High on Hemp: America’s Most Controversial Crop May One Day Fill Supermarkets and Fuel Automobiles

ABC News ^ | April 21, 2004 | Buck Wolf

[Fitzcarraldo]

We may need to turn to hemp to survive the possible Kerry presidency.

[staytrue]

Here is the deal. If hemp was unrelated to pot and if industrial america were using and promoting it, everyone who is now for hemp would be against it and everyone who is now against it would be for it.

Such is the name calling and polarization in the US today.

[Mr. Mojo]

Crop may.... Fuel Automobiles

Wasn't Cheech's van in "Up in Smoke" fueled by hemp ;)

[Mr. Mojo]

So true, staytrue.

[cripplecreek]

"We may need to turn to hemp to survive the possible Kerry presidency."


Hey! We'll have no more of that devil talk around here.

[Jeff Chandler]

The stuff grows like weeds.

[cripplecreek]

It grew wild on the farm, we didnt know what it was called.

[Who dat?]

The good news: The HempCar got 27 miles a gallon. The bad news: Hemp fuel presently costs about $50 a gallon. Nevertheless, the Siglers say hemp fuel burns clean, and nobody compared the exhaust fumes to a big fat joint.

The other bad news: There isn’t enough arable land in the world to meet a fraction of U.S. demand.

I also like how he inserts “nevertheless” in there. Meanwhile, my Civic just got 44 mpg on my last trip through Riverside and it burns the $2.00/gal gas.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

You'd have to smoke a telephone pole of hemp to even get a buzz.

[Moonman62]

What a lazy article. All it does is regurgitate the LP and High Times talking points. Hemp was an important crop back when manual labor was economical for the materials produced. Industrial hemp gums up machines. There are much more economical alternatives.

[johnfrink]

It's funny you say that--there is a farmer in England whose hemp fields are frequently raided by kids looking to get high, and he has a huge billboard in the middle of the field with those words on it!

[TASMANIANRED]

Hemp used to be the number one cash crop in KY. ( It is again but the smoking variety)
Back in the days of seagoing vessels all the rope was hemp
also it was the source of the fiber for news print.

There was a big tadoo with the Hearst newspaper getting hemp criminalized back in the 30's that pushed KY into cultivating tobacco.

[proudpapa]

I few days ago there was this article about a drug bust at a supermarket. Check it out.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1119410/posts

[chainsaw]

It grew wild on the farm, we didnt know what it was called.

During WW II hemp was grown for the production of hemp rope for the US Navy. After the war it was discontinued as a cash crop, but the seed was widely scattered over the country side. It still grows wild in many placcceeessss.

[cinFLA]

But hemp's heyday came to an end after World War II, when the government began crackdowns on marijuana.

Wrong. It came to an end when we found out their were better products for making rope and cloth.

[cinFLA]

Here is the deal. If hemp was unrelated to pot and if industrial america were using and promoting it, everyone who is now for hemp would be against it and everyone who is now against it would be for it.

Rediculous statement. The eco-freak druggies would still be supporting hemp and the sane people would still prefer not to wear hemp underwear.

[Monty22]

"even though it's legal in Western Europe, Canada and Asia. "

Then they ought to be eating our lunch economically right? I mean, jeez. There's such a demand for different rope and nappy clothes.

Oh, and all that fuel too. *snicker*

Guess we'll let them overrun us, hahahah.

My point: This is obviously a bunch of crap, there's no market for it, or else these other places would have an advantage.

[cinFLA]

Back in the days of seagoing vessels

You mean that our vessels of today do not go to sea? :-)

[Kate of Spice Island]

They were seling hemp twine for crafts in NM a few years back. It was imported from Hungary.