Have you ever used paper made with hemp pulp? It is far superior to the "recycled" junk, and equivalent to (or better than) the wood product. Also, it requires significantly less chemical processing than either raw or recycled wood pulp products. I don't recall the exact amount of pulp per acre, but do remember that it is quite a bit higher than timber, when you take into account that it can be harvested annually.
It makes lousy cloth however (scratchy), and nylon is far superior as a rope (hemp rope rots). I certainly agree with you there. It makes great paper and cardboard though.
What I was trying to say here was that if the drug culture would stop associating it with pot it might be considered as a replacement for wood pulp. The pot-heads are trying to use it as a stepping stone to legalizing marijuana, by saying that pot plants are useful as pulp. Hemp is, but marijuana isn't. As long as people treat hemp like a drug, it will never be used in any kind of significant quantities.
Disadvantages of Hemp for Paper Making
Wood pulp paper makers have complained that hemp is an impractical fiber source because it is so different from wood fiber (Judt, 1994). In order to make hemp paper commercially competitive with wood paper, processes are being developed to use hemp fiber to best advantage. For existing mills, this can involve prohibitively expensive re-tooling to accommodate the different fiber.
HempÕs long, strong fibers can get tangled up in the beating stage and cause uneven sheet formation. Problems with slow drainage on the paper machine have been reported too, perhaps due to the waxy, water-repellent resins naturally occurring in the fiber. Slow drainage is a significant problem to the paper industry since it affects production times.
The fact that hemp has two different kinds of fiber also poses some difficulties. The fiber types can be separated and used to make various qualities of paper, or combined into one hybrid pulp. This is a situation that calls for thorough testing to find the best mixtures and techniques.
Yet another challenge to paper makers, one offered by any annual plant, is harvesting and transport. Trees may be harvested at almost any time of the year, ensuring a steady supply. The harvest time for a crop of hemp is quite specific, however. Storing adequate fiber supplies without spoilage is a big stumbling block when production is on a scale of 1000 tons per day and is expected to continue year-round.
…and nylon is far superior as a rope (hemp rope rots)…