PIHG Answers commonly asked questions about Industrial Hemp:

What is  Industrial Hemp?

Hemp is a strain of the Cannabis Sativa L. plant. There are thousands of other ways that the seeds, stalks, flowers and oils of this plant can be put to good use. Hemp is used for textiles, paper, food, personal-care products and building materials. It can be grown with little or no toxic chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Fertilizer can be used on this crop, but no chemicals can be sprayed after the crop is up.  From hemp apparel and accessories to home furnishings and hemp seed-oil cosmetics, hemp is an eco-lifestyle dream.

What is hemp used for?

Hemp can be grown as a dual crop (seed & fibre) or for the fibre alone.  If grown for dual crop, there is a multitude of uses for the oil, seed, and cake.  The fibre becomes secondary and is used for car panels, insulation and the list goes on.  If grown for fibre alone, the end product is a cottonized fibre used in the textile industry. 

When is the earliest record of hemp use by man?

The Chinese have been using hemp for ropes and fish nets since 4500 B.C., over 5000 thousand years and were the first to develop a paper industry from hemp scrolls.

What are the nutritional benefits of hemp?

Hemp oils and seeds are two of the best sources of essential fatty acids, which are vital to the maintenance of the body's immune system. Hemp seed is also nature's most complete source of protein. With some scientists claiming that the nutritive properties of hemp seeds and oil have huge healing potential.  Hemp oil is the only oil that penetrates all levels of the skin.

Can every part of the plant be used?

Yes,  it can and here's how:  The seeds are often whole for cooking to add a crunchy, nutty flavor and can be crushed into oils that replenish the body's own natural oils. The stalk is where the fiber comes from. This means clothing, rope and shoes all come from the same part of the plant and it is the processing that determines how thick the final material is. The amazing thing is, even the soil from a hemp planting serves a good purpose: it replenishes the soil so that crop rotation with, for example, corn and (soybeans), (tobacco) will produce a higher yield for all three!

What does THC mean?

It is the abbreviation for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Can you get "high" from Industrial Hemp?

Absolutely not. What you would get is a big fat headache. With the regulated percent of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC,  in industrial hemp is .3 percent, as opposed to 2 percent or higher in most forms of  marijuana.

What is the difference between Industrial Hemp and Marijuana?

Hemp and marijuana belong to the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa. The difference between the two is the cultivar or seed from which it grown.   Industrial Hemp seed, to be marketable, has an accepted THC level of .3%.   Accepted cultivars are approved through Health Canada, and can be pulled as anytime if variances in the THC levels occur.  If a field registers above accepted levels it is ploughed under immediately.  Marijuana has very high THC levels.

When did Hemp become illegal?

After the Great Depression and the "reefer madness" that overcame our country, the government issued the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, lumping hemp indiscriminately with its cousin "reefer." Not that the Act made hemp illegal, but the exorbitant tax struggling farmers would have had to pay on the crop made its cultivation economically unfeasible. For a brief period during World War II, however, the federal government sponsored a program to encourage farmers to grow hemp for the war effort, including a 1942 Department of Agriculture documentary entitled "Hemp for Victory." Since that brief interlude, industrial cultivation has been illegal and hemp products replaced with plastics, synthetics and forests.

What is the current status of Industrial Hemp?

In the past few years many people have become clued in to hemp and a widespread hemp products industry has sprouted up practically overnight. Not only business people are paying attention to hemp, though: politicians  have prompted researchers to carry out studies on the feasibility of growing  hemp and the potential benefits of a domestic crop.

Industrial Hemp in crop rotation contributes to an economical sustainable farm sector. For both consumer and producer it is ecologically and economically beneficial.

It is an extremely renewable resource, as it can be planted year after year on the same field.

Industrial Hemp fibre added to other products as a value added component strengthens the viability of the end product.

Industrial Hemp in the growing process pulls carbon out of the air (carbon sequestering), which enhances the quality of the air we breath. Bio-mass conversion to fuel has proven economically feasible in lab test and pilot field tests. Every part of the plant is used...seed, grain and fibre. (ie: Plant reproduction, hurd seed, and nutraceuticals)

The unlimited potential of the Industrial Hemp Industry will not only benefit Agriculture, but also consumers, all levels of governments, and value added companies. As the Industry grows, Rural Canada will experience a resurgence of growth, as new jobs will create a positive ripple effect in all areas.

History has proven this to be true. We know it is the optimum time to revive and restore the Industrial Hemp Industry!

What's happening around the world with Hemp?

Today, industrialized nations around the world are waking up to the enormous potential of hemp. Currently, ten states have introduced bills to reconsider the legal status of hemp.  While some countries never had laws against hemp cultivation in the first place (like the former Eastern bloc and countries such as India and China) others are legalizing industrial hemp after many years of lumping it together with marijuana.

The Canadian Industrial Hemp Industry re-immerged in 1998.  It has been in full commercial production since the spring of 1998.   Not only are producers interested in this crop, but also both the Federal and Provincial Governments are assisting in their areas of expertise.  From issues dealing with GST to U.S. border importation restrictions, we are in constant touch with Trade, Finance, Agriculture Canada and their U.S. counterparts.