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In years of studying, designing and implementing drug policies, I have spent perhaps a total of one hour thinking about industrial hemp (i.e., non-intoxicating cannabis grown for its fiber to make paper, cordage, fabric etc.). That may have been too much, or so I have been persuaded by reading the invaluable discussion of hemp by Jon Caulkins, Christina Farber, Angela Hawken, Beau Kilmer and Mark Kleiman in Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know.
To the extent I have been able to stay awake during discussions of hemp policies, the con argument has been that if we let farmers grow industrial hemp, the so-called hemp fields will be used to hide high-potency sensimilla intended to be sold as a recreational drug. The pro argument has been that hemp is a potentially multi-billion dollar industry that has been suppressed by anti-marijuana crusaders.
As is so often the case in drug policy, both of the extremes are factually and analytically wrong.
Caulkins and colleagues dismantle the anti-hemp argument by noting that cannabis pollen can travel three to twelve miles. Therefore any green-thumbed criminal who planted a farm with industrial hemp all around the edges (to fool the police) and a batch of high-potency sensimilla in the middle would end up with a very expensive, very crappy harvest of low-grade pot. The other point the authors make is that there is no evidence of diversion of intoxicating cannabis from industrial hemp farms in Europe. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the U.S. could replicate the same hemp farming system without supporting illegal drug markets.
But why should the U.S. bother? Yes, hemp farming was once a mighty industry and during World War II, the federal government actively promoted it (as in the film “Hemp for Victory“). But it was already dying out not because of drug policy but because of the invisible hand: nylon, cotton and other substitutes became more functional and much less expensive. The result today is that industrial hemp farming is a boutique activity even where it is legal. To quote the authors “China is the world’s largest producer…yet plants 280 acres of cotton for every one acre of hemp”.
The hemp issue in drug policy is thus much ado about very little.
[Cross-posted at The Reality-based Community]
Ben's Hemp on August 09, 2012 11:27 AM:
Hemp is not a billion dollar commodity crop, it's a specialty crop. Cotton prices are going up- cotton relies heavily on fresh water and chemical pesticides. A viable alternative to cotton is very necessary moving forward.
Justin Brewer on August 09, 2012 11:31 AM:
You should spend at least another hour researching hemp and all of its potential.
Brad on August 09, 2012 11:37 AM:
While the potential market for domestically-grown hemp may be much lower than what its advocates estimate, that should not be justification for it to remain illegal. Also, your data about China, while accurate, is misleading; you should also compare the acreage of hemp to cotton in Canada. Hemp will not replace cotton in the US South, but could serve as alternative crop for farmers in the upper-Midwest.
Dr. Hillary Fogerty on August 09, 2012 12:33 PM:
After reading this piece, I have no choice but to conclude that the standards of research and intellectual engagement at _The Washington Monthly_ are extraordinarily sub-par. Since when is an admission of ignorance and a cursory hour's glance at the literature of a complex issue worthy of national publication? Dr. Humphreys, nylon is petroleum based, and therefore not sustainable. Cotton requires a great deal of water and its current growth practices are highly problematic. (Have you not heard about the rates of suicide among failed cotton farmers in India? No, I suppose not, after spending less than sixty minutes contemplating the issue of who grows our fiber and fabric.) To call the needless outlawing of an extraordinarily useful plant (note that I did not mention its oils or food uses, its potential usefulness as a source of plant ethanol, or its capacity to serve as a rotation crop which fixes necessary nutrients into depleted soil) "much ado about very little" is so dismissive as to be disrespectful of the very thoughtful and intelligent people who care about this issue. Good sir, I am disappointed. If you were one of my freshman, I would have to give you a failing grade for such a cursory and lackadaisical approach to research. As it stands, I have to wonder what passes for scholarly research at Stanford these days. Humility and thoroughness, it seems, have no part there.
shano on August 09, 2012 12:59 PM:
Hemp is banned - not because of drug policy- but to protect entrenched interests in paper, cotton and plastics. This reporter is lazy if he thinks this is the 'invisible hand' or any workings of the real free market.
It is a blatant case of monopolistic protection with the help of the government. Randolph Hearst bought this law to protect his forest holdings for paper.
Hemp is superior in paper production, in fabric and in plastics. We should be making all single use plastic items, from lighters to medical uses, out of biodegradable hemp plastics. We should be making car bodies to surf boards out of hemp.
And we should be eating hemp seeds with their high Omega 3 content.
We should be making ethanol out of industrial hemp. It is the BEST source for plant based ethanol.
Yea, this reporter missed the real story, the whole story and comes to a conclusion based on ignorance of the facts about industrial hemp.
Until this changes, the monopolies will continue, people will be denied a cheap healthy food and a powerhouse of a resource for fiber and other basic commodities for modern production.
Julie Rose on August 09, 2012 1:07 PM:
Bottom line.... we live in an oil based economy, and the powers that be, don't want their apple cart upset. It's how it all started, and continue to this day. Hempcrete offers up to 80% savings on heating and cooling costs, and you think think this is much a do about not much? The fact that you spent only one hour shows your mind was already made up. A blind person can see that the benefits often outweigh the alternatives. We'd love to have you on, and discuss your perspective http://cannabisnationradio.com
shano on August 09, 2012 1:11 PM:
And why, may I ask, is a 'professor of psychiatry and behavioural medicine' speaking about industrial hemp? The only connection to these fields is the super nutrition that people should be getting from eating hemp seeds and using hemp oils.
We need Omega 3 oils for brain function, and he does not even know why hemp would provide - at very low cost- a much needed resource of this fat for all humans? He does not even know his own field well enough, much less the commodity markets that would be affected by the legalization of the super plant that is industrial hemp.
We should be building zero energy houses out of hemp crete instead of cutting down forests to build houses. Imagine a plant that needs very little inputs to grow- no fertilizers, no herbicides, very little irrigation- a plant that improves poor soils in crop rotation. A crop that has been used to remediate poor soils all over the world.
WTF did this guy read again for one hour? It does not take that long to read the last three posts right here that contain most of the information about the tragedy of industrial hemp being illegal in the USA.....
Michael Jones on August 09, 2012 9:35 PM:
I spent 2 mins reading a half assed article by someone who spent an hour thinking ooooh don't strain too hard.
Here is a news flash for you - nylon - man mad from chemicals, is not biodegradable, and toxic.
Hemp - natural, diogegradable, easy to manufacture, process and sell.
Maybe you need to spend a few more hours "thinking" but then I know all those wines at lunch, has caused you brain damage, maybe thinking is not your strong suit anymore.
DragonTat2 on August 09, 2012 11:04 PM:
Hemp For Victory was to make fuel, not rope. Mr. Diesel invented his engine using hemp fuel. It's cleaner and much easier on the engine, requiring less maintenance, grows like a weed, producing twice the energy per acre compared to corn. Heating oil, and even cooking oil. Hemp is one of the most nutritional foods on the planet. And, as was mentioned above, needs way less water and little if any pesticides. It's a Win-Win for everyone except Monsanto, their ilk, and the petroleum barons.
Yeah, I'd put in another hour or maybe two, Mr. Writer Man. Otherwise, you shouldn't have bothered at all.
Matt W on August 10, 2012 11:01 PM:
Hemp farming was dying out??? Look at the Popular Mechanics article from 1938. Fascinating how a crop that was "dying out" when the machine (decorticator) that would revolutionize its effective was introduced the same year it was made illegal. Cotton is "King" because the average man can not grow it. It takes a corporation. The average man can grow hemp. This takes away the power of the corporation. Coincidence that so many corporations =(govt. officials) are against hemp???? Whats next are they gonna outlaw kenaf????
Arlene Nilsson on August 12, 2012 6:24 PM:
SHAME on you, Mr. Humphreys for writing on a subject you nothing about! And THANK YOU Dr. Fogerty, Shano and the rest, for setting the record straight.
Regarding "it was already dying out before WWII":
-In 1939, William Randolph Hurst, his friends at Dupont and in the cotton, logging and oil industries, all got together and sent lobbyists to Washington in the attempt to #1., dirty the name of hemp by making people think it was marijuana, and 2. getting it banned (It was banned 1.5 years later). Not exactly "dying out" as you said above.
Why you ask? Because in in 1938, Popular Mechanics Magazine wrote an article about hemp entitled "HEMP; THE NEW BILLION DOLLAR CROP" and they saw a fierce competitor.
As far as competing with other fibers, I am a handbag designer and work ONLY with hemp. Hemp is the only material that can truly replace leather without destroying the planet. Yes, it is as strong as leather. PVC is NEVER biodegradable, but does photosynthesize. That means that it breaks up into tiny particles, that hold onto toxins, and is now poisoning our waters, air, fish, birds, and you guest it, us.
Nothing is more natural, eco friendly, easy to grow, easy to manufacture than hemp.
China has made tremendous technological advancements in producing beautiful hemp fabrics that mimic silk, fur, linen, cotton, etc.