Economic Hero or Reefer Madness

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New Hampshire activists have been trying to legalize the growth of industrial hemp for the state for over a decade. Just a few months ago, they introduced a new House Bill to try again.

The bill permits the development of an industrial hemp industry in New Hampshire. The Environment and Agriculture Committee advocates that the use of industrial hemp will improve New Hampshire's economy and agricultural capabilities, having nothing to do with the use of marijuana as an illegal substance.

"The production of industrial hemp can be regulated so as not to interfere with the strict regulation of controlled substances in this state," states House Bill 399.

"America is the number one importer of hemp, it would be better to buy it from ourselves," said Keene State College sophomore, Erik Breakell.

He said he thinks if the bill was passed it would be really interesting and it would improve the economy.

The growing of cannabis for industrial hemp use means the plant will contain the least amount of tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ), at less than one percent. It will be grown only for the purpose of hemp and not for the use of marijuana as an illegal substance.

"You can't get high off hemp," said KSC senior Eva Loomis. "It's like drinking O'Doul's, you can't get drunk off a non-alcoholic beer."

Loomis said it is frustrating because of the stigma hemp has acquired since people relate it to marijuana, which is illegal. With that in mind, there are several uses for hemp that come from marijuana plants that have nothing to do with the illegal drug world. Hemp has proved to be one of the most productive and useful plants known world-wide for many years. Some uses include various foods, oils, fibers that can be used to make clothing, jewelry, rope, biofuels, roofing shingles and many other products.

"I wear hemp shirts and shoes," Breakell said. "I use hemp paper and I drink hemp milk."

"It can be anything if utilized to its full potential," Loomis said.

There are 25,000 uses for hemp, according to Loomis. She thinks it should be a replacement for cotton because of the possibilities the crop has and its benefits for the environment.

"Because of the growing soil problems, hemp will need to be legalized at some point," Breakell said.

Its nutrients replenish the soil and benefit the environment because pesticides and herbicides are unnecessary, unlike other crops it could substitute for.

"It's an obvious solution to deforestation," Loomis said. Hemp is 77 percent cellulose, as opposed to 60 percent in wood. Some people say hemp is 'a plant to save the world'.

"It's crazy. There's this miracle plant in terms of everything and it's illegal for some absurd, unknown reason," Loomis said. "How much can we run our environment into the ground before something positive starts to happen?"

In an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio, Mark Lathrop, the chairman of the New Hampshire Hemp Council, talked about his personal expositions with hemp and, as a farmer, highlighted the potential economic possibilities of industrial hemp.

"There is already a domestic market, there is already companies doing this and importing raw materials. This is an immediate agriculture our farmers could step into with little overhead and giving it to an end user," he said.

Both Vermont and North Dakota are the two only states in the United States to pass laws enabling the licensure of hemp. The law was passed, however no permits to grow the crop have been awarded. Breakell advocated that if New Hampshire does pass HB 399, it may quicken the pace of the whole movement.

"It's kind of a shame that hemp is associated with the drug culture these days because people see it as a middle step of marijuana," Breakell said. He said this is discouraging because it slows down the whole process of making hemp accepted and legal to grow.

Both Loomis and Breakell have been involved as student activists dealing with issues on hemp and marijuana. Specifically, Breakell gave a presentation at last year's Academic Excellence Conference about hemp. He said he also has supported petitions for hemp, made posters to inform people and generally educates people on the issue.

Loomis organized the on-campus event held on Monday, April 13, Help Eliminate Marijuana Prohibition ( HEMP ). The event supported both medical marijuana and industrial hemp. It began as just a project for her Student Empowerment and Activism course at KSC and evolved into a passion for her as an activist.

"Change will come about gradually," she said. "People will think, 'why didn't we do this earlier?'"

"It's sad to see little movement happen because people are scared of drugs," Breakell said. "[Hemp] is not a controlled substance and there is a difference."


News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Equinox, The (NH Edu)
Copyright: 2009 The Equinox
Contact: equinox@keene.edu
Website: Keene Equinox
Author: Jen Senofonte