PUTNEY — Industrial hemp is a 12- to 15-foot-high, bamboo-like plant, a member of the cannabis species. It has no value as a recreational drug whatsoever. It has huge value, however, as a means to remedy global pollution and global warming.
It grows in large fields, very densely, 250 plants per square yard. It has a very deep root system. These two qualities create benefits for the next crop in rotation, creating a 10-percent higher yield, since the weeds have been choked out and the soil aerated.
The hemp plant produces a strong fiber and a woody inner core, known as the “shiv” or the “hurd.” The fibers are used for multiple purposes, including in the panels of cars for the Lotus and Mercedes lines. The fibers are also used for home and other kinds of insulation.
The inner core of the plant is mixed with limestone to create a product used for bricks or walls that insulate and breathe. The hemp industry has been growing for decades in Europe, led by the French. In Europe, they are building homes, by the thousands, out of industrial hemp and lime.
Particularly because of its applications in the construction industry, I am eager to see industrial hemp farming return to Vermont and the United States.
It was once completely legal to grow hemp in this country. But the productive applications of industrial hemp are hindered by the placement of this plant on the controlled substance list by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
Understand that the cannabis strains of marijuana and hemp have very little to do with each other; they have even less in common than a salamander and an alligator. If marijuana frightens you, it can stay on the controlled substance list, while industrial hemp can be removed.
When we have the reintroduction of industrial hemp, we will be able to coordinate the growth of an industry revolving around building.
The European hemp-lime homes have been shown to need 60 to 80 percent less energy for heating and cooling. These homes are also carbon negative - that is, they have better than a zero-carbon footprint. By comparison, the American construction industry is now responsible for nearly 40 percent of our carbon pollution.
Industrial hemp would dovetail beautifully with Vermont's “green” attitude and aspirations. Unfortunately, the awareness of the difference between marijuana and industrial cannabis hemp is not common.
Although the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (HR 1831) has been introduced in Congress this session by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, our own Peter Welch has not yet co-sponsored it. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, will introduce a similar bill in the U.S. Senate. Support from Vermont Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy would be welcome.
Of course, I would like to see Gov. Peter Shumlin getting it right and pushing President Obama for a signing statement to fully remove industrial hemp from the Drug Enforcement Agency's purview. I would also like to see our Vermont National Guard protecting our farmers when they begin to grow it again.
Industrial hemp is one of our wisest means to remedy global warming and pollution. I don't think we have the leisure to wait while back-room conversations happen in well-heeled Washington offices. We must ask our government to support the loving work of growing a crop that will benefit the Earth and the humans who use it (and will give a great big headache to those who smoke it).
Think of the chemical-free homes being built in Europe, Asia, and Canada, along with the clothes, food, plastics, and fuel made from hemp. We could build processing plants and end-use markets for the myriads of products we can produce here in Vermont, all the while reducing carbon emissions.
It would be very helpful if Congressman Welch would do his part to remove the federal impediment to Vermont industrial hemp farming.
Let him know. Call 202-224-3121 and tell him that he should co-sponsor the Industrial Hemp Farm Act.