Since the passing of the first farm bill in 2014 we have seen a significant surge in public interest in both marijuana and hemp. Many people around the country are quickly realizing that the cannabis plant isn’t as evil as it was made out to be and that hemp in particular has the potential to change the world for the better not only with the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial plant materials but the by-products which include the potential to make paper, animal bedding, plastics, etc. which could reduce global waste significantly. We’ll highlight some of the most interesting facts about hemp below.
1. HEMP AND MARIJUANA ARE NOT THE SAME.
Let’s start with the simplest and most important point..! Even though hemp & marijuana originate from the same family (Cannabis Sativa), may look the same, and even smell the same in some cases, genetically they are very different in what they produce. Marijuana growers focus on maximizing THC while hemp growers look to minimize THC and maximize some of the other cannabinoids of which CBD is currently the most common. The true differentiating factor between Marijuana and Hemp is purely legal. By definition hemp is required to have less than 0.30% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis (as of the 2018 farm bill but that may change to total THC with USDA guidelines).
2. NO, HEMP WON’T GET YOU HIGH.
Given hemp is required to have less than 0.30% THC means that hemp is very unlikely to intoxicate you. With that said, everyone’s body responds differently and there are a lot of factors that contribute to this including but not limited to the type of product (flower, consumable, tincture, cream, etc.), the concentration of THC in the finished product, and the amount you’re consuming. For example, if you have a 30mL product with 0.15% THC and you take 1mL you’re consuming approximately 1.42mg of THC. If you’re eating from a 16oz product with 0.15% THC and you eat 0.5oz from that container you’d be consuming 21.3mg of THC. Please keep this in mind as you read lab reports and are consuming products. We’re here to help and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
3. HEMP HAS HELPED MANY PEOPLE MAINTAIN A BALANCED HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.
We’ve anecdotally seen hemp help many of our family members, friends, and many of our incredibly supportive clients. We’ve also read a lot of research that has shown great promise for several of the cannabinoids found in hemp (not just CBD), but we cannot speak to that research or provide you links. FDA guidelines prohibit us from citing anything that might be deemed a claim, even if it is a scientific study. We highly recommend doing some of your own research in that regard.
4. CBD IS PREDOMINANT IN HEMP (at least for now).
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is the predominant cannabinoid currently found in hemp. When extracted from the whole plant, CBD works in unison with the other over 100 cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids to help bring balance to our and our pets’ systems. Currently, many plants have greater than 10% CBD while having less than 0.30% THC and lower levels of the other cannabinoids.
It is important to note that the only reason CBD is predominant in hemp is because the current genetics have been focused around maximizing CBD and minimizing THC. Genetically, the hemp plant is evolving as various companies and people around the world work to minimize the amount of THC and optimize for varying levels of all the other cannabinoids including CBD (currently most prominent), CBG, CBN, CBC, CBDV, and THCV, among others. It will take time as naturally breeding new genetic profiles can take years and it is important we keep the hemp plant natural and not genetically modified by other means.
5. HEMP HAS MANY USES
One of the other major positives of working with hemp is that almost every part of the plant can be used for something. Waxes are a by-product of the extraction process which can be used for candles, ski & snowboard wax, among many other things. The stalk can be used for plastics and the pulp from the stalk can be used for paper. Hemp seeds can be used to make hemp seed oil which are incredibly healthy and high in omega-3s and omega-6s. This is only a small fraction of the use cases. Supporting hemp is not only supporting all the wonderful cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial plant materials but supporting a cleaner world where we can replace many of the non-biodegradable products and stop cutting down trees for a product that can be easily replaced by hemp. Here’s a small list of uses & benefits to the environment (including the ones named above):
- Ropes
- Textiles
- Plastics
- Paper
- Purges and cleans the soil it is grown on such as heavy metals
- Requires little water and no pesticides
- Building materials such as hempcrete
- Livestock bedding by shredding the inner stalks
- Superfoods with hemp seeds and hemp seed oil
- All the wonderful benefits of all the cannabinoids & terpenes
These are only a few of the many incredible things about the hemp plant! We are committed to be your trusted source for hemp knowledge and we hope you stay tuned by joining our newsletter.