Flores,
Daniel
English,
period 2
February
21, 2012
Second
Draft
The
famous line “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” was first
written on hemp paper, one of the many uses for hemp [1]. In
early American history, the first hemp laws in America were passed in 1619 and
they were “must grow” laws, meaning if you were a farmer living in America and
didn’t grow hemp, you could get imprisoned or deported as a “non-patriot”. [2]
In fact hemp was legal tender in most of America from 1631 until the early
1800’s. [2] It wasn’t until Nixon came into office
and pushed laws that were against the plant, he was fuelled by his dislike in
the plant itself. He even went out to say it was part of conspiracy on behalf
of the Jewish Community [3]. He had gone
directly against what legitimate experts had told him, which was to keep it
legal due to its great health benefits one could get from the plant. [2]
Nowadays it’s illegal for doctors to even mention the great
benefits of the plant to their patients [2]. If the
production of hemp was allowed, it would lead to many improvements for our
nation including, but not limited to, a better earth and better economy for our
nation.
Because
of Nixon’s insistence on taking out hemp many perceptions regarding the plant
have risen, the fallacies are publicized and the truth is kept in secrecy from
society. Many people have the notion that one could get “high” off of the
plant, but this is completely false, its THC (the main chemical which produces
the “high” from marijuana) level is so low, that one could smoke it for a whole
day straight and not feel anything [4]. In fact, the
advisors for Nixon, which of whom were strongly against his choice in pushing
legislation against hemp, stated that it shouldn’t even be classified into any
type of drug category [2]. As of now it
is considered a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act just because of its relation to Marijuana (another potential cash crop that
could greatly benefit our country) [4].
Hemp
is known to be beneficial for the human body, the fact has been well known for
decades, but isn’t publicized as well as it should be. It has more nutrients
than essentially any naturally grown product. In a nutritional analysis
findings show that its count in proteins and omega-3, among others, is
substantially higher than most products available to the public of the US. Hemp
could be used to produce foods such as cereal, hemp milk (for those
lactose-intolerant), hemp granola, beer, hemp butter or just plain hempseeds
among others, all of which are healthy alternatives and natural. Its profile of proteins and fats is the most complete and
ideal for human nutrition. No other plant source, not even the soybean,
compares to hemp in its range and balance of nutritional benefits, making hemp
the world’s premier food source. [5]
The
many products hemp can produce is rather staggering, it can go from backpacks
to shirts to body products to biodiesel to skateboards to hempcrete (which is a
concrete-like substance that can be used as material for building houses) and
beyond. If we had produced hemp-made products we would definitely get a boost in
our economy, but instead the opportunity to make money on the crop gets
outsourced. Many people would say the products made from hemp are not as well
made, but that is something a person who has yet to even give it a try would to
say. If the individual was given the opportunity to use a hemp product
unknowingly, their mind regarding the quality would be changed.[6]
Ignorant people have ignorant thoughts.
Many
nations are already getting the great benefits from the use of the plant. In
the same year that Nixon pushed the legislation (1972), Holland had experts do
research on the plant as well, they too had come with the same results as
experts from America: hemp was beneficial for the country. The difference was
that Holland officials actually listened to their experts, unlike Nixon. In the
present day, hemp products are retrieved from foreign markets, in particular China,
which is the leader in the production of hemp products around the globe. [7]
Why should other nations benefit from the plant, while we remain in denial of
its great potential for our economy? A vast amount of American money spent
towards hemp products go overseas, the other nations reap their rewards of our
ignorance.
The
usage of hemp also has several benefits it could bring to the planet itself. If
hemp paper was used instead of paper made of lumber, the deforestation rates
would decrease drastically. Also the production of paper from lumber requires
the use of dangerous chemicals, when the use of fibres from hemp could result
in paper without use of such dangerous chemicals. Also something worth noting
is that the growth rate of a crop of hemp is faster than trees leading to more
efficiency in product production. [6]
All in all the
benefits of utilizing hemp outweigh the non-existent cons “known” by the
public. Rather than educate the people of this nation about the great benefits
of the plant, slander is being told to them. We need to take any source of
revenue and use it in this current time of economic struggles in our country.
Citations
[1] "The Declaration of
Independence." The Church
of the Living Tree. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.tree.org/b3.htm>.
[2] "American Hemp History." NNY News. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.nnytimes.com/american_hemp_history.htm>.
[3] "HempNews » Richard Nixon." HempNews. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.
<http://hempnews.tv/tag/richard-nixon/>.
[4] "Hemp Facts." North
American Industrial Hemp Council. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html>.
[5] "Using Hemp Products for Health." HubPages. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.
<http://marymerriment.hubpages.com/hub/Using-Hemp-Products-for-Health>.
[6] "Hemp Products Information." Innvista Home. Web. 23 Feb.
2012. <http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/hemp/prodinfo.htm>.
[7] "Countries Growing
Hemp." AZ*HEMP. Web.
23 Feb. 2012.
<http://azhemp.org/Archive/Package/Countries/countries.html>.
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