The Prospects of Hemp in our Future
Hemp is the name of a family of plants that is a source of superb plant fiber, and widespread cultivation of this plant could replace wood as the principal source of fiber for the production of paper. It would save many trees from being cut down. Hemp fiber also has other exceptional uses and the seeds of the plant are very nutritious as well. Unfortunately, some strains of this plant produce a psychotropic chemical known popularly as THC, short for the chemical name, tetrahydrocannabinol. Legal planting of hemp, whose botanical name is Cannabis sativa, is permitted in some countries as long as the THC level is below 0.3%. This level is far too low to induce the psychotropic effect, which generally requires at least about 1% THC. Unfortunately, it is not easy to tell the difference between low THC hemp and high THC hemp. There are some chemical tests that can be used in the field to verify the legality of low-THC hemp. As a recreational drug, hemp is called marijuana, besides a host of slang names such as grass, dope, etc. THC is also useful for its medicinal properties. Hemp or marijuana is propagated by the planting of Cannabis Seeds and the plant grows easily even on substandard soils.
Due to the medicinal properties of marijuana, there is an effort underway to make marijuana legal by prescription. Certainly there are many more dangerous prescription drugs that are widely abused, so there really should not be any opposition to this legalization. In fact, a recent United Nations commission recommended more legalization of drugs since the War on Drugs has not had any effect except to cost a lot of money and criminalize people. The money would be better spent on rehabilitation. Removing illegality also reduces crime since the price would drop. America tried prohibition of alcohol early in the 20th century and it was a dismal failure. That should be a lesson to learn from.
Hemp or marijuana grows easily from seeds and there are many sources of seeds both for low THC levels as well as from selective breeding if varieties having especially high THC levels. High quality Cannabis Seeds are available for purchase, and for potent varieties having popular names such as Pineapple Chunk, White Widow, Double Berry, etc. They are available from the UK and can be delivered worldwide.
