Cannabis - The most versatile and useful plant we possess
Why cannabis? Hemp is the term used for low THC Cannabis sativa (THC is the compound known for it’s psychoactive properties) which has been traditionally grown for it’s many industrial, nutritional and medicinal uses.
History
In 1533, Kind Henry VIII made the cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) compulsory by law.
The Tudor King wanted the strong, rot resistance fibres from the plant for the ropes, sails and clothing for his new British Navy. The Navy which famously beat the Spanish Armada, got us through the Reformation (The Brexit of the time) and led to the British Empire.
Every ship carried a cargo of hemp seed and this was the first crop laid down upon the discovery of the new lands.
Ford Model-T made with hemp fibres and ran on hemp ethanol fuel
Hemp was commonly used for food, medicine, textiles, ropes, fishing net and animal feed & bedding.
On both sides of the Atlantic; hemp continued to be one of our most valuable crops and was additionally used for paper, lamp oil, plastics and the first Model-T Ford car was built from a Bio-composite containing hemp and it ran on hemp ethanol fuel.
The plant has been vilified
Of course hemp is cannabis and back then, the plant would have contained approx. 4% THC. These strains of ‘hemp’ were superior in fibre, seed and flower than what we call hemp today. The inferior strains of today in Europe and the UK must contain less than 0.2% THC.
This incredible plant has been vilified and it’s consumers persecuted for almost a century, based on lies, ideology and fear-mongering for the benefit of corporations.
As our population is waking up to the truth of corporate irresponsibility; due to our environmental awareness, the health crisis and a failing economy, more pressure is systematically being placed on all sectors of the industry whilst our government runs out of excuses.
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Modern Science
Our Modern Science has proven that this plant is essential to maintaining health, can support us in overcoming a myriad of diseases, provide us with the only complete protein from plants, supports those with personality disorders and is the safest and most effective medicinal herb available.
This is a world apart from the UK Governments perspective in which they state: ‘Cannabis is controlled under Class B of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as there is a clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage peoples mental and physical health and harms individuals and communities’.
This so called ‘Clear scientific and medical evidence’ not not exist.
We also need to consider the environmental and economic opportunities that this plant provides:
- Non-toxic carbon negative housing which requires 40% less heating than conventional buildings.
- Bio-fuels – Hemp pellets/blocks, bio-diesel, bio-ethanol.
- Hemp graphene – Affordable solar generation and energy storage.
- Hemp Biochar – Soil recovery, carbon sequestration and livestock health (including reducing methane output).
- A range of bio-polymers and bio-composites (including compostable bio-plastics which could replace single use products).
- Desalinations of sea water and products to clear oil spills.
- Tree free paper sustainable textiles and many more…
In a Nutshell
We have been lied to through propoganda, to protect the interests of corporate greed. Cannabis has the potential to protect our health, our food security, our environment, our economy and even mitigate the climate emergency far beyond any current solutions adopted by the Government.
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Red Flags
Recently, there have been several red flags which would suggest that lobbying from corporations at an international level is deliberately trying to suppress the hemp industry:
- Jan 2020- The EU commissioned a report to investigate the TCH levels in hemp seed foods/ Using a reference of a safety at minute levels of THC (1 microgram per kg weight), they have disregarded the fact that other cannabinoids, such as CBD, counteract the psychoactive effects. The report would suggest that the EU may be looking to ban hemp seed products.
- Feb 2020 – The FSA insists that CBD companies apply for Novel Foods licences (costing hundreds of thousands of pounds) and declare that there are safety concerns (based on the 2018 COT report which is based on GW Pharmaceuticals findings on their own product; Epidolex which consists of CBD Isolate in ethanol at huge doses). All the while ignoring the 2019 report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) WHO found CBD to be `. GW’s main competitor in the CBD Industry.
- Feb 2020 – The EU attempt to block the 63rd convention on narcotic drugs, the first time that the UN were to vote on the de-scheduling of cannabis and the opportunity for hemp (low THC cannabis) to be completely deregulated since 1961. The report shows that the EU were seeking to have a unified vote which ‘would not result in a significant change in the control of these substances’ or not vote at all on the recommendations and request a further assessment from WHO.
- Mar 2020 – The UN vote was delayed (to the detriment of the CBD, hemp and medical cannabis industries) until Dec 2020.
- Jul 2020 – The European Commission has suspended Novel Food applications to consider all cannabinoids as dangerous narcotics without any evidence. This could lead to the destruction of the European hemp market.
The above actions are a huge setback to UK farmers, the CBD industry, our food/soil security, those who desperately need natural effective medicines and if hemp seed is banned, a massive blow to those seeking a sustainable plant-based diet.
The most alarming is how this could prevent emerging technologies which have important solutions to the climate emergency.
We need to act now, our survival depends on it!.
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