Article was originally published on MadeByHemp.
We’re excited to report on some great news for the hemp industry, coming out of Washington this week. The state House voted unanimously to decriminalize industrial hemp in the state, which would allow farmers to once again grow this amazing plant.
Hemp has long suffered from unfair treatment, simply because it looks similar to its infamous cousin, marijuana. Even though we’ve always known industrial hemp can not make you “high.” It can, however, be used to create nutritious foods, bio-degradable plastics, and some of the strongest building materials. People have already started importing hempcrete to create healthy homes, and cars that can be whacked with a sledgehammer and leave no dent.
Not only does hemp create “better” products…it creates environmental friendly products that could help with the world’s garbage and pollution problems.
Easy to Grow. Over 50,000 Uses.
If U.S. farmers are give the green light to cultivate industrial hemp, it will open doors in the healthiest of ways. More jobs, cleaner air, less water, less pollution. To backtrack a little, hemp is a very easy crop to grow. They can thrive in just about any type of soil, require only a little water, and actually clean the soil and air. Hemp’s amazing detoxifying properties have already been utilized for cleaning up radiation from the Fukushima disaster and to build homes, using hempcrete, to improve living conditions for children with auto-immune issues.
Why Isn’t it Already Legal?
Well, hemp has been lumped together with marijuana for many years…despite the fact that the U.S. government funded campaigns promoting farmers to grow as much hemp as possible to help support WW2 efforts. That hemp was used to craft heavy-duty sails for ships and other military equipment. As soon as the war ended, hemp was once again prohibited. This has caused much speculation into the reason hemp was outlawed, but the best thing we can do now is help educate the masses on industrial hemp so that one day it can be grown everywhere.
“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.” – George Washington
Washington is heading in the right direction to decriminalize industrial hemp. If HB2064 passes in the Senate and is signed into law, as it’s expected to, we foresee other states will promptly follow suit.
