by Ted Smith One of the most important figures in American hemp history is Lyster Dewey. His efforts to revitalize hemp brought a new wave of interest in the plant at the turn of the 20th century. Farmers and industrialists alike were drawn to his vision. As the person in charge of the USA Department […]
Hemp
Hemp Foods for Every Diet
By Diane Walsh “Tastes like sunflower, looks like sesame”—a clever little catch phrase I picked up along the way, coining hempseed as a food to a tee. Be it hemp morning shakes, peanut chocolate energy balls made of hemp, almond goji powerballs or apple-power porridge (available right here in Victoria, B.C.), finger-licking brownies, hemp “corn […]
Hemp Machines
by Ted Smith After decades of attempts by inventors around the world, George Schlichten announced the successful creation of a decorticator in the summer of 1917. Just one year after the fact hemp hurds could be used for paper was discovered, this seemed to give hemp the boost it needed to retain its place as […]
The Hemp Bio-composite Electric Car (Archive)
UPDATE: This article was posted from our archives without any alterations . Some commenters have stated this information is now out of date. We apologize for the mixup. (Article originally posted Jan 2011 in the CD archives here) By Diane Walsh Industrial hemp campaign takes a giant leap forward Environmentalists speak often, and prophetically, about the need […]
Early 20th Century Hemp Paper
By Ted Smith In 1916, the USA Department of Agriculture published Bulletin #404, announcing to the world an important new discovery in hemp processing. This discovery should have lead to a huge wave of interest in hemp, but ironically it was the trigger that lead to Reefer Madness as I will discuss in a later […]
Barriers to Hemp Production Crumpling
By Diane Walsh Why Not Hemp Paper? Half of the world’s forests have been cut to make paper from wood. Sad, don’t you think? Here’s something you can do about deforestation. Seek out an alternative—fibre sources derived from hemp, that are fresh tree-free. Though not widely publicized, the hemp paper market does exist. It […]
Chinese Hemp Company to Build Factory in Alberta
By Diane Walsh If you are an investor and have a firm eye on the hemp industry in Western or Central Canada, this might just be the ideal time to jump in with both feet. Alberta Knee Deep in Hemp Alberta appears poised to be a leader for hemp firms which are diversifying processing and […]
Fibre Wars of the 1800’s
By Ted Smith By the end of the 1800s, hemp had fallen from the top of the fibre world. Cotton, flax, jute and other crops had chipped away at the dominant position hemp held in agricultural world trade. Ironically, the strong fibers in the hemp plant made it difficult to harvest and process, something economically […]
Hemp Rooting into American Industry Once Again
(image: credit) By Diane Walsh Solid political support behind optimistic Congressional bills in the U.S. House and Senate and the “Farm Bill,” along the successful initiatives in Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington DC legalizing marijuana, spells game change. California has taken the lead in looking to register industrial hemp farmers. Kentucky is not far […]
Hemp in the United States
In the 1800s, hemp was a vital part of everyday life in America. Indeed, one could speculate that settling North America would have been much more difficult if it were not for the high quality rope, paper and canvas that was made from hemp. From the sailboats that brought Europeans across the ocean, to the […]