Therapeutic Hemp Oil

by Andrew Weil, M.D.

The nutritional composition of oil from the marijuana plant could be beneficial to your health. To most people, Cannabis sativa is synonymous with marijuana, but the plant's Latin name means the "useful hemp." Species designated sativa (useful) are usually among the most important of all crops. In fact, the utility of hemp is manifold: the plant has provided human beings with fiber, edible seeds, an edible oil, and medicine, not just a notorious mind-altering drug.

In our part of the world, these other uses of hemp are no longer familiar. We rarely use hemp fiber and know little about hemp medicine. (Some cancer patients have found it to be a superior remedy for the nausea caused by chemotherapy, and some people with multiple sclerosis are grateful for its relaxant effects on spastic muscles.) Hemp seed is sometimes an ingredient in bird food; otherwise, edible products from Cannabis sativa are virtually unknown.

This may all change. In many parts of the country, promoters of hemp cultivation are working to educate people about the immense potential of this plant and to reintroduce it into commerce. They champion hemp as a renewable source of pulp for the manufacture of paper, as a superior fiber for making cloth, and as a new food that can be processed into everything from a milk substitute to a kind of tofu.

Hemp seeds contain 25% high quality protein and 40% fat in the form of an excellent quality oil. Hemp oil is just now coming on the market. Produced by the Ohio Hempery in Athens, Ohio, it will be sold through natural food stores in small, opaque bottles to be kept under refrigeration. It has a remarkable fatty acid profile, being high in the desirable omega-3s and also delivering some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) that is absent from the fats we normally eat. Nutritionally oriented doctors believe all of these compounds to be beneficial to health.

Hemp oil contains 57% linoleic (LA) and 19% linolenic (LNA) acids, in the three-to-one ratio that matches our nutritional needs. These are the essential fatty acids (EFAs)-so called because the body cannot make them and must get them from external sources. The best sources are oils from freshly ground grains and whole seeds, but EFAs are fragile and quickly lost in processing. EFAs are the building blocks of longer chain fats, such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that occur naturally in the fat of cold-water fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon, bluefish, herring, and, to a lesser extent, tuna.

Adding these foods to the diet seems to lower risks of heart attacks because omega-3 fatty acids reduce the clotting tendency of the blood and improve cholesterol profiles. They also have a natural anti-inflammatory effect that makes them useful for people with arthritis and autoimmune disorders.

Health food stores stock many brands of EPA/DHA supplements in the form of fish oil capsules. I usually do not recommend them because I think it's better to get your essential fatty acids in foods, and I worry about toxic contaminants in fish oil supplements. But what can you do if you choose, for one reason or another, not to eat fish? You can get some omega-3s in expeller pressed canola oil, the only common vegetable oil that contains them.

A much richer source is flax oil. Flax oil is pressed from the seeds of Linum utilitatissimum, the source of linen fiber and an oil better known in this country as linseed oil, the base for oil paints.

Linseed oil is usually classified as a "drying oil" rather than a food oil because its chemical characteristics cause it to combine readily with oxygen and become thick and hard. This tendency to harden on exposure to air quickly turns linseed oil rancid and unfit to eat, but makes it useful as a vehicle for pigment on canvas. (The word "canvas" by the way is a relative of "Cannabis," because true canvas is made from hemp fiber.)

For dietary purposes flax oil must be pressed at low temperatures, protected from light, heat, and air, stored at cool temperatures, and used quickly once the containers are opened. Most flax oil is not delicious. There is great variation in taste among the brands currently sold in natural food stores, but the best of them still leaves much to be desired.

I have been recommending flax oil as a dietary supplement to patients with autoimmune disorders, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions, but about half of them cannot tolerate it. Some say it makes them gag, even when concealed in salad dressing or mashed into a baked potato. These people have to resort to taking flax oil capsules, which are large and expensive.

Udo Erasmus, author of the classic book, Fats and Oils (Alive, 1986), [and Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, The Complete Guide to fats, oils, cholesterol and human health, Second Printing of Fats and Oils, (Alive, 1996). This book is a fabulous resource on nutrition --ratitor] says that the problem is freshness. Unless you get flax oil right from the processor and freeze it until you start using it, it will already have deteriorated by the time you buy it. Hemp oil contains more EFAs than flax and actually tastes good. It is nutty and free from the objectionable undertones of flax oil. I use it on salads, baked potatoes, and other foods and would not consider putting it in capsules.

Like flax oil, hemp oil should be stored in the refrigerator, used quickly, and never heated. Unlike flax oil, hemp oil also provides 1.7% gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). There is controversy about the value of adding this fatty acid to the diet, but many people take supplements of it in the form of capsules of evening primrose oil, black currant oil, and borage oil. My experience is that it simulates growth of hair and nails, improves the health of the skin, and can reduce inflammation. I like the idea of having one good oil that supplies both omega-3s and GLA, without the need to take more capsules.

One of the questions that people are sure to ask about hemp oil is whether it has any psychoactivity. The answer is no. The intoxicating properties of Cannabis sativa reside in a sticky resin produced most abundantly in the flowering tops of female plants before the seeds mature. The main psychoactive compound in this resin is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Strains of hemp grown for oil production have a low resin content to begin with, and by the time the seeds are ready for harvest, resin production has dropped even further. Finally, the seeds must be cleaned and washed before they are pressed. As a result, no THC is found in the final product.

A second question that people may ask is, "Is hemp oil illegal?" The oil itself is perfectly legal. Hemp seeds are allowed in commerce if they have been sterilized in some way to prevent germination. This is usually done by subjecting them to heat. At the moment, the Ohio Hempery is importing sterilized seeds from Canada and extracting the oil here, but it hopes to get some sort of exemption from this requirement in order to be able to use the freshest seeds possible in the future.

Obviously, there is a political dimension to the appearance of this product. For many years, Cannabis sativa has been stigmatized as a satanic plant and its cultivation has been prohibited. As an ethnobotanist interested in the relationships between plants and human beings, I have always felt that making plants illegal was stupid, especially when the objects of these actions are supremely useful plants like hemp. The plant is not responsible for human misuse of it.

The efforts of the Ohio Hempery and other groups to promote hemp cultivation are part of a campaign to rehabilitate this plant and change society's view of it. Whether or not you wish to join that campaign, it must seem counterproductive to deny ourselves access to the many benefits that hemp offers. Of those, the gift of an edible oil with superior nutritional and therapeutic properties is one of the most important.

If you have a chance to try hemp oil, a long forgotten, newly rediscovered food, I think you will see why I am enthusiastic about it. Andrew Weil teaches at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has a private medical practice, and is the author of Natural Health, Natural Medicine.

Hemp and the Rule of Law

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rh3VYT7VlKU

Breaking the stigma! Cannabis and Hemp 101

by Teri Wallace

Do you know what happens when you smoke hemp? Not a whole lot. You may end up with a cough or a headache, but you certainly won’t end up with a high. Surprised? Most people are because they mistakenly think hemp is the same thing as marijuana. It’s not; even though they are both members of the plant species cannabis sativa and bear an uncanny resemblance. Actually, the psychoactive properties in marijuana come from the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) found in the flower of the plant.
To break the stigma associated with marijuana, it is important to actually understand the difference between cannabis and hemp 101:
The two are related through the same genus of plant. While industrial-grade hemp is a rather helpful resource in the world, it lacks the stimulating power of the substance known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or for short, THC. It is this active chemical of THC that brings about the “high” associated with marijuana.
Hemp contains 1.5% of this substance, while marijuana possesses between 4 % and 20%. In Canada, the legal amount of THC used to create products cannot exceed 0.3%. Overall, the plants are rather close in details, but supply very different functions for many dissimilar reasons, which especially shows through in the physical makeup of the two plants.
Hemp is much stronger than the marijuana variety, meaning it holds the possibility to create a wealth of raw materials. Marijuana is actually quite delicate, eliminating it as a contender regarding serving a purpose to benefit mankind in a manner acceptable by law (with the exception of medicinal uses).
Farming practices also dictate the amount of THC produced by the plant. The unfertilized female species of cannabis sativa L contains the highest amount of THC, thus the male species is removed to prevent pollination, increasing it’s psychoactive properties dramatically.

This is GREAT NEWS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=T8ThjTSGUGU

Leaf/ This is awesome!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qa0nLdVJiIg

Let's Hear it for our States!! Go Missouri!!

Home » Drug War Chronicle

Missouri Marijuana Legalization Drive Gets Going [FEATURE]

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by Phillip Smith, January 27, 2012, 10:39am

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A Missouri campaign to place a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot has entered the signature-gathering phase, and petition-toting volunteers across the Show Me state are hunting for registered voters as the campaign looks for funds to help it get over the top. The effort is off to an enthusiastic start.

"Nearly 500 trained petitioners have now hit the streets," said campaign director and Kansas City area coordinator Amber Langston. "I'm happily overwhelmed with the enormous response we've received since launching our initiative."

The campaign is called Show-Me Cannabis Regulation (SMCR), and was put together by attorney Dan Viets, a long-time marijuana reformer and a member of the national NORML Legal Committee and board of directors, Missouri NORML chapters, and other marijuana legalization advocates and supporters.

The initiative, a constitutional amendment, calls for marijuana legalization for persons 21 and over, a process for licensing marijuana production and sales establishments, and allows the legislature to enact a tax of $100 a pound on retail sales. It also includes a provision lifting criminal justice system sanctions against people imprisoned or under state supervision for nonviolent marijuana offenses that would no longer be illegal and the expunging of all criminal records for such offenses. The initiatives would also allow for the use of marijuana for medical reasons by minors (with parental consent).

Petitioners must obtain the signatures of a number of registered voters equal to 8% of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor's race from six of the state's nine congressional districts. The campaign said that comes out to about 144,000 valid signatures, which means it needs to collect 200,000 or more to have a reasonable margin of comfort. Signatures must be turned in by May 6.

"We just started training volunteers in December, and we've been hitting it hard for the last three weeks," said St. Louis-area campaign coordinator John Payne. "We've gathered about 10,000 signatures already, and we're confident we're on pace to meet our targets," he added.

"It's an all-volunteer effort at this point," but SMCR doesn't intend for it to stay that way, said Payne. "We think we can get this on the ballot for a half a million dollars or so, and then, it's just a matter of getting the right message across."

The campaign doesn't yet have any state-level polling to bolster its case, but plans to do so shortly. In the meantime, it points to last October's Gallup poll, which showed, for the first time in history, a majority of Americans support legalizing cannabis for personal use with 50% in favor nationwide and 54% in the Midwest.

"We've raised a few thousand dollars already and have some funders who will hopefully be putting a fairly large sum of money in our account," Payne said. "We've been operating on a shoe string, but we're gearing up for more. We have an established campaign and a lot to show for what we've done so far on the cheap. If there are any donors out there looking for a good place to invest, they should take a look at us."

The campaign reports no sign of organized opposition at this point, but is casting a wary eye on one of the state's bigger economic interests: the beer brewers.

"We know the beer lobby put up money against Proposition 19. If we see any organized opposition, we expect it to come from the brewers," Payne said. "But if Bud and Busch get involved, we think most people will see through that as self-interested."

The campaign is also keeping an eye on the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, whose Jason Grellner seems to be the go-to guy on drug issues for the media, including the initiative campaign, said Payne. But maybe law enforcement opposition can be blunted, he suggested.

"Our most effective argument has been the public safety argument -- every minute a police officer spends arresting someone for smoking a joint is a minute not spent on rape or murder or armed robbery," said Payne. "We need to focus our law enforcement resources on more important things; lots of people get that, even if they're not sympathetic."

Economic arguments are also part of the arsenal, Payne said.

"This is a state where we've repeatedly had to cut the budget because of tax shortfalls, and we can show we could be saving about $100 million a year," he explained, citing economist Jeffrey Miron's report on the budgetary implications of prohibition for the states. "That resonates."

Then there are potential tax revenues. A $100 a pound tax on retail sales could generate not insignificant funds for the state, but some consumers grumble a bit at the prospect, Payne said.

"The potential revenues are a selling point for some people," he said; "for others, it's a bit of a turnoff, but they don't not sign the petitions."

SMCR and its army of volunteers has 14 weeks to get the job done, or to snare major funding to ensure the job gets done. But there's some serious competition for big donor dollars out there. Legalization initiatives in Colorado and Washington have already handed in enough signatures to appear set to make the ballot, and there are also legalization initiative campaigns in California, Michigan, and Oregon, as well as a new California medical marijuana initiative.

Can Show-Me Cannabis Regulation show the rest of us how to get it done? Stay tuned.

MO

United States

Wake up America

Saturday December 10th

LATEST NEWS Russia Vs China in new $315,000,000 cold war: "Simples" Hemp may soon be the only nutritious food with the prices heading down instead of up thanks to the Russians finally realising they've been duped by the American tobacco and paper industries. China, which already holds world leadership in the industry, plans to increase production six-fold by 2020. World prices for cannabis are currently double those for cotton. Russia plan to go head to head with China and Canada to restore them as global leader in the hemp oil and fibre market. 700,000 hectares of land were once used for cannabis when Russia was responsible for four-fifths (80%) of global cannabis production. Russia exported hemp to all major European naval nations in the age of sail, when the water-resistant rope made of cannabis fibres was a strategic commodity on a par with iron and gunpowder. Russia also relied on hemp as a source of oil, food, textiles, paper, housing and industrial materials, until 1961 when the Soviet Union ratified the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs which declared cannabis - along with heroin - a highly-toxic narcotic. A project to resume cultivation of industrial hemp is estimated to cost Russia about ten billion rubles ($315 million), the head of Russia's Federal Drug Control Service revealed at the end of September. Russia is now ironically currently one of the world's biggest importers of hemp fibres and oil. The Federal Drug Control Service believes that a revival of hemp's industrial usage will help 'to create new jobs and reduce social tensions in eastern regions, which are abundant with illegal wild cannabis.' The demand for cannabis seeds grows by an estimated 30% annually. USA still top of the 'buttheads' Meanwhile in The USA police are still burning the essential fat and protein rich food. Wisconsin's last legal hemp crop was harvested in 1957, although here and in Nebraska there are still wild hemp fields - remnants from the days when hemp was farmed. In Nebraska, hemp fields are protected because they provide habitat for pheasants. All the more bizarre when you hear that a primary reason for war by America against Great Britain in 1812 was for access to Russian Cannabis hemp and that America's first marijuana law was enacted in 1619 and it ordered all farmers to grow hemp seed. The hemp seed was so important to the USA that Thomas Jefferson allegedly smuggled hemp seed out of China at a time when it was a capital offence to do so. 150 years ago they even used hemps bales as make-shift armoured vehicles in the American Civil War. Prior to 1937 there were more than 10 million acres of seed-laden cannabis hemp growing wild in the U.S. When 116 million pounds of hemp seed was used annually in America just for eco varnish and paint production. In 1942 the U.S. government distributed 400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers who produced 42,000 tons of hemp fibre annually until 1946 when the war ended. EU Late Starter Plans for new European Union "green" farm subsidy payments for Hemp farmers, due to kick in after 2013, may now be under threat if predictions for a financial crash of the Euro-zone come true. The EU is currently investing in cannabis cultivation in Kazakhstan

FUEL?HEMP?

HEMP FOR FUEL
ArtisticTreasure.com ^ | 04-23-2006 | Unknown
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 11:03:02 PM by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp. With over 30 million successful U.S. road miles hemp boidiesel could be the answer to our cry for cheaper fuel. We have spent the last century polluting our beautiful country with our petroleum based fuels that could have easily been replaced with fuels derived from hemp. It would only take 6% of our U.S. land to produce enough hemp, for hemp fuel, to make us energy independent from the rest of the world. Help us teach America the truth. Make yourself a human billboard that speaks only of the truth because the only thing standing between hemp being illegally and legal is ignorance.

What is Hemp Fuel?
Hemp stems are 80% hurds (pulp byproduct after the hemp fiber is removed from the plant). Hemp hurds are 77% cellulose a primary chemical feed stock (industrial raw material) used in the production of chemicals, plastics, and fibers. Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester based oxygenated fuels made from hemp oil, other vegetable oils or animal fats. The concept of using vegetable oil as an engine fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 using peanut oil as fuel.

Why Hemp Fuel?
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. It can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. Biodiesel is safe to handle and transport because it is as biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt, and has a high flashpoint of about 300 F compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 F.
Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp.
Biodiesel is a proven fuel with over 30 million successful US road miles, and over 20 years of use in Europe.
When burned in a diesel engine, biodiesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with the pleasant smell of hemp, popcorn or french fries. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel in the US to complete EPA Tier I Health Effects Testing under section 211(b) of the Clean Air Act, which provide the most thorough inventory of environmental and human health effects attributes that current technology will allow.
Biodiesel is 11% oxygen by weight and contains no sulfur. The use of biodiesel can extend the life of diesel engines because it is more lubricating than petroleum diesel fuel, while fuel consumption, auto ignition, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.

The Congressional Budget Office, Department of Defense, US Department of Agriculture, and others have determined that biodiesel is the low cost alternative fuel option for fleets to meet requirements of the Energy Policy Act.

HEMP FUEL

Joel Miller's Random Fire
Put hemp in your tank

Joel Miller, WorldNetDaily.com (US Web)

While George Bush Sr. didn’t face the same sort of energy crisis that George Bush Jr. now faces -- with OPEC scrooging the oil supply and Venezuela getting uppity with its share of the black-gold mine -- he did more than rattle sabers on the pretext of stopping one. The Gulf War, so preached by pundits galore, was all about oil; got to keep the lifeblood of American commerce pumping, right?

Sort of.

Before smart-bombing the daylights out of Iraq, Bush had a smart plan to wean America off of oil, at least partially (can’t let all those family oil wells go bust, now can we?). On June 12, 1989, the self-proclaimed “environmental president,” unveiled a plan to cut down on air pollution caused by petrol fuels.

"Too many Americans continue to breathe dirty air,” said the elder Bush, “and political paralysis has plagued further progress against air pollution. We've seen enough of this stalemate. It's time to clear the air."

How? Why switching to methanol, of course -- what Bush tagged, "home-grown energy for America." Gives you kind of a warm, patriotic feeling, doesn’t it? Turning our own trees to fuel (methanol being alcohol made from wood) makes more sense than relying on fickle foreign cartels like OPEC and even more fickle domestic cartels like the U.S. Department of Energy. Unfortunately, like so many other things in the Bush presidency, what started out good, spoiled in the end. Along with bombing Iraq, Bush also bombed his energy policy. Despite all his gallant (and probably disingenuous) efforts, alternative non-petrol fuels remained on the drawing board, far from the gas tanks of Americans.

Pity. It’s true, while most of us don’t enjoy huffing sulfur dioxide, most of us don’t really want to mess around with alternative fuels like methanol, either. And then there are those who, to paraphrase the famous Monte Python ditty, think, “Every tree is sacred. Every tree is great. If a tree is wasted, God gets quite irate.” So, that puts the axe to methanol.

But now, at the start of the Bush Jr. presidency, there might be some serious economic incentive to look for something other than petrol. With the current crimp in energy, looking for an alternative would be -- in the catchword of the Bush Sr. presidency -- “prudent.”

Surprising to some, no doubt, a very good possibility is hemp. Granted, putting a reefer in your tank hardly seems like a sensible idea. What if the Chrysler gets stoned and starts weaving between lanes? Not going to happen. Hemp fuel is about as intoxicating as a jug of Mazola.

And hemp has a lot going for it as a fuel.

Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, designed it to run on vegetable and seed oils like hemp; he actually ran the thing on peanut oil for the 1900 World's Fair. Henry Ford used hemp to not only construct cars but also fuel them.

As an alternative to methanol, hemp has at least one glowing report: the plant produces up to four times more cellulose per acre than trees. And a hemp crop grows a little quicker than a forest.

As for an alternative to petroleum,

• Hemp grows like mad from border to border in America; so shortages are unlikely. And, unlike petrol, unless we run out of soil, hemp is renewable. • Growing and harvesting the stuff has much less environmental impact than procuring oil. • Hemp fuel is biodegradable; so oil spills become fertilizer not eco-catastrophes. • Hemp fuel does not contribute to sulfur dioxide air poisoning. • Other noxious emissions like carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are radically slashed by using “biodiesel.” • Hemp fuel is nontoxic and only a mild skin irritant; anybody who’s ever cleaned out an old carburetor with gasoline can confirm the same is not true for petrol. • Growing hemp for fuel would be a tremendous boon for American farmers and the agricultural industry, as opposed to people like, say, the Bush family.

And that’s why hemp might not go anywhere as a fuel alternative. Oil interests are big and donate likewise to politicians, and selling a man on an idea that will cost him more than he’ll benefit requires an amazingly skilled orator -- or a gun. Unfortunately, unless you’re the federal government, gunpoint conversions are usually illegal. Ergo, PR is about the best bet right now.

There are many people working hard on this front, including the Hemp Car and its intrepid crew. Currently ginning up for a trans-America evangelism tour, the Hemp Car plans to spread the good word of hemp-fuel viability at stops in both the U.S. and Canada.

For whatever good it will do, they should make sure to stop by Washington, D.C., and have a word with President George W. Bush. The current oil crisis and our nation’s dependency on sometimes-persnickety foreign sources might find the new chief executive with an open mind to fuel sources other than Texas tea -- regardless of his oily bank accounts. And, while salvaging his dad’s legacy is not Goal 1 for Dubya, it might also help him look more forward thinking in terms of energy policy and the environment.

Of course, hemp fuel may never take off. It might dry up like all those hemp crops left unattended after the feds banned their cultivation in the 1930s. One way or the other, Bush should consider freeing up the market to innovate with alternative fuels like hemp oil -- it couldn’t hurt, and it stands the chance to help. In so doing, he’ll end his term with a far better moniker than the “environmental president.” For, if other policy decisions he makes go in a similar direction, we can perhaps call him the “free-market president.”

Then he can definitely say to his old man, “Gotcha there, pops.”

HEMP PLASTICS...

Hemp Plastics – a solution to our environmental problem

Widely used in many industries, plastics have become the source of white pollution. While the world is struggling to deal with this problem a new hemp plastic technology that replaces glass fibres with natural materials is being ardently advocated. Natural fibre reinforced polymers, with qualities that rival traditional plastics, is paving a new path to a better environment...


Global environmental pollution has reached a very serious stage. Land, air and sea pollution is everywhere, with plastic pollution topping the list. Its seriousness is visible in a plastic rubbish island the size as big as Spain or Texas or larger (ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch). Every year, Americans make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.
In 2002, 4.5 trillion plastic bags were used. 13 billion plastic carrier bags are used in the UK each year. Just 8.7 plastic checkout bags contain enough embodied petroleum energy to drive a car 1 kilometre. (ref: http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Campaigns/plastic-bag-facts.html) Australians use 3.92 billion bags per year with 20,700 tones of plastic disposed in landfill every year. That is 429,000 bags every hour. And in Australia, things are not getting better. Household waste generation in Perth, for example, grew by approximately 30 per cent between 1998 and 2002. The USA is the worst per capita creator of waste, with Australia second producing 690kg of landfill waste per year. And plastic litter lasts from 20-1000 years, this problem is not going away fast. In the UK, a total of approximately 4.7 million tones of plastic products were used in various economic sectors in 2001 (ref: http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Plastics.htm)
Every year, the average dustbin contains enough unrealised energy for 500 baths, 3500 showers or 5,000 hours of television. (ref: http://www.greenboxday.co.uk/Information/Recycling_Waste_Did_You_Know.asp) 275,000 tones of plastic are used each year in the UK, that's about 15 million bottles per day.
The use of plastic in Western Europe is growing about 4% each year. Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away! Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year! Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator. In South Africa plastic has been dubbed the national flower as plastic is seen flapping on fences and bushes everywhere. Kenya & Tanzania have a war against plastics. Plastic bags are now banned in some states in India. Since 2005 you now face imprisonment for use of some plastics. Bangladesh has an outright ban. Belgium taxes single use plastic bags. Canada has pledged 50% reduction in 5 years. China has a term for their waste ‘white pollution’ as it is seen everywhere. Denmark added taxes in 2003, and Hong Kong asks for no plastic bags please. Irelands ‘plastax’ on plastic bags goes in a green fund and seems to have reduced use by 95%. Switzerland continue to be leaders in recycling while Taiwan banned single use plastic bags from 2003-7. UK has done very little to legislate yet, though strong consumer support grows. In the USA, San Francisco banned plastic bags – hurrah! (ref: http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/trends-from-around-the-world)


In Hong Kong, according to the 2008 Hong Kong solid waste monitoring report by the Environmental Protection Department, solid wastes dumped into landfills last year mounted to 13,503 tones per day in which plastic wastes reached 1,702 tones. In other words, Hong Kong produces plastic wastes at an alarming rate of 620,000 tones per year.

So, what can we do? Start to use bio based plastics using renewable and sustainable fibre crops such as hemp.

Plastics have all the characteristics of durability – malleable, mouldable, insulating, incorrosive against acidity and alkalinity and low air and liquid permeability. Its durable feature has sped up its popularity since the 1950s, but also makes it extremely difficult to naturally decompose. Degradation takes a few hundred years + while incineration releases toxic substances that cause immeasurable pollution problems. Recyling plastic meanwhile has low efficiency which is the major reason for the low response in plastic waste collection. In recent years, scientists have been looking for materials that reduce the consumption of plastic and petroleum products. They found that “natural fibre reinforced polymers” (hemp plastic for short!) have the greatest potential for development.

Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic Substitute
In the 90s European countries began to focus on recovering, reusing and recycling automobile materials and spare parts, especially on glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) parts which are widely used by difficult to recycle. This led to EU and UN supported research for this hemp plastic, the result of which is a material that was patented in the late 90s.

Hemp Plastic Strength
Using sustainable and renewable plant fibres and through industrial production techniques that distribute them into plastics. Hemp Plastics are made from the combination of hemp and polyproyplene, thus reducing the use of petroleum products. Five times stiffer and 2.5 times stronger than its raw material polypropylene, it will not cause wear and tear to the screw and the mould like GFRP do, and unlike GFRP, it does not pose safety and health risks. Its recoverable component comes from the use of industrial hemp and can occupy over half of its weight, up to 80 percent. All of these features make it suitable for the production of durable products.

Hemp Plastic Advantages
Paul Benhaim listed out the many advantages of natural fibre reinforced polymers: good insulation, dimensional stability at high temperatures, high thermal deformation temperatures, flame retardants, impermeability, possessing a stiffness and strength similar to tradition GFRP, can withstand long machine resistance time, low water absorption rate, high resistance to ultraviolet radiation and demonstrates normal flow behavior, making it the best substitute for glass-reinforced plastic.

Cradle-to-Cradle life cycle

For a material to be genuinely environmentally friendly, its entire production process should be a closed system. The waste released by each production process should be usable in the next process, forming a cradle to cradle production cycle. In addition, as the raw materials of Hemp Plastic come from industrial hemp and petrochemicals, the whole product can be collected and reused. The lab figures show that hemp plastic reinforced polymer products can be reused as many as seven times. Even when the product has reached the end of its life cycle, it can be collected and made into energy pellets for electricity generation, during which only water and carbon dioxide will be released when combusted.


Wide Applications
To promote hemp plastic reinforced polymers a recent partnership with a large and established manufacturing firm moved production from Europe to China. Intending uses include for automobiles, construction materials, toys and electronic products. Examples are fuse holders, battery tray and underlay of automobiles structural parts for wood plastic composites and injection moulded accessories in construction, green toys and housings for electrical appliances. Custom made orders are also available to tailor for clients products. The type and amount of hemp fibres can be adjusted to manufacture products of different features and appearances. Last year the EU automotive industry decided to shift from press moulded parts to injection moulded parts, replacing GFRP that have been used for years with plastics reinforced by natural fibers. This has set off a trend which guarantees hemp plastic a bright future.

Protecting dams and rebuilding coral reefs.
Apart from conventional industrial uses, Hemp Plastic has been researched for its applications in innovative applications. Among them is a partnership with the government of Netherlands in which 35,000 protective blocks made from hemp plastic natural fibre reinforced polymers are placed on riverbanks and dams to prevent riverbank erosion. Experiments have shown great results. As hemp plastic can be made of biodegradable plastic, they will decompose in a specified time period during which no harmful substances will be released, making it ideal for different areas of application.
Coral reefs around the world are dying in massive numbers due to various reasons. The traditional method of reviving the coral colony is by sinking a shop that acts as a new home for corals. But the ship’s paint and other substances will pollute the sea. On the other hand, as Hemp Plastic is made from natural materials that decompose naturally, we can expect that after a few years, the hemp plastic will disappear and be replaced by the coral reefs. This meets the purpose of coral reef rebuilding.
Although some scientists describe the global environmental situation as ‘minutes to midnight’ if all countries can actively implement measures to save the environment, there can be a chance to reverse the situation. After all, the key to environmental protection lies on the user.

We use a lot of products which will end up in the landfills. The only way to alleviate this situation is to change our habits: use less disposable products and more recyclable products. This is what we can do today to protect the environment.


Summary:
Using sustainable and renewable natural plant fibres (such as hemp, flax, jute, and kenaf) and through industrial production techniques that mix them into plastics, a new award winning (Biomaterial of the year 2010) granule has been made from a combination of hemp with polypropylene, thus reducing the use of petroleum products. Five times stiffer and 2.5 times stronger than polypropylene, they will not cause wear and tear to the screw and the mould as glass fibres do, and unlike glass fibres, they do not pose safety and health risks and generally show a better energy and CO2-balance. Their recoverable component comes from these natural plants and can make up over half of their weight, up to 80 percent. All these features make them suitable for the production of durable products. Hemp Plastic granules offer many advantages like good insulation, dimensional stability at high temperatures, a high thermal deformation temperature, and impermeability. They are flame retardant and they possess a stiffness and strength similar to traditional glass fibre filled polypropylene. They can withstand long machine resistance time, have a low water absorption rate, high resistance to UV radiation and demonstrate normal flow behaviour, making them the best substitute for glass-reinforced plastic. The granules are currently produced for a range of applications in automobiles, construction materials, packaging, toys and electronic products and launched onto the market in 2010. Custom made orders are also available to cater for clients’ products. The type and amount of natural fibres can be adjusted to manufacture products with different features and appearances. These include UL94 FR V0, V1 & V2 grades (flammability standards).

More on hemp plastics

 

Already Creating Job's... HEMP!!! ANY QUESTION'S???

Hemp you see, is already creating jobs, Oh thats right, IT HAS BEEN FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS!!

Time for this message to get out to more of our family and friends.  Let us teach them. 
Lets get Americans back to being AMERICANS.

We need to start worring about what matters and can help not only Americans, but the whole WORLD.

The past is the past, we can't change that.  Move forward World, let's TEACH, not torment.

My question is who can yell loud enough??? Some people will say it will take jobs, but what jobs are lost new ones will be created.  There might even need to be some re-tooling of industry, and BILLIONARES can still be BILLIONARES!!!

Thank you for listening,

Derek

media blitz of 'yellow journalism' raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst's newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like 'Reefer Madness' (1936), 'Marihuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and 'Marihuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed.

Examine the following quotes from 'The Burning Question' aka REEFER MADNESS:

• a violent narcotic.
• acts of shocking violence.
• incurable insanity.
• soul-destroying effects.
• under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax.
• more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marihuana!

Reefer Madness did not end with the usual 'the end.' The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: TELL YOUR CHILDREN.

In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers.

On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.

Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marihuana was hemp.

Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst's front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.

In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.

Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.

Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet's energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

THE WONDER PLANT

Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.


ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP SEED OIL. Hempen plastics are biodegradable! Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done. Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.

MEDICINES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. We should go back to the days when the AMA supported cannabis cures. 'Medical Marijuana' is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Pot is only healthy for the human body.

WORLD HUNGER COULD END. A large variety of food products can be generated from hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming pot seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked hemp seeds.

CLOTHES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from pot, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make hemp clothing; usually 50% hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Superior hemp products are not allowed to advertise on fascist television. Kentucky, once the top hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?

The world is crazy...but that does not mean you have to join the insanity. Get together. Spread the news. Tell people, and that includes your children, the truth. Use hemp products. Eliminate the word 'marijuana.' Realize the history that created it. Make it politically incorrect to say or print the M-word. Fight against the propaganda (designed to favor the agenda of the super rich) and the bullshit. Hemp must be utilized in the future. We need a clean energy source to save our planet. INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP!

The liquor, tobacco and oil companies fund more than a million dollars a day to Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other similar agencies. We have all seen their commercials. Now, their motto is: ‘It's more dangerous than we thought.’ Lies from the powerful corporations, that began with Hearst, are still alive and well today.

The brainwashing continues. Now, the commercials say: If you buy a joint, you contribute to murders and gang wars. The latest anti-pot commercials say: If you buy a joint...you are promoting TERRORISM! The new enemy (terrorism) has paved the road to brainwash you any way THEY see fit.

There is only one enemy; the friendly people you pay your taxes to; the war-makers and nature destroyers. With your funding, they are killing the world right in front of your eyes. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY TOBACCO. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY ALCOHOL. NO ONE HAS EVER, EVER DIED FROM SMOKING POT!! In the entire history of the human race, not one death can be attributed to cannabis. Our society has outlawed grass but condones the use of the KILLERS: TOBACCO and ALCOHOL. Hemp should be declassified and placed in DRUG stores to relieve stress. Hardening and constriction of the arteries are bad; but hemp usage actually enlarges the arteries...which is a healthy condition. We have been so conditioned to think that: Smoking is harmful. That is NOT the case for passive pot.

Ingesting THC, hemp's active agent, has a positive effect; relieving asthma and glaucoma. A joint tends to alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You are able to eat on hemp. This is a healthy state of being.

{One personal note: During the pregnancy of my wife, she was having some difficulty gaining weight. We were in the hospital. A nurse called us to one side and said: ‘Off the record, if you smoke pot...you'd get something called the munchies and you’ll gain weight.' I swear that is a true story}.

The stereotype for a pothead is similar to a drunk, bubble-brain. Yet, the truth is one’s creative abilities can be enhanced under its influence. The perception of time slightly slows and one can become more sensitive. You can more appreciate all arts; be closer to nature and generally FEEL more under the influence of cannabis. It is, in fact, the exact opposite state of mind and body as the drunken state. You can be more aware with pot.

The pot plant is an ALIEN plant. There is physical evidence that cannabis is not like any other plant on this planet. One could conclude that it was brought here for the benefit of humanity. Hemp is the ONLY plant where the males appear one way and the females appear very different, physically! No one ever speaks of males and females in regard to the plant kingdom because plants do not show their sexes; except for cannabis. To determine what sex a certain, normal, Earthly plant is: You have to look internally, at its DNA. A male blade of grass (physically) looks exactly like a female blade of grass. The hemp plant has an intense sexuallity. Growers know to kill the males before they fertilize the females. Yes, folks...the most potent pot comes from 'horny females.'

The reason this amazing, very sophisticated, ET plant from the future is illegal has nothing to do with how it physically affects us…..

…POT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT TO REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!


PS: I think the word ‘DRUGS’ should not be used as an umbrella-word that covers all chemical agents. Drugs have come to be known as something BAD. Are you aware there are LEGAL drugstores?! Yep, in every city. Unbelievable. Each so-called drug should be considered individually. Cannabis is a medicine and not a drug. We should DARE to speak the TRUTH no matter what the law is.

Marijuana Conspiracy - Part 3: The Sequel

by Doug Yurchey

In 2005, this writer penned ‘The Real Reason Marijuana is Illegal’ and it became (by far) my most popular article. Translated into Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Bulgarian and even Japanese, the responses were overwhelming. Its premise was ‘marijuana’ became illegal NOT because it was a danger to the mind and body. No, the real reason is that Big Business wants us to use petrochemicals and fossil fuels. They have little interest in NATURAL solutions. THEY have suppressed the truth concerning cannabis and purposely created the ‘menace of marijuana.’ Why? So they remain high profiteers while destroying our environment in the process.

Once people read the news of what has been kept from them, the truth, the reactions were outrage and disbelief at our federal authorities. Hemp used properly for all of its INDUSTRIAL purposes, as it was always meant to be utilized, could…
SAVE THE WORLD! We need not cut down another tree. We need not have to rely on Oil Companies anymore.

So many people wrote to me and said the suppression of hemp is ‘insane.’ Surely, governments know the potential of pot. They understand how cannabis hemp could solve the energy crisis; they know biodegradable plastics could be produced from the hemp plant; they realize it would be a safer, cleaner world filled with (inexpensive) quality products…if only we were federally given the green light to INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP! Governments are well aware of the MEDICINAL value for ‘weed.’ New cloths, papers and plastics would be super durable. They could easily create nutritional FOOD products for a starving world. BUT…when did a better mousetrap ever see the light of day?

Now, with soaring gas prices bleeding us for every dollar inflating all prices, we need a cheap (renewable) fuel and energy source more than ever. Imagine hemp gas. The price of it would not be sky high since we have a limitless supply of hempen energy. Federal (guarded) hemp fields could be farmed and directed to produce a cheap/clean gasoline. Hemp fibers and oil were utilized during WWII for rope-moorings, parachutes and lubrication. Why not use hemp gasoline NOW when we are at another critical point in time? Why does hemp technology remain clandestine?

Why is there a war in the Middle East over oil? Do you really think it’s a coincidence that George Bush is an oilman and remains steadfast against bringing our troops home? Hemp petroleum is the way to alleviate us from dependency on foreign oil. That is a wonderful dream, cannabis as the means to bring our troops home!

Email replies to the original article mainly asked WHY? Why don’t the authorities appreciate the profits to be made from hemp products? Money rules the world, so why don’t the industrialists make it legal? Tax hemp, regulate it, make it legal not for altruistic purposes but for their own high profits! The planet and its people would be much healthier. Why the HELL isn’t this done?

There are no easy answers. Generally, my reply to these readers scratching their befuddled heads was ‘secret societies.’ We are not educated on how the world really functions. We grow up watching movies and television where the good guys always win. We are trained to think that our government is good and out for the benefit of all. Films portray the heroes as CIA, FBI, NSA agents or obedient soldiers and police. We are given the false hope that governments care. Please do not be so naïve as to think this is true.

Power was never in the hands of the people. It is almost foolish to think that we, the general masses, control anything. Do you really think petitions work or writing to your congressional representative?

The truth is governments only care about themselves; we are their enemy and they need to control us (because we have the numbers) any way they can…with religion, bogus science, television, news, propaganda, commercials or via the abolition of MARIJUANA.

Instead of THEM industrializing hemp to save the planet…they have banned it. They have created a monster out of the very thing that is a precious gift to the world. NO, it does not make sense at all. However, it is understandable in the insane, Bizarro, backwards world that we live in. Apparently, any good thing is always destroyed. (Ever hear of Nikola Tesla?) Why? The answer must be POWER and CONTROL. The ‘haves’ do not want to give anything to the ‘have-nots.’ These are policies from the Dark Ages; they remain alive and well to this day. Research Secret Societies and you might understand.

They invented the monster of MARIJUANA. (‘If we do not have an enemy, they will create one’). They had to change the word since the world would never have been turned against HEMP. For thousands of years going back to the wisdom of the Egyptians, hemp was employed for the betterment of the human race. Enter ‘marihuana’ in the 1930s; just when farm machinery improved that would have made hemp the first ‘billion dollar crop!’

Have we grown up enough to see that they have pulled the wool over our eyes? We can no longer afford to be silent lambs. We have to speak up loud and strong and do what we can to spread the truth. What can we do? Share the information, wake people up to the true facts and suppressed knowledge concerning hemp. Eventually, when the pro-hemp people become the large majority, then, the world will change for the better. In the end, we will win.

A very important aspect of those email responses to my original article came in the form of personal stories. These testimonials answer the question: Does hemp help or hurt? Now, this writer could not please everyone on such a controversial subject. Not all the emails contained high praise. There were those anti-hemp fanatics spouting rhetoric from every commercial from the ‘Partnership of a Drug-Free America.’ Some stated it causes ‘lung cancer’ as they tried to educate me on the ‘toxins’ in marijuana.

Well, there are no toxins in hemp. I would love to tell Judge Judy, who is always yelling for someone to take a hair follicle test, the reason why THC stays in your system for so long. (And it’s ‘hemp’ not ‘marijuana’). If it were a toxin, a poison or some foreign substance, the body would immediate reject it and expel it. The body does NOT. It knows THC, the active ingredient of hemp, is GOOD. As mentioned before, there are essential fatty acids in hemp seeds. There are other sources in nature for these essential acids, but eating hemp seeds is a great source of (important) proteins. Our own bodies tell us the truth. Shouldn’t we listen to the truth within ourselves rather than the garbage broadcasted over television?

Seriously, the pro emails compared to the con emails ran 100 to one. For every one who blasted me, calling me names (these were from mainly young people)…there were about a HUNDRED administrators, educators, some scientists, activists and average people who related their (positive) private stories to me. Many claimed that normal medical procedures and doctors failed them miserably. The ONLY relief from their illnesses was illegal hemp. Here is a peek into some of the best and positive emails over the last two years. They are anonymous and edited, but they are real with the date I received them:

6/20/05 I was diagnosed with an AVM (Arterio Venous Malformation), a neuro-illness that causes me to have fits. On my second appointment with my neuro surgeon we went through the list of narcotics I was using at the time (marijuana). With that she gave me a sly look and said ‘off the record Mr. ____, this will actually reduce your blood pressure and can only be beneficial for your epilepsy. But I didn't tell you that.’

6/23/05 I took a college class in drug use, it was about street drugs, not pharmaceutical drugs. I learned that, at one time, marijuana was legal and was prescribed by MDs and dispensed by pharmacists for a variety of health problems - you know: HTN, insomnia, glaucoma, asthma, etc. I was told that the government decided to impose a $25 tax on MDs who prescribed it and a $35 tax on pharmacists who dispensed it. In protest, both groups elected to stop dealing with it. In response, Pres. Harriman included marijuana in his Narcotics Act of 1914: It was called the Harriman Act. They lumped it in as a class 4 narcotic meaning that there was no medical use for it, even though it's not a narcotic and no one had any indication that it was harmful in any way. In the class, we were shown pictures, taken during the early part of the century, of children smoking a joint…which, we were told, they could purchase for 5 cents, OTC, at any pharmacy, perfectly LEGAL - they were called ‘muggles.’

6/18/05 You didn't mention the most important reason why there is a continuing battle against legalization of marijuana, that is because it actually is used to treat sick people with pain successfully and with no serious side effects, something the legal drug industry hasn't accomplished with all their patented expensive crap they call medication. They don't want to loose their chokehold on the billions of dollars they make with this phony medication that could be replaced with an herb anyone can grow in their backyard.

6/18/05 I have been smoking pot since 1962 and I am now 83. I wish I had started when I was a teenager. Good for you.

6/18/05 I have a lot of respect for cannabis as I have used it medically for a spinal injury for several years recently, when all else failed, as doctors gave me narcotic drugs to relieve pain, and these drugs never worked and I was in such severe pain even with their drugs. Cannabis was the only pain reliever that worked. I have done a bit of research myself and found that cannabis is listed under a narcotic and this must be taken off the list that the United States has placed it as narcotic as opium, heroin, cocaine is totally ridiculous and bogus. I feel that if it was taken off the list and proved to the DEA, FDA, or whoever else…that it isn't a narcotic then we can get some headway on this wonderful, helpful plant. If it wasn't for cannabis I wouldn't have healed...The AMA is the worst, the most horrendous of all, because they encourage the doctors to prescribe drugs that lead to the deterioration of the body. Yes, it is a conspiracy, from the beginning, that the corporations don't want hemp to be grown. If they did, the logging industry would be wiped out. I live in southern Oregon and it is the biggest industry here…

6/19/05 I'm a 41 year old victim of Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that kills people usually around 32 years old. I have the worst type of genetic mutation but still alive at the amazement of my Doctor. The reason? Maybe HEMP! I use it in a moderate way, around 2-3 times a week, usually eating it, and the benefit of that medicine is very good for me. Cystic Fibrosis kills people by pneumonia. An effect of hemp is drying mucus secretion so it kills bacteria by starvation. Even better: an antioxidant property of hemp that prevents lung tissue degradation. Another characteristic of Cystic Fibrosis is destruction of the digestive system, especially pancreas, stomach, liver and intestine. That is appetite inhibiting. I'm often eating because of holy hemp. It avoids me from losing too much weight and helps my defense against the constant lung infection. If my doctor knew the truth, he'd surely start hemp harvesting for sure!

6/20/05 I am a Disabled Veteran who spent 17 years taking the VA's Medication. I moved to Arizona; and a Pima Indian Medicine Man gave me an 'herb' to use as a tea to lower my blood pressure. Within 3 weeks it had

gone from 210/146 to 130/70. Obviously, I quit the Government Medication and I now participate in the interesting hobby of home gardening of herbal cures for the ills of mankind! By the way, just so you don't think I'm ‘a doper,’ I served 8 years in the USAF, 2 years as a Palm Beach County FL Police Officer and then 17 years as a Paramedic. I have a Masters of Theology degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. Thanks for having the guts to publish THE TRUTH.

6/23/05 Doug, I also referred Montel Williams to your article about hemp ‘marijuana’ because he has multiple sclerosis and wants to legalize marijuana for medicinal purpose since it seems to help ms folks with pain. Since he has a TV talk show, I thought maybe he would give your article some publicity.

6/30/05 I am bipolar and when I smoke I am calmer then I am on my pills. I also have fibromyalgia and when in pain I grab my trusty friend Pot; it helps me function and eat. If I didn't have it, I would be dead years ago. Some days I can hardly make it down the stairs because of the ache and pains in my joints. Also, I suffer from severe migraines where I can't even open my eyes because I am light sensitive then my head pounds. I have been on many narcotics from vicodin to oxycottin and they all make me feel worse than smoking a damn joint. Only in America would they make a plant so beneficial to humankind, the most dangerous ‘drug’ in all the land. If I didn't go score I would be in pain and would never be able to walk out to get my mail. My fiancé gets upset since I can't work but she knows I can't help it. I want to work. I want to be the breadwinner of the family, but physically I cannot maintain standing for more than a few moments before I feel like I am passing out because of the pain. I went to numerous doctors and told them that pot helps me…all of them said since I live in Ohio, they cannot do anything for me besides narcotics…but I cannot smoke a joint…that is rubbish in my book.

7/31/05 I don't know if you have thought about this before, but after all the research I have done, it is my opinion that JFK was assassinated over hemp. He was a known user for his back pain, he fired Anslinger as soon as he got into office and it was said he was going to legalize it in his 2nd term. He never made it to his 2nd term. Maybe you can dig a bit more on your end and see what you come up with to support this theory of mine. It makes sense, don't you think? Keep educating people one day at a time…it's our only shot.

11/18/05 The actual truth that the oil giants do not want anyone to know is that most ‘non producing’ oil fields (for example, Derrick Island off Louisiana) have been found to have mysteriously refilled themselves after closing them down. This is because the vast majority of oil is not biotic but abiotic. The planet’s crust produces billions of new gallons of crude annually and this is refilling the fields pumped out in almost every case. That is why Saudi Arabia just doubled the estimate of its known reserves over its predictions of 10 years ago. The wells keep refilling themselves due to planetary mechanics. Biotic oil is a discredited theory. There was never enough biomass in any prehistoric period to produce the amount of petroleum we have already consumed on this planet to date.

1/7/06 The most important health benefits come from smoking (or otherwise consuming) hemp/cannabis plant material which contains high levels of the active ingredients (THC, etc.) The higher the level of active ingredients, the more medicinal and beneficial it is. This is highly effective medicine, with no negative side effects, which is being denied to people in desperate need because of a pack of lies!

12/10/06 Weed is unprocessed and natural, as opposed to other processed drugs. I have eaten hemp seeds and have even had hemp oil and see the unspoken benefits from them even before I was planning to research the subject.

12/10/06 Maybe by the time I retire I can smoke a joint in peace, not fearing the Police and my government. But, other times it just seems hopeless, but I refuse to believe that money is the most powerful force in our Universe...there must be some room for truth.

12/16/06 I am a recreational therapist working for a state operated drug treatment center. If I were to speak in these terms, I doubt I would remain in favor of those above me.

2/2/07 As a medical marijuana user for many years, I would not be here without it. I was a vegetable on the prescribed medication and don’t remember 2 whole years of my life while I was on morphine. Now I live a full and active life, running a business and bringing up a family. Is it too late to change views? I do hope not because it has so much to offer.



Above are some of the best comments from hundreds of replies. My article was far from perfect. I thank those more informed on plants than myself that told me there are other plants that physically reveal their sex such as the holly plant. Many criticized my belief that cannabis had an extraterrestrial origin. That conclusion came out of decades of studying our ancestors of prehistory. My studies have shown a completely new genesis for the human race where we have lost great knowledge. (It may have been advanced HUMANS that created Earthly animals and plants). Cannabis Sativa and all of its infinite and vital uses may be evidence that some great intelligence (with a plan) manufactured it. ‘Chance’ cannot account for its abundant purposes. To some people, the existence of hemp might be proof of the existence of GOD! My articles explore multiple controversies and truths that will never be aired on television: http://www.world-mysteries.com/index_gw.htm#Yurchey

Writing about hemp, answering the emails and the entire Internet experience has taught me that there are all kinds of people. You cannot please everyone. What was ‘brilliant’ to one person was contemptible to another. People ‘think’ they know the truth, but the truth is they only know what they have been programmed to think. Very few people do independent research. That’s too much work; they prefer sitting back, watching TV and letting others do their thinking for them. They do not QUESTION what has been handed them. But, if they did explore other possibilities outside of the norm...if they dreamed of a different world…and entertained the idea that we have been lied to by our leaders…maybe we would learn a little and come closer to the FREEDOM that we all rightfully deserve. A cleaner, safer planet will happen. It may not be soon, but it will happen in time…

Dedicated to V for Vendetta and those with the courage to change the world for the better!

Copyright by Doug YurcheyAll rights reserved

Gotta Love Government (slime)...

Did you know, it is estimated that hemp has approximately 25,000 uses? From food, paint and fuel to clothing and construction materials, hemp is used. There are even hemp fibres in your Red Rose® and Lipton® tea bags. And several cars made today contain hemp.

The oldest relic of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric (canvas) found in ancient Mesopotamia dating back to approximately 8000 B.C. The oldest surviving piece of paper was made over 2000 years ago in China and was also made from hemp fibre. In 2500 B.C. the pharaohs used hemp in the construction of the great pyramids.

Hemp was so important in England in the 16th century that King Henry VIII passed a law in 1553 which fined farmers who failed to grow at least one quarter acre of hemp for every 60 acres of arable land they owned. There was even a time in history for over 200 years when you could pay your taxes in America with hemp. In 1850 there were more than 8,300 hemp farms in the United States.

Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger. Hemp seeds are the most nutritious and economical solution to end world hunger. With an 80 percent concentration of "good fats" our bodies need for good health maintenance and protein with all eight amino acids plus optimum dietary fibre, hemp truly is a "perfect balance" food source.

The first diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oils, one of which was hemp oil. In the 1930s Henry Ford produced an automobile composed of 70 percent hemp plastic which also ran on hemp based fuel and oil. In 2001 the "Hempcar" circled the North American continent powered by hemp oil.

The paintings of Rembrandt (1606- 1669), Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727- 1788) were painted primarily on hemp canvas, often with hemp oil based paint. Over 50 percent of all chemical pesticides sprayed are used in the cultivation of cotton. Hemp is eight times stronger than cotton and more air-permeable. Hemp can grow vigorously (up to 16 feet) in 100 days without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides... healthier for your skin and the environment.

One acre of hemp can produce as much raw fibre as 4.1 acres of trees. Pulping hemp for paper would produce a strong paper that lasts incredibly long and doesn't yellow with age. Also, using hemp as a raw source for paper would eliminate the need to cut down our dwindling old-growth forests which contribute to climate control and clean the air we breathe

The real reason Cannabis has been outlawed has nothing to do with its effects on the mind and body

"MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS".

Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.

The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.

Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant...as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years:

* All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.

* It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981.

* REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.

* George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.

* Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow's export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.

* For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis; Webster's New World Dictionary.

* 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.

* The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.

* The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives.

* Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.

* Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.

* In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture

* Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

* Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.

* Hemp called 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.

* Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture's 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing 'patriotic American farmers' to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:

'...(When) 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 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...

...Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese...American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries...

...the Navy's rapidly dwindling reserves. When that 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!'

Certified proof from the Library of Congress; found by the research of Jack Herer, refuting claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film 'Hemp for Victory' did not exist.

Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. From Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938:

'It has a short growing season...It can be grown in any state...The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds.
...hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.'

In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.

William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst's grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp.

In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont's Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont's business.

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THE CONSPIRACY

Andrew Mellon became Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury and Dupont's primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: 'marihuana' and pushed it into the consciousness of America.

HEMP SEED OIL!!!

Hemp seed oil is considered to be the best nutritional oil for health because its essential fatty acid (EFA) profile is closest to that required by the human body.Essential fatty acids are termed as such because the body cannot manufacture them. Therefore, they must continually be replenished in the diet. EFAs are not stored or used for energy as are other fats. Instead, they are used as raw materials for cell structure and as precursors for the synthesis of many of the body’s vital biochemicals, including hormones; increases testosterone and prostaglandins ideal for boosting building growth of lean body mass both on men & women. Increases valuable insulin sensitivity is. Simply put, increased sensitivity promotes a much greater anabolic response to insulin and increases your fat-burning ability immensely, while insulin resistance leads to elevated fat storage, reduced hypertrophy and increased susceptibility to diseases such as diabetes. In fact studies show Omega 3s increase insulin sensitivity drastically, while its counterpart Omega 6s in higher dosage lead to insulin resistance so key to keep both at balance levels to prevent an imbalance of conversions of the fats, hence the reason why Hemp Seed’s EFA profile is one of the best sources.
What function is our Prostaglandins?
Prostaglandins, which regulate such cellular functions as communication, cholesterol production, and blood platelet aggregation. Since different prostaglandins often have opposite effects, they are needed by the body in a delicate balance obtained from a balanced intake of the two essential fatty acids (omega-6 and omega-3). For instance, the prostaglandins that key up the body’s response to stress are all made by omega-6 fatty acids while the ones that gear down the body’s response to stress are nearly all made by omega-3 fatty acids. Not surprisingly, stress-related diseases tend to respond to omega-3 supplementation.
Hemp Seed’s EFAs are precursors to the prostaglandin series (PGE 1, 2, and 3). PGE1 inhibits the production of cholesterol and dilates blood vessels and prevents the blood clotting of platelets in arteries. A study reported in 1992 indicated that a diet of hemp seed causes the serum levels of total cholesterol to drop dramatically. Blood pressure also decreases after several weeks of eating hemp seeds, apparently because of the steady supply of EFAs.
By weight, hemp seed is 30-35% oil, of which 80% consists of polyunsaturated EFAs, specifically the two most important ones – linoleic acid (LA – omega-6 at 60%) and linolenic acid (LNA or ALA – omega-3 at 20%). These are the parent compounds which build longer-chain fatty acids. LNA then converts to DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) – two of the most critically needed forms of EFA and LA converts to AA (arachidonic acid), which has opposite effects of those from DHA. An excess of AA – the result of too much omega-6 – ultimately leads to such health problems as inflammation and, more importantly, increases blood clotting, which can cause heart attack, stroke, or embolism. In the last 40 years, the American diet has become loaded with excess omega-6 from corn and soybean oil, margarine, and similar processed fats. At the same time, Americans eat 500 mg of omega-3 per day, much less than they need. Consequently, instead of the 3:1 ratio they should be getting, most people consuming the western-type diet, end up with a ratio of 50:1.
Other fatty acids in hemp seed oil include: Palmitoleic acid, Heptadecanoic acid, Arachiditic acid, Eicosenoic acid, Behenic acid, Erucic acid, Lignoceric acid, and Nervonic acid; but it also contains several higher fatty acids. It is one of the only food oils to contain the direct metabolites of LA and LNA. Most notable are GLA (gamma linolenic acid from LA) and SDA (stearidonic acid from LNA), which serve as intermediaries in the formation of longer-chain fatty acids and vital hormone-like prostaglandins in the body. Because of this, hemp seed oil is able to circumvent the impaired EFA metabolism and physical compromise that can result from genetic factors, intake of other fats, aging, and lifestyle patterns.
Symptoms of an LNA (omega-3) deficiency include: dry skin, growth retardation, weakness, impaired learning ability, poor motor coordination, behavioral changes, impaired vision, high blood pressure, sticky platelets, edema, mental deterioration, low metabolic rate, and immune dysfunction (see more under Hemp as Medicine)
Although LA (omega-6) is present in our bodies in much greater quantities and because the western diet has an over-abundance, deficiencies are rare but can happen. Symptoms of an LA deficiency include: skin eruptions (acne and eczema-like), loss of hair, poor blood circulation, behavioral disturbances, liver and kidney degeneration, gallbladder problems, prostatitis, muscle tremors, abnormal water loss through the skin (sweating profusely), susceptibility to infections, im
These deficiency symptoms are all reversible with adequate intakes of EFAs from Hempseed Oil. But if ignored for a long time, health problems can develop into more serious degenerative conditions, paired wound healing, male sterility, miscarriage, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and growth retardation.
Low Fat Diets:
Reductions of essential fatty acids (EFAs) in ultra-low fat and fat-free diets actually cause people to feel hungrier than they did before going on such a diet. It can also begin the process of dangerous EFA deficiency which causes people to binge on high-calorie foods to compensate for feeling unsatisfied.
The body absolutely requires fat in the diet in order to process such fat-soluble nutrients as vitamins A, D, E, and K as well as phytochemicals. Fat substitutes, like Olestra, Oatrim, and Simplesse for example, slide through the digestive system intact – which most people think is advantageous. But, fat substitutes compound a problem by not only being unable to absorb these nutrients into the body, but also they carry them directly into the feces for elimination.
Fat-free diets have been correlated with violent, short tempers in human and animal studies. Such diets can also cause high cholesterol levels because the body produces excess cholesterol in an attempt to make up for the lack of EFAs.
Hempseed oil, therefore, may be thought of as a “diet” oil, because it contributes fewer calories than most other oils or fats and because it is so rich in EFAs, vital for cell metabolism. Experts say getting more than 12-15% of calories from EFAs will actually aid in burning off excess fat and thereby contributing to weight loss & insulin management.

Suggested Hempseed Oil Dosage

One tablespoon of hempseed oil or 1 ounce of shelled hempseed supplies roughly 6.6 grams of omega-6 and 2.2 grams of omega-3 – just the amounts needed for a 2000-calorie diet. This is a suitable amount even for vegetarians and takes into account the conversion ration of 1% ALA to DHA, the currently accepted conversion rate for plant sources of omega-3.
Hempseed oil is best stored in the fridge or best in a freezer. It will stay fluid and does not need to be defrosted. One to 3 tablespoons is the suggested daily intake for adults; athletes up to 3 tbsp; children can take half that amount; and breast-fed babies obtain its benefits through the mother’s

Please America, let's make a difference for the better....not worse!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8xwtyCq0wEs