The Many Sides of Hemp

The word 'Marijuana' oftens strikes people's minds as solely being a recreational drug. This is only part of the contributions the plant has to offer. There are so many material things we use in our every day lives that can be substituted with hemp. Hemp is a tough fiber of the marijuana plant. The potential of the marijuana plant is so high, but it is being held back by society. In the early 1900's hemp was considered the 'billion dollar crop'. It has great strength and durability with the ability to have 50,000 different uses. Some examples of it's uses include:

Paper: One acre of hemp in annual rotation will produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres of trees during the same twenty year period. It can produce printing paper, fine and specialty paper, techinical filter papers, newsprint, and cardboard and packaging products.
Clothing: Hemp provides three times the amount of fiber per acre as cotton.
Energy: The use of hemp as a biofuel would reduce the amount fossil fuels (currently 93% of our energy source) and nuclear power.
Eco-friendly Substance: Hemp can be used to replace current toxic petrochemical products. It can also be used as a biodegradable plastic product.
Fiberboard: This is twice as strong as wood based fiber board.
Food: Hemp can produce food supplements, salad oil, margarine, granola, birdseed, nutrient bars, cakes, breads, non-dairy milk, tofu, cheese, and ice cream.
Personal Hygiene Products: Hemp can make soap, shampoo, bath gels, cosmetics, and moisturizers.

The main reason why hemp should be used to replace the fibers used to make most of our products today is the fact that the marijuana as a regrowth cycle of one year. Unlike trees (used for most of our materials) which have decades to grow to their full potential. This causes more and more trees to be cut down when they don't need to be because there is an alternative.

After examining the many sides of hemp, I hope you can realize why I feel the government is insulting our intelligence and limiting our rights by making the marijuana plant illegal. There are so many more reasons why it should be legal than reasons why it should remain illegal.