Hemp: The plant that can save America
COM172
May 8, 2012

Hemp: The plant that can save America Marijuana, pot, weed, grass, smoke, hemp - these are just a few of the names given to the plant known as Cannabis Sativa. Lobbyists are currently trying to repeal the federal laws making the growth, production, and possession of medicinal cannabis illegal because of the benefits to people with cancer, glaucoma, and chronic pain. If successful this will also make it legal to grow industrial hemp. Industrial hemp can be used for clothing, nutritional supplements, and paper products; building supplies, automotive construction, and alternative fuel sources. With the legalization of hemp this nation conceivably could negate its dependence on foreign oil and reverse the failing economy. From the birth of this nation up to the 1950s, hemp was grown on large farms and in small family plots. Early settlers understood the necessity of growing hemp for rope and sails used on ships, for cloth to make clothes; even the original flag was made from hemp. In fact there were mandatory grow laws in place for years that made it a crime not to grow hemp. In 1937 the government passed a law (Title 21 U.S.C. Controlled Substance Act) that made it illegal to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. In doing so, they outlawed industrial hemp as well, even though it only contains trace amounts of the substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gives Cannabis its effectiveness. Most proponents of legalization are convinced that the government knowingly banned Cannabis because they were in collusion with a number of large industries like DuPont, St. Regis, Lilly, and Kimberly Clark. These companies stood to make significant amounts of money from new technologies based on oil and coal, and a new process for making paper out of wood pulp. Whether or not this was the case, our government