The Future of Hemp in America is Very Bright
We acknowledge that hemp has played a immense role in American history. America’s Founding Fathers were cultivating Hemp, and the tradition continued on until 1937.
Due to a federal propaganda crusade led by America’s first ‘drug czar’ Henry Anslinger in 1937 , Hemp was also banned with all other forms of marijuana.
However Hemp has a benefit to society in all sorts of things to American society and America’ s economy, it was outlawed despite proving no harmful intoxication or euphoria for people that consumed it.
During World War II when farmers were once again encouraged to grow hemp to help with the war effort there was a slight change in the policy. But after World War II wrapped up, America’s was once again the law of land with full prohibition in Drug industry.
But in 2014 this all changed When Farm Bill was passed. Through a provision in the legislation, Section 7606, allowed hemp farming in states that had legalized hemp pilot programs and/or hemp research programs.
As of today, many are taking advantage of the federal hemp exemption. According to the vote there are 31 states that have passed hemp reform legislation.
Kentucky’s Return to Glory
Since 2014 Kentucky has been the largest growing state in hemp industry. Once Kentucky used to be a nation’s leader in hemp production and now it’s returning to its way of being the center of hemp production in America.
{ “Hemp and Kentucky go hand in hand.” said Chris Smith, Vice President of Green Remedy, at the third annual Emerald Conference. He cited data from 1850 which showed that Kentucky produced roughly 40,000 tons of hemp that year alone.
Chris was a featured speaker at the event, which is dedicated to exploring the science of cannabis. He spoke about the history of hemp in Kentucky, and how much the industry has grown since the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.
Do you know? In 2014 a total of 33 acres of hemp were planted in Kentucky. In 2015, that number grew to 922 acres. This year, that number has ballooned to 12,800 acres, almost tripling the amount of acres compared to 2016 (4,500 acres). }
Where Will All That Hemp Go?
Hemp holds the key to a healthy future for our lives, and our children’s lives.
Hemp can definitely be used to make end products paper and rope as most people think of hemp, but today hemp is grown in America is largely being used for two other purposes.
{The first of those is cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Hemp is defined by federal law as having .3% THC or less, but can be comprised of as much CBD as the plant’s genetics will produce. }
CBD oil has been shown to effectively treat all types of ailments and conditions. Chances are you have seen extensive coverage on mainstream media outlets touting the benefits of CBD oil.
They got a high varieties of hemp in CBD content, that they are the ideal for making oil from the hemp-derived CBD extracts.
{According to Chris Smith’s presentation, in 2016 roughly 60% of all hemp harvested in Kentucky went towards making CBD oil.
The other major use for hemp grows in Kentucky in 2016 was for grain. 35% of Kentucky hemp went towards grain for human and animal consumption in 2016. The rest went towards other products traditionally associated with hemp, such as fiber.
Chris Smith’s presentation was extremely insightful, and not just because of the history lesson he included in his presentation, or the statistics involved.
The technology he described was really amazing, and since it is largely going towards products for patients, it was really inspiring too. }
Mr. Smith described how trickier it is to learn about the technology behind making the extractions for the farmers to change their fields over to the hemp. But after that more processing facilities are opened, and the amount of CBD extracts that will go to the marketplace will continue to increase.
In few years the demand for CBD products is only going to continue to grow, and advancements in CBD extraction technology will increase the supply to meet that demand.
We are just in the middle of revolution in a hemp industry, driven by the growing advancements in technology as people continue to research and unlock the scientific secrets of the hemp plant.
{The presentation by Chris Smith was extremely insightful, and is one of many from the Emerald Conference.}