Hemp (Cannabis sativa), also known as industrial hemp, is a plant of the Cannabaceae family that is cultivated for its bast fiber or its edible seeds. It is a botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. Hemp can be used to manufacture a wide range of products, such as paper, ropes, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food and animal feed. It is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth and was one of the first plants to be converted into usable fiber 50,000 years ago. For centuries, what we now call cannabis became known as hemp in the English-speaking world.
Our ancestors used hemp as a source of food (its seeds) and the fibers in its stems were used to create materials, mainly ropes and clothing. Hemp flower was also smoked and consumed as medicine and in spiritual ceremonies, but it was much less potent than today's herb, with levels of THC that modern humans laugh at. Hemp is a specific type of cannabis known scientifically as Cannabis sativa L. Although both are part of the same family (and sometimes the same species), hemp and marijuana have different chemistry and characteristics. Hemp plants contain low levels of the intoxicating phytocannabinoid known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for which marijuana is well known.
However, it contains high levels of the non-intoxicating phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD).Traditionally, hemp stalks were first hardened with water before the fibers were removed by hand from the inner stem, a process known as scraping. Hemp is now used as source material to extract CBD and new cannabinoids such as delta-8 and THC-O. Hemp buds are mainly used to extract CBD, which can then be refined into THC delta-8, THC-O and other novel cannabinoids. The United States government even produced a short propaganda film in 1942 called “Hemp for Victory”, in which it encouraged farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. Hemp as a building construction material provides solutions to a variety of problems faced by current building standards.Manila is sometimes referred to as Manila hemp, but it's not related to hemp; it's abaca, a type of banana.
The Hemp Crop Act now requires state departments of agriculture to consult with their governors and key law enforcement officials on a regulatory program, which will then be submitted to the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture for approval. Hemp stems are processed using decortication, a multi-step method for removing long fibers from the rest of the plant. When oxidized (often mistakenly referred to as drying), hemp oil in seeds solidifies and can be used in the manufacture of oil-based paints, in creams as a moisturizing agent, for cooking and in plastics. The Yangshao, who lived in China approximately from 5000 to 2000 BC., they weaved hemp and pressed it into their pottery for decorative purposes.
Hemp insulation is naturally lightweight and non-toxic, allowing for exposed installation in a variety of spaces, including floors, walls and ceilings. Although chemotype I cannabis and hemp (types II, III, IV, V) are Cannabis sativa and contain the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), they represent different groups of cultivars, usually with unique phytochemical compositions and uses. Although hemp and marijuana are biologically classified as cannabis, there are a number of important differences between them. Hemp provides solutions to many problems faced by current building standards.
