Position
Statement on Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)
November 2002
Drug Watch International believes there
is no environmentally or economically sound justification for the legalization
and reintroduction of cannabis hemp cultivation.
The campaign to reintroduce cannabis
(marijuana) as a viable agriculture commodity is one of a number of strategies
being promoted by the international pro-drug lobby to legalize cannabis and
other illicit substances. Cannabis Hemp can be abused as a drug, and hemp farming
would greatly complicate drug law enforcement activities.
BACKGROUND:
The term “hemp” refers to a variety of
plants including sisal, jute, kenaf, Manila hemp, and true hemp, whose stems
can be used for producing hard (bast) fibers.
“True” hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has been used for fiber production for several
thousand years and was grown in the United States
during Revolutionary times primarily for the manufacture of rope and canvas.1
By 1930, unable to compete
economically with other varieties of hemp
imported from the Philippines and Mexico, cannabis hemp production in the United States had fallen to less than
200 acres. During World War II, the Philippines came under control of the
Japanese, and farmers in the United States were encouraged to cultivate both
cannabis hemp and flax for the war effort. The discovery and mass production of
nylon and other synthetic fibers during the war years rendered hemp products
all but obsolete. The abrupt decline of a market for both hemp and flax left
many farmers bankrupt, and cultivation of both crops in the United States
rapidly declined.1. By then
the use of cannabis hemp for its psychoactive properties had become
problematic. All production of cannabis hemp for other than industrial
use or research in the United States became restricted in 1937 and became
illegal for all purposes in 1970.2.
In its pursuit of drug legalization, the
pro-drug lobby has made a wide array of false, misleading, and unsubstantiated
claims, including allegations that cannabis hemp production can save the rain
forests and protect the environment by replacing tens of thousands of wood,
plastic, oil, food, and textile products.3.
Cannabis hemp plants containing less
than 0.3 percent THC (the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) became
legal to grow in Canada in March 1998.4. In the United States, hemp lobbies have put pressure on state legislatures or used the
citizen initiative process in their
efforts to effect legislation allowing the
production of cannabis hemp. The tie-in
between cannabis hemp and pot smoking is now being used by proponents of drug
legalization as a marketing tool.
Marijuana/hemp symbols on youth-oriented products have
proliferated. The “bring back hemp”
campaign is aimed primarily at high school and college students who are being
actively recruited into the pro-drug ideology, using false economic and
environmental claims as a ruse.
Campus-based pro-hemp/marijuana clubs and “youth-friendly” pro-drug
websites participate in wooing this age group.5.
RATIONALE:
Economic Impact:
The claimed advantages of cannabis hemp
over other raw materials are false. Better alternative
products exist in every case.6.
Reflecting these economics, world production of hemp is now only
slightly more than one-fifth what it was in the 1960s. Additionally, recent world market prices for
hemp are below most estimated U.S. and Canadian production costs. 4., 6.,
7.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture has
researched the economic potential for hemp grown by American farmers and found
that the U.S. market for hemp fibers “is, and will likely remain, only a small,
thin market.” The long-term demand for
hemp products is uncertain, and there is a high potential to quickly reach
oversupply. The market potential for
hemp seed as a food ingredient will probably remain small. These outlooks discount the prospects for
hemp as an economically viable alternative crop.8.
Paper: Most of the fibers from the hemp plant are
not suitable for production of writing and printing paper.9. The usable part of the plant has such a high
processing cost that its use is restricted to extremely limited-demand,
high-priced specialty papers and is not economical for
mass-production paper grades. Many fiber alternatives for paper-making are
available and more competitive.10.
Plastic and Synthetic
Fibers: Hemp fibers are
inferior for making rope, twine, and other products where durability and
strength are important. Unlike plastic
and synthetics, hemp absorbs water, becomes heavy, and rots easily. “For every
proposed use of industrial (cannabis) hemp, there already exists an available
product, or raw material, which is cheaper to manufacture and provides better
market results.” 6.
Vegetable Oil/Fuel: Many plants such as corn, sorghum, and
alfalfa produce more biomass per acre, are more soil building than hemp, and
are already meeting market demands for alternative fuels such as ethanol. 11.
Food and Cosmetic Products: Hemp seed containing THC is now being
aggressively promoted and marketed for use in food, cosmetics, and
nutraceutical (so-called health supplements) products.12. However, THC is fat-soluble and
accumulates in the human body.13. The United Nations reports that the health effects of cannabis
food products have not been adequately researched. The European Union has reduced the allowable THC content of hemp
and reports that there is no nutritional justification for hemp food products.14.
Environmental Impact:
Cannabis hemp is
not a unique, environmentally friendly crop. Like any other agricultural
commodity there are fertilization requirements, the need to deal
chemically with insect pests, and the use of fungicide treatment of hemp seeds. Cannabis hemp causes more soil nutrient depletion than cotton, flax,
and grain crops, and far greater soil erosion than occurs with well managed and
minimally disturbed forestlands.
Additionally, a hemp field’s possibilities for biodiversity and wildlife
habitat are very limited in comparison to those of a forest.15.
Yield: Claims that hemp has “four times” the pulp
yield of forests are false. Joseph E. Atchison, a non-wood plant fiber
scientist, consultant, and winner of many industry awards, has stated that the
yield of acceptable hemp pulp (.5 - .6 tons per acre) is only about half that
of well managed pine plantations (.9 -1.2 tons) and only a small fraction of
some intensively managed, fast-growing hardwoods (4 - 6 tons).16.
Trees: Nothing can compete with forests for pulp as
far as saving energy and using the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and
forests are healthier if mature trees are harvested. Sustainable forestry practices, high efficiency, and increasing
recycling are in place in the wood products industry in most industrial countries.
For instance, there is no impending wood reserve/fiber crisis in the
United States. Timber growth in the
United States has exceeded annual harvest by 33 percent since the 1940s, and in
1996 growth of commercial timber in its National Forests exceeded harvest by 76
percent. Currently, the United States
has about two-thirds of the forest area that it had in the 1600s.17.
Public Health & Safety Considerations
The European community
does not encourage cannabis hemp food products and believes that the use of
hemp seeds or leafed parts for human consumption would “contribute toward
making the narcotics use of cannabis acceptable...” 14.
During 1999, the Canadian Government’s
agency, Health Canada, conducted a “Risk Assessment” of human health impacts
from ingestion of industrial hemp food and cosmetics products. The conclusions of this study pointed out
potential risks from hemp product consumption to the brain, to the reproductive
system, and to cognitive and motor skills performance, especially to children (both pre-and postnatal) and young people. The Risk Assessment concluded that Canada’s
limit on allowable THC in raw materials and products made from low-THC hemp
would likely not protect consumers.18.
Late in 2000, in order to promote public
health and safety, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) exercised its regulatory
authority and announced its intention to clarify its
long-standing interpretation of existing law prohibiting cannabis hemp products
meant for human consumption.19.
Because excellent alternate products already exist for hemp’s non-food applications,
this action by the DEA would substantially eliminate any economic advantage for
cultivating cannabis hemp in the United States.
USE OF CANNABIS HEMP AS A PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG:
Of the group of fiber-bearing plants
referred to as “hemp,” only Cannabis sativa hemp contains a psychoactive
substance, tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), and only cannabis hemp is illegal to grow. The
level of THC in cannabis hemp cannot be discerned with the naked eye. As a result, if grown as a legal crop, it
could easily be diverted to the illegal drug market, as has been reported in a
number of countries where growing is currently allowed.20. 21.
Cannabis hemp is low-grade
Cannabis sativa (marijuana) and contains varying amounts of the
mind-altering substance THC. Different parts
of the cannabis hemp plant contain elevated THC levels in comparison with the
plant average.22. There is
no minimal THC threshold level below which cannabis hemp ceases being
psychoactive, and there is no known safe lower limit for the consumption of
THC.23. Cannabis hemp
is an illegal drug, and the law prohibits people from consuming any amounts of
illegal drugs.24.
Industrial "fiber-type" cannabis has
abuse potential. For example, the salad oil
made from hemp plants containing less than .3 percent THC produced a subjective "high" when consumed
according to the manufacturer's labeled instructions.24., 25., 26.
The maximum amount of THC typically permitted in
cannabis hemp grown for commercial use averages about .3 percent. But street cannabis containing less that
1percent -- and even less than .5 percent -- THC was the norm in the 1960s and
1970s and was eagerly smoked by drug users. Low-THC cannabis hemp can be
converted easily into a higher-grade drug product.25., 27. Although the advocates of marijuana
legalization attempt to refute it, street marijuana in the United States has
increased considerably in THC potency over the last 30 years due to advances in
domestic growing techniques.19.
A
1968 study conducted by Weil, Norman, and Nelson used .3 percent THC marijuana,
similar in potency to that smoked at Woodstock. This low-potency cannabis was
able to produce a "high" when experimenters smoked two one-gram
cigarettes, and formed the basis of the cannabis culture that developed in the
1970s.19. A 1971 study
using marijuana cigarettes containing 0.08 percent, 0.16 percent, 0.3 percent,
and 0.7 percent THC, stated, “All doses of THC, including the two lowest
doses....” (0.08 percent, 0.16 percent)
produced effects in the research subjects….Most importantly, 80 percent
of subjects correctly identified the lowest dose...” (0.08 percent THC) “....as
active marijuana.” 25. A recent medical study noted that even
inveterate pot smokers experienced a
"high" when smoking marijuana with a THC content of 1.8 percent,
considered low by today's standards. 28.
The Division of Narcotics Enforcement in
the Wisconsin Department of Justice (USA) conducted a study among sheriff’s
offices in that state that documented drug abuse problems related to the “wild
marijuana/ditchweed” remaining from legal cultivation of cannabis hemp during
World War II. (Wild marijuana has a THC
potency comparable to that of cannabis hemp.)
The majority of all counties in Wisconsin reported experiences with
persons using non-cultivated marijuana by itself as a drug. Most counties also reported abuse of wild
marijuana by juveniles. 29.
Cannabis hemp intended for
fiber is planted close together and grows very tall, facilitating the
clandestine growing of marijuana plants interspersed in a hemp field. Hemp grown for seed is planted in a
dispersed pattern and grows short and bushy -- exactly the planting pattern and
growth characteristics of marijuana.8.
In addition, cannabis hemp
smoke contains toxic environmental pollutants including carbon monoxide,
benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, and numerous other
carcinogens.30. Burning
excess, unmarketable plant waste in the fields
(as many farmers already
do) would add greatly to
environmental pollution.11.
Cultivation of low-potency
industrial cannabis hemp as a commercial field crop
would necessitate enormous monitoring costs to prevent it from being
diverted to the illegal drug use market.4.,
31., 32. Making a psychoactive, addictive, and illegal drug readily
available would undermine public health
and safety, diminish environmental quality, and contribute substantially to the
world’s drug problems. These predictable consequences should convince all nations
to reject the false claims of cannabis/marijuana hemp legalization advocates.
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