industrial hemp

How Hemp Is Used In Other Industries

by

Here at Phytoextractum, we’re super excited about the things that we are able to offer to our customers. We love hearing about how our products have made your lives better, but that’s not all that we want our site to be about. We also love being able to share more knowledge that can help you to become more informed about the industry at large.

While we love the power that CBD has and how accepted it has become, we also think it’s worth mentioning that the hemp plant is good for more than just making CBD oil! In fact, there’s a whole separate industry worth covering.

Join us as we explore this whole new world!

Hemp and Marijuana: Cousins, Not Sisters!

The first thing that we want to mention is that hemp and marijuana are actually two different types of cannabis plants! While the words are often used to replace one another, it would be more correct to point out that they are not the same thing. Both are cannabis plants, but they have their own unique properties.

The looks and chemical compounds found in both of these plants are different. Because of this, the two plants are used in very different ways! While the bushy marijuana plant is often short and stout, the skinny hemp plant has different uses because it is tall.

How They Relate To CBD

Both hemp and marijuana are types of cannabis plants, and all cannabis plants contain cannabinoids such as CBD and THC. While marijuana has high THC levels and thus makes you high, hemp tends to have lower levels of THC and higher levels of CBD. For that reason, hemp is frequently used to create CBD products!

Hemp is legal to grow in the US as long as it has a THC content of less than 0.3%. Anything more than this and it is possible that the plant would get you high, so the government regulates the hemp industry at this number.

Hemp: More Than Just CBD!

While hemp is often used to create CBD products, the plant is a very powerful part of the agricultural community for other reasons as well. Our focus today is not on CBD products but on the other ways that hemp is being used in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries in today’s world.

Past Uses of Hemp

Hemp was a very popular crop until it was banned in the United States. In fact, the history of hemp dates back for thousands of years in some areas of the world! There are many famous documents that were made from hemp paper, and even famous clothing that we read about in textbooks may have been made from hemp.

There were a lot of ways that the hemp plant was used throughout time. It was used to create:

  • • Shoes
  • • Ropes
  • • Paper
  • • Clothes
  • • Sails
  • • As food

Today, hemp is still used in some of these products, but we tend to see it in some different ways. Hemp was banned as a farm crop from 1957 to 2007. The Farm Bill now allows for hemp to be farmed in regulated ways, so it is seeing more usage in various industries again.

Dietary Products

Hemp is often used as a dietary product. Hemp oils and seeds are both good for adding flavor, protein, and fatty acids to any meal. Some people mix these ingredients into smoothies while others simply snack on the seeds directly when they want a healthy snack.

It’s possible to find hemp flour as well. Hemp seeds can be ground into a flour, and then the flour is used in the same way that wheat flour would be used. Since hemp is so high in amino acids, it is often considered to be a healthier alternative to wheat flour.

Keep Things Building!

Hemp-base construction materials are also becoming more popular due to how fiscally and environmentally friendly they are. France uses a type of concrete known as hempcrete to work on their roads, buildings, and sidewalks. The material is lightweight, making it a very easy product to use.

The fibers in the hemp plant are very strong, so they are often repurposed into various types of construction materials and equipment. Their strength lends itself to this type of product very well.

Hemp For Your Pets!

While CBD oil made from hemp may be given to pets in the proper amounts, that’s not the only way that hemp might be doing something special for your doggie! There are a lot of dog foods that include either hemp seed or hemp seed oil because of the high amounts of amino acids and protein in them. These products help to improve your pet’s skin and coat health as well as their digestion.

Clothing Galore!

Much as was done in the old days, hemp fiber is often used as a way to make clothes, shoes, and textiles. As the material made from hemp is very soft, it’s a great alternative to cotton. Hemp can also be grown in more eco-friendly ways than the fickle cotton plant, so this alternative is a great thing for the world around us.

We expect many clothing companies to switch to hemp fiber rather than cotton in the future as an affordable and eco-friendly choice.

Tie It Up; Write It Down

Historically, hemp was most frequently used to create paper and ropes. The types of fibers in the hemp plant just makes sense for these uses, and that is why there is still rope and paper being made from hemp today!

Hemp paper is much more eco-friendly than paper made from tree pulp, so it is possible that we will see more paper products being made from hemp in the future as well.

Have You Heard Of Hemp Plastics?

One of the coolest things that we’ve ever heard that can be made of hemp fibers is plastic! Things like CD cases and pencil boxes can be made from biodegradable hemp-based plastics. This type of experimental product that can safely biodegrade is going to be a great option as we move towards an eco-friendly future.

All About CBD: A Brief History of Hemp

by

At this point in 2019, we have all heard of hemp before. Known by many names and often confused with marijuana, hemp has been around on the Earth for at least 10,000 years – and very likely for more years than that.

Most people think of hemp, they usually think of hemp’s cousin (marijuana, a colloquial term for cannabis with intoxicating psychoactive effects). They imagine these products to be more modern additions to the world because of the way they are presented in the media.

Remember, however, that marijuana and hemp are simply the two most well-known species of the same plant genus, cannabis. They are similar, but they have different compounds and characteristics that affect how they can and cannot be used.

Hemp is not a modern crop; the history of hemp goes back for longer than you can imagine!

What is the history of hemp, and how has that history shaped the way that hemp is seen and used today? Our brief walk through the history of hemp will present the key points so that you can gain a more complete understanding of this important plant.

Hemp’s World Arrival

Most scientists believe that hemp has been around for more than 10,000 years, and that is most likely true! Carbon dating suggests that hemp seeds and oils found are more than 10,000 years old, but there could be variation in that finding.

Hemp’s first traces were found in parts of modern day China and Taiwan, and those traces date all the way back to 8000 BCE! The remnants that have been found are hemp cords, and there is also some evidence that it was used as food as well.

When humans first transitioned to agricultural societies, it is very likely that hemp was one of the crops cultivated.

From the region where hemp first originated, it spread across the entire world. Other than in Asia, evidence of hemp has been found in Africa, Europe, and South America. It’s even mentioned in numerous religious texts as a kind of sacred and powerful crop. This makes a lot of sense because hemp was used to create many parts of life: shoes, paper, ropes, clothes, food, and more!

Moving Forward

Hemp would continue to be important across the world for the next few centuries. The uses and importance of hemp would not falter – and now we’re starting to see even more innovation in hemp products and applications.

For example, hemp oil and fiber were used through Henry VIII’s reign to help construct battleships, sails, pennants, and more. Hemp paper was also being used in Bibles, maps, documents, and more throughout history.

Early American Introduction

Hemp was brought to North America in 1606, and it has been a part of American life in one way or another since them. Like in other societies, hemp was used in American society to create rope, paper, lamp fuel, and more!

The founding fathers of America even touted the importance of hemp, and America’s Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson on – you guessed it – hemp paper.

In fact, hemp was so important that farmers in some states were legally required to grow hemp on their land or they would face a fine. That fine (and other taxes) could even be paid with hemp as a form of currency!

Changes in the Early 1900s

Up until the early 1900s, hemp continued to be used largely in the same ways that it had always been used. While cannabis had popped up before 800 BCE in various texts, the primary benefits of hemp still had more to do with manufacturing and farming, not relaxation. Hemp has consistently been the more important and economically impactful crop of the two.

That is until the early 1900s in America. At this time, the US government was determined to cut down on drugs such as marijuana. Hemp was grouped in with this crop and was highly taxed after the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was enacted. This nearly killed the hemp industry altogether.

Hemp For Victory

Things would remain this way until 1942, when they needed and encouraged 400,000 acres of hemp to be planted in order to help support America through the war. Check out this video that showed how hemp was promoted during wartime:

Most people today cannot imagine that the government would release such a film, and a large reason for that is because most people think that hemp is the same exact product as marijuana. While both plants are related, hemp is not cannabis, and they are not used in the same ways.

Post-War Decline

Once the war period ended, however, everything was reverted to the way that it was. Hemp was no longer OK to grow, and no new hemp farms would be started from 1957 until 2007. Hemp farmers had to find something else to do, and many filed for bankruptcy.

Hemp farms were officially outlawed along with the substance itself in 1970, and it would take more than 30 years for hemp to be released from the drug-fighting efforts of America.

Today

Today, food-grade hemp products are allowed to be sold in America, and there are hemp farms helping to create dietary hemp for body care, clothing, and textile products. In 2014, the Farm Bill allowed hemp cultivation as a research effort, and, more recently the cultivation of industrial hemp was federally legalized with the 2018 Farm Bill.

Understanding the importance of hemp on its own can help to explain why some people become outraged when people suggest that hemp seed oil and similar products are the same as marijuana, THC, or even CBD oil (CBD is a cannabinoid present in both hemp and marijuana, but it is extracted from hemp plant matter, not hemp seeds). All of these products have their own benefits, but they should not be confused for one another.

Hemp is a very important crop today as much as it has ever been. As the world changes and agriculture regains its importance in our world, the growth of the hemp industry can also be seen.

We’re excited to see how hemp will once again revolutionize the world in the 21st century!

All About CBD: How are Hemp and Marijuana Different?

by

Allow me to start with the basics – Cannabaceae is the family of flowering plants in which the genera of hops, nettle trees, and cannabis exists. Within the genus of cannabis lies two classifications: Sativa and Indica.

For the past several years, cbd and cannabis products have been scientifically studied and researched more than ever before. As we learn new things about the botanical, we realize what misinformation has been thought to be correct for hundreds of years, which is why many people simply do not know the differences of cannabis, hemp, and marijuana.

Although the biological structures of marijuana and hemp are indeed different, they are both species of Cannabis Sativa.

The Look

Anyone with an unpracticed eye may very well confuse the two if asked to imagine the plants in their heads, but once you’re given the info, their distinctions are easily discernible.  

Hemp tends to be tall, growing between 7-13 feet in height. The branches and leaves are concentrated towards the top of the plant and bear a thinner semblance than marijuana.

Marijuana on the other hand usually grows shorter and stubbier, possessing broad leaves and dense buds. This plant requires a strictly controlled environment to thrive, unlike hemp which needs less attention.

If you were to see a plot of land growing only hemp next to another plot growing only marijuana, you would see the differences instantly. There shouldn’t be any cannabis-rich plots of land so closely bunched however, because cross-pollination from hemp to marijuana would compromise the cannabinoid content.

Cannabinoids

One of largest distinctions we see in the industry comes down to the two famous cannabinoids that are present in both marijuana and hemp: Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD). The amount in which the compounds are present in each plant is drastically different however. These compounds are nearly identical in that the sole microscopic difference in chemical makeup is a single atom.

How can these two be drastically different if they appear virtually uniform? It’s surprising how this small of a variance can affect our endocannabinoid system.

These cannabinoids, among others found in cannabis, have shown tremendous benefits for human health. The largest contrasting attribute however is that THC possesses psychoactive properties, in which the user can feel “euphoria,” whereas CBD does not. Further, CBD may even inhibit the saturation of THC in the brain when consumed.  

Uses

The cannabis plants have been revered for millennia due to their vast range of uses. In ancient times, they were harvested and crafted into building materials like rope, as well used for medicine and religious ceremonies.

Funny as time flies and some things remain the same. In modern days, we are discovering that there is an illimitable amount of ways these plants can help us, from ecotechnological advancement to treating epilepsy.

The noticeable difference of marijuana and hemp however is the amount in which the chemical cousins are produced. Marijuana contains much higher amounts of THC (5 to 30+ per cent) and lower traces of CBD. This is the opposite truth of hemp, as it contains a higher amount of CBD and next to nothing in THC (0.3 to 1.5 per cent).

With these perceptions, we can understand their uses in society better. Hemp, due to its stature, availability and chemical makeup, is superior for industrial applications and extracting CBD with miniscule amounts of THC. Marijuana is preferred for recreational and medicinal uses due to its higher THC content and entourage effect with CBD.

Legalities

This is always an interesting topic because there have been constant changes in United States cannabis legislation for years.

Keeping up with current laws is absolutely vital for cannabis businesses, both in agriculture and retail, to survive. There are so many details that go into the farming, manufacturing, distributing and selling that could change at any moment, so adjustments must be made quickly and correctly.

Marijuana is and has been federally illegal since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Colorado and Washington state prepared bills suggesting the regulated use of recreational cannabis, both of which were successful. Following their lead, we now have 10 states that allow for recreational use. Even before these measures however, medical marijuana was available in certain U.S. states, with additions to make the current total 33.  

Hemp was lumped in with marijuana in the act of 1970, despite its distinguishing qualities. Colorado once again lead the way and legalized the commercial cultivation of hemp on the state level. It was the following year that the U.S. hit a milestone in the industry when President Obama signed the Farm Bill update of 2014, which finally redefined hemp as a separate entity from marijuana and allowed research and scientific development.

As of December 11th, 2018,  the Senate voted 87-13 in favor of the updated Farm Bill of 2018, and the House of Representatives on December 12th voted in favor 386-47. The outcome of the bill passing? $867 in subsidies divvied between farmers, reinforcing economic growth and marketing for Farmers’ Markets, rejecting stricter limits on food stamps and, of course, legalizing hemp.

Final Thoughts

Hemp and marijuana are amazing plants and provide an astounding volume of distinct uses. Now that you know their primary differences, you can begin or continue your wellness routine feeling knowledgeable and hopefully more comfortable; that’s what I’m here for! If you have any questions or comments, you can head over to @phytoextractum on Twitter.