-Caveat Lector-
On 1 Jul 01, at 21:59, c. wrote:
> marijuana is hemp is marijuana. just different strains give different
> emphasis- fruit or flesh.
>
Not correct, c. Hemp and marijuana are related but different. Our governments would
like you to believe that they are the same however. Read on...
http://zimafoods.ca/diff.html
HEMP VS. MARIJUANA
Well now that you know how good the seed is, also how many uses there are for the
plant, what really is the difference between hemp
and marijuana?
Marijuana is a tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves and flowering
parts, or "buds", of the Cannabis plant. These particular
parts of the Cannabis plant are selected for illicit use due to the concentration of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in those particular areas of the
plant. THC is the chemical present in marijuana that produces the drug user's
psychoactive, or "high", effect. Most wild
marijuana found growing in Canada and the United States has a THC concentration of
less 0.5 percent, compared to
Colombian or Mexican varieties with a THC content ranging normally between 3 to 7
percent. An increase has been noted by
law enforcement in recent years of large scale domestic production of marijuana
containing much higher THC values,
sometimes with a THC content as high as 25 percent.
Marijuana is normally used in its dry form by rolling the same into cigarettes, or
"joints",
and smoked. A wide variety of other
smoking utensils, primarily in the form of pipes, are also used.
Hemp on the other hand is a non-psychoactive cannabis variety. Originally there was
no "marijuana" per say, just fields of hemp
grown for fibre, oils and livestock feed as well as food for humans. When the slaves of
the early 1800's began to realize that by
smoking the flowering tops of the hemp plant they achieved a measure of relief from
the horrible lives they were living as slaves! Thus began
the association between the "evil weed marijuana" and hemp. It was also
the
Mexicans who were smoking the weed before
battle, the song "La Cucaracha" being about a soldier who refused to
march
without some marijuana to smoke. Although
there are similarities, the differences are greater by far.
Click here to see the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA 1911 entry on hemp.
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, just check out the
uses page and see. Hemp is a wonder plant! If you leave
aside the 40,000 + products that can be made from hemp the mere fact that it has
survived the "US War on drugs" never ceases top amaze
me. People though don't realize that countries unaffected by US foreign policy didn't
stop growing hemp at all. Countries like Poland, Russia,
India and China to just name a few. Fortunately for us we can now go to these peoples
and regain the information we require to create our own
hemp industry right here in North America.
So why does the US have it's War on Drugs while Canada uses hemp to create a new
industry within it's borders? There seems to be a
definite difference in thinking between Health Canada's way of dealing with hemp and
the US's DEA. Why does Health Canada allow hemp to
be grown all across Canada while just a few kilometers south of the border the DEA is
actively spraying wild hemp in order to eradicate all
hemp from within it's borders?
That of course is not a one two three answer but simply put Health Canada is a branch
of the Government regulating health issues, getting it's
budget to do just that. The DEA under which the hemp issue is big business, $500
million US last year alone given to the organization to
eradicate wild hemp and that says nothing of the marijuana enforcement dollars. So in
short, by regulating the growth of the hemp industry in
Canada the government is creating jobs for the farmers and for the manufacturing
sector. If it were legalized in the states, the paramilitary like
DEA would lose a lot of it's funding and also it would lose face. The Government there
has worked long and hard, since 1937, to convince it's
peoples that hemp is bad, why change now and lose all of the lies it's created!
and
http://www.azhemp.org/Package/Legal/legal.html
HEMP vs. MARIJUANA
The word "hemp" is English for a number of varieties of the cannabis plant,
particularly
the varieties like "industrial hemp" that were bred over time for industrial uses such
as
fuel, fiber, paper, seed, food, oil, etc.
The term "marijuana" is of Spanish derivation, and was primarily used to describe
varieties of cannabis that were more commonly bred over time for medicinal and
recreational purposes, like cannabis indica , and certain strains of cannabis sativa.
In fact, when all forms of hemp were made illegal in the early part of the last
century, it
was used in the majority of the prescription drugs then sold in America. That was
certainly no accident. Those who favor the use of what is now called "medical
marijuana" recognize these strong medicinal qualities.
But marijuana and the medical or recreational varieties of cannabis are not really at
issue today, because science readily allows us to distinguish them from industrial
hemp by simple tests for the huge difference in the potency of the plants, i.e. the
percentage of the psychotropic ingredient: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC"), the
active psychotropic ingredient found in the leaves and flowers of the female plant, but
not in her seeds or stems.
Two cannabinoids are preponderant in cannabis: THC, the psychoactive ingredient,
and CBD, which is an antipsychoactive ingredient. Marijuana is high in the
psychoactive cannabinoid, THC, and low in the antipsychoactive cannabinoid, CBD.
The reverse is true for industrial hemp; when hemp was or is bred for its desirable
industrial qualities, the percentage of THC is minimal, while the percentage of CBD is
high.
While marijuana has a potency range of 3% to 20% by dry weight of THC, industrial
hemp is generally defined as having less than 1.0% THC, and the normal range is
under 0.5%. These THC levels are so low that no one could get high from smoking it.
To receive a standard psychoactive dose would require a person to power-smoke 10-
12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The large volume and high
temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be almost impossible for a person to
withstand.
Moreover, hemp contains a relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid, CBD,
that actually blocks the marijuana high. Hemp, it turns out, is not only not
marijuana; it
could be called "antimarijuana."
Feral hemp, or "ditchweed", is a remnant of the industrial hemp once grown on more
than 400,000 acres by U.S. farmers. It also contains extremely low levels of THC, as
low as .05 percent. It has no drug value, but does offer important environmental
benefits as a nesting habitat for birds. About 99 percent of the "marijuana" being
eradicated by the federal government-at great public expense-is this harmless
ditchweed.
So industrial hemp or ditchweed simply does not have enough THC for any practical
use as a recreational drug, and anyone who grows industrial hemp will certainly have to
suffer the legal consequences of trying to grow marijuana. But that too is very
unlikely
for a number of reasons:
Industrial Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Hemp plants are cultivated
inches apart to produce plants with tall stalks, while pot plants are short and spaced
a
few feet apart to produce bushy, THC-rich flowers and leaves. Moreover, they are
harvested at different times.
Marijuana cultivators also try to cull male plants to prevent fertilization of the
female
plant. Unfertilized females produce more THC, making it attractive as a drug
(sinsemilla). In contrast, hemp production typically seeks fertilization to produce
seeds.
And cross-pollination between hemp plants and marijuana plants would significantly
reduce the potency of the marijuana plant. If hemp does pollinate any nearby marijuana,
genetically, the result will always be lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp. "The
pot crop would always get weaker," Mahlberg said. If hemp is grown outdoors,
marijuana will not be grown close by to avoid producing lower-grade marijuana. A pot
grower would fear the inevitable pollen from hemp cultivation in a mixed plot, and
would
not hide his plant in industrial hemp fields.
Likewise, extracting THC from industrial hemp and further refining it to eliminate the
preponderance of CBD would require such an expensive, hazardous, and time-
consuming process that it is extremely unlikely anyone would ever attempt it, rather
than simply obtaining high-THC marijuana instead.
[Also see: www.votehemp.com/PDF/myths_facts.pdf to review: Hemp and Marijuana --
Myths and Realities by Dr. Dave West, who holds a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding from the
University of Minnesota and has spent 18 years as a commercial corn breeder, and,
since 1993 he has served as an advisor to the emerging hemp industry regarding
industrial hemp germplasm.]
All of this goes to show why, in countries where hemp is grown as an agricultural crop,
the police have experienced no such burdens. In fact, there are over 30 nations on the
planet currently growing industrial hemp. These include Canada, Australia, England,
France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Russia, and China.
The regulations established in these countries are simple: contract production, aerial
ASCS type maps of fields, only government certified low THC seed, pre- and post-
harvest field surveys, field checks on THC levels and an open field policy. And they
do
not have an increased problem with prosecution for marijuana use. So legalizing hemp
would not burden local police forces.
This explains why the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently
adopted a resolution strongly urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) to collaboratively develop and adopt an official definition of industrial hemp.
This also explains why legislation to deregulate industrial hemp and/or allow
scientific
study by state universities is pending or passed in over 20 states:
Bills Passed: ND, HI, MN, IL, MD -- Resolutions Passed:
AK, CA, KY, MT, VA, VT
Legislation In Process: SD, IA, ME, NH, NM, OR, TN --
Voter Initiatives: AK, CO, MI
ANOMALOUS IMAGES
http://www.anomalous-images.com
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
