Industrial Hemp for paper?

[cfo]

I'm a little stoned and was just wondering something. Since we have more states legalizing weed every year, when do you think the USA will legalize industrial hemp? I know it can be used for many purposes. I work in the timber industry and I think using hemp for paper makes a lot more sense than using wood that requires many years to grow before harvesting. Your thoughts? Anyone want to get in on the ground-floor for investing in a business that makes hemp paper?

 

[Max Headroom]

yeah, it's high time that hemp takes over some market shares from wood.
who ever came up with the idea of using a plant that takes 80 yrs over a annual plant???

but i'm afraid the major paper manufacturers (mondi, etc) are gonna lobby heavily against industrial hemp.

 

[Preacher]

but i'm afraid the major paper manufacturers (mondi, etc) are gonna lobby heavily against industrial hemp.

Wrong tense. Industrial hemp is illegal precisely because DuPont etc. have been trying to ban that source of competition since 1937. This is also the reason weed has the very unique distinction of being illegal by the scientific name of the plant rather than its chemical composition. In fact, the first person ever arrested on a national level for possession of marihuana in America was a hemp farmer.

The legalization of hemp actually comes up in the national House on a pretty regular basis, where it's consistently defeated. Politicians rather like the wealth disparity in this country, and legalizing hemp would be a boon primarily to the ethnic group that's most savagely fucked over economically (Native Americans). Can't have that. The official stock reason for drug warriors is "can't be readily distinguished from the kind of cannabis that will fuck you up", which has already been disproven by our northern neighbors growing the stuff.

Also, the DEA has their fingers in this. 98 percent of cannabis they destroy is hemp that literally cannot get you high (though it certainly will give you a headache). As usual, it all comes down to the wrong people making way too much fucking money off of prohibition to give it up.

Finally, we actually did try out hemp for materials at one point in our history after cannabis was banned. We had a bit of a supply shortage in WWII for rope, canvases (look up the etymology of that word), paper etc. So our government released, denied the existence of, and ultimately failed to completely destroy a propaganda video called "hemp for victory", wherein for a few brief years hemp production was actually subsidized before being banned all over again in 1945. It should be on Youtube.

Hemp is also 4.1 times more efficient than wood at making paper from it, and about second or third best at all its other numerous byproducts, so you're spot-on that paper production would be its best use. Of course it's still damn fine overall- back in 1937 Popular Science called it "the billion-dollar crop", at a time where the US dollar was roughly thirteenfold stronger and agricultural technology was practically in the Stone Age compared to now. I'm rambling a bit but I don't often get to spill everything I know about this hidden side of the cannabis market so pardon me.