Hemp trade nipped in the bud

The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Sunday, August 25, 2002 | David Armstrong

[Willie Green]

America's war on drugs is roiling the small but growing industrial hemp business, throwing the industry's customers into doubt and confusion. It is also causing something of an international flap.

Caught in the middle is John Roulac, a Sebastopol businessman, who says he has found himself enmeshed in a Kafkaesque tale of circular logic and rigid, incomprehensible bureaucracy.

[Willie Green]

My apologies to the libertarian druggies for belatedly posting this article which was published yesterday.
It is a rather lengthy article, and I sincerely hope it doesn't befuddle their limited attention spans.

[Polonius]

What purpose do these draconian regulations serve, other than to stifle business? This is the pinnacle of Drug War insanity — there's no chance of anyone even getting a buzz from industrial hemp, just a potentially lucrative industry being kept from developing out of misguided fear that permitting hemp seed oil would somehow inevitably lead to streets full of drug-crazed criminals.

[tacticalogic]

Why would druggies care about industrial hemp?

[weikel]

How does one get high off industrial hemp? BTW if you are so anti libertarian why do you live in Nevada. Nevada is about the most libertarian state in America.

[Willie Green]

What purpose do these draconian regulations serve, other than to stifle business?

The benign uses of hemp have all been superceded by the technological development of superior alternatives. The marginal and insignificant economic impact that hemp use would have is vastly outweighed by the detrimental effects of widespread substance abuse.

[Willie Green]

Why would druggies care about industrial hemp?

Because in their altered perception of reality, they've come to believe that the rest of us don't understand that cannabis = cannabis, whether you call it "industrial hemp" or not.

[blackdog]

And if you grow hemp anywhere near your local patch of good dope, the cross pollenation ruins the planting of the get you high version. You would think that the best way to kill dope cultivation would be to grow hemp everywhere. But hey, I'm just a farmer and what would I know? Sheep love the hemp plants and will graze them out exclusively in a pasture before eating anything else. I have a neighbor who is a bit on the fringe. He hates my sheep. I think I know why. My sheep do get out once in a while when the deer crash down a section of high voltage wire fence.

[Willie Green]

How about non-druggies who might like a little hempseed in their bath oil?
Would you apologize to them too?

No. Plenty of clearly superior alternatives exist for them in the legitimate market.

[vin-one]

well I know why the WoD'ers care, they think it is all a big conspiracy to legalize weed.
What they fail to understand is that with a renewable source such as hemp oil,
would cut down on U.S. dependance of several products, like motor oil, and a host of other materials imported.

WOD argument
Industrial hemp, could be used to hide for other MJ plants. and it would ruin the world.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

The original push to outlaw hemp wasn't over any concerns about it as a drug. That was an angle that was used by William Randolph Hearst to eliminate any competition to the wood pulp paper industry. Later, DuPont jumped into bed with him when hemp seed oil was found to be a cheaper and more effective ingredient than petro-chemicals in paints and many other products including the new ( at the time ) plastics.

It never really was about the "Demon Weed". It was and probably still is, about the Almighty Dollar. Follow the money.

[tacticalogic]

The benign uses of hemp have all been superceded by the technological development of superior alternatives.

I'll wager the research scientists that work the in labs that develop those alternatives would never make that statement. I'll also wager that the marketing agencies and lobbyists that work for those companies would.

[Willie Green]

I'll wager the research scientists that work the in labs that develop those alternatives would never make that statement. I'll also wager that the marketing agencies and lobbyists that work for those companies would.

Well come to Vegas!
The bookies here are willing to accept all kinds of sucker bets.
And in the long run, that helps lower my taxes!

[tacticalogic]

Industrial hemp, could be used to hide for other MJ plants. and it would ruin the world.

Maybe, but somehow I think the last place you'd want your prize sensimilla growing is in the middle of an industrial hemp field.

[Wordsmith]

Plenty of clearly superior alternatives exist for them in the legitimate market.

Sorry, this isn't always the case. As in any other part of the free market, you can't easily predict the appropriateness of a particular resource for a particular niche. To use one small example, my wife runs a small online business selling high-end hand made parrot toys. One of the main selling points of her toys is the fact that they use hemp cord - which she buys at Michael's Art and Craft for a very high price. Hemp cord shreds in a way that is particularly useful for exercising parrot beaks, and that can't be duplicated by any synthetic she's found. Not to mention that parrots are quite sensitive to sythentic materials. It's a plant, not a drug. And it has many uses to the small American businessman.

[tacticalogic]

The bookies here are willing to accept all kinds of sucker bets.

Only a sucker would claim that we know all there is to know about hemp, or anything else for that matter.

[blackdog]

I alway's laugh(politely) when someone touts the superior technical advancements and replacements for basic, simple, materials and equipment. I have several machine sheds of such advanced equipment. It's usually broken and waiting for imported spare parts which are nowhere to be found. My 1953 Ford Tractor with 17,000 hours on the block, and my small baler made in 1966 is cheaper and more reliable to run. The mice love to chew through synthetic fiber ropes in about 10 seconds. Imported hemp rope lasts me years longer when it is stored properly. The new synthetic shingles on our big barn are mostly in the woods about 200 yards away from wind damage. The wood shingles that are 35 years old are in good shape. My 50 year old analog volt meter can indicate a switch which is about to fail. My new digital voltmeter can only indicate a bad switch once it has already failed. Those new superior low water consumption toilets are a real advancement too!

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

The benign uses of hemp have all been superceded by the technological development of superior alternatives. The marginal and insignificant economic impact that hemp use would have is vastly outweighed by the detrimental effects of widespread substance abuse.

Willie, my man...I usually agree with what you post but this one isn't even close.

I wish I wasn't at work right now. I can't get into a long protracted debate over this right now. Suffice it to say that while the benign uses of hemp have all been superceded by the technological development of alternatives, those alternatives are not necessarily superior.

Also, if hemp production were given the kind of push and money given to the development of petroleum resources, it's economic impact would be neither marginal nor insignificant.

Also, given enough ecomonic value, I'm sure there are those parties that would not find it difficult to "breed out" the THC from the crop, thereby eliminating any substance abuse concerns.

[BikerNYC]

Plenty of clearly superior alternatives exist for them in the legitimate market.

Why don't we let the marketplace figure this out. If you are right, the industrial hemp market will dry up. If you are wrong, it will flourish because others will make the marketplace judgment that the alternatives are not superior.