posted on Jul, 19 2009 @ 10:28 PM
With the landfills reaching to the skies, trash littering our streets, and very few places left where you can see the stars due to power plants and
waste dumps, one would think the higher ups would try a new solution to our problems, this subject has always peeked my interest I have done some
research and realized how useful hemp is, Hemp is another word for the plant Cannabis sativa L. Marijuana comes from this same plant genus – and so
do broccoli and cauliflower. But the strains of hemp used in industrial and consumer products contain only a negligible level of the intoxicating
substance delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Thus, industrial grade hemp is not marijuana.Hemp is the most useful and beneficial plant in
nature.
Hemp as food
Hemp seeds are drug-free and extremely nutritious. They can be eaten whole, pressed into edible oil like soybeans, or ground into flour for baking.
They are one of the best sources of vegetable protein. They contain a full complement of essential amino acids, essential fatty-acids (EFA'S), and
have been shown to lower blood cholesterol and dissolve plaque in coronary arteries.
Because hemp is such a hardy plant, it can grow easily and abundantly almost anywhere, and can provide nutrition where other edible crops just won't
grow. Hemp can even be cultivated in arid regions with poor soil like Saharan Africa or in places with a very short growing season like
Scandinavia.
Hemp for body care
Hemp seed oil is perfectly suited for hair and skin care. Its nutritional value, combined with its moisturizing and replenishing EFA's, make it
one of the best vegetable body care foundations. Hemp seed oil's EFA complement includes polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3, omega-6, omega-9,
linoleic acid, and gamma linoleic acids (GLA's). Although they are very effective in skin care maintenance, GLA's are rarely found in natural oils.
Hemp is an excellent source of GLA's.
Paper from hemp
Hemp paper is naturally acid-free. The oldest printed paper in existence is a 100 percent hemp Chinese text dated to 770 AD. Thomas Jefferson
drafted both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution on hemp paper.
Hemp's cellulose level is almost three times that of wood, so it makes superior paper and yields four times as much pulp per acre as trees. The hemp
paper process also utilizes less energy and fewer chemicals than tree paper processing and doesn't create the harmful dioxins, chloroform, or any of
the other 2,000 chlorinated organic compounds that have been identified as byproducts of the wood paper process.
Hemp is a sustainable, annual crop that is ready for harvest just 120 days after going to seed, compared to trees which take tens or hundreds of years
to reach maturity. Further, harvesting hemp doesn't destroy the natural habitats of thousands of distinct animal and plant species.
"Historically, hemp was an important source of paper fiber until the early 1900's when chemicals were developed to advance the wood paper pulp
industry. Wood pulp paper rode the chemical revolution to its apex before the public health hazards of toxic chemicals were an issue and before the
environmental consequences of clear-cutting forests were appreciated."
"Hemp as fuel
Hemp seeds have provided a combustible fuel oil throughout human history. More importantly, though, the same high cellulose level that makes hemp
ideal for paper also makes it perfect for ethanol fuel production. Ethanol is the cleanest-burning liquid bio-alternative to gasoline. In one test, an
unleaded gasoline automobile engine produced a thick, black carbon residue in its exhaust, while the tailpipe of a modified ethanol engine tested for
the same 3,500 miles remained pristine and residue-free. These are only a few of the many wonderful uses of hemp, and it makes me wonder, I know the
government knows of its uses but they make more money destroying things then they do fixing and preventing problems