Feature by David Sussman What is Hemp? opcretea@siwash.be.ca HEMP: Hemp was one of the first crops grown by Europeans on Canadian soil. Hemp plantations were once a very common sight in the landscape and no wonder: the fibers derived from the hemp plant are the strongest of any vegetable fiber, it produces edible seeds for animal feed or human consumption, and its oils are useful in all sorts of products. ot only that, but it grows extremely easily in Canada’s latitude, and causes minimal soil degradation (as opposed to tobacco, for example). Hemp also it has natural defenses against insects, making herbicide use less of a concern, and it yields large amounts of crop with relatively little maintenance. Perhaps most importantly, itisa renewable resource from which fine paper can be made. Hemp was outlawed in Canada in the 1930s, due to its association with its sister plant, marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same plant, canna- bis, the difference is measured in THC content. (THC is the mild intoxicant that produces the “buzz” associated with marijuana). Low THC plants are referred to as ‘hemp,’ while those same plants with a higher THC content are called ‘marijuana.’ So we haven’t used Hemp in Canada since the 1930s? Well, not exactly. The Canadian government missed hemp so much during WW II that it temporarily lifted the cultivation ban in the 1940s when foreign supplies of hemp dried up: it seems no other material made uniforms with as much strength as hemp. Hemp has never completely left our lives. Even today hemp fibers can be found in our currency! The fiber’s strength seem to make it almost impossible to replace altogether. If hemp is so great and it is not the drug-type plant, why aren’t we growing it now? Good question. Hemp has the potential to save our forests, save our farmers (especially our tobacco farmers), line our pockets with export dollars, and all with relatively little environmental You can’t get stoned off by Tammy Shewchuck osse Mellish, owner of the Green Man Paper Mill, is a true believer in hemp. His business is one of the few in BC that is taking advantage of the industrious benefits of a product most of us are more familiar with for other reasons. As Mosse puts it, “pot smoking is after the fact.” The Green Man Paper Mill was founded in the summer of 1995 stemming from Mosse’s long-term commitment to the environment. (He was asked to represent The Green Party in the last election.) He also wanted to start his own business and tree-free paper was beginning to gain recognition. Working at Hemp BC since it opened, Mosse left and began making hand-made hemp paper from home. His partner, Nikki Bennett, organized the business aspects of the Green Man, and Mosse moved from making just tree-free paper to beautifully crafted natural papers in an array colours and textures. impact. Unfortunately, the hemp growing issue is not so simple. There are quite a few obstacles: a) The (partially foreign-owned) lumber companies: In Canada, the lumber companies have been making more and more money and employing less and less people since the 1940s. Each year we allow them to defer millions of dollars in taxes, in effect subsidizing their efforts at raping our wilderness. The lumber companies obviously have lots of clout, and nerve to match: remember the Nisga’a land settlement in Northern BC? Did you know that a couple of the major lumber companies are currently suing the Canadian government for millions of dollars in lost wages? It seems they were given dibs on the right to chop down some of our trees, and now that the land has been given away, they feel cheated! Replacing their product (wood pulp) with a friendlier alterna- tive (hemp) for paper production is not an idea that these politically influential companies are too keen on. b) The drug laws: Allowing farmers to grow hemp would make control of (illegal) marijuana cultivation more difficult. The plants look the same: it takes chemical analysis to tell them apart. If you legalize growing one, you may lose control of the other. c) THC content (or lack thereof): Industrial hemp is supposed to have a THC level below 0.3%. Marijuana typically has a THC content at least 5%. The problem, according to some reports, is that the lower the level of THC, the shorter the fibers in the plant, and the less natural immunity it has to pests. Shorter fibers limit the potential uses of the plant, as it is the long, strong fibers that are the most Hemp has many benefits that differ from tree-made papers. It does not require bleaching like tree-made paper because hemp is naturally light in colour, and is the archivist’s choice because hemp paper withstands centuries without crumbling. Hemp can be recycled three times more than traditional papers because its longer fibres. Hemp grown on one acre of land over a 20-year period will yield four times the pulp for paper as the same acre of trees. It is not surprising that the pulp and paper industry is taking notice. “Hemp is a sustainable industry that will not drive us into the ground like the forestry industry,” Mosse answers when asked how hemp will combat giants like MacMillan Bloedel, “Mac Blo is losing and they are having to look at different markets.” He adds, “This business is political, economic, and environmental.” Surprisingly, the Green Man faced no legal roadblocks in the last year surprisingly. According to Mosse, useful. The diminished immunity makes the plant harder to grow then it would be. Ideally, farmers would be allowed to grow high THC strains, and would harvest them before they reach the flowering stage (when the plant becomes useful as a drug). That way the best quality hemp could be produced, and the potential drug usage is eliminated. Again, the problem is one of control. d) Lack of needed technology: Hemp grows very high — up to the order of several metres. Current technologies do not support the farming of such a crop, therefore large-scale farms are not yet possible. But demand drives technology, so if the demand was there, the technology would soon follow. What is going on now? Currently the Canadian government is running a number of test farms in various provinces (including BC). Farmers need special licenses to grow the crop, and are figuring out what strains to grow, how best to grow them, and how to deal with the product. Some of the above obstacles are, no doubt, leading to considerable foot-dragging by our elected repre- sentatives on this issue. What can I do? If you: * are in favour of saving our forests and groundwater; ¢ would like a higher quality fiber in your clothes and papers to be available; * have no tolerance for the lumber companies’ greed; * are not afraid that legalization of industrial hemp will cause rampant “Growing hemp was illegal up until one year ago and now that has changed slightly — to be more recognized as a resource — a fibre crop.” Ironically, a person can grow industrial hemp in Canada but domestic hemp still cannot be sold. This is considered one of the hemp industry’s greatest stumbling blocks. The Green Man gets their hemp from Hungary although it would much rather support Canadian farmers. This is where the politics get involved. Hemp is a good agricultural crop. Because of its soil and climate, the best place to grow hemp in Canada is Newfoundland (well, according to Mosse -ed). The province has the highest unemployment rate in Canada, but farmers there are not allowed to sell hemp crops for profit. Mosse is however, optimistic about change and sees a lot of potential for the industry going Leyond his environmental concerns. The Green Man Paper Mill has survived its first year in business and marijuana usage and the formation of an entire nation of pot-junkies; Then: buy hemp products, and more importantly: contact your elected representatives, write to your newspa- pers, spread the word any way you can. You mean it’s not good enough to hang out at the Hemporium and buy their pencil cases and stuff? No. It is better than nothing, but for hemp to become a reality in this country, it needs to spread from the special interest groups to the consumer base at large. Hemp needs to hit the mainstream. Right now a group exists ~ Kevin Sallows P that buys hemp products — largely altruistic reasons, but this little gro is not enough to support the potent size of the industry. To gain the rea benefits of growing the crop, it nee to be grown on a large scale, there a large market has to exist. Hemp great stuff: hopefully in the future people will buy hemp clothes beca they last longer, and hemp paper because it more durable and much cheaper. When the public at large finally becomes aware of hemp’s u and benefits, large scale demand follow, and the hemp industry will have arrived. a pair of pants has gained recognition for being one of the few companies to sell hand- made hemp paper products wholesale. While, their primary market is the Lower Mainland, they are also getting orders from around the world. The growth of hemp stores in BC adds to the local market and shows that attitudes about hemp are changing. Business people are beginning to see it as a potential profit industry, but want to distant it from drug culture. That’s where industrial hemp for manufacturing comes in. “Can you get stoned off a pair of pants?” Mosse asks. He sees change coming as soon as the ethical and moral questions about hemp get answered and as the manufacturing of products made from hemp becomes more understood. The huge potential of hemp will be seen at the upcoming Industrial and Commercial Hemp Symposium, to be held in February at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. It will be a business event, not a smoke-in. Attendees will include hosting government, agriculture, forestry, environment, and industrial pulp q paper concerns. The conference w be one of the first of its kind in No America. “The best plad to grow hemp Canada Newfoundland the proving with the highe unemployme rate in Canad But farme there aren allowed to s¢ hemp crops f profi 8 October 291996 The Other Press