One of the things I always get a kick out of is the popular view of hemp as the “benevolent happy plant,” and that the oppressions of the bigots in power are keeping this “oh-so-valuable” crop out of the nation’s spectacle as a part of some great national conspiracy.

The truth is, hemp is not as valuable of a crop as anyone makes it out to be. The only reason why people claim it to be the ideal “fertilizer /pesticide”-free crop is simple — in the wild, it grows free. So does corn, and practically every other type of plant in the entire world for that matter. The only reason any pesticide or chemical is used on a farm is to make the crop bigger, stronger and cleaner. If you were to create a dense-enough planting of hemp, I’m certain some bug would benefit from it, and some bug would have to be combated with all the evil herbicides.

The truth is, no use of hemp has no equal in the natural or synthetic world. Synthetics are by an astronomical margin cheaper and quicker to make than any hemp textile, and are far stronger and more color strong. Hemp has no nutritional value (although there are certainly a few potheads out there that would argue that issue). And the only REAL value that hemp has in today’s world is for recreational use, which I happen to oppose. I have plenty of case studies of friends whose lives, although not destroyed by hemp’s mind-numbing capabilities, have directly cited it as a starter drug, and empirically speaking, would probably have never gotten into hard drugs if it weren’t for Mr. Byrne’s “perfect crop.”

The truth is, hemp is an issue that we should have let die with the ’60s and disco. Let it rest in peace.

David Klipec

Aspiring engineering student