2018-02-04 22:53:13 -0500
To: Congress
Fully Decriminalize Industrial Hemp
Petition Text
Simply fully decriminalize industrial hemp.
Why is this important?
Industrial hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa. Both the U.N. and the North American Free Trade Agreement recognize industrial hemp as distinct from marijuana due to hemp's next-to-nothing THC content. For thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles. Many years ago hemp and marijuana were unjustly banned together. Hemp has great environmental, economic, and commercial potential!!
Hemp and marijuana are two very different cultivars grown using very distinct and differentiated methods. The potential of hemp for paper production is enormous. In 1916 the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a report which found that one acre of hemp can produce four times as much pulp for paper as one acre of trees![1]
All types of paper products can be produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary, cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons. Paper production from hemp would eliminate the need to chop down BILLIONS of trees! MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of wildlife habitat could be preserved!
With tree farms, soil exposure can last for years in the time it takes for even a small tree to grow. Trees must grow for somewhere between several years & thousands of years after planting before they can be harvested for commercial use! Within 3-4 months after it is planted, hemp grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting![2] Hemp's long, strong, quickly growing roots help percolate and hold the soil in place. They also contribute to nutrient recycling through the whole plant.[4] Additionally, any stalk or leaves help keep the soil from drying out while its bio-mass insulates the area.
Reduction of topsoil erosion would also reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams.
Fewer caustic and toxic chemicals are used to make paper from hemp than are used to make paper from trees.
It has been estimated that hemp could provide 100% of US energy needs if widely cultivated and put to good use. So many products can be made from hemp. Growing hemp would completely change what we call America today. Many products would become eco-friendly and our environment and economy would improve drastically in just a few short years.
Of course there are some very rich people who have been doing things the wrong way for a very long time who would not like the U.S. to have a cheaper, more renewable, resource -- a resource that would be available to almost anyone with land, a little bit of money, or the ability to sharecrop. Some people are very resistant to change. But President Obama claims to be so much different than that. Thats why the world needs your help to tell Obama to use his power of executive order to fully and immediately decriminalize industrial hemp.
Hemp and marijuana are two very different cultivars grown using very distinct and differentiated methods. The potential of hemp for paper production is enormous. In 1916 the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a report which found that one acre of hemp can produce four times as much pulp for paper as one acre of trees![1]
All types of paper products can be produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary, cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons. Paper production from hemp would eliminate the need to chop down BILLIONS of trees! MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of wildlife habitat could be preserved!
With tree farms, soil exposure can last for years in the time it takes for even a small tree to grow. Trees must grow for somewhere between several years & thousands of years after planting before they can be harvested for commercial use! Within 3-4 months after it is planted, hemp grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting![2] Hemp's long, strong, quickly growing roots help percolate and hold the soil in place. They also contribute to nutrient recycling through the whole plant.[4] Additionally, any stalk or leaves help keep the soil from drying out while its bio-mass insulates the area.
Reduction of topsoil erosion would also reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams.
Fewer caustic and toxic chemicals are used to make paper from hemp than are used to make paper from trees.
It has been estimated that hemp could provide 100% of US energy needs if widely cultivated and put to good use. So many products can be made from hemp. Growing hemp would completely change what we call America today. Many products would become eco-friendly and our environment and economy would improve drastically in just a few short years.
Of course there are some very rich people who have been doing things the wrong way for a very long time who would not like the U.S. to have a cheaper, more renewable, resource -- a resource that would be available to almost anyone with land, a little bit of money, or the ability to sharecrop. Some people are very resistant to change. But President Obama claims to be so much different than that. Thats why the world needs your help to tell Obama to use his power of executive order to fully and immediately decriminalize industrial hemp.