m p r e q uir e s fo r its b e st d e v e lo p m e nt
a ri c h e r s oil th a n a n y of th e oth e r c ro p s m e ntio n e d e x c e pt su g a r b e e ts. T h e s e
oth e r c ro p s, e x c e pt th e st a lk s of c o rn a n d th e to p s of b e e ts, a r e e ntir e ly
r e mo v e d fro m th e la n d, th us t a kin g a w a y n e a rly a ll th e pl a nt fo o d c on su m e d in
th e ir g ro wth. O nly th e fib e r of h e m p is t a k e n a w a y fro m th e f a r m a n d this is
mo stly c e llulo s e , c o mp o s e d of w a t e r a n d c a rb onic a c id . T h e r e la tiv e
p ro p o rtio ns b y w e ig ht of th e diff e r e nt p a rts of th e h e mp pl a nt, th o rou g hly a ir
d ri e d , a r e a p p roxim a t ely a s follo w s: R oots 10 p e r c e nt, st e ms 60 p e r c e nt, a n d
l e a v e s 30 p e r c e nt. T h e min e r a l in g r e die nts of th e s e diffe r e nt p a rts of th e h e mp
pl a nt a r e sh o w n in th e follo win g t a ble :
( In s e rt s e c o n d t a ble fro m p. 310 h e r e . P e t e r, R o b e rt. C h e mic a l
E x a min a tion of th e A sh of H e mp a n d B u c k w h e a t Pla nts. K e ntu c k y G e olo gic a l
S u rv e y, p . 12, 1884. )
T h e folia g e , c o nstitutin g n e a rly on e-third of th e w e ig ht of th e e ntir e pl a nt
a n d mu c h ri c h e r in e ss e nti al fe rtilizin g e l e m e nts th a n th e st a lk s, a ll r e tu rn s to
th e fie ld w h e r e th e h e m p g ro w s. T h e roots a ls o r e m a in a n d to g e th e r with th e
stu b ble , th e y c on stitut e mo r e th a n 10 p e r c e nt of th e tot a l w e ig ht a n d c ont a in
a p p roxim a t e ly th e s a m e p ro p o rtion s of fe rtilizin g e le m e nts a s th e st alk s. T h e
200
l e a v e s a n d ro ots th e r efo r e r e tu rn to th e soil n e a rly t w o-thir d s of th e f e rtilizin g
e l e m e nts u s e d in b uildin g u p th e pla nt. A ft e r th e h e mp is h a rv e st e d it is s p r e a d
o ut o n th e s a m e la n d fo r r e ttin g . In this r e ttin g p ro c e ss n e a rly a ll of th e solu ble
in g r e di e nts a r e w a sh e d out a n d r e tu rn e d to th e s oil. Wh e n b ro k e n in th e fie ld on
s m a ll h a n d b r a k e s, a s is still th e c o mmon p r a c tic e in K e ntu c k y, th e h u rd s, o r
c e ntr a l w oo d y p o rtion of th e st alk , to g e th e r with mo st of th e out e r b a r k , a r e le ft
in s m a ll pile s a n d b u rn e d, r e tu rnin g th e min e r a l in g r e die nts to th e soil. Wh e r e
m a c hin e b r a k e s a r e u s e d th e h u rd s m a y s e rv e a n e x c e ll e nt p u rp os e a s a n
a b s o rb e nt in sto c k y a rd s a n d pig p e n s, to b e r e tu rn e d to th e fie ld s in b a rny a rd
m a nu r e .
T h e min e r a l in g r e die nts p e r m a n e ntly r e mo v e d fro m th e f a r m a r e thus
r e d u c e d to th e s m a ll p ro p o rtion s c ont a in e d in th e fib e r. T h e s e p ro p o rtio ns,
c a lc ul a t e d in p ou n d s p e r a c r e a n d c o mp a r e d with th e a mo unts r e mov e d b y
oth e r c ro p s, a r e sh o w n in th e follo win g t a ble:
Min e r a l in g r e die nts r e mo v e d fro m th e soil b y h e mp , w h e a t, c o rn, a n d
to b a c c o, c a l c ula t e d in p oun d s p e r a c r e . (P e t e r, R o b e rt. C h e mic a l E x a min a tion
of th e A sh of H e mp a n d B u c k w h e a t Pla nts. K e ntu c k y G e olo gi c a l Surv e y, p . 17,
1884.) (In s e rt t a bl e from p . 311 h e r e .)
T h e h e mp fib e r a n a ly z e d w a s in th e o rdin a ry c on dition a s it l e a v e s th e
f a r m. Wh e n w a sh e d with c old w a t e r, r e mo vin g so m e b ut n ot a ll of th e dirt, th e
a s hy r e sid u e w a s r e d u c e d mo r e th a n o n e-third , a n d th e tot a l e a rthy p ho s p h a t e s
w e r e r e d u c e d n e a rly on e-h a lf. T h e a mo unt of pl a nt fo o d a c tu a lly r e mo v e d fro m
th e soil b y h e mp is so sm a ll a s to d e m a n d littl e a tt e ntion in c on sid e rin g soil
e xh a u stion. T h e d e ple tio n of th e hu mus is th e mo st im p o rt a nt fa c to r, b ut e v e n in
this r e s p e c t h e mp is e a sie r on th e l a n d th a n oth e r c ro p s e x c e p t c lov e r a n d
a lfa lfa . T h e f a c t th a t h e m p is oft e n g ro w n y e a r a ft e r y e a r on th e s a m e l a n d fo r 10
to 20 y e a rs, with littl e o r no a p plic a tio n of f e rtiliz e r a n d v e ry little dimin utio n in
yi e ld , is e vid e n c e th a t it d o e s n ot e xh a ust th e s oil.
ROTATION OF CROPS
In K e ntu c k y, h e mp is c o mmonly g ro w n y e a r aft e r y e a r on th e s a m e la n d
with out rot a tio n. It is th e c o mmo n p r a c ti c e in th a t St a t e to so w h e mp aft e r
blu e g r a ss on la n d th a t h a s b e e n in p a stu r e fo r m a n y y e a rs, o r so m e tim e s it is
s o w n a s th e first c ro p o n r e c e ntly c le a r e d tim b e rla n d . It is th e n s o w n y e a r a ft e r
y e a r until it c e a s e s to b e p rofit a ble o r u ntil c o n dition s f a v o r th e intro d u c tio n of
oth e r c ro p s. O n th e p r a iri e s oils in e a st e rn N e b r a s k a a n d also on th e p e a ty s oils
in no rth e rn In dia n a , mo r e u nifo r m c ro p s w e r e o b t a in e d a ft e r th e first y e a r. O n
s o m e of th e f a r ms in C a lifo rni a h e mp is g ro w n in rot a tion with b e a ns. H e m p is
r e c o mm e n d e d to b e g ro w n in rot a tio n with oth e r f a r m c ro p s o n o rdin a ry u pl a n d
s oils suit e d to its g ro wth. In o rdin a ry c ro p rot a tio ns it w o uld t a k e a b o ut th e
s a m e pla c e a s o a ts. If r e tt e d on th e s a m e la n d , h o w e v e r, it w ould o c c u p y th e
fi e ld d u rin g th e e ntir e g ro win g s e a so n, s o th a t it w ould b e imp ossibl e to so w a
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fi e ld c ro p aft e r h e mp unl e ss it w e r e a c ro p of ry e . T h e g ro win g of ry e aft e r h e m p
h a s b e e n r e c o mm e n d e d in o rd e r to p r e v e nt w a s hin g a n d to r e t a in th e solu ble
f e rtilizin g e le m e nts th a t mig ht oth e r wis e b e l e a c h e d o ut d u rin g th e wint e r. T his
r e c o mm e n d a tion, h o w e v e r, h a s n ot b e e n p ut in p r a c tic e s uffic ie ntly to
d e mo nstr a t e th a t it is of a n y r e a l v a lu e . H e m p will g ro w w e ll in a fe rtile soil aft e r
a n y c ro p, a n d it l e a v e s th e l a n d in g oo d c o n ditio n fo r a n y su c c e e din g c ro p .
H e m p r e q uir e s a pl e ntiful s u p ply of f e rtilizin g e l e m e nts, e s p e c ia lly nitro g e n, a n d
it is th e r efo r e b e st to h a v e it s u c c e e d c lov e r, p e a s, o r g r a ss so d. If it follo w s
w h e a t, o a ts, o r c o rn, th e s e c ro p s sho uld b e w e ll f e rtiliz e d with b a rn y a rd
m a nu r e . T h e follo win g c ro p rot a tio ns a r e su g g e st e d fo r h e m p on fe rtil e u pl a n d
s oils: (Ins e rt c h a rt from p . 313 h e r e).
H e m p l e a v e s th e g roun d m e llo w a n d fr e e from w e e d s a n d is th e r efo r e
r e c o mm e n d e d to p r e c e d e su g a r b e e ts, o nions, c e l e ry, a n d simil a r c ro p s w hi c h
r e q uir e h a n d w e e din g . If h e mp is g ro w n p rim a rily to kill C a n a d a thistl e , q u a c kg r a ss, o r simila r p e r e nni a l w e e d s, it m a y b e g ro w n r e p e a t e dly o n th e s a m e la n d
u ntil th e w e e d s a r e su b d u e d.
FERTILIZERS
H e m p r e q uir e s a n a b un d a nt su p ply of pla nt fo o d . A tt a inin g in fou r mo nths
a h e ig ht of 6 to 12 f e e t a n d p ro d u c in g a la r g e r a mou nt of d ry v e g e t a bl e m a tt e r
th a n a n y oth e r c ro p in t e mp e r a t e c lim a t e s, it mu st b e g ro w n o n a soil n a tu r a lly
f e rtil e o r e n ric h e d b y a lib e r a l a p plic a tio n of fe rtiliz e r. In E u ro p e a n d in A sia
h e a vy a p pli c a tion s of fe rtiliz e rs a r e u s e d to k e e p th e soils u p to th e st a n d a rd fo r
g ro win g h e mp , b ut in th e U nit e d St a t e s mo st of th e h e mp is g ro w n on l a n d s th e
f e rtility of w hic h h a s not b e e n e xh a ust e d b y c e ntu ri e s of c ultiv a tion. In
K e ntu c k y, w h e r e th e fa r ms a r e w e ll sto c k e d with h o rs e s a n d c a ttle , b a rn y a r d
m a nu r e is us e d to m a int a in th e f e rtility of th e s oils, b ut it is u su ally a p pli e d to
oth e r c ro p s a n d not dir e c tly to h e m p . In oth e r St a t e s no fe rtiliz e r h a s b e e n
a p plie d to soils w h e r e h e mp is g ro w n, e x c e p t in so m e w h a t limit e d e xp e rim e nts.
B A R N Y A R D M A N U R E .---T h e b e st sin gle fe rtiliz e r fo r h e m p is u n d o u bt e dly
b a rn y a r d m a nu r e . It s u p pli e s th e th r e e im p o rt a nt pl a nt fo o d s, nitro g e n, p ot a sh,
a n d p ho s p h o ric a c id , a n d it a lso a d d s to th e sto r e of hu mu s, w hic h a p p e a rs to
b e mo r e n e c e ss a ry fo r h e mp th a n fo r mo st oth e r f a r m c ro p s. If oth e r f e rtiliz e rs
a r e u s e d , it is w e ll to a p ply b a rn y a r d m a nu r e a lso, b ut it sh ould b e a p pli e d to th e
p r e c e din g c ro p , o r, a t th e l a t e st, in th e f all b efo r e th e h e mp is so w n. It mu st b e
w e ll rott e d a n d tho rou g hly mix e d with th e soil b efo r e th e h e mp s e e d is so w n, so
a s to p ro mot e a unifo rm g ro w th of th e h e mp st alk s. U nifo r mity in th e siz e of th e
pl a nts of oth e r c ro p s is of littl e c o ns e q u e n c e , b ut in h e mp it is a m a tt e r of p rim e
im p o rt a n c e . A n a p plic a tio n of c o a rs e m a nu r e in th e s p rin g , ju st b e fo r e so win g ,
is lik e ly to r e sult in mo r e inju ry th a n b e n efit. T h e a mount th a t m a y b e a p plie d
p rofit a bly will v a ry with diff e r e nt soils. T h e r e is little d a n g e r, h o w e v e r, of
in d u c in g too r a n k a g ro wth of h e m p on u pla n d soils, p ro vid e d th e pla nts a r e
u nifo r m, fo r it mu st b e b o rn e in min d th a t st alk a n d not fruit is d e sir e d . O n s oils
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d efi ci e nt in h u mu s a s th e r e sult of lon g c ultiv a tio n, th e in c r e a s e d g ro wth of
h e mp m a y w e ll r e p a y fo r th e a p pli c a tion of 15 to 20 to ns of b a rn y a rd m a nu r e p e r
a c r e . It w o uld b e un wis e to so w h e m p on su c h soils until th e y h a d b e e n h e a vily
f e rtiliz e d with b a rn y a rd m a n u r e .
C O MM E R C IA L F E R TILIZ E R S.---O n w o rn-out soils, p e a ty s oils, a n d
p ossibly on so m e a llu via l soils, c o mm e r c i a l f e rtiliz e rs m a y b e u s e d with p rofit in
a d dition to b a rn y a r d m a nu r e . T h e p rim a ry effe c t to b e d e sir e d fro m c o mm e r c ia l
f e rtiliz e rs on h e mp is a mo r e r a pid g ro w th of th e c ro p e a rly in th e s e a s on. T his
r a pid e a rly g ro wth u su a lly r e sults in a g r e a t e r yi e ld a n d b e tt e r q u a lity of fib e r.
T h e r e s ults of a s e rie s of e xp e rim e nts c on d u c t e d a t th e a g ric ultu r a l e xp e rim e nt
st a tio n a t L e xin gto n, K y., in 1889 le d to th e follo win g c on c lu sion s: (S c o v e l, M. A .
E ff e c t of C o mm e r c ia l F e rtiliz e rs on H e m p. K e ntu c k y A g ri c ultu r a l E xp e rim e nt
St a tion, B ulle tin 27, p. 3, 1890.) (1) T h a t h e mp c a n b e r a is e d s u c c e ssfully on
w o rn blu e g r a ss s oils with th e a id of c o mm e r c ia l fe rtiliz e rs. (2) T h a t b oth p ot a s h
a n d nitro g e n a r e r e q uir e d to p ro d u c e th e b e st r e sults. (3) T h a t th e eff e c t w a s
th e s a m e , w h e th e r mu ri a t e o r s ulp h a t e w a s u s e d to fu rnis h p ot a sh. (4) T h a t th e
e ffe c t w a s a b out th e s a m e , w h e th e r nitr a t e of s o d a o r s ulp h a t e of a mmo nia w a s
u s e d to fu rnis h nitro g e n. (5) T h a t a c o mm e r c ia l fe rtiliz e r c ont a inin g a b o ut 6 p e r
c e nt of a v a ila bl e p ho s p ho ri c a c id, 12 p e r c e nt of a c tu a l p ot a sh, a n d 4 p e r c e nt
of nitro g e n (mo stly in th e fo r m of nitr a t e of s o d a o r sulp h a t e of a mmo nia) w o uld
b e a g oo d fe rtiliz e r fo r tri a l. T h e in c r e a s e d yi eld a n d imp ro v e d q u a lity of th e
fib e r on th e fe rtiliz e d pl a ts c o m p a r e d with th e yi e ld fro m th e c h e c k pl a t, not
f e rtiliz e d, in th e s e e xp e rim e nts w o uld w a rr a nt th e a p plic a tio n of nitro g e n a t th e
r a t e of 160 p o un d s of nitr a t e of s o d a o r 120 p o un d s of sulp h a t e of a mmo nia p e r
a c r e , a n d p ot a sh a t th e r a t e of a b out 160 p oun d s of eith e r s ulp h a t e o r mu ria t e of
p ot a s h p e r a c r e . O n th e ri c h alluvi a l s oils r e c la im e d b y dik e s fro m th e
S a c r a m e nto Riv e r a t C o u rtl a n d , C a l., Mr. J o hn H e a n e y h a s foun d th a t a n
a p plic a tio n of nitr a t e of s o d a a t th e r a t e of not mo r e th a n 100 p ou n d s p e r a c r e
s oo n a ft e r s o win g a n d a g a in t w o w e e k s to a mo nth l a t e r, o r aft e r th e first
a p plic a tio n h a s b e e n w a s h e d d o w n b y r a in s, will in c r e a s e th e yie ld a n d imp ro v e
th e q u a lity of th e fib e r.
L E G UMIN O U S C R O P S O R G R E E N M A N U R E .---B e a ns g ro w n b efo r e h e m p
a n d th e vin e s r e tu rn e d to th e la n d a n d plo w e d un d e r h a v e giv e n g oo d r e sults in
in c r e a s e d yie ld a n d imp ro v e d q u a lity of fib e r o n a llu via l soils a t C o urtl a n d, C al.
C lo v e r is s o m e tim e s plo w e d un d e r in K e ntu c k y to e n ric h th e la n d for h e mp . It
mu st b e plo w e d u n d e r d u rin g th e p r e c e din g fa ll, s o a s to b e c o m e tho rou g hly
rott e d b efo r e th e h e m p is g ro w n.
H E MP A S A G R E E N MA N U R E .---In e xp e rim e nts with v a riou s c ro p s fo r
g r e e n m a nu r e fo r w h e a t in In di a , h e m p w a s fo un d to giv e th e b e st r e s ults.
(R e p o rt of C a w n p o r e A g ri c ultu r a l St a tion, U nit e d P rovin c e s, In di a , for 1908, p .
12.) In e x c e p tio n a lly d ry s e a so ns, a s in 1908 a n d 1913, m a n y fi eld s of h e mp d o
n ot g ro w hig h e no u g h to b e utiliz e d p rofit a bly fo r fib e r p ro d u c tion. T h e y a r e
203
oft e n le ft until fully m a tu r e a n d th e n b u rn e d. B e tt e r r e s ults w o uld d ou btle ss b e
o bt ain e d if th e h e mp w e r e plo w e d un d e r a s so on a s it c o uld b e d e t e r min e d th a t
it w ould not m a k e a s uffi c ie nt g ro w th fo r fib e r p ro d u c tion. Ma tu r e h e m p st a lk s
o r d ry hu r d s sh ould not b e plo w e d u n d e r, b e c a u s e th e y rot v e ry slo wly.
DISEASES, INSECTS, AND WEEDS
H e m p is r e m a r k a bly fr e e fro m dis e a s e s c a u s e d b y fu n gi. In on e in st a n c e
a t H a v e lo c k , N e b r., in a lo w s p ot w h e r e w a t e r h a d stoo d , n e a rly 3 p e r c e nt of
th e h e mp pla nts w e r e d e a d. T h e roots of th e s e d e a d pla nts w e r e pin k in c olo r
a n d a fu n g o us my c e lium w a s foun d in th e m, b ut it w a s not in a st a g e of
d e v e lo p m e nt to p e r mit id e ntific a tio n. T h e fu n g us w a s p ro b a bly not th e p rim a ry
c a u s e of th e tro u ble , sin c e th e d e a d pl a nts w e r e c onfin e d to th e lo w pl a c e a n d
th e r e w a s no r e c u rr e n c e of th e dis e a s e o n h e m p g ro w n in th e s a m e fi e ld th e
follo win g y e a r.
A fun g us d e s c rib e d un d e r th e n a m e D e n d ro p h o m a m a r c onii C a v. w a s
o b s e rv e d on h e mp in no rth e rn It a ly in 1887. (C a v a r a , F ridi a no. A p p u nti di
P a tolo gia V e g e t a l. A tti d e ll’ In stituto B ot a ni c o d e ll’ U niv e rsit a di P a via , s. 2, v. 1,
p . 425, 1888.) T his fun g us a tt a c k e d th e pl a nts a ft e r th e y w e r e m a tur e e n ou g h to
h a rv e st fo r fib e r. Its p ro g r e ss o v e r th e pla nt a tt a c k e d a n d als o th e distrib utio n
of th e infe c tio n o v e r th e fie ld w e r e d e s c rib e d a s v e ry r a pid , b ut if th e dis e a s e is
dis c ov e r e d a t its in c e ption a n d th e c ro p p ro mp tly h a rv e st e d it c a us e s v e ry little
damage.
In th e fa ll of 1913 a dis e a s e w a s o b s e rv e d o n s e e d h e mp g ro w n b y th e
D e p a rtm e nt of A g ri c ultu r e a t W a shin gton. (Pl. XLIII, fig . 2.) It did not a p p e a r u ntil
a ft e r th e st a g e of full flo w e rin g of th e st a min a t e pla nts a n d th e r efo r e a ft e r th e
st a g e fo r h a rv e stin g for fib e r. A s e v e r e h ailsto r m h a d b ruis e d th e pla nts a n d
b ro k e n th e b a r k , d ou btl e ss m a kin g th e m mo r e su s c e p tible to th e dis e a s e . T h e
first sy mp to ms n ot e d in e a c h pl a nt a tt a c k e d w e r e wilt e d le a v e s n e a r th e e n d s of
b r a n c h e s a b o v e th e mid dl e of th e pla nt, a c c om p a ni e d b y a n a r e a of dis c olo r e d
b a r k on th e m a in st alk b e lo w th e b a s e of e a c h dis e a s e d b r a n c h. In w a r m, moist
w e a th e r th e dis e a s e s p r e a d r a pidly, killin g a pl a nt 10 fe e t hig h in fiv e d a ys a n d
a lso inf e stin g oth e r pla nts. It w a s o b s e rv e d only o n pistill a t e pla nts, b ut th e l a st
l a t e-m a tu rin g st a min a t e pla nts l eft in th e pl a t a ft e r thinnin g th e e a rlie r on e s
w e r e c ut s oo n aft e r th e dis e a s e w a s dis c ov e r e d . (T his fun g u s w a s n ot in a st a g e
p e r mittin g id e ntific a tion, b ut c ultu r e s fo r fu rth e r stu d y w e r e m a d e in th e
L a b o r a to ry of Pla nt P a tholo g y.)
In a fe w in st a n c e s ins e c ts b o rin g in th e st e ms h a v e kille d s o m e pl a nts,
b ut th e inju ry c a us e d in this m a nn e r is too s m a ll to b e r e g a rd e d a s r e a lly
trou bl e so m e .
204
C ut w o r ms h a v e c a us e d so m e d a m a g e in th e la t e-so w n h e mp in la n d
plo w e d in th e s p rin g, b ut th e r e is p r a c tic a lly no d a n g e r fro m this s our c e in h e mp
s o w n a t th e p ro p e r s e a s on a n d in f all-plo w e d la n d w e ll h a rro w e d b e fo r e so win g .
A C hile a n d o d d e r ( C us c ut a r a c e mos a) tro u ble s o m e o n a lfa lf a in n o rth e rn
C a lifo rni a w a s fo un d on th e h e m p a t G ridl e y, C a l., in 1903. A lthou g h it w a s
a b u n d a nt in so m e p a rts of th e fie ld a t a b out th e tim e th e h e mp w a s r e a d y fo r
h a rv e st, it did not c a u s e a n y s e rio us inju ry. B la c k bin d w e e d (P oly g on u m
c on volvulu s) a n d wild mo rnin g-glo ry ( C on volv ulu s s e piu m) so m e tim e s c a u s e
trou bl e in lo w, ri c h la n d b y clim bin g u p th e pla nts a n d bin din g th e m to g e th e r.
T h e o nly r e a lly s e rio us e n e my to h e mp is b r a n c h e d b ro o m r a p e
( O ro b a n c h e r a mo s a). (Pl. XLIII, fig. 3.) T his is a w e e d 6 to 15 in c h e s hig h, with
s m a ll, b ro w nish y e llo w, s c a l elik e l e a v e s a n d r a th e r d ull p u rpl e flo w e rs. T h e
e ntir e pla nt is c o v e r e d with sti c k y gla n d s w hic h c a t c h th e d u st a n d giv e it a dirty
a p p e a r a n c e . Its roots a r e p a r a siti c on th e roots of h e m p. It is a lso p a r a sitic on
to b a c c o a n d to m a to roots. (G a r m a n, H . T h e B ro o m-R a p e of H e mp a n d T o b a c c o.
K e ntu c k y A g ri c ultu r al E xp e rim e nt St a tion, B ull e tin 24, p. 16, 1890.) B r a n c h e d
b roo m r a p e is trou bl e so m e in E u ro p e a n d th e U nit e d St a t e s, b ut is not k no w n in
A si a . Its s e e d s a r e v e ry s m a ll, a b o ut th e siz e of to b a c c o s e e d, a n d th e y sti c k to
th e g u mmy c a lyx su rrou n din g th e h e mp s e e d w h e n th e s e e d-h e m p pl a nts a r e
p e r mitt e d to fa ll o n th e g roun d in h a rv e stin g. T h e r e is still mo r e o p p o rtu nity fo r
th e m to c o m e in c o nt a c t with th e s e e d of h e m p g ro w n fo r fib e r. T h e b ro o m r a p e
is d ou btl e ss distrib ut e d mo r e b y m e a ns of lint s e e d (s e e d fro m o v e rrip e fib e r
h e mp) th a n b y a n y oth e r m e a n s. Wh e n b ro om r a p e b e c o m e s a b u n d a nt it oft e n
kills a la r g e p ro p o rtion of th e h e mp pl a nts b efo r e th e y r e a c h m a tu rity. A s a
p r e c a ution it is w e ll to s o w only w e ll-c l e a n e d s e e d fro m c ultiv a t e d h e m p a n d
in sist o n a g u a r a nty of n o lint s e e d . If th e la n d b e c o m e s inf e st e d , c ro p s oth e r
th a n h e m p , to b a c c o, to m a to e s, o r p ot a to e s sh ould b e g ro w n fo r a p e rio d of a t
l e a st s e v e n y e a rs. T h e s e e d s r e t a in th eir vit a lity s e v e r a l y e a rs. ( G a rm a n, H . T h e
B ro o m-R a p e s. K e ntu c k y A g ri c ultu r al E xp e rim e nt St a tion, B ull e tin 105, p . 14,
1903.)
HEMP-SEED PRODUCTION
A ll of th e h e m p s e e d us e d in th e U nit e d St a t e s fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of h e mp
fo r fib e r is p ro d u c e d in K e ntu c k y. N e a rly a ll of it is o bt a in e d fro m pla nts
c ultiv a t e d e s p e c ia lly for s e e d p ro d u c tion a n d n ot fo r fib e r. T h e pl a nts c ultiv a t e d
fo r s e e d fo r th e fib e r c ro p a r e of th e fib e r-p ro d u c in g ty p e a n d not th e ty p e
c o mmo nly o bt a in e d in bir d-s e e d h e mp . O ld sto c k s of h e mp s e e d of lo w vit a lity
a r e oft e n sold fo r bir d s e e d , b ut mu c h of th e h e mp s e e d sold b y s e e d s m e n o r
d e a l e rs in bird su p pli e s is of th e d e n s e ly b r a n c hin g S my rn a ty p e .
205
LINT SEED
In so m e inst a n c e s s e e d is s a v e d fro m h e m p g ro w n fo r fib e r b ut p e rmitt e d
to g e t o v e rrip e b e fo r e c uttin g . T his is k n o w n a s lint s e e d . It is g e n e r a lly
r e g a r d e d a s inf e rio r to s e e d fro m c ultiv a t e d pl a nts. A g oo d c ro p is so m e tim e s
o bt ain e d fro m lint s e e d, b ut it is oft e n l a c kin g in vig o r a s w ell a s g e r min a tiv e
vit a lity, a n d it is r a r e th a t g oo d c ro p s a r e o bt ain e d fro m lint s e e d of th e s e c on d
o r thir d g e n e r a tio n.
CULTIVATED SEED
Nearly all of the cultivated seed is grown in the valley of the Kentucky
River a n d alon g th e c r e e k s trib ut a ry to this riv e r fo r a dist a n c e of a b o ut 50 mile s
a b o v e Hig h B rid g e . T h e riv e r th rou g h this r e gio n flo w s in a d e e p g o rg e a b out
150 fe e t b e lo w th e g e n e r a l le v e l of th e la n d . T h e sid e s of this v a lle y a r e st e e p ,
with lim e ston e out c ro p pin g, a n d in s o m e pl a c e s p e rp e n di c ula r l e d g e s of lim e
ro c k in l e v e l str a t a . (Pl. XLII, fig . 3.) T h e riv e r, w hic h o v e rflo w s e v e ry s p rin g,
a lmost c ov e rin g th e v all e y b e t w e e n th e ro c k y w a lls, fo r ms a llu via l d e p osits fro m
a fe w ro d s to h a lf a mile in wid th. T h e s e e d h e m p is g ro w n on th e s e in un d a t e d
a r e a s, a n d e s p e c i a lly alo n g th e c r e e k s, w h e r e th e w a t e r fro m th e riv e r b a c k s
u p, l e a vin g a ric h e r d e p osit of silt th a n a lo n g th e b a n k s of th e riv e r p ro p e r,
w h e r e th e d e p osit e d soils a r e mo r e s a n d y. T h e r e is a lo n g e r s e a son fr e e fro m
fro st in th e s e d e e p v a lle ys th a n on th e a dja c e nt hig hl a n d s. In st e a d of h a vin g
e a rlie r fro sts in th e fa ll, a s m a y b e u su a lly e xp e c t e d in lo wla n d s, th e v a lle y is
fill e d with fo g o n still nig hts, th us p r e v e ntin g d a m a g e fro m fro st. F o r th e
p ro d u c tion of h e mp s e e d a ri c h, a llu via l soil c o nt a inin g a ple ntiful s u p ply of lim e
a n d also a ple ntiful s u p ply of moistu r e th ro u g h out th e g ro win g s e a so n is
n e c e ss a ry. T h e c ro p a ls o r e q uir e s a lon g s e a s on fo r d e v e lo p m e nt. T h e y ou n g
s e e dlin g s will e n d u r e lig ht fro sts witho ut inju ry, b ut a frost b efo r e h a rv e st will
n e a rly ruin th e c ro p . A p e rio d of d ry w e a th e r is n e c e ss a ry a ft e r th e h a rv e st in
o r d e r to b e a t out a n d cl e a n th e s e e d s.
PREPARATION OF LAND
T h e la n d is plo w e d a s s oo n a s p o ssible aft e r th e s p rin g floo d s, w hi c h
u su a lly o c c u r in F e b ru a ry a n d e a rly in M a r c h. A ft e r h a rro win g , it is m a r k e d in
c h e c k s a b out 4 o r 5 fe e t e a c h w a y. H e mp c ultiv a t e d fo r s e e d p ro d u c tio n mu st
h a v e ro o m to d e v elo p b r a n c h e s. (Pl. XL, fig . 1.)
PLANTING
T h e s e e d is pla nt e d b e t w e e n th e 20th of M a r c h a n d th e l a st of A p ril--u su a lly e a rlie r th a n th e s e e d is so w n fo r th e p ro d u c tio n of fib e r. It is u su a lly
pl a nt e d b y h a n d, 5 to 7 s e e d s in a hill, a n d c o v e r e d with a h o e . In s om e
in st a n c e s pla nt e rs a r e u s e d , so m e w h a t lik e tho s e u s e d fo r pl a ntin g c o rn, a n d on
s o m e f a r ms s e e d e rs a r e us e d w hic h pla nt 1 or 2 d rills a t a tim e 4 o r 5 fe e t a p a rt.
Wh e n pl a nt e d in d rills it is u su a lly n e c e ss a ry to thin out th e pla nts a ft e r w a rd s.
O n e o r t w o q u a rts of s e e d a r e suffi ci e nt to pla nt a n a c r e . L e ss th a n o n e q u a rt
w ould b e suffic i e nt if a ll th e pl a nts w e r e a llo w e d to g ro w.
206
CULTIVATION
O n th e b e st f a r ms th e c ro p is c ultiv a t e d fou r tim e s---t wic e r a th e r d e e p
a n d t wic e with c ultiv a to rs with fin e t e e th, m e r e ly stirrin g th e su rfa c e . Wh e n th e
first flo w e rs a r e p ro d u c e d , so th a t th e st a min a t e pl a nts m a y b e r e c o g niz e d , a ll
of th e s e pl a nts a r e c ut o ut e x c e pt a b out o n e p e r s q u a r e ro d. T h e s e will p ro d u c e
s uffic i e nt p olle n to fe rtiliz e th e flo w e rs on th e pistilla t e , o r s e e d-b e a rin g pla nts,
a n d th e r e mo v al of th e oth e rs will giv e mo r e ro o m fo r th e d e v e lo p m e nt of th e
s e e d-b e a rin g pl a nts.
HARVEST
T h e s e e d-b e a rin g pl a nts a r e allo w e d to r e m a in until fully m a tu r e , o r a s
lo n g a s p ossible with out inju ry fro m fro st. T h e y a r e c ut with c o rn k niv e s, us u a lly
d u rin g th e first h a lf of O c to b e r, l e a vin g th e stu b ble 10 to 20 in c h e s hig h. T h e
pl a nts a r e s e t u p in loos e sh o c k s a ro un d o n e o r t w o pla nts w hic h h a v e b e e n l eft
st a n din g. T h e s ho c k s a r e u su a lly b o un d n e a r th e to p with bin d e r t win e . T h e y a r e
l e ft in this m a nn e r fo r t w o o r th r e e w e e k s, until th o ro u g hly d ry. (Pl. XLIII, fig. 1.)
COLLECTING THE SEED
Wh e n th e s e e d h e mp is th o ro u g hly d ry, m e n (u su a lly in g a n g s of fiv e o r
six, with t a rp a ulin s a b out 20 f e e t s q u a r e) g o into th e fi e ld . O n e m a n with a n a x
c uts off th e h e m p stu b bl e b e t w e e n fo u r sho c k s a n d c le a rs a s p a c e la r g e e n ou g h
to s p r e a d th e t a r p a ulin. T h e oth e r m e n pi c k u p a n e ntir e s ho c k a n d th ro w it on
th e t a r p a ulin. T h e y th e n b e a t off th e s e e d s with stic k s a b out 5 f e e t lo n g a n d 1
1/2 in c h e s in di a m e t e r. (Pl. XLIV. fig. 1.) Wh e n th e s e e d h a s b e e n b e a t e n off fro m
o n e sid e of th e sh o c k th e m e n tu rn it o v e r b y m e a n s of th e sti c k s, a n d aft e r
b e a tin g off a ll of th e s e e d th e y pic k u p with th e sti c k s th e st a lk s in on e b u n c h
a n d th ro w th e m off th e c a n v a s, a n d th e n tr e a t a noth e r s ho c k in th e s a m e
m a nn e r. T h e y will b e a t off th e s e e d fro m fo u r s ho c k s in 15 to 20 minut e s,
s e c u rin g 2 o r 3 p e c k s of s e e d fro m e a c h s ho c k . While this s e e ms a r a th e r c ru d e
w a y of c olle c tin g th e s e e d , it is d o u btl e ss th e mo st e c on o mic al a n d p r a c tic al
m e th o d th a t m a y b e d e vis e d . T h e s e e d f alls so r e a dily fro m th e d ry h e mp st a lk s
th a t it w ould b e imp ossible to mov e th e m witho ut a v e ry g r e a t lo ss.
F u rth e r mo r e , it w o uld b e v e ry diffic ult to h a n dl e pla nts 10 to 14 fe e t hig h, with
rigid b r a n c h e s 3 to 6 fe e t in le n gth, so a s to fe e d th e m to a ny kin d of th r a s hin g
m a c hin e .
CLEANING THE SEED
T h e s e e d a n d c h a ff w hic h h a v e b e e n b e a t e n on th e t a r p a ulin a r e
s o m e tim e s b e a t e n o r tr a m p e d to b r e a k u p th e c o a rs e r b un c h e s a n d st alk s, a n d
in so m e in st a n c e s th e y a r e ru b b e d th rou g h c o a rs e sie v e s in o r d e r to r e d u c e
th e m e n ou g h to b e p ut th ro u g h a f a nnin g mill. T h e s e e d is th e n p a rtly c l e a n e d b y
a fa nnin g mill in th e fie ld a n d aft e r w a r d s run on c e o r t wic e th rou g h a n oth e r mill
with fin e r sie v e s a n d b e tt e r a dju stm e nts of f a n s. E v e n aft e r this tr e a tm e nt it is
u su a lly p ut th rou g h a s e e d-c l e a nin g m a c hin e b y th e d e a l e rs. T h e r e h a s r e c e ntly
b e e n intro d u c e d on som e of th e b e st s e e d-h e m p fa r ms a kin d of hom e m a d e
207
th r a s hin g m a c hin e , c on sistin g e ss e nti a lly of a fe e din g d e vic e , c ylin d e r, a n d
c on c a v e s, a tt a c h e d to a r a th e r l a rg e f a nnin g mill, a ll b e in g d riv e n b y a g a solin e
e n gin e . (Pl. XLIV, fig . 2.) T h e h e mp s e e d is f e d to this m a c hin e ju st a s it c o m e s
fro m th e t a r p a ulin a ft e r b e a tin g off fro m th e sh o c k. It c o m bin e s th e p ro c e ss of
b r e a kin g u p th e c h aff into fin e r pie c e s a n d th e w o r k of f a nnin g th e s e e d in th e
fi e ld , a n d it p e rfo r ms this w o r k mo r e effe c tiv e ly a n d mo r e r a pidly.
YIELD
U n d e r f a vo r a ble c on dition s th e yi e ld of h e mp s e e d r a n g e s fro m 12 to 25
b us h e ls p e r a c r e . F rom 16 to 18 b u sh e ls a r e r e g a r d e d a s a fa ir a v e r a g e yie ld .
COST OF SEED PRODUCTION
T h e h e mp-s e e d g ro w e rs st a t e th a t it c o sts a b o ut $2.50 p e r b u sh e l to
p ro d u c e h e m p s e e d , c o untin g th e a nn u a l r e nt a l of th e la n d a t a b out $10 p e r
a c r e . With th e intro d u c tion of imp rov e d m a c hin e ry fo r c le a nin g th e h e m p this
c o st m a y b e s o m e w h a t r e d u c e d , sin c e it is e stim a t e d th a t with th e or din a ry
m e th o d s of ru b bin g th e s e e d th rou g h si e v e s o r b e a tin g it to r e d u c e th e c h aff to
fin e r pi e c e s th e c ost fro m b e a tin g it off th e sho c k to d e liv e rin g it a t th e m a r k e t is
a b o ut 50 c e nts p e r b ush e l. T h e s e e stim a t e s of c ost a r e b a s e d o n w a g e s a t $1.25
p e r d a y.
PRICES
T h e p ri c e of h e mp s e e d , a s sold b y th e fa r m e r d u rin g th e p a st 10 y e a rs,
h a s r a n g e d fro m $2.50 to $5 p e r b u sh el. T h e a v e r a g e f a r m p ri c e d urin g this
p e rio d h a s b e e n not fa r fro m $3 p e r b us h e l. H e m p s e e d is sold b y w eig ht, a
b us h e l w e ig hin g 44 p ou n d s.
CULTIVATION FOR FIBER
PREPARATION OF THE LAND
F a ll plo win g o n mo st soils is g e n e r a lly r e g a rd e d a s b e st fo r h e m p , sin c e
th e a c tion of th e fro st in wint e r h e lp s to disint e g r a t e th e p a rtic le s of s oil, m a kin g
it mo r e unifo r m in c h a r a c t e r. In p r a c ti c e , h e mp l a n d is plo w e d a t a n y tim e fro m
O c to b e r to l a t e s e e din g tim e in Ma y, b ut h e mp sh ould n e v e r b e so w n on s p rin gplo w e d s o d . T h e la n d sh ould b e plo w e d 8 o r 9 in c h e s in o rd e r to giv e a d e e p
s e e d b e d a n d o p p o rtunity fo r root d e v e lo p m e nt. Plo win g e ith e r a rou n d th e fie ld
o r fro m th e c e nt e r is r e c o mm e n d e d , sin c e b a c k fu rro w s a n d d e a d furro w s will
r e s ult in u n e v e n moistu r e c on dition s a n d mor e un e v e n h e mp . B e fo r e so win g ,
th e l a n d is h a rro w e d to m a k e a m e llo w s e e d b e d a n d unifo r m l e v e l su rf a c e .
S o m e tim e s this h a rro win g is o mitt e d , e s p e c ia lly w h e n h e mp is g ro w n o n stu b ble
g rou n d plo w e d just b efo r e s e e din g . H a rro win g o r l e v e lin g in s o m e m a nn e r is
r e c o mm e n d e d a t a ll tim e s, in o r d e r to s e c u r e c o n ditio ns fo r c o v e rin g th e s e e d
a t a unifo r m d e pth a n d a lso to fa cilit a t e c los e c uttin g a t h a rv e st tim e .
208
SEEDING
METHODS OF SEEDING
H e m p s e e d sh ould b e s o w n a s u nifo r mly a s p o ssible all ov e r th e g rou n d
a n d c o v e r e d a s n e a rly a s p ossibl e a t a unifo rm d e p th of a b out th r e e-fo u rths of
a n in c h, o r a s d e e p a s 2 in c h e s in lig ht soils. O r din a ry g r a in d rills usu a lly pl a nt
th e s e e d too d e e ply a n d in d rills too fa r a p a rt fo r th e b e st r e s ults. U nifo r m
distrib ution is so m e tim e s s e c u r e d b y d rillin g in b oth dir e c tion s. T his d ou bl e
w o r kin g , e s p e c ia lly with a dis k d rill, l e a v e s th e l a n d in g oo d c on dition. O rdin a ry
g r a in d rills d o not h a v e a fe e d in di c a to r fo r h e m p s e e d , b ut th e y m a y b e r e a dily
c a lib r a t e d, a n d this s ho uld b e d o n e b efo r e run nin g th e ris k of so win g too mu c h
o r to o little . F ill th e s e e d b ox with h e mp s e e d, s p r e a d a c a n v a s u n d e r th e
f e e din g tu b e s, s e t th e in dic a to r a t a littl e l e ss th a n on e-h a lf b u sh e l p e r a c r e fo r
w h e a t, a n d tu rn th e d riv e w h e e l a s m a n y tim e s a s it w ould tu rn in s o win g o n et e nth a c r e . O n e m e tho d givin g g o o d r e sults is to r e mo v e th e lo w e r s e c tio ns of
th e fe e din g tu b e s on g r a in d rills a n d pla c e a fl a t b o a rd so th a t th e h e m p s e e d
f a llin g a g a inst it will b e mo r e e v e nly distrib ut e d , th e s e e d b e in g c o v e r e d e ith e r
b y th e sh o e s of th e d rill o r b y a lig ht b a rro w . G oo d r e sults a r e o bt a in e d with dis k
d rills, roll e r p r e ss d rills, a n d a ls o with th e e n d-g a t e b ro a d c a st s e e d e r. D rills
m a d e e s p e c ia lly fo r so win g h e mp s e e d a r e no w o n th e m a r k e t, a n d th e y a r e
s u p e rs e din g a ll oth e r m e th o d s of s o win g h e m p s e e d in K e ntu c k y. R ollin g aft e r
s e e din g is a d vis e d, in o r d e r to p a c k th e soil a b out th e s e e d a n d to s e c u r e a
s mo oth su rfa c e fo r c uttin g , b ut rollin g is not r e c o mm e n d e d fo r soils w h e r e it is
k no w n to h a v e a n inju rio us effe c t.
AMOUNT OF SEED
H e m p is so w n a t th e r a t e of a b out 3 p e c k s (33 p oun d s) p e r a c r e . O n
e s p e c i a lly ric h s oil 1 1/2 b u sh els m a y b e so w n with g oo d r e sults, a n d on p oo r
l a n d th a t will not s u p p o rt a d e n s e , h e a vy c ro p a s m a lle r a mou nt is
r e c o mm e n d e d. If c o n dition s a r e f a v o r a bl e a n d th e s e e d g e r min a t e s 98 to 100
p e r c e nt, 3 p e c k s a r e us u ally suffic i e nt. Wh e n k e p t d ry, h e m p s e e d r e t a in s its
g e r min a tiv e vit ality w e ll fo r a t l e a st th r e e o r fou r y e a rs, b ut diffe r e nt lots h a v e
b e e n fo un d to v a ry from 35 to 100 p e r c e nt, a n d it is a lw a ys w e ll to t e st th e s e e d
b efo r e so win g .
TIME OF SEEDING
In K e ntu c k y, h e mp s e e d is s o w n fro m th e la st of M a r c h to th e l a st of M a y.
T h e b e st r e s ults a r e u su a lly o bt a in e d fro m A p ril s e e din g . L a t e r s e e din g s m a y b e
s u c c e ssful w h e n th e r e is a ple ntiful r a inf all in J un e . In N e b r a s k a , h e m p s e e d
w a s s o w n in A p ril, Ma y, o r so m e tim e s a s l a t e a s J un e . In C a lifo rnia it is so w n in
F e b ru a ry o r Ma r c h; in In dia n a a n d Wis c o nsin, in M a y. In g e n e r al, th e b e st tim e
fo r so win g h e mp s e e d is just b e fo r e th e tim e fo r so win g o a ts in a n y giv e n
lo c a lity. Aft e r th e s e e d is s o w n, th e h e mp c ro p r e q uir e s no fu rth e r c a r e o r
a tt e ntion until th e tim e of h a rv e st.
209
HARVEST
TIME
In C a lifo rni a , h e m p is c ut la t e in J uly o r in A u g u st; in K e ntu c k y, In di a n a ,
a n d Wis c o nsin it is c ut in S e p t e mb e r. T h e h e m p sh ould b e c ut w h e n th e
st a min a t e pl a nts a r e in full flo w e r a n d th e p olle n is flyin g. If c ut e a rlie r, th e fib e r
will b e fin e r a n d soft e r b ut also w e a k e r a n d le ss in q u a ntity. If p e r mitt e d to
b e c o m e o v e rrip e , th e fib e r will b e c o a rs e , h a rs h, a n d le ss pli a ble , a n d it will b e
im p ossible to r e t th e st a lk s p ro p e rly.
METHODS OF HARVESTING
HARVESTING BY HAND
In K e ntu c k y, a s m all p o rtio n of th e h e m p c ro p is still c ut b y h a n d with a
r e a pin g k nif e o r h e mp h oo k. (Pl. XL V, fig . 1.) T his k nif e is so m e w h a t simil a r to a
lo n g-h a n dle d c o rn c utt e r. T h e m a n c uttin g th e h e m p p ulls a n a r mful of st a lk s
to w a rd him with his l eft a r m a n d c uts th e m off a s n e a r th e b a s e a s p ossibl e b y
d r a win g th e k nif e c lo s e to th e g ro un d; h e th e n l a ys th e st a lk s on th e g roun d in a
s mo oth, e v e n ro w , with th e b utts to w a rd him, th a t is, to w a rd th e un c ut h e mp . A n
e xp e rie n c e d h a n d will c ut with a r e a pin g k nife a b out th r e e-fou rth s of a n a c r e a
d a y. T h e h e mp st a lk s a r e a llo w e d to lie o n th e g rou n d u ntil d ry, w h e n th e y a r e
r a k e d u p b y h a n d a n d s e t u p in sh o c k s until tim e to s p r e a d fo r r e ttin g .
HARVESTING WITH REAPERS
S w e e p-r a k e r e a p e rs a r e b e in g u s e d in in c r e a sin g n u mb e rs fo r h a rv e stin g
h e mp in K e ntu c k y a n d in all oth e r lo c a liti e s w h e r e h e m p is r ais e d . (Pl. XL V, fig.
2.) While n ot e ntir e ly s a tisfa c to ry, th e y a r e b e in g imp rov e d a n d str e n g th e n e d s o
a s to b e b e tt e r a d a p t e d fo r h e a vy w o r k . T h r e e m e n, o n e to g rin d s e c tio ns, o n e
to d riv e , a n d o n e to a tt e n d to th e m a c hin e , a n d fou r stro n g h o rs e s o r mul e s a r e
r e q uir e d in c uttin g h e m p with a r e a p e r. U n d e r f a v o r a bl e c on ditions, fro m 5 to 7
a c r e s p e r d a y c a n b e c ut in this m a nn e r. T his mo r e r a pid w o r k m a k e s it p o ssible
to h a rv e st th e c ro p mor e n e a rly a t th e p ro p e r tim e . T h e st a lk s, a ft e r c u rin g in
th e g a v e l, a r e s e t u p in s ho c k s, u su ally without bin din g into b un dl e s u nle ss th e y
a r e to b e st a c k e d .
HARVESTING WITH MOWING MACHINES
In so m e pla c e s h e mp is c ut with o r din a ry mo win g m a c hin e s. (Pl. XL V, fig .
3.) A ho riz o nt al b a r n e a rly p a r a ll el with th e c uttin g b a r, th e out e r e n d p roje c tin g
slig htly fo r w a rd , is a tt a c h e d to a n u p rig ht f a st e n e d to th e to n g u e of th e
m a c hin e . T his b a r is a b out 4 f e e t a b ov e th e c uttin g b a r a n d a b out 20 in c h e s to
th e fro nt. It b e n d s th e h e mp st a lk s o v e r in th e dir e c tio n th e m a c hin e is g oin g .
T h e st a lk s a r e mo r e e a sily c ut w h e n thu s b e nt a w a y fro m th e k niv e s a n d ,
fu rth e r mo r e , th e b a s e s s n a p b a c k of th e c uttin g b a r a n d n e v e r d ro p th ro u g h
b e t w e e n th e g u a r d s to b e c ut a s e c o n d tim e , a s th e y oft e n d o w h e n c ut st a n din g
210
e r e c t. With a 5 1/2- foot mo win g m a c hin e thu s e q uip p e d , o n e m a n a n d on e t e a m
of t w o h o rs e s will c ut 6 to 8 a c r e s p e r d a y. T h e w o r k is r e g a rd e d a s a b o ut e q u al
to c uttin g a h e a vy c ro p of c lo v e r. T h e h e m p thu s c ut a ll fa lls in th e dir e c tion th e
m a c hin e is g oin g, th e to p s ov e rla p pin g th e b utts of th e st a lk s. T h e o rdin a ry
tr a c k cl e a r e r a t th e e n d of th e b a r cl e a rs a p a th, so th a t th e st a lk s a r e not
m a t e ria lly inju r e d e ith e r b y th e ho rs e s o r th e w h e e ls of th e m a c hin e a t th e n e xt
ro un d.
T h e h e mp st a lk s a r e th e n le ft w h e r e th e y f a ll u ntil r e tt e d , o r in pl a c e s
w h e r e th e c ro p is h e a vy th e st a lk s a r e tu rn e d o n c e o r t wic e to s e c u r e unifo r m
c u rin g a n d r e ttin g. Wh e n s uffic i e ntly r e tt e d th e st a lk s a r e r a k e d u p with a 2h o rs e h a y r a k e , g oin g c ro ss wis e of th e s w a th s, a n d th e n d r a w n, lik e h a y, to th e
m a c hin e b r a k e . T his is th e most in e xp e n siv e m e th o d fo r h a n dlin g th e c ro p. It is
im p ossible to m a k e c le a n, lon g , str a ig ht fib e r fro m st a lk s h a n dl e d in this
m a nn e r, a n d it is not r e c o mm e n d e d w h e r e b e tt e r m e th o d s a r e p r a c tic a bl e . It is
w o rth y of mo r e e xt e n d e d u s e , h o w e v e r, fo r h a n dlin g sh o rt a n d irr e g ul a r h e mp ,
a n d h un d r e d s of a c r e s of h e mp n o w b u rn e d in K e ntu c k y b e c a u s e it is to o s ho rt
to b e tr e a t e d in th e r e g ul a r m a nn e r mig ht b e h a n dl e d with p rofit b y this m e th o d .
T h e r e m a y b e n e a rly a s mu c h p rofit in 3 1/2-c e nt fib e r p ro d u c e d a t a c ost of 2
c e nts p e r p ou n d a s in 5-c e nt fib e r p ro d u c e d a t a c o st of 3 c e nts, p ro vid e d th e
l a n d r e nt is not too la rg e a n it e m of c o st.
NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT IN HEMP HARVESTERS
T h e most s a tisf a c to ry h e mp-h a rv e stin g m a c hin e s no w in u s e a r e th e s e lfr a k e r e a p e rs, m a d e e s p e c i ally fo r this p u rp os e . T h e y a r e ju st a b o ut a s
s a tisfa c to ry fo r h e mp n o w a s th e simila r m a c hin e s fo r w h e a t a n d o a ts w e r e 30
y e a rs a g o. Mo r e effic i e nt h a rv e stin g m a c hin e ry is n e e d e d to b rin g th e h a n dlin g
of this c ro p u p to p r e s e nt m e tho d s in h a rv e stin g c o rn o r s m a ll g r a in. A m a c hin e
is n e e d e d w hic h will c ut th e st a lk s c lo s e to th e g roun d, d e liv e r th e m str a ig ht a n d
n ot b ruis e d o r b ro k e n, with th e b utts e v e n, a n d b ou n d in b un dl e s a b o ut 8 in c h e s
in di a m e t e r. A mo difie d fo r m of th e u p rig ht c o rn bin d e r, a rr a n g e d to c ut a s w a th
a b o ut 4 fe e t wid e , is su g g e st e d . Mo difie d fo r ms of g r a in bin d e rs h a v e b e e n
tri e d , b ut with r a th e r un s a tisf a c to ry r e sults. G r e e n h e mp 8 to 14 fe e t hig h c a n
n ot b e h a n dl e d su c c e ssfully b y g r a in bin d e rs; fu rth e r mo r e , th e r e e l b r e a k s o r
d a m a g e s a la r g e p ro p o rtio n of th e h e m p. T h e to u g h, fib rou s st alk s, s o m e of
w hic h m a y b e a n in c h in di a m e t e r, a r e mo r e diffic ult to c ut th a n g r a in a n d
th e r efo r e r e q uir e sh a rp k niv e s with a hig h motion. A h e mp-r e a pin g m a c hin e is
a lso n e e d e d th a t will c ut th e h e mp a n d l a y it d o w n in a n e v e n s w a th, a s g r ain is
l a id with a c r a dl e . T h e b utts sh ould all b e in on e dir e c tion, a n d th e s w a th s ho uld
b e f a r e nou g h fro m th e c ut h e mp so a s not to b e in th e w a y a t th e n e xt roun d. A
m a c hin e of this ty p e m a y b e u s e d w h e r e it is d e sir e d to r e t th e h e mp in th e f all
imm e dia t e ly a ft e r c uttin g. It mig ht b e u s e d fo r l a t e c ro p s in K e ntu c k y, o r
g e n e r a lly fo r h e m p f a rth e r n o rth, w h e r e th e r e is little d a n g e r of " sun b u rn " a ft e r
th e h e mp is h a rv e st e d .
211
STACKING
H e m p st a lk s w hic h a r e to b e st a c k e d a r e b o un d in b u n dle s a b out 10
in c h e s in di a m e t e r, with s m all h e mp pl a nts for b a n d s, b efo r e b e in g pl a c e d in
s ho c k s. (Pl. XL VI, fig. 2.) T h e y a r e a llo w e d to st a n d in th e s ho c k from 10 to 15
d a ys, o r a s uffic ie nt le n gth of tim e to a void d a n g e r of h e a tin g in th e st a c k. T h e
b un dl e s a r e h a ul e d from th e sh o c k s to th e st a c k s in r a th e r s m a ll lo a d s of h alf a
ton o r l e ss on a lo w r a c k o r sle d. T h r e e m e n with a t e a m a n d lo w w a g o n to h a ul
th e st a lk s c a n p ut u p t w o h e mp st a c k s of a b out 8 ton s e a c h in a d a y.
A h e mp st a c k mu st b e b uilt to s h e d w a t e r. It is st a rt e d mu c h lik e a g r a in
st a c k with a sh o c k, a rou n d w hic h th e b u n dle s a r e pl a c e d in ti e rs, with th e b utts
slo pin g d o w n w a r d a n d o ut w a r d. T h e st a c k is k e p t hig h e r in th e c e nt e r a n d e a c h
s u c c e e din g out e r tie r p roje c ts slig htly to a h e ig ht of 5 o r 6 fe e t, w h e n a noth e r
s ho c k is b uilt in th e c e nt e r, a rou n d w hic h th e b un dl e s a r e c a r efully pl a c e d to
s h e d w a t e r a n d th e p e a k c a p p e d with a n u p rig ht b un dl e . A w e ll-b uilt st a c k m a y
b e k e pt fo u r o r fiv e y e a rs witho ut inju ry. H e mp w hic h h a s b e e n st a c k e d r e ts
mo r e q uic kly a n d mo r e e v e nly, th e fib e r is u su a lly of b e tt e r q u a lity, a n d th e yi e ld
of fib e r is u su a lly g r e a t e r th a n fro m h e mp r e tt e d dir e c tly fro m th e sho c k . H e m p
is st a c k e d b efo r e r e ttin g, b ut not aft e r r e ttin g in K e ntu c k y. St a c kin g r e tt e d
h e mp st a lk s fo r sto r a g e b e fo r e b r e a kin g is not r e c o mm e n d e d in clim a t e s w h e r e
th e r e is d a n g e r of g a th e rin g moistu r e . R e tt e d st alk s m a y b e sto r e d in s h e d s
w h e r e th e y will b e k e pt d ry.
CARE IN HANDLING
H e m p st a lk s must b e k e pt str a ig ht, un b ro k e n, a n d with th e b utts e v e n.
T h e y mu st b e h a n dl e d with g r e a t e r c a r e th a n is c o mmonly e x e r c is e d in h a n dlin g
g r a in c ro p s. Wh e n a b u n c h of loo s e st alk s is pi c k e d u p a t a n y st a g e of th e
o p e r a tio n, it is c hu c k e d d o w n on th e b utts to m a k e th e m e v e n. T h e lo os e st a lk s,
o r b un dle s, a r e h a n dle d b y h a n d a n d not with pit c hfo r k s. T h e only tool us e d in
h a n dlin g th e st alk s is a h oo k o r r a k e , in g a th e rin g th e m u p fro m th e s w a th.
RETTING
R e ttin g is a p ro c e ss in w hic h th e g u ms su rroun din g th e fib e rs a n d
bin din g th e m to g e th e r a r e p a rtly diss olv e d a n d r e mo v e d. It p e r mits th e fib e r to
b e s e p a r a t e d fro m th e w oo d y in n e r p o rtion of th e st a lk a n d fro m th e thin out e r
b a r k , a n d it a ls o r e mov e s solu bl e m a t e ri a ls w hi c h w ould c a us e r a pid
d e c o mp o sition if le ft with th e fib e r. T w o m e tho d s of r e ttin g a r e p r a c ti c e d
c o mm e r c ia lly, viz, d e w r e ttin g a n d w a t e r r e ttin g.
DEW RETTING
In this c ou ntry d e w r e ttin g is p r a c ti c e d a lmo st e x c lu siv e ly. T h e h e mp is
s p r e a d on th e g rou n d in thin, e v e n ro w s, so th a t it will all b e u nifo r mly e xp os e d
to th e w e a th e r. In s p r e a din g h e mp th e w o r k m a n t a k e s a n a r mful of st a lk s a n d ,
w a lkin g b a c k w a rd , slid e s th e m sid e wis e fro m his k n e e , so th a t th e b utts a r e a ll
e v e n in o n e dir e c tion a n d th e la y e r is n ot mo r e th a n th r e e st a lk s in thi c k n e ss.
212
(Pl. XLIV, fig . 3.) T his w o r k is us u a lly p a id fo r a t th e r a t e of $1 p e r a c r e , a n d
e xp e rie n c e d h a n d s will a v e r a g e mo r e th a n 1 a c r e p e r d a y. T h e h e mp is l eft on
th e g rou n d fro m fou r w e e k s to fou r month s. W a r m, moist w e a th e r p ro mot e s th e
r e ttin g p ro c e ss, a n d c old o r d ry w e a th e r r e t a r d s it. H e mp r e ts r a pidly if s p r e a d
d u rin g e a rly f a ll, p ro vid e d th e r e a r e r a ins, b ut it is lik e ly to b e l e ss unifo r m th a n
if r e tt e d d u rin g th e c old e r mo nths. It sho uld not b e s p r e a d e a rly e n ou g h to b e
e xp o s e d to th e su n in hot, d ry w e a th e r. A lt e rn a t e fr e e zin g a n d th a win g o r lig ht
s no w s m e ltin g o n th e h e m p giv e most d e sir a bl e r e sults in r e ttin g . Sle n d e r st a lk s
o n e-fou rth in c h in di a m e t e r o r le ss r e t mo r e slo wly th a n c o a rs e st a lk s, a n d su c h
st alk s a r e u su ally n ot ov e rr e tt e d if le ft o n th e g rou n d a ll wint e r. H e m p r e ts w e ll
in yo un g w h e a t o r ry e , w hic h hold th e moistu r e a b out th e st a lk s. In K e ntu c k y
mo st of th e h e m p is s p r e a d d u rin g D e c e mb e r. A p rotr a c t e d J a n u a ry th a w with
c o mp a r a tiv e ly w a r m r a iny w e a th e r o c c a sion a lly r e sults in o v e rr e ttin g. Whil e
this d o e s n ot d e stroy th e c ro p , it w e a k e ns th e fib e r a n d c a u s e s mu c h lo ss.
Wh e n r e tt e d suffi c ie ntly, so th a t th e fib e r c a n b e e a sily s e p a r a t e d from th e
h u rd s, o r w oo d y p o rtion, th e st a lk s a r e r a k e d u p a n d s e t u p in sho c k s, c a r e
b e in g e x e r cis e d to k e e p th e m str a ig ht a n d with th e b utts e v e n. T h e y a r e n ot
b oun d in b u n dle s, b ut a b a n d is so m e tim e s p ut a roun d th e sho c k n e a r th e to p .
T h e w o r k of t a kin g u p th e st a lk s aft e r r e ttin g is u su ally d o n e b y pi e c e w o r k a t th e
r a t e of $1 p e r a c r e .
WATER RETTING
W a t e r r e ttin g is p r a c tic e d in It a ly, F r a n c e , B elgiu m, G e r m a n y, J a p a n, a n d
C hin a , a n d in s o m e lo c a liti e s in Ru ssi a . It c o nsists in imm e rsin g th e h e mp st a lk s
in w a t e r in str e a ms, p on d s, o r a rtific ia l t a n k s. In It aly, w h e r e th e w hit e st a n d
s oft e st h e m p fib e r is p ro d u c e d , th e st a lk s a r e pla c e d in t a n k s of s oft w a t e r fo r a
f e w d a ys, th e n t a k e n out a n d d ri e d , a n d r e tu rn e d to th e t a n k s fo r a s e c o n d
r e ttin g . U su a lly th e st alk s r e m a in in th e w a t e r first a b out e ig ht d a ys a n d th e
s e c on d tim e a littl e lon g e r. In e ith e r d e w r e ttin g o r w a t e r r e ttin g th e p ro c e ss is
c o mpl e t e w h e n th e b a r k , in c lu din g th e fib e r, r e a dily s e p a r a t e s fro m th e st a lk s.
T h e solution of th e g ums is a c c o mplish e d c hi e fly b y c e rt a in b a c t e ria . If th e
r e ttin g p ro c e ss is a llo w e d to g o to o f a r, oth e r b a c t e ri a a tt a c k th e fib e r. T h e
d e v e lo p m e nt of th e s e diff e r e nt b a c t e ri a d e p e n d s to a l a rg e e xt e nt u p on th e
t e mp e r a tu r e . P ro c e ss e s h a v e b e e n d e vis e d fo r pla cin g p u r e c ultu r e s of s p e c ific
b a c t e ri a in th e r e ttin g t a n k s a n d th e n k e e pin g th e t e mp e r a tu r e a n d air s u p ply a t
th e b e st fo r th e ir d e v e lo p m e nt. (Ro ssi, G ia c omo. M a c e r a zio n e d e lla C a n a p a .
A n n a ll d ell a R e gi a S c uol a Su p e rio r e di A g ri c ultu r a di Po rtic i, s.2, v. 7, p . 1-148,
1907.) T h e s e m e tho d s, w hic h s e e m to giv e p ro mis e of su c c e ss, h a v e not b e e n
a d o p t e d in c o mm e r c ia l w o r k.
CHEMICAL RETTING
M a n y p ro c e ss e s fo r r e ttin g o r fo r c o m bin e d r e ttin g a n d ble a c hin g with
c h e mi c a ls h a v e b e e n d e vis e d , b ut n on e of th e m h a v e giv e n s uffic ie ntly g oo d
r e s ults to w a rr a nt th e ir intro d u c tion on a c o mm e r c i al s c a le . In mo st of th e
c h e mi c a l r e ttin g p ro c e ss e s it h a s b e e n foun d diffi c ult to s e c u r e a s oft, lu strou s
213
fib e r, lik e th a t p ro d u c e d b y d e w o r w a t e r r e ttin g, o r c o mple t e ly to r e mo v e th e
c h e mi c a ls s o th a t th e fib e r will n ot c ontinu e to d e t e rio r a t e o win g to th e ir
inju riou s a c tio n. O n e of th e mo st s e riou s diffic ultie s in h e mp c ultiv a tio n a t th e
p r e s e nt tim e is th e l a c k of a s a tisf a c to ry m e th o d of r e ttin g th a t m a y b e r e lie d
u p on to giv e unifo r m r e s ults without inju ry to th e fib e r. A n e x c e ll e nt c ro p of
h e mp st a lk s, c a p a bl e of yie ldin g mo r e th a n $50 w o rth of fib e r p e r a c r e , m a y b e
p r a c tic ally ruin e d b y un suit a bl e w e a th e r c o n dition s w hil e r e ttin g . W a t e r r e ttin g,
a lth ou g h l e ss d e p e n d e nt on w e a th e r c on dition s th a n d e w r e ttin g , h a s not thu s
f a r giv e n p rofit a ble r e sults in this c ountry. T h e n e a r e st a p p ro a c h to c o mm e r c ia l
s u c c e ss with w a t e r r e ttin g in r e c e nt y e a rs in A m e ri c a w a s a tt a in e d in 1906 a t
N o rthfi e ld , Min n., w h e r e , aft e r s e v e r a l y e a rs of e xp e rim e nt a l w o r k, g o o d fib e r,
simil a r to It a lia n h e mp in q u a lity, w a s p ro d u c e d fro m h e mp r e tt e d in w a t e r in
l a r g e c e m e nt t a n k s. T h e w a t e r w a s k e p t in c ir c ula tion a n d a t th e d e sir e d
t e mp e r a tu r e b y a mo difi c a tion of th e D e s w a rt e-L o p p p e n s syst e m.
STEAMING
In J a p a n, w h e r e s o m e of th e b e st h e mp fib e r is p ro d u c e d , th r e e m e th o d s
of r e ttin g a r e e m plo y e d---d e w r e ttin g , w a t e r r e ttin g , a n d st e a min g , th e l a st
givin g th e b e st r e sults. B u n dle s of h e m p st a lk s a r e first imm e rs e d in w a t e r o n e
o r t w o d a ys to b e c o m e tho rou g hly w e t. T h e y a r e th e n s e c u r e d v e rtic a lly in a
lo n g c onic a l b ox o p e n a t th e b otto m a n d to p . T h e b ox th us fill e d with w e t st a lk s
is r a is e d b y m e a ns of a d e rric k a n d s w u n g o v e r a pile of h e a t e d ston e s o n w hi c h
w a t e r is d a sh e d to p ro d u c e st e a m. St e a min g a b o ut th r e e ho u rs is suffic i e nt. T h e
fib e r is th e n strip p e d off b y h a n d a n d s c r a p e d, to r e mo v e th e o ut e r b a r k . T h e
fib e r thu s p r e p a r e d is v e ry stron g , b ut le ss fle xibl e th a n th a t p r e p a r e d b y d e w
r e ttin g o r w a t e r r e ttin g.
BREAKING
B r e a kin g is a p ro c e ss b y m e a n s of w hic h th e in n e r, w oo d y sh ell is b ro k e n
in pi e c e s a n d r e mo v e d, l e a vin g th e c l e a n, lo n g , str a ig ht fib e r. Stri c tly s p e a kin g,
th e b r e a kin g p ro c e ss m e r e ly b r e a k s in pi e c e s th e w oo d y p o rtio n s, w hile th e ir
r e mo v a l is a s e c on d o p e r a tion p ro p e rly c a lle d s c ut c hin g . In It a ly a n d in so m e
oth e r p a rts of E u ro p e th e st a lk s a r e b ro k e n b y on e m a c hin e , o r d e vic e , a n d
a ft e r w a r d s s c ut c h e d b y a n oth e r. In this c ou ntry th e t w o a r e us u a lly c o mbin e d in
o n e o p e r a tion.
HAND BRAKES
H a n d b r a k e s (Pl. XL VI, fig. 1.), with littl e c h a n g e o r mo difi c a tion, h a v e
b e e n in u s e fo r m a n y g e n e r a tion s, a n d e v e n y e t mo r e th a n th r e e-fourth s of th e
h e mp fib e r p ro d u c e d in K e ntu c k y is b ro k e n out on th e h a n d b r a k e . T his sim ple
d e vi c e c on sists of th r e e b o a rd s a b out 5 f e e t lo n g s e t e d g e wis e , wid e r a p a rt a t
o n e e n d th a n th e oth e r a n d with th e u p p e r e d g e s so m e w h a t s h a r p e n e d . A b o v e
this a fr a m e w o r k , with t w o b o a r d s s h a rp e n e d o n th e lo w e r e d g e s, is hin g e d
n e a r th e wid e e n d of th e lo w e r fr a m e , so th a t w h e n w o r k e d u p a n d d o w n b y
214
m e a n s of th e h a n dl e a lo n g th e b a c k th e s e u p p e r b o a rd s p a ss mid w a y in th e
s p a c e s b e t w e e n th e lo w e r o n e s. A c a r p e nt e r o r w a g on m a k e r c a n e a sily m a k e
o n e of th e s e h a n d b r a k e s, a n d th e y a r e s old in K e ntu c k y fo r a b o ut $5.
T h e o p e r a to r t a k e s a n a r mful of h e mp un d e r his le ft a r m, pla c e s th e b utts
a c ro ss th e wid e e n d of th e b r a k e n e a r th e hin g e d u p p e r p a rt, w hi c h is r a is e d
with his rig ht h a n d , a n d c ru n c h e s th e u p p e r p a rt d o w n, b r e a kin g th e st a lk s. T his
o p e r a tio n is r e p e a t e d s e v e r a l tim e s, mo vin g th e st a lk s a lon g to w a rd th e n a rro w
e n d so a s to b r e a k th e s ho rt e r pie c e s, a n d w h e n th e h e mp a p p e a rs p r e tty w e ll
b ro k e n th e o p e r a to r t a k e s th e a r mful in b oth h a n d s a n d w hip s it a c ro ss th e
b r a k e to r e mov e th e loo s e n e d hu r d s. H e th e n r e v e rs e s th e b un dl e a n d b r e a k s
th e to p s a n d c l e a ns th e fib e r in th e s a m e m a n n e r. T h e u su a l c h a rg e fo r b r e a kin g
h e mp on th e h a n d b r a k e in this m a nn e r is 1 c e nt to 1 1/2 c e nts p e r p ou n d . T h e r e
a r e r e c o r d s of 400 p o un d s b e in g b ro k e n b y on e m a n in a d a y, b ut th e a v e r a g e
d a y’s w o r k, c o untin g six d a ys in a w e e k , is r a r e ly mo r e th a n 75 p ou n d s. In a
g oo d c ro p, th e r e fo r e , it w o uld r e q uir e 10 to 15 d a ys fo r on e m a n to b r e a k a n
a c r e of h e m p. T h e w o r k r e q uir e s s kill; str e n gth, a n d e n d u r a n c e , a n d fo r m a n y
y e a rs th e r e h a s b e e n in c r e a sin g diffi c ulty in s e c u rin g l a b o r e rs fo r it. It is pl a inly
e vid e nt th a t th e h e m p in d u stry c a n not in c r e a s e in this c o untry unle ss s o m e
m e th o d is u s e d fo r p r e p a rin g th e fib e r r e q uirin g l e ss h a n d l a b o r th a n th e h a n d
brake.
MACHINE BRAKES
S e v e r a l y e a rs a g o a b r a k e w a s b uilt a t R a ntoul, Ill., fo r b r e a kin g a n d
c l e a nin g th e fib e r r a pidly, b ut p ro d u c in g to w o r t a n gle d fib e r in st e a d of cl e a n,
str a ig ht, lin e fib e r, s u c h a s is o b t a in e d b y th e h a n d b r a k e . T his m a c hin e
c on sist e d e ss e ntia lly of a s e rie s of flut e d rolle rs follo w e d b y a s e ri e s of b e a tin g
w h e e ls. M a c hin e s d e sig n e d aft e r this ty p e , b ut imp rov e d in m a n y r e s p e c ts, h a v e
b e e n in u s e s e v e r a l y e a rs a t H a v e lo c k, N e b r., a n d first a t G ridl e y, th e n a t
C o u rtl a n d a n d Rio Vist a , C a l. T h e s e m a c hin e s h a v e s uffi c ie nt c a p a city a n d a r e
o p e r a t e d a t c o mp a r a tiv e ly s m a ll c o st, th e hu rd s fu rnishin g mo r e th a n suffi c ie nt
fu e l fo r th e st e a m p o w e r r e q uir e d, b ut th e c on ditio n of th e fib e r p ro d u c e d is not
s a tisfa c to ry fo r hig h c la ss t win e s a n d it c o mm a n d s a lo w e r p ric e th a n c l e a n,
lo n g , str a ig ht fib e r.
T h e S a nfo rd-M a llo ry fla x b r a k e , c on sistin g e ss e ntia lly of fiv e flut e d
roll e rs with a n int e rru pt e d motio n, p ro d u c in g a ru b bin g e ff e c t, h a s b e e n us e d to
a limit e d e xt e nt fo r b r e a kin g h e m p. T his m a c hin e , a s o rdin a rily m a d e fo r
b r e a kin g fla x, is too lig ht a n d its c a p a c ity is ins uffic i e nt fo r th e w o r k of b r e a kin g
h e mp .
A p o rt a ble m a c hin e b r a k e (Pl. XL VI, fig . 4) h a s b e e n us e d su c c e ssfully in
K e ntu c k y d u rin g th e p a st t w o y e a rs. It h a s a s e ri e s of c ru shin g a n d b r e a kin g
roll e rs, b e a tin g a n d s c ut c hin g d e vi c e s, a n d a n ov e l a p pli c a tion of su c tio n to aid
in s e p a r a tin g hu r d s a n d to w. T h e st a lk s a r e fe d e n d wis e . T h e lo n g fib e r,
215
s c ut c h e d a n d c le a n, le a v e s th e m a c hin e a t on e p oint, th e to w , n e a rly c l e a n, a t
a noth e r, a n d th e hu r d s, e ntir e ly fr e e fro m fib e r, a t a n oth e r. It h a s a c a p a c ity of
a b o ut 1 ton of c le a n fib e r p e r d a y.
A n oth e r p o rt a ble m a c hin e b r a k e h a s b e e n in u s e in C a lifo rnia d u rin g th e
p a st t w o y e a rs, c hie fly b r e a kin g h e m p th a t h a s b e e n tho rou g hly a ir d ri e d b ut not
r e tt e d . T his h e mp g ro w n with irrig a tio n, b e c o m e s d ry e n ou g h in th a t a rid
c lim a t e to b r e a k w e ll, b ut this m e tho d is not p r a c tic a ble in hu mid c lim a t e s
with out a rtific ia l d ryin g . T h e st alk s, fe d e n d wis e , p a ss first th rou g h a s e rie s of
flut e d o r g ro ov e d roll e rs a n d th e n th rou g h a p a ir of b e a tin g w h e e ls, r e mo vin g
mo st of th e hu r d s, a n d th e fib e r, p a ssin g b e t w e e n th r e e p a irs of movin g
s c ut c hin g a p ron s, e a c h p a ir follo w e d b y roll e rs, fin a lly le a v e s th e m a c hin e in a
kin d of c ontinuo us l a p fold e d b a c k a n d fo rth in th e b a lin g b ox.
A l a r g e r m a c hin e (Pl. XL VI, fig . 3), h a vin g th e g r e a t e st c a p a city a n d
tu rnin g o ut th e cl e a n e st a n d mo st u nifo r m fib e r of a ny of th e b r a k e s th us fa r
b rou g ht out, h a s b e e n u s e d to a limit e d e xt e nt d u rin g th e p a st e ig ht y e a rs in
K e ntu c k y, C a lifo rni a , In dia n a , a n d Wis c on sin. T his m a c hin e w e ig h s a b o ut 7
ton s, b ut it is mount e d o n wheels and is drawn about by a traction farm engine,
which also furnishes power for operating it. The stalks are fed sidewise in a
continuous layer 1 to 3 inches thick, and carried along so that the ends, forced
through slits, are broken and scutched simultaneously by converging revolving
cylinders about 12 and 16 feet long. One cylinder, extending beyond the end of
the other, cleans the middle portion of the stalks, the grasping mechanism
carrying them forward being shifted to the fiber cleaned by the shorter cylinder.
The cylinders break the stalks and scutch the fiber on the under side of the
layer as it is carried along, and the loosened hurds on the upper side are
scutched by two large beating wheels just as it leaves the machine. The fiber
leaves the machine sidewise, thoroughly cleaned and ready to be twisted into
heads and packed in bales. This machine with a full crew of 15 men, including
men to haul stalks from the field and others to tie up the fiber for baling, has a
capacity of 1,000 pounds of clean, straight fiber of good hemp per hour. The
tow is thrown out with the hurds, and until recent improvements it has produced
too large a percentage of tow. It does good work with hemp retted somewhat
less than is necessary for the hand brake, and it turns out more uniform and
cleaner fiber. For good work it requires, as do all the machines and also the
hand brakes, that the hemp stalks be dry. If the atmosphere is dry at the time of
breaking, the hemp may be broken directly from the shocks in the field, but in
regions with a moist atmosphere, or with much rainy weather, it would be best
to store the stalks in sheds or under cover, and with a stationary plant it might
be economical to dr them artificially, using the hurds for fuel. Extreme care
must be exercised in artificial drying, however, to avoid injury to the fiber.
216
IMPROVEMENT NEEDED IN HEMP-BREAKING MACHINES
While hemp-breaking machines have now reached a degree of perfection
at which they are successfully replacing the hand brakes, as the thrashing
machines half a century ago began replacing the flail, there is still room for
improvement. This needed improvement may be expected as soon as hemp is
grown more extensively, so as to make a sufficient demand for machinery to
induce manufacturers to invest capital in this line. For small and scattered
crops a comparatively light, portable machine is desirable, requiring not more
than 10 horsepower and not more than four or five laborers of average skill for
its operation. It should prepare the fiber clean and straight, ready to be tied in
hanks for baling, and should have a capacity of at least 1,000 pounds of clean
fiber per day. For localities where hemp is grown more abundantly, so as to
furnish a large supply of stalks within short hauling distance, a larger machine
operated in a stationary central plant by a crew of men trained to their
respective duties, like workers in a textile mill, will doubtless be found more
economical. Artificial retting and drying may also be used to good advantage in
a central plant. The hemp growers of Europe have adopted machine brakes
more readily than the farmers in this country, and the hemp industry in Europe
is most flourishing and most profitable where the machines are used. Most of
the hemp in northern Italy is broken and scutched by portable machines.
Machines are also used in Hungary, and the machine-scutched hemp of
Hungary is regularly quoted at $10 to $15 per ton higher than that prepared by
hand. These European machines may not be adapted to American conditions,
but, together with American machines which are doing successful work, they
sufficiently contradict the frequent assertion of hemp growers and dealers that
"no machine can ever equal the hand brake."
SORTING
On many hemp plantations the stalks are roughly sorted before breaking,
so that the longer or better fiber will be kept separate. The work of sorting can
usually be done best at this point, short stalks from one portion of a field being
kept separate from the longer stalks of another portion and overretted stalks
from stalks with stronger fiber. Sometimes the men breaking the hemp sort the
fiber as it is broken. An expert handler of fiber will readily sort it into two or
three grades by feeling of it as it leaves the hand brake or the breaking
machine. It is a mistaken policy to suppose that the average price will be higher
if poor fiber is mixed with good. It may be safely assumed that the purchaser
fixing the price will pay for a mixed lot a rate more nearly the value of the lowest
in the mixture, and he can not justly do otherwise, for the fiber must be sorted
later if it is to be used to the best advantage in the course of manufacture.
217
PACKING FIBER FOR LOCAL MARKET
The long, straight fiber is put up in bundles, or heads, 4 to 6 inches in
diameter and weighing 2 to 4 pounds. (Pl. XL, fig.4.) The bundle of fiber is
twisted and bent over, forming a head about one-third below the top end. It is
fastened in this form by a few strands of the fiber itself, wound tightly around
the neck and tucked in so that it may be readily unfastened without cutting or
becoming tangled. Three ropes, each about 15 feet long, twisted by hand from
the hemp tow, are stretched on the ground about 15 inches apart. The hanks of
fiber are piled crosswise on these ropes with the heads of the successive tiers
alternating with the loose ends, which are tucked in so as not to become
tangled. When the bundle thus built up is about 30 inches in diameter, the ropes
are drawn up tightly by two men and tied. These bundles weigh about 200
pounds each. Most of the hemp leaves the farm in this form. Hemp tow,
produced from broken or tangled stalks and fiber beaten out in cleaning the
long straight hemp, is packed into handmade bales in the same manner.
HACKLING
In Kentucky, most of the hemp is sold by the farmers to the local dealers
or hemp merchants. The hemp dealers have large warehouses where the fiber
is stored, sorted, hackled, and baled. The work of hackling is rarely done on the
farms. The rough hemp is first sorted by an expert, who determines which is
best suited for the different grades to be produced. A quantity of this rough
fiber, usually 112 or 224 pounds, is weighed out to a workman, who hackles it by
hand, one head at a time. The head is first unfastened and the fiber shaken out
to its full length. It is then combed out by drawing it across a coarse hackle,
beginning near the top end and working successively toward the center. When
combed a little beyond the center, the bundle of fiber is reversed and the butt
end hackled in the same manner. The coarse hackle first used consists of three
or four rows of upright steel pins about 7 inches long, one-fourth of an inch
thick, and 1 inch apart. The long fiber combed out straight on this hackle is
called "single-dressed hemp." This may afterwards be treated in much the
same manner on a smaller hackle with finer and sharper needles set closer
together, splitting and subdividing the fibers as well as combing them out more
smoothly. The fiber thus prepared is called "double-dressed hemp," and it
commands the highest price of any hemp fiber on the American market.
The work of hackling is paid for at a certain rate per pound for the
amount of dressed fiber produced. The workman therefore tries to hackle and
dress the fiber in such a manner as to produce the greatest possible amount of
dressed fiber and least amount of tow and waste. The dressed fiber is carefully
inspected before payment is made, and there are few complaints from
manufacturers that American dressed hemp is not up to the standard.
A large proportion of the hemp purchased by the local dealers is sold
directly to the twine and cordage mills without hackling or other handling
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except carefully sorting and packing into bales.
BALING
The bales packed for shipment are usually about 4 by 3 by 2 feet. The
following table gives the approximate weights per bale:
Average weight per bale of hemp for shipment to mills.
CLASS OF HEMP - POUNDS
Tow - 450
Rough -500
Single dressed - 800
Double dressed - 900
When cleaned by machine brakes the fiber is often baled directly without
packing it in the preliminary handmade bales. In this way it has sometimes
escaped the process of careful sorting and has brought unjust criticism on the
machines. This cause for criticism may easily be avoided by exercising a little
more care in sorting the stalks, and, if necessary, the cleaned fiber.
YIELD
The yield of hemp fiber ranges from 400 to 2,500 pounds per acre. The
average yield under good conditions is about 1,000 pounds per acre, of which
about three-fourths are line fiber and one-fourth is tow. The yield per acre at
different stages of preparation may be stated as follows:
Stalks
Green, freshly cut. ............15,000 pounds
Dry, as cured in shock....... 10,000 pounds
Dry, after dew retting........... 6,000 pounds
Long fiber, rough hemp................. 750 pounds
Tow.........................................250 pounds
If the 750 pounds of long fiber is hackled it will yield about 340 pounds of
single-dressed hemp, 180 pounds shorts, 140 pounds fine tow, and 90 pounds
hurds and waste. The average yields in the principal hemp-producing countries
of Europe, based on statements of annual average yields for 5 to 10 years, are
as follows:
Russia...................358 pounds
Hungary................ 504 pounds
Italy....................622 pounds
France...................662 pounds
The yield is generally higher in both Europe and the United States in
regions where machine brakes are used, but this is due, in part at least, to the
better crops, for machine brakes usually accompany better farming.
219
COST OF HEMP-FIBER PRODUCTION
The operations for raising a crop of hemp are essentially the same as
those for raising a crop of wheat or oats up to the time of harvest, and the
implements or tools required are merely a plow, disk, drill or seeder, a harrow,
and a roller, such as may be found on any well-equipped farm. Estimates of the
cost of these operations may therefore be based upon the cost of similar work
for other crops with which all farmers are familiar. But the operations of
harvesting, retting, breaking, and baling are very different from those for other
farm crops in this country. The actual cost will, of course, vary with the varying
conditions on different farms. Hemp can not be economically grown in areas of
less than 50 acres in any one locality so as to warrant the use of machinery for
harvesting and breaking. The following general estimate is therefore given for
what may be considered the smallest practical area:
Estimated cost and returns for 50 acres of hemp
Cost: Plowing (in fall) 50 acres, $2 per acre...$100
Disking (in spring), 50 cents per acre.....$25
Harrowing, 30 cents per acre......$15
Seed, 40 bushels, delivered, $4.50 per bushel.....$180
Seeding, 40 cents per acre.....$20
Rolling, 30 cents per acre.......$15
Self-rake reaper for harvesting.....$75
Cutting with reaper, $1 per acre.....$50
Picking up from gavels and shocking, $1 per acre.....$50
Spreading for retting, $1.50 per acre.....$75
Picking up from retting swath and setting in shocks, $1.40 per acre...$70
Breaking 50,000 pounds fiber, including use of machine brake,
1 1/2 cents per pound.....$750
Baling 125 bales (400 pounds each), including use of baling press,
$1.40 per bale.....$175
Marketing and miscellaneous expenses.....$150
Total cost..... $1,750
Returns: Long fiber, 37,500 pounds, 6 cents per pound.....$2,250
Tow, 12,500 pounds, 4 cents per pound.................$ 500
Total returns.........$2,750
It is not expected that a net profit of $20 per acre, as indicated in the
foregoing estimate, may be realized in all cases, but the figures given are
regarded as conservative where all conditions are favorable.
MARKET
All of the hemp produced in this country is used in American spinning
mills, and it is not sufficient to supply one-half of the demand. The importations
have been increasing slightly during the past 20 years, while there has been a
decided increase in values. The average declared value of imported hemp,
220
including all grades, for the 4,817 tons imported in 1893, was $142.31 per ton,
while in the fiscal year 1913 the importations amounted to 7,663 tons with an
average declared value of $193.67 per ton. There have been some fluctuations
in quotations, but the general tendency of prices of both imported and
American hemp has been upward. (Fig. 19.) The quotations for Kentucky rough
prime, since October, 1912, have been the highest recorded for this standard
grade. Furthermore, the increasing demand for this fiber, together with the
scarcity of competing fibers in the world’s markets, indicates a continuation of
prices at high levels.
EFFECT OF TARIFF
So far as can be determined from records of importations and prices
since 1880, the earliest available statistics, the changes in the rate of import
duty on hemp have had no appreciable effect on the quantity imported, on the
declared import value ((Declared value of port of shipment.) of the fiber, or on
the quantity produced or the price of American hemp in this country. (Fig. 20.)
The tariff acts of 1870, 1883, and 1890, in force until 1894, imposed a duty of
$25 per ton on line hemp. From 1894 to 1899 hemp was on the free list, and from
1899 to 1913 it was dutiable at $22.50 per ton. The importations reached a high
level in 1899, when hemp was extensively used for binder twine. From that year
onward henequen from Yucatan and abaca from the Philippines replaced hemp
in binder twine, while jute from India replaced it completely for cotton-bale
covering. The increasing demand for hemp for commercial twines has resulted
in higher prices for both imported and American hemps, but this demand has
been met in this country neither by importation nor by production. There are no
accurate statistics of acreage or production in the United States, but there has
been a general decline from about 7,000 tons in 1880 to about 5,000 in 1913.
The average annual production during the period of free importations, 1894 to
1899, was about 5,000 tons, but slightly less than that of the previous 10 years
and about the same as the average of the period of dutiable hemp since then.
The present tariff, 1913, with hemp on the free list, has not been in force long
enough to indicate any appreciable effect.
LOCATION OF AMERICAN MILLS
Some hemp from the larger farms is sold directly to the spinning mills,
but most of that produced in this country passes through the hands of local
dealers in Kentucky. The hemp imported is purchased either directly from
foreign dealers by the mills or through fiber brokers in New York and Boston.
(Insert fig. 21 here)
There is one twine mill at Frankfort, Ky., on the western edge of the
hemp-producing region, and one at Covington, Ky., opposite Cincinnati, but
aside from the comparatively small quantities used by these mills and a little
used in the mill at Oakland, Cal., practically all the hemp fiber is shipped away
from the States where it is produced. There are 28 mills in this country using
221
American hemp, most of them in the vicinity of Boston or New York, as indicated
on the accompanying map (Some of the mills are so close together around New
York and Boston that it is impossible to indicate each one by a separate star.)
(fig. 21). In most of these mills other soft fibers, such as jute, China jute, and
flax, are also used, and many of them are also engaged in the manufacture of
twines and cordage from the hard fibers---sisal, henequen, abaca (manila),
phormium, and Mauritius.
USES
Hemp is used in the manufacture of tying twine, carpet warp, seine
twine, sails, standing rigging, and heaving lines for ships, and for packing. It has
been used to some extent for binder twine, but at the relative prices usually
prevailing it can not well compete with sisal and abaca for this purpose. Binder
twine made of American hemp and India jute mixed has been placed upon the
market. This twine is said to give excellent results because it is more smooth
and uniform than twine made of hard fiber. The hemp fiber is tougher and more
pliable than hard fibers, and the twine is therefore more difficult to cut in the
knotter. Hemp is also used to a limited extent for bagging and cotton baling.
Only the tow and cheaper grades of the fiber can compete with other fibers for
these purposes. The softer grades of hemp tow are extensively used for oakum
and packing in pumps, engines, and similar machinery. It endures heat,
moisture, and friction with less injury than other fibers, except flax, used for
these purposes. Hemp is especially adapted by its strength and durability for
the manufacture of carpet warp, hall rugs, aisle runners, tarpaulins, sails,
upholstery webbing, belt webbing, and for all purposes in textile articles where
strength, durability, and flexibility are desired. Hemp will make fabrics stronger
and more durable than cotton or woolen fabrics of the same weight, but owing
to its coarser texture it is not well suited for clothing and for many articles
commonly made of cotton and wool.
COMPETING FIBERS
The principal fibers now competing with American-grown hemp are
Russian and Hungarian hemp, cotton, and jute. Italian hemp, being water
retted, is not only higher in price but it is different in character from the
American dew-retted hemp, and it is used for certain kinds of twines and the
finer grades of carpet warp for which American hemp is not well suited. Twine
made of Italian hemp may, of course, be used sometimes where American hemp
twine might serve just as well, but owing to its higher price it is not likely to be
used as a substitute, and it can not compete to the disadvantage of American
hemp. Russian and Hungarian hemp, chiefly dew retted, is of the same
character as American hemp and is used for the same purposes. Russian hemp
is delivered at the mills in this country at prices but little above those of rough
hemp from Kentucky. Most of the Russian and Hungarian hemp imported is of
the better grades, the poorer grades being retained in Europe, where many
articles are made of low-grade hemp that would be made of low-grade cotton in
222
this country. In some years, owing to unsuitable weather conditions for retting
Kentucky hemp or to greater care in handling Russian hemp and to care in
grading the hemp for export from Russia, much of the Russian hemp of the
better grades has been stronger and more satisfactory to twine manufacturers
than American hemp placed on the market at approximately the same price. It is
used for mixing with overretted and weak American hemp to give the requisite
strength to twine.
Cotton is now used more extensively than all other vegetable fibers
combined. The world’s supply of cotton is estimated in round numbers at
5,500,000 tons, valued at nearly $1,000,000,000. The total supply of all other
fibers of commerce---hemp, flax, jute, China jute, ramie, sisal, abaca, phormium,
Mauritius fiber, cabuya, mescal fiber, and Philippine maguey---amounts annually
to about 3,300,000 tons, valued at about $350,000,000. Cotton, therefore, so
greatly overshadows all other textile fibers that it may scarcely be regarded as
competing directly with any one of them. Cotton is prepared and spun on
different kinds of machines from those used for preparing and spinning long
fibers. Cotton is not mixed with hemp and is rarely spun in the same mills where
hemp is used. Cotton twines do, however, compete with hemp tying twines, and
cotton is largely used for carpet warp, where hemp, with its superior strength
and durability, would give better service. Less than a century ago hemp and flax
were used more extensively than cotton, but the introduction of the cotton gin,
followed by the rapid development of machinery all along the line for preparing
and spinning cotton fiber, while there has been no corresponding development
of machinery for preparing and spinning hemp or other long fibers, has given
cotton the supremacy among vegetable fibers. There is little probability that
hemp will regain the supremacy over cotton, even with improved machinery for
handling the crop and spinning the fiber, because cotton is better adapted to a
wide range of textile products. Hemp should, however, regain many of the lines
where it will give better service than cotton.
Jute is the most dangerous competitor of hemp. Jute is produced in India
from the bast or inner bark of two closely related species of plants, jute
(Corchorus capsularis ) and nalta jute (Corchorus olitorius ). These plants are
somewhat similar in appearance to hemp, though not at all related to it. They
are grown on the alluvial soils in the province of Bengal, India, and to a much
less extent in other parts of India, southern China, and Taiwan (Formosa). More
than 3,000,000 acres are devoted to this crop, and the annual production is
approximately 2,000,000 tons of fiber, valued at $150,000,000. The plants are
pulled by hand, water retted in slow streams or stagnant pools, and the fiber
cleaned by hand without the aid of even crude appliances as effective as the
hand brake for hemp. Jute fiber thus prepared, cleaner, softer, and more easily
spun than Kentucky rough-prime hemp, is delivered in New York at an average
price of about 4 cents per pound for the better grades. Jute butts, consisting of
the coarser fiber cut off at the base, 5 to 10 inches long, are sold in this country
223
at 1 to 2 cents per pound. Most of the long jute fiber comprising the "light jute"
grades are of a light straw color, while the "dark jutes," also called "desi jute,"
are of a dark, brownish gray. The fresh fiber of both kinds when well prepared is
lustrous, but with age it changes to a dingy, brownish yellow.
Fresh jute fiber is about two-thirds as strong as hemp fiber of the same
weight, but jute lacks durability and rapidly loses its strength even in dry air,
while if exposed to moisture it quickly goes to pieces. It is not suitable for any
purpose where strength or durability is required. Jute is used most extensively
for burlaps, gunny bags, sugar sacks, grain sacks, wool sacking, and covering
for cotton bales. Hemp has been used for all of these purposes, but the cheaper
jute fiber now practically holds the entire field in the manufacture of coverings
for agricultural products in transit. This is a legitimate field for jute, where it
constitutes a "gift package," generally to be used but once, but even in this field
hemp may regain some of its uses when it is found that jute does not give
sufficient strength or durability.
Jute is often used as an adulterant or as a substitute for hemp in the
manufacture of twines, webbing, carpet warp, and carpets. The careless use of
the name hemp to indicate jute aids in facilitating this substitution. Twine made
of pure jute fiber is sold as "hemp twine" in the retail stores in Lexington, Ky., in
the heart of the hemp-growing region. Many of the so-called hemp carpets and
hemp rugs are made only of jute, and they wear out quickly, whereas a carpet
made of hemp should be as durable as one made of wool. Jute is substituted for
hemp very largely in the manufacture of warp for carpets and rugs, a purpose
for which its lack of strength and durability makes it poorly fitted. It is to the
interest of the purchaser of manufactured articles as well as to the producer of
hemp and the manufacturer of pure hemp goods that the line between hemp
and jute be sharply drawn. Unfortunately, the difference in the appearance of
the fibers by which they may be distinguished is not as strongly marked as the
differences between their strength and wearing qualities.
TESTS FOR DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN JUTE AND HEMP
There are no satisfactory tests for these fibers without the aid of a
microscope and chemical reagents. A ready, but uncertain, test consists in
untwisting the end of twine or yarn. Jute fiber thus unwound is more fuzzy and
more brittle than hemp. The two fibers may be distinguished with certainty with
a microscope and chemical reagents, as indicated by the differences in the
table which follows:
REACTIONS OF HEMP AND JUTE
At the present high prices of jute (fig.4), resulting from increasing
demands in foreign markets and a partial failure of the crop in India, jute could
224
not compete successfully with hemp were it not that manufacturers are using it
in established lines of goods, and, further, that they are uncertain about
securing supplies of hemp.
JUTE FIBER DRYING IN THE SUN
ABUTILON AVICINNOE. [CORCHORUS SP.]
AMERICAN JUTE. NEAR YANG TSUN,
CHINA. VIEW OF ONE SIDE OF A PIECE
OF A NICE RICK OF GOOD LOOKING
"CHING MA" FIBER DRYING IN THE
SUN. THIS "CHING MA" FIBER PLANT
IS SAID TO PRODUCE 80 CATHIS,
ABOUT 100 POUNDS, OF FIBER PER
ACRE. THE LONG FIBER SELLS AT
14.00 LOCAL DOLLARS PER 120
CATHIS AND 13.00 PER THE SHORT
FIBER.PHOTOGRAPH #45580 –
WWW.NAL.USDA.GOV/.../DORSETT/
MISCPICS.HTML
S UMM A RY
Hemp is one of the oldest fiber-producing crops and was formerly the
most important.
The cultivation of hemp is declining in the United States because of the
(1) increasing difficulty in securing sufficient labor for handling the crop with
present methods, (2) lack of labor-saving machinery as compared with
machinery for handling other crops, (3) increasing profits in other crops, (4)
competition of other fibers, especially jute, and (5) lack of knowledge of the
crop outside of a limited area in Kentucky.
Hemp was cultivated for fiber in very early times in China.
The history of the distribution of hemp from Asia to other continents
indicates its relationships and the development of the best fiber-producing
types.
Hemp is cultivated in warm countries for the production of a narcotic
drug, but for fiber only in moderately cool and humid temperate regions.
Very few well-marked varieties of hemp of fiber-producing types have
been developed.
225
The climate and soils over large areas in the valley of the Mississippi and
its tributaries and in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys in California are
suited for hemp.
Hemp improves the physical condition of the soil, destroys weeds, and
when retted on the ground, as is the common practice, does not exhaust
fertility.
Hemp is recommended for cultivation in regular crop rotations to take
the place of a spring-sown grain crop.
Fertilizers are not generally used in growing hemp, but barnyard manure
applied to previous crops is recommended.
Hemp is rarely injured by insects or fungous diseases.
Broom rape, a root parasite, is the most serious pest in hemp.
Practically all of the hemp seed used in the United States is produced in
Kentucky.
The best seed is obtained from plants cultivated especially for seed
production, but some seed is obtained from broadcast overripe fiber crops.
The land should be well plowed and harrowed, so as to be level and
uniform.
The seed should be sown early in spring by any method that will
distribute and cover it uniformly.
Some hemp is still cut by hand in Kentucky, but the use of machinery for
harvesting the crop is increasing.
Dew retting is regarded as the most practical method in this country.
Hand brakes for preparing the fiber are still used, but they are being replaced
by machines.
years.
The price of hemp has been generally increasing during the past 30
About 30 different spinning mills in the United States, beside dealers in
oakum supplies, offer a market for raw hemp fiber.
The market would expand if manufacturers could be assured of larger
supplies.
Source: www.naihc.org/hemp_information/content/1913.html
226
H E MP-K N O WL E D G M E N T S
This book started as a response to the crisis which our
planet home finds itself in 2007.
The impetus for the book came from our editor
J . N a y e r H a r din
who worked tirelessly to get our message to the
public, industry, government and the world at
large. She deserves special thanks
for getting me started on this project.
Thanks to Nayer’s partner,
Sherwood A kuna
who added artwork and design
Special thanks to my companion,
B r e n d a K e r sh e n b a um
who joined with me in 1995
to form the World Cannabis Foundation.
She has made many contributions to this book
including research, and the gathering of museum
artifacts, for which we both hold the vision of an
actual Hemp Museum in Los Angeles,
where people will be able to see the wonder of
hemp first-hand. Brenda also did initial financing
and promotion of the 1990 edition of
The Emperor Wears No Clothes,
the book which inspired me
to create the USA Hemp Museum.
Th a n ks go e s to a ll th e u nn a m e d h e m p a c tivists w h o
w o uld not l e t th e id e a die th at h e m p c o uld s av e th e pla n e t.
227
T H E R E S E A R C H A P P LI C ATI O N
Los Angeles, CA - The USA Hemp Museum’s Founder and Curator,
Richard M. Davis announced that a HEMP FOR VICTORY plan is in
development at the museum to successfully use hemp to help solve the
survival problem of global warming.
Why hemp? Hemp dynamically reduces pollution in two major ways.
First, hemp is biomass champion, breathing in more carbon dioxide (the
most abundant greenhouse gas) than any other plant. This carbon dioxide
is turned into wood and fiber by photosynthesis. Hemp wood takes the
pressure off our forests by making paper and building materials like
pressboard. Also, Hemp can do all the jobs fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural
gas) do now. When used as bio fuel, hemp replaces toxic energy (fossil
fuels, nuclear power) with clean sustainable energy. Hemp biofuel can be
processed to run any engine, heat or cool any building, run any factory, and
eliminate the greenhouse gases and pollution that come from modern
energy sources. Remove the cause, pollution, and the effect, global
warming can be reduced, if not healed.
The HEMP FOR VICTORY plan is considering the problem of global
warming, benefits of hemp, land use and availability, financing with a hemp
tax, restoring the family farm to grow hemp, seeds, irrigation, growing
techniques, harvesting, processing, replacing toxic energy, how to use
existing energy distribution systems, and other benefits from re-hemping
the earth. This plan is based on the HEMP FOR VICTORY campaign of World
War II (see USA Hemp Museum’s History Room).
“A state of international emergency has been declared by many of the
top scientists in the world.” Davis said “We have a solution. To help save
ourselves from the ravages of global warming, we must grow massive
quantities of hemp all over the world to reduce carbon dioxide and provide
bio fuel. Working together, crops can be bred for maximum earth healing
affect. Markets can be coordinated. The impact of restoring the family
farmers can help those who are not currently benefiting from our alleged
booming economy by keeping energy dollars at home.
Decisions have consequences and our decision to stay on toxic
energy is seriously impacting global warming. We must change now to
survive and hemp is key to the process.”
For more information, to help establish an immediate seed fund, build
the physical hemp museum, donate, or to contribute hemp items a n d sto rie s
c o nt a c t Ric h a r d D a vis, T h e U S A H e m p Mu s e u m, w w w .h e m p m u s e u m.o r g.
228
R E-H E MP T H E P L A N E TC L E A N T H E E N VIR O NM E N T.
D O IT N O W.
U N D E R S TA N D T H E P R O B L E M
A N D IMP L E M E N T
E F F E C TIV E S O LU TI O N S
S T O P P O LLU TIN G A C TIVITI E S
IN S TIT U T E A 20% R E C R E ATI O N A L H E MP TA X
TO C OVER TH E C OST
D E V E LO P A N D IMP L E M E N T A
H E MP F O R VI C T O RY P R O G R A M, LI K E IN WWII
G R O W H E MP E V E RYW H E R E P O S SIB L E
T O C L E A N T H E AIR A N D A D D OXYG E N
M A N A G E T H E M E LTIN G I C E B E R G S F O R IR RI G ATI O N
A N D D RIN K IN G W AT E R
P R AY A N D M E DITAT E T O B E C O M E
G O O D C A R E TA K E R S O F T H E E A RT H
F R E E A L L H E MP P O LITI C A L P RIS O N E R S
T O O R D E R A D DITI O N A L C O PI E S:
T H E U.S. A . H E MP MU S E UM
H A P PY H E MP
229

hemp for victory - USA Hemp Museum

Transcription

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