15 Facts About the History of Hemp You Should Know!

The hemp plant is one of the most versatile of all God’s creations and it is also one of the least known of all plants. There are so many different products that people use daily that can be made using parts of the hemp plant. This article was designed to help introduce you to the reader to the many facets of the hemp plant.

 

15 Fun Facts about the Hemp Plant

 

#1 Hemp won’t get you high

 

While both the Hemp and the Marijuana plant belong to the same Cannabis Sativa family, they are different in one very important way. The THC level in each is dramatically different, the Hemp plant contains 1% concentration, while the Marijuana plant has 20%. The THC is the psychoactive compound that produces the “high” effect when smoked or consumed.

 

#2 Highly versatile raw material

 

The hemp plant can be used in producing a wide range of products from foods, textiles, rope, plastics and even a wide range of medicinal products. One of the most recent and quite promising products that are currently being produced called CBD. The CBD oil contains a number of medicinal uses without the THC content.

 

#3 Every part of the plant is used

 

Unlike many other plants that are raised and harvested for very specific purposes and only certain parts of the plant may be valuable. The same is not true for the hemp plant, all parts of the plant currently are being used to produce some type of useful product.

 

#4 Highly nutritious superfood

 

The seeds of the hemp plant are packed with so much of what is good for you, that is considered by many to be on the same plane as other traditional superfoods. The hemp seeds are packed with muscle-building protein, energy-producing fat and a limited amount of sugars (carbohydrates). The amino acids, vitamins and trace and other minerals help to keep your body in tip-top shape.

 

#5  Hemp can be woven into the fabric

 

The plant is very fibrous and that makes it extremely useful in making textiles, rope and a number of other woven type fabrics. Cloth made from pure hemp is said to have a similar feel to linen. The fibers from the hemp plant can be used in a wider range of types of materials used for making clothes.

 

#6 Hemp can be used in building homes

 

Concrete is a quite popular building material today and hemp can be used along with lime to create a cement-like material, also commonly referred to as hempcrete. While it can be used on a small scale, you cannot use hempcrete on high-rise construction. Hempcrete, however, possesses a good deal of insulating properties.

 

#7 Hempmobile is more real than you might think

 

Hemp is currently being used by several of the world’s top automobile manufacturers to make the composite materials that go into their cars. The list of these companies reads like the Whos who in the auto industry like Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Ford, GM, and Porsche just to name a few. It truly is not surprising that these companies have fallen in love with hemp as a raw material.

 

#8 Use more hemp and save more trees

 

Hemp has been used for making paper for more than 2000 years and since dried hemp contains a higher cellulose content ( component used in making paper) than wood (the typical source for making paper products) hemp would make a much better alternative since it takes 50-100 years for a tree to regrow and it only takes 4 months for a hemp plant to mature.

 

#9 Hemp is used as a water and soil purifier

 

It was discovered that there are compounds within the hemp plant that allows it to eliminate the radioactive isotopes that were present in the water and soil around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia. Chernobyl is the site of the worst man-made catastrophic event ever.

 

#10 Can be made into non-toxic biofuel

 

One of the most promising uses for the hemp plant with it is overabundance and quick regrowth is in the making of biofuel or biodiesel. Since the best replacement for highly toxic fossil fuels must be renewable, like wind, hydro and solar, a biofuel made from hemp can be planted and harvested again in 3-4 months. Hemp plants can also easily be grown indoors so it can be harvested year-round.

 

#11 Paint derived from hemp seeds

 

Most people do not know that most paints are made from oil and there are a tiny number of specialized companies that still use the oil from hemp seeds to produce a line of paint products. If more companies would switch over to this far less toxic oil to make paint products there would less of a need for fossil fuel.

 

#12 Rope used to be made from hemp

 

For centuries the majority of rope used for the sailing of all kinds was made from the hemp plant. It seems like a shame that something all-natural that has not changed in more than 10,000 years cannot be rediscovered for its value that it brings only because of its close relation to the other Cannabis Sativa plant (Marijuana).

 

#13 Our Founding Fathers saw the value

 

The Founding Fathers of the United States saw the many benefits of growing hemp and went as far as to smuggle the seeds into the country to beginning planting and growing it themselves. With so many uses for the hemp plant, it would seem like a no brainer that it would be something more farmers would be interested in getting involved in.

 

#14 The real reason for its outlaw

 

The planting and growing of the hemp plant were in 1937 in the US and unfortunately, it was not for a less than respectable reason; greed. For all of its obvious benefits, it posed a serious threat to the major industries; oil, paper, and plastics.

 

#15 For a brief period it was legalized

 

Like many other industries during the time of war, the US had to make drastic choices in order to maintain our high state of readiness again our enemies. So as you can guess, the ban on hemp was briefly lifted so that hemp once again could be used to make certain necessary items needed for the war efforts.