{"id":998,"date":"2021-09-02T20:05:15","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T20:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theboonroom.com\/?p=998"},"modified":"2022-12-13T19:47:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T19:47:53","slug":"industrial-hemp-vs-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theboonroom.com\/blog\/industrial-hemp-vs-marijuana","title":{"rendered":"Industrial Hemp Vs. Marijuana – Dispelling Common Myths About Hemp"},"content":{"rendered":"
Industrial hemp is a versatile plant-based material that can be used as a replacement for fabric, wood, paper, plastic\u2026 Over the last few years we\u2019ve seen a ton of new hemp based products on the market<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most hemp products are made from the tough but flexible stalk material of the Cannabis sativa L plant. Hemp is actually a dioecious plant, which means it can be separated into separate male and female\u00a0plants. And, these amazing plants have been serving a wide variety of purposes for over 10,000 years!<\/p>\n While we get fiber for textiles and paper products from the plant\u2019s stems or stalks, we also get protein from the seeds and oils from the leaves to make a wide range of applications in everything from cosmetics to dietary supplements.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cannabis, or its non-scientific name \u201cmarijuana\u201d generally refers to a combination of psychoactive and non-psychoactive compounds (most notably the major two: THC and CBD) that can be derived from the same plant. THC produces a psychoactive change in perception, commonly referred to as a \u201chigh,\u201d when smoked or ingested by humans.<\/p>\n Hemp does not.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth nothing that most don\u2019t think CBD is a psychoactive compound, but it actually is! Just not in the same way THC is. While there is no \u201chigh\u201d from CBD, it is shown to help with anxiety, depression, and seizures.<\/p>\n And, what is a psychoactive substance?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA drug or other substance that affects how the brain works and causes changes in mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, or behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n If CBD can help you with anxiety, is that not a mood or behavior modifying chemical?<\/p>\n Asking the difference between hemp and marijuana is almost like asking the difference between a 2\u2019x4\u2019 and a bottle of maple syrup! Both products are harvested from the same renewable resource, but the applications are completely different.<\/p>\n Industrial hemp can end up in your clothes, building materials, packaging, foods, fuels, or shampoo. Marijuana only refers to psychoactive cannabis flower, or foods or extracts made from it.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a big difference in the way the two products are cultivated. Marijuana plants are grown with highly controlled temperature and lighting conditions that help maximize flower size, and any seed-bearing male plants are discarded.<\/p>\n Industrial hemp is grown outdoors to maximize overall plant size, with no consideration for how well the plants will flower. Male plants, with their oil-rich seeds, are preferred when growing industrial hemp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hemp\u2019s association with marijuana, the constantly evolving public perception of drugs, and aggressive lobbying by certain segments of the agricultural industry have all helped to popularize myths about hemp and industrial hemp products.<\/p>\n You can try, but you\u2019ll have a bad time. The fibers we usually refer to as hemp are a stringy, woody material that produces a much harsher and less flavorful smoke than the cannabis flower material harvested for THC consumption. Plants grown for industrial hemp production do also flower, but the buds are small, full of seeds undesirable to smokers, and very low in psychoactive THC content.<\/p>\n For that reason, there would be little point in a marijuana user even attempting to smoke hemp. Cannabis plants grown for industrial hemp production have a THC content well under 1%.<\/a> In some places, it legally has to be less than 0.3%. For marijuana to have any effect on humans, it needs at least 3% THC, with most modern commercial products testing well over 15%!<\/p>\n Because an industrial hemp farm does not produce anything resembling a recreational drug, it actually poses less potential risk to public health than a cornfield. Modern corn has been genetically modified to maximize sugar content, a practice linked to the United States\u2019 obesity and nutrition insecurity epidemics. There is no research that links industrial hemp farming to any specific public health risk.<\/p>\n Cannabis sativa<\/em> is a naturally pest- and fungus-resistant plant, so hemp crops require little or no chemical treatment to grow successfully.<\/p>\n Hemp is also able to return up to 70% of its nutrients<\/a> to the soil when left to dry in the field, so hemp farming across multiple seasons requires less fertilizer than other common crops (but it does draw a great deal of nutrients prior to this recycling process due to how fast and large it grows!) Hemp also tends to outgrow competing weeds, further reducing the need for any sort of fertilization.<\/p>\nIndustrial Hemp Vs. Marijuana<\/h2>\n
What Is the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana?<\/h2>\n
Myths About Hemp<\/h2>\n
Can you smoke hemp?<\/h3>\n
Is industrial hemp farming a public health risk?<\/h3>\n
Is industrial hemp bad for the environment?<\/h3>\n