Hemp: Marijuana's Innocent Cousin

Imagine being with someone, at the wrong place and at the wrong time, and getting incriminated along with that person, but for something that the other person did. That is more or less what happened to hemp when marijuana was present, and it began the downfall of both. However, hemp's interdiction was unjustified because it never had any negative effects on anyone or anything. Nevertheless, in the past several years, people of the world have been opening their eyes to realize how beneficial hemp can be for their nations. So why is the United States the only industrialized nation in the entire world that has not yet approved its legalization? The legal production and availability of hemp as a resource should be implemented because the nation will benefit from it in different ways. More jobs will be created, millions of dollars annually will be generated in the United States, and hemp can replace other resources that damage the environment.

Hemp is among the oldest plants in the world. Scientists have discovered roots or fabrics of hemp in the continent of Asia that date over five thousand years ago (www.hort.purdue.edu). Cannabis sativa, or hemp, as it is most widely known, is a plant closely related to marijuana. This plant can grow from ten to twenty feet in height, and thrives most during the summer in areas with large amounts of moisture and light from Tapia 2 the sun. Because of its great size in height, the thick shade from hemp keeps weeds from growing in the area in which it overshadows (www.ic.galegroup.com). The biggest difference between hemp and marijuana is the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in both plants; marijuana's THC content is higher than the content of cannabis sativa (www.host.madison.com). ...

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...umstances. To grow hemp, little to no nitrogen is used (www.examiner.com), and that is a good thing because nitrogen pollutes the environment's bodies of water and contributes in producing GHGs, or global greenhouse gases, for global warming (www.arcadiabio.com). In contrast to hemp's tall and slender features, cannabis plants tend to grow rather bushy and small. Cannabis requires its buds and leaves to become thick and dense so that it can produce THC. To achieve that, the marijuana needs large amounts of nitrogen (www.examiner.com).

Today, Germany, France, Canada, and twenty-five other industrialized countries in the world allow hemp to be produced in their lands (www.thehia.org). Therefore, for the regulation of hemp, the U.S. can use one of those country's regulations, such as Canada's, as a blueprint or example of how to regulate it. In Canada, companies or any