What has an estimated 25,000 uses and was used to construct the Declaration of Independence and the first pair of Levi’s jeans?

The answer? Hemp.

Unfortunately, we’re not able to take advantage of the 25,000 uses which hemp advocates say could, among other things, stop deforestation, help American farmers and stimulate the economy.

Why? Hemp suffers from a 60-year-old case of mistaken identity — most people believe hemp and marijuana are one in the same.

Even the law fails to make a distinction between hemp and marijuana. Consequently, hemp is illegal.

The misconceptions, misinformation and hysteria surrounding hemp are preventing the U.S. from reaping the economic, environmental and agricultural benefits of this wonder plant.

The mere utterance of the word hemp often elicits smirks or suspicion because of hemp’s association with the marijuana plant.

In 1937, Congress outlawed marijuana with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act.

The act effectively outlawed hemp when it made no distinction between hemp and marijuana.

Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of the same plant species, cannabis sativa. However, there are significant differences between the two.

The main difference between hemp and marijuana is in the content of tetra-hydrocannabinol (THC) — the chemical giving marijuana its psychoactive properties.

Marijuana, the drug cultivated for psychoactive properties, generally contains three to 15 percent THC. Hemp cultivated for industrial use generally contains 0.1 percent or less THC.

Another difference between hemp and marijuana is the part of the cannabis plant used.

Marijuana consists of the flowers, buds and leaves of the cannabis plant whereas industrial hemp utilizes the roots, stalk and stems.

Today in the U.S., hemp is legal to possess. A person cannot be arrested for wearing hemp jewelry or using hemp paper.

However, since it is not possible to grow the hemp plant without being in possession of marijuana, it is illegal to grow hemp in this country.

But it looks like the law could change in the near future.

A growing number of farmers, scientists, members of industry and lawmakers are demanding new new legislation.

In fact, earlier this year, the Iowa House had a bill for research into the viability of hemp as a cash crop for Iowa’s poorer quality southern soils (it failed).

And in 1996, 11 states had legislation calling for research or legalization of industrial hemp.

And, in a few states, the legislation passed, allowing limited production in the form of monitored research plots.

Advocates say hemp is a viable alternative to many agricultural products such as trees and cotton because it grows in 90-day cycles and can be used for most things made from cotton and trees.

Farmers and environmentalists say hemp is a more ecologically sound crop than cotton because it requires less water, almost no chemical pesticides or fertilizers and its roots actually prevent erosion.

Hemp has a wide range of uses from paints and plastics to paper and fiber.

In fact, it is estimated one acre of hemp can produce as much paper as 10 acres of trees.

Hemp has growing economic possibilities, too. Last year, imported hemp fiber products made more than $25 million in sales.

Designers like Calvin Klein say hemp fabric is “stronger than cotton, warmer than linen and more absorbent than nylon.” Klein predicts hemp will become “the fiber of choice.”

I can’t possibly list the 25,000 uses in this column, but I encourage anyone interested in this cause to learn more about hemp on the Internet at http://www.hempnation.com/index.html or by contacting the campus organization ISU Students for the Legalization of Hemp.

It’s time to stop 60-year old hysteria from preventing our nation from cashing in on a great renewable and sustainable resource.

Timothy Leary once said of hemp, “They’ve outlawed the number-one vegetable on the planet.”

It’s high time we changed that law.

---

Jonquil Wegmann is a senior in community and regional planning from Bellevue, Nebraska.