Industrial Hemp

1. Industrial Hemp Alex Albuagh “A tall, coarse plant, Cannabis Sativa, that is native to Asia but naturalized or cultivated in many parts of the world and is the source of a valuable fiber as well as marijuana and hashish.”

2. History • Illegal in every state since 1937 due to the Marijuana Tax Act. • Over 25,000 useful products made from hemp • Can be used to make products such as paper, fabric, rope, food, building supplies, cosmetics, plastics, fuel, etc. • Cultivated for over 12,000 years • Required to grow hemp in the early colonial days • George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it • Benjamin Franklin owned a hemp paper mill

4. Why Is It Illegal? • William Randolph Hearst • Newspaper chain owner as well as large investor in timber industry • Worried hemp paper would overtake paper from timber • Became large advocate in fight against marijuana • Propaganda schemes to frighten public to seeing the plant as evil • “makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing” – William Randolph Hearst

5. THC vs. CDB • THC is the psychoactive ingredient in medicinal marijuana that gets users “high” • CBD is an anti-psychoactive ingredient that is found in the hemp plants • Medical marijuana can have up to 20% THC and no CBD, where hemp has less than .3% THC and high levels of CBD • Government and DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) refuse to see a difference in the two plants despite the two being as similar as a cousin is to oneself

6. Can You See the Difference?

7. The Debate Today • Farmers and politicians are trying to convince the government as well as the DEA to separate the two plants and allow the cultivation and production of hemp for economic and natural resource benefits

8. Hempsters. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEURedlE4k

9. For Legalization • Produce paper- 9 months vs. 20 years • Hemp contains 70% cellulose and paper contains only 30% • CDB is an “anti-marijuana” • Marijuana and hemp look very different and harvest at different times of the year • .3% vs. 20% • “You would have to smoke a joint the size of a light pole to get high off hemp”- Hempsters • USA would produce instead of consume • 29 other countries already grow hemp

10. Against Legalization • Whether “distant cousins” or not, is still marijuana • Claim no difference in hemp and marijuana • Won’t be able to distinguish differences in fly overs • Farmers will grow high potency plants in hemp fields • Use hemp to get high • Kids will think it is okay to use marijuana because hemp is legal

11. Mediation • The kids are most important • Teach the drastic differences and educate the effects of smoking marijuana • Educate the kids, as well as public, the differences between THC and CBD • Education is crucial to the movement

12. Mediation Cont. • Permit • Must have appropriate land and intentions • Background checks for felonies and drug related offenses • Highly detailed records of growth and sale • Taxed accordingly • Must account for how much to be used for seed, grain, or fibers

13. Mediation Cont. • No hemp plant may exceed .3% THC • Random examinations will be made to test potency • Made clear the law change is for economic and natural resource benefits only • Random flyovers and any suspicious findings will result in examinations • No field within 5 miles of a school • Geographic locations of fields and holding centers must be given for any necessary examinations

14. Picture Credits • http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/dea/EP01036415 • http://thefreshscent.com/tag/washington/ • http://www.voteindustrialhemp.com/ • http://www.rolledtootight.com/tag/hemp/ • http://www.nndb.com/people/446/000024374/ • http://www.rense.com/general49/could.htm • http://1kids.net/blog/2010/06/page/2/ • http://www.tobacco-news.net/illegal-marijuana-businesses-may-abound-in-boulder/ • http://www.newvideo.com/new-video-digital/hempsters-plant-the-seed/

15. Rubric

16. Your Comments • Overall Comments: Your PowerPoint on the laws concerning Industrial Hemp, let me say for starters, was one of our liveliest. The best example is the fast-moving, laugh-inducing trailer for that documentary, Hempsters— but that portion of the presentation nearly overwhelmed the rest, really. A snippet of the trailer would’ve served you better, and allowed for a genuine mediation between two points of view. As it was, though you set up two slides for legalization of hemp and two slides against, a good balance, your bias held sway even when you were discussing the arguments against. Still, the “Mediation” slide seemed judicious, with its emphasis on education, and the structure overall was effective. You did sometimes fall into mumbling, but you came across as engaged. A- or 92.

17. Classmates Comments • Zach Siedlecki, KjirstenFogelsom, Sarah Delhotal • English 250 Section VE • Albaugh:Summary and Critique • Summary • Alex’s presentation was on the legalization of industrial hemp. His presentation started with the history of hemp and why it was outlawed. Then he talked about the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana and how hemp does not contain as much THC as marijuana but contains CBD which actually prevents THC from having an effect on the body. Following that, Alex explained the difference in appearance of the hemp plant vs. the appearance of marijuana plants. He then went on to talk about the debate on the subject, identifying the issue and showed a short video about a documentary on industrial hemp production. After that he went into facts for legalization and why it should be done, as well as why people want it outlawed. • Critique • Alex’s presentation was very organized, well researched and flowed very well from topic to topic. He was well prepared and did not stumble in his presentation. His mediation was very specific and brought up very reasonable solutions to the problem. The video he showed helped to tie the presentation together, but without overpowering it and still remaining relevant to his topic overall. Overall, he did a very good job.