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| Article: The Healing Power of Hemp - by Colleen Heraty | ||
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Hempseed oil is extracted from a very miraculous plant (Cannabis sativa) that grows around the world. It contains high levels of essential fatty acids, including linolenic acid, which help to stimulate cell growth in skin care. I am amazed by this plant for many reasons, but mostly because of its fresh, nutty aroma and the luxurious benefits it provides for the skin. Hemp seed oil is the best natural source of the two Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) that our bodies can't manufacture, but just can't live without: Omega 3 alpha linolenic acid and Omega 6 linoleic acid. While several vegetable oils contain the EFAs that dry skins crave, only hemp seed oil delivers them in the optimum ratio of one part omega 3 to three parts omega 6. Once you experience the benefits of using hemp seed oil, your skin won't let you settle for less! Unfortunately, many people often get this plant confused with its cousin, Marijuana. Even though it was used for centuries for thousands of uses, when the big companies in the early '30s found out about its many uses and threatening their precious petroleum products, they tried to confuse people's opinions about hemp being associated with a drug that posseses psychoactive properties. In fact, Henry Ford was noted as an advocate of hemp for clean-burning fuel, but was forced to switch to petroleum for using in his automobiles when it (hemp) became illegal in the 30s. Marijuana is a tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves and flowering parts, or "buds", of the Cannabis plant that contains a relative amount of THC (usually between 3 and 25%), and is used to treat glaucaoma, nervous tension, nausea among others. Hemp on the other hand is a non-psychoactive cannabis variety with a THC content of less than 1%. Although there are similarities, the differences are greater by far. Although many people think hemp and marijuana are the same it would be best to describe them as cousins. Hemp is meant as an industrial crop. Much like flax or cotton. Hemp can be used for many things (more than 40,000 uses!), as this article describes. Hemp is easily distinguished visually from marijuana. Hemp cannot be abused as a drug. If users confuse it with marijuana all they will get is a big headache. There have been no scientific studies that have shown industrial hemp- such as those grown commercially to have any psychoactive effect. Hemp products are not illegal. In fact, the U.S. hemp-products industry does about $125 million in retail sales a year. Not only is hemp harmless, it has enormous versatility. Ironically, I find it strange that our government is not actively pursuing the culture of hemp, since both Presidents Washington & Jefferson grew hemp and the US Constitution was signed on hemp paper. And especially because in the 1600s some states made it illegal for farmers NOT to grow hemp. And back then they probably didn't know that hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides, and does not need chlorine bleach which heavily pollutes rivers near wood-pulp paper mills. Hemp can grow in any climate and soil condition and is excellent for reclaiming otherwise-unusable land. For more than 10,000 years hemp has provided food, shelter, paper, fabric, clothing and medicine. It wasn't until the 1930s did it first experience a ban on its growth. Being clean, renewable, cheap, and easy to grow, it quickly became a threat to the natural resource companies, who were expecting to make a fortune in the production of fossil fuels. William Randolph Hearst (an owner of vast timberlands), was determined to influence public opinion on hemp by using the various newspapers he owned to scare people about hemp, which he called marijuana, the Mexican word for hemp. These articles led to confusion and fears concerning hemp, and it lost its popularity. Hemp then became outlawed Back in 1935, approximately 58,000 tons of hemp seed was used just to make non-toxic paint and varnish. When hemp was banned, these safe paints were replaced with toxic petro-chemical versions. In 1930, people did not know about poison rivers, or deadly landfills or children dying from chemicals in house paints. The US currently imports hemp from other countries while it is only grown here in a few states. It could create another cash crop for American farmers and hemp plants could replace all fossil fuels and their harmful by-products. It is the only crop capable of making America energy independent. Another important usage of hemp is its ability to produce more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis. Much of the world's paper was made form hemp until about 1950, when the economy switched to print newspapers and magazines on wood-pulp paper from cutting down large and many old-growth forests. Our forests, what is now left of them, are being destroyed at 3 times as fast as they can grow. Hemp can be recycled better, cleaner and lasts longer. Hemp crops could save thousands of forests around the world. We here at Greenridge Herbals use hemp labels on all of our products and feel much better that we did not have to cut down a forest to produce our products. Hopefully those forests that we are choosing not to harm will last to grow tall and wonderous for our children and our children's children to see and enjoy. For more information on hemp, refer to the LINKS page on this site for links to hemp info. |
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Colleen is the owner and founder of Greenridge Herbals and holds a B.S. in Liberal Arts and a minor in Environmental Studies. She is in the process of completing a B.A. in Plant & Soil Science at Southern Illinois University. For information on hemp skin care products and the benefits of herbs, visit her website at:
www.greenridgeherbals.com. |
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