To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Fully Decriminalize Industrial Hemp
Tell President Obama and/or Congress to use executive order and/or legislative power to fully decriminalize industrial hemp. (generally defined as having not more than 0.03%THC)
Why is this important?
Industrial Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa. Both the U.N. and North American Free Trade Agreement recognize industrial hemp as distinct from marijuanna due to hemps next to nothing THC content. For thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles. Many years ago hemp and marijuana were unjustly banned together; however, they have recently been rediscovered as a species that bestows upon humans, plants, and animals, myriad benefits in the form of great environmental, economic, and commercial potential!!
Although low THC hemp and THC encouraged marijuana are the same species they are two very different cultivars grown using very distinct and differentiated methods. The potential of hemp for paper production is enormous. In 1916 the US Department of Agriculture published a report which found that one acre of hemp can produce 4 times more pulp for paper than one acre of trees![1] In a year like 2014 it is truly unknown what the potential could be as modern technology, practices, and the production of new varieties of industrial hemp could all positively affect this figure as well!
All types of paper products can be produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary, cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons. FACT: IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANY TREE OR PLANT SPECIES ON EARTH WILL EVER BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING AS MUCH PULP FOR PAPER PER ACRE AS HEMP! HEMP IS & WILL REMAIN NUMBER ONE! Paper production from hemp would eliminate the need to chop down BILLIONS of trees! MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of wildlife habitat could be preserved!! Associates of the tree farming industry claim that more trees are planted each year than are cut down. However, I do not know how long that could last. I'm guessing they do not have infinite resources to buy up larger tracts of land for tree farming. It seems like eventually supply and demand would even out and the industry would plant only the amount of trees that it needs for a sustained supply of fiber. Further tree planting efforts would be attributable to individuals, environmental groups & governments. What the big wigs from the tree farm industry didn't tell me was that when trees are harvested and the land is re-seeded the topsoil becomes more directly exposed to the elements.
Exposed topsoil erodes faster due to the physical disturbance of digging up the stumps and more direct contact with rainwater as well as the general lack of root systems holding it in place for years. It is also more directly in contact with the suns energy due to the lack of insulating forest canopy. This causes the moist forest floor to abruptly dry out and the forest in general to experience more extreme temperature swings.
With tree farms this soil exposure can last for years in the time it takes for even a small tree to grow. Trees must grow for somewhere between several years & thousands of years after planting before they can be harvested for commercial use! Within 3-4 months after it is planted, hemp grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting![2] Hemps long, strong, quickly growing roots help percolate and hold the soil in place. They also contribute to nutrient recycling through the whole plant.[4] Additionally, any stalk or leaves help keep the soil from drying out while its bio-mass insulates the area.
Reduction of topsoil erosion would also reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams. Fewer caustic and toxic chemicals are used to make paper from hemp than are used to make paper from trees. If this method were more widely implemented we would have LESS POLLUTION FROM PAPER MILLS!! AND THAT STINKS. HAVE YOU EVER SMELLED IT!?!
Hemp can be grown on most farmland throughout the U.S., but forests require large tracts of land available in few locations. MORE LAND COULD POTENTIALLY BE INCORPORATED INTO THE NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM OE SIMPLY LEFT ALONE OR SETTLED UPON!!
It has been estimated that hemp could provide 100% of US energy needs if widely cultivated and put to good use. So many products can be made from hemp. Growing hemp would completely change what we call America today. Many products would become eco-friendly and our environment and economy would improve drastically in just a few short years. Of course there are some very rich people who have been doing things the wrong way for a very long time who would not like the US to have a cheaper, more renewable, resource. A resource that would be available to almost anyone with land, a little bit of money, or the ability to sharecrop. Some people are very resistant to change. But Obama claims to be so much different than that. Thats why the world needs your help to tell Obama to use his power of executive order to fully and immediately decriminalize industrial hemp.
Although low THC hemp and THC encouraged marijuana are the same species they are two very different cultivars grown using very distinct and differentiated methods. The potential of hemp for paper production is enormous. In 1916 the US Department of Agriculture published a report which found that one acre of hemp can produce 4 times more pulp for paper than one acre of trees![1] In a year like 2014 it is truly unknown what the potential could be as modern technology, practices, and the production of new varieties of industrial hemp could all positively affect this figure as well!
All types of paper products can be produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary, cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons. FACT: IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANY TREE OR PLANT SPECIES ON EARTH WILL EVER BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING AS MUCH PULP FOR PAPER PER ACRE AS HEMP! HEMP IS & WILL REMAIN NUMBER ONE! Paper production from hemp would eliminate the need to chop down BILLIONS of trees! MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of wildlife habitat could be preserved!! Associates of the tree farming industry claim that more trees are planted each year than are cut down. However, I do not know how long that could last. I'm guessing they do not have infinite resources to buy up larger tracts of land for tree farming. It seems like eventually supply and demand would even out and the industry would plant only the amount of trees that it needs for a sustained supply of fiber. Further tree planting efforts would be attributable to individuals, environmental groups & governments. What the big wigs from the tree farm industry didn't tell me was that when trees are harvested and the land is re-seeded the topsoil becomes more directly exposed to the elements.
Exposed topsoil erodes faster due to the physical disturbance of digging up the stumps and more direct contact with rainwater as well as the general lack of root systems holding it in place for years. It is also more directly in contact with the suns energy due to the lack of insulating forest canopy. This causes the moist forest floor to abruptly dry out and the forest in general to experience more extreme temperature swings.
With tree farms this soil exposure can last for years in the time it takes for even a small tree to grow. Trees must grow for somewhere between several years & thousands of years after planting before they can be harvested for commercial use! Within 3-4 months after it is planted, hemp grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting![2] Hemps long, strong, quickly growing roots help percolate and hold the soil in place. They also contribute to nutrient recycling through the whole plant.[4] Additionally, any stalk or leaves help keep the soil from drying out while its bio-mass insulates the area.
Reduction of topsoil erosion would also reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams. Fewer caustic and toxic chemicals are used to make paper from hemp than are used to make paper from trees. If this method were more widely implemented we would have LESS POLLUTION FROM PAPER MILLS!! AND THAT STINKS. HAVE YOU EVER SMELLED IT!?!
Hemp can be grown on most farmland throughout the U.S., but forests require large tracts of land available in few locations. MORE LAND COULD POTENTIALLY BE INCORPORATED INTO THE NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM OE SIMPLY LEFT ALONE OR SETTLED UPON!!
It has been estimated that hemp could provide 100% of US energy needs if widely cultivated and put to good use. So many products can be made from hemp. Growing hemp would completely change what we call America today. Many products would become eco-friendly and our environment and economy would improve drastically in just a few short years. Of course there are some very rich people who have been doing things the wrong way for a very long time who would not like the US to have a cheaper, more renewable, resource. A resource that would be available to almost anyone with land, a little bit of money, or the ability to sharecrop. Some people are very resistant to change. But Obama claims to be so much different than that. Thats why the world needs your help to tell Obama to use his power of executive order to fully and immediately decriminalize industrial hemp.