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Jaime_McLeod's Blog
I'm a citizen journalist covering Maine as part of MTV's "2008 Choose or Lose Street Team."
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This blogger is a member of Street Team '08, a hand-picked group of state-based citizen journalists who are contributing to MTV's Choose or Lose election coverage.
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Want the latest election coverage on your phone? Text ST to 84465, check m.streetteam08.com, or subscribe to the FLO TV service and watch our "Best of Choose or Lose" show each week.
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Adobe is the exclusive software partner of Street Team '08, as part of Adobe Youth Voices.
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*Street Team '08 members are independent journalists. Any views and opinions expressed here are their own, and not those of MTV or The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
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See all of Jaime_McLeod's blog posts
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Maine Businesses Get By with a Little Hemp from Their Friends
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Posted July 15, 2008 at 12:13 PM
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Chances are, when most of you think of hemp, you think of one of two things: either the patchouli-scented macramé jewelry that cute girl you know – the one who wears all those flowing dresses – makes, or that one stoner friend you had in high school who did his senior paper about how pot is only illegal because hemp production threatens big business interests.
Beyond that, few people give much thought to the plant, its varied uses, or the reasons for the continued ban on its cultivation in the United States. Any discussion of it is relegated to those perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be on the cultural fringes – marijuana users and the kinds of people who dream about living off the grid in a yurt somewhere. As a result, most of us could use a refresher course on what hemp really is, and why we should even care.
For starters, hemp is not marijuana, even though it’s part of the same plant species. Industrial hemp is a sub-variety of the cannabis sativa plant that contains less than 1 percent THC (that’s an abbreviation for tetrahydrocannabinol, for those keeping score), the ingredient in marijuana that makes people high. In other words, you could smoke a truckload of the stuff and, aside from having sore lungs; you wouldn’t feel much of anything.
Industrial hemp has hundreds – some say thousands – of commercial uses, including paper, paint, cloth, plastics, cosmetics and other personal care products, food, building materials, fuel and more. Hemp is a fast-growing plant; over a twenty-year period, one acre can produce as much paper as four acres of trees. It requires little water, flourishes without pesticides, replenishes the soil with nutrients and nitrogen, controls topsoil erosion and produces a large volume of oxygen in comparison to its size. For these reasons, and because it has the potential to replace many potentially toxic or nonrenewable products, such as plastics, petroleum and paper made from bleached and chemically-processed wood pulp, it has long been embraced by environmentalists as a kind of super-plant. It’s also illegal to grow in this country. But why?
Well, as the historical record will attest, your stoner friend from high school wasn’t far off-base. The first move to criminalize the cultivation of hemp in the United States, along with that of its psychotropic counterpart, came with the creation of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The law was a response to a heavy editorial crusade against marijuana – a term few Americans had even heard of at the time – in the many newspapers owned by media magnate William Randolph Hearst. Though the editorials focused on the “dangerous and addictive” qualities of cannabis, many conspiracy theorists have been quick to point out that the dropping prices of commercial hemp were a threat to Hearst’s, and his close friend and business associate Lammont Du Pont’s, investments in the timber and chemical industries.
Prior to that, hemp had been an important part of America’s industrial and historical heritage. The first American flag was made from hemp fiber, and Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on paper made from hemp. Henry Ford even built a car out of hemp-based plastic that could run on hemp seed oil. Despite the Marijuana Tax, hemp was heavily grown in this country during World War II, for the production of uniforms, tent canvas, rope and more. Posters encouraging Americans to plant hemp were part of the same public awareness campaigns that advertised war bonds, promoted energy conservation and warned that “loose lips sink ships.” Once the war was over, though, it wasn’t long before the role of hemp was forgotten, and government regulation of the plant grew beyond heavy taxation to an outright ban during the 1950’s.
Since then, there have been a number of active movements to decriminalize hemp cultivation, including right here in the Pine Tree State. Maine is one of 16 states that have passed bills authorizing hemp research. Since 2003, the Maine Agriculture Center has been studying the viability of growing hemp commercially in Maine. According to their 2004 report, researchers believe hemp could be profitably grown here, potentially offering a well-needed shot in the arm for local farmers. Before that could happen, though, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency would have to declassify industrial hemp, a step officials say would threaten their ability to curb the domestic cultivation of marijuana.
The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency opposes the decriminalization of industrial hemp, on the grounds that the plant is virtually indistinguishable from its psychotropic cousin.
“Passage of this bill would require the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the marijuana seized by law enforcement officers is not ‘industrial hemp’ in every marijuana prosecution, and by a preponderance in every civil possession case,” MDEA Director Roy McKinney told the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry back in February of 2003.
At least one Maine business owner would like to see the dream of a locally-grown hemp crop become a reality, though. Seth Leaf is a Bowdoinham based entrepreneur whose family owns the Maine Intellihemp Company, which produces a line of personal care products – lip balm and skin salve – made from hemp seed oil.
“We use hemp, rather than just beeswax or olive oil, because the lips have a high concentration of blood cells. They absorb whatever you put on them. Hemp is high is omega fatty acids, so it’s super nourishing for the skin. It’s also got healing properties and is a natural sunscreen,” said Leaf.
Maine Intellihemp currently imports all of its hemp from Canada, but Leaf said the impact of a domestic hemp crop on his business would be tremendous, saving him untold amounts of money each year, not only on shipping, but also customs fees. And while the cost of importing hemp has taken its toll on his profits, Leaf said widespread misunderstanding about what hemp is has also made business tough.
Though there is no law against selling hemp-based products in the United States, when many people see the hemp leaf on Intellihemp’s packaging, he said, they assume the contents are illicit, or possibly even illegal.
“It’s been an uphill battle. People see hemp and immediately associate it with marijuana. We try to educate people we meet, but this country’s mentality is so clouded by fear, that it often doesn’t even penetrate,” Leaf said.
Leaf and his brother, Davey Pruzansky, also own Living Nutz , a successful snack food company that specializes in “gourmet raw organic vegan treats,” available at Whole Foods Markets and smaller natural and health food stores around the country. Leaf plans to incorporate hemp seeds, which are highly nutritious – offering a good source of not only beneficial omega fatty acids, but also amino acids and minerals – into more of his recipes.
“I urge people to self-educate,” said Leaf. “It’s mind blowing, when you look at how beneficial this plant could be to not only industry, but to the environment and our health. It’s endless.”
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