cannabisnews.com: Advocates Still High on Hemp





Advocates Still High on Hemp
Posted by CN Staff on April 07, 2003 at 07:36:01 PT
By Peter Geigen-Miller, Free Press Reporter
Source: London Free Press 
When it was reintroduced as a crop in Canada in 1998, commercial hemp was expected to spur an industrial bonanza. Investors were quick to jump into various hemp-related industries with visions of fat profits dancing in their heads. As it turns out, reality has fallen far short of expectations. "Lots of people have lost lots of money," says Louise Hollingsworth, president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance. It's not that commercial hemp is a total flop. 
Companies such as Hempline in Delaware are marketing a range of hemp products. Hempline produces primary fibre used in the automotive, furniture and construction industries, among other applications, as well as a product called HempChips, used for garden mulch and animal bedding. And Ruth's Hemp Foods in Toronto produces a range of foods sold in health food stores and supermarkets across Canada, including stores in the London region. Among the company's products are hemp tortilla chips, hemp energy bars, hemp salad dressing, hemp oil and shelled hemp seeds. Company president Ruth Shamai is also working on a hemp burger that will hit the market soon. Hemp food products come from the seed of the plant, extolled by hemp advocates for its nutritional qualities. The seed is a great source of omega fatty acids that help to lower cholesterol, decrease fatigue and increase focus, they say. And they praise the high-quality protein that comes from hemp seeds. Shamai and Hempline president Geofrey Kime will be speaking at a hemp symposium being held Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Wolf Performance Hall at London's Central Library. The symposium will examine the history and future of industrial hemp in Canada. Growers have been permitted to grow commercial hemp in Canada only since 1998 and then only under tight controls. The long-standing reluctance to permit hemp production was, of course, because it is a member of the same family of plants as marijuana. The big difference is that the psychoactive element that gives marijuana its kick exists only in minute quantities in commercial hemp. An intensive lobbying effort finally convinced government decision-makers hemp should be grown in Canada. The industry continues to grow, though not as quickly as some have hoped. Growing hemp is not the problem. It's the need for Canadian processing and manufacturing facilities to handle the plant fibres once they are grown. That part of the industry is coming along slowly, concedes Hollingsworth. But as president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance, she sees positive developments on the international horizon. A serious fibre shortage is developing in a world hungry for the raw materials to spin or weave into an almost limitless range of products. "That's going to make a big difference to the hemp industry in Canada," she says. Source: London Free Press (CN ON)Author: Peter Geigen-Miller, Free Press ReporterPublished: Monday, April 7, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The London Free Press Contact: letters lfpress.comWebsite: http://www.fyilondon.com/londonfreepress/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCanadian Company Battles U.S. Hemp-Seed Ban http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13607.shtmlNAFTA Challenge to DEA Hemp Rule http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12300.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by afterburner on April 07, 2003 at 14:47:51 PT:
Virgil
If you run out of Canadian honey again for your oatmeal, here are two more Canadian alternatives: Canadian maple syrup and Canadian black currants.The following is not intended as an advertisement for any maple syrup company, but an information source about Canadian maple syrup:
Canadian Maple Syrup and Maple Products
http://www.mapleorchardfarms.com/The nutritional health benefits of black currants: 
Consumption of black currants, lingonberries and bilberries ... 
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ejcn/journal/v57/n1/full/1601513a.htmlThe following is not intended as an advertisement for any black currant company, but an information source about Canadian black currants:
South Alder Farms - BC Black Currants at their Best
http://www.southalderfarms.com/blackc.htmHemp Oil Canada inc.
http://www.hempoilcan.com/nutri.htmlHempline: Getting a License to grow Hemp in Canada 
http://hempline.com/about_hemp/cnd_licensing.htmlMan Made Fiber http://fornits.com/hemp/fibre.htmParkland Industrial Hemp Growers Dauphin Manitoba Canada http://www.pihg.org/Canadian Hemp Regulations. Canadian Hemp Regulations Hemp returns to area fields. Hemp oil in Canada. Getting a Hemp License in Canada. Health Canada. http://naihc.org/hemp_policy/canadian_regulations.htmlInterview Professor Dr. Raphael Mechoulam http://www.hempfood.com/IHA/iha01113.htmlego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 07, 2003 at 14:05:33 PT
Virgil
I know you've mentioned Bill Moyer before and thought you might like to read this article. I wanted to say I am sorry about your friends passing. I read about it the other day and realized I didn't say I was sorry but I am.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/moyers.htm
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on April 07, 2003 at 13:02:15 PT
The best thing that could happen
Remember all the ads for products that contained oatmeal after having a study that said oatmeal reduced cholesteral? The older you get the more you follow things like this. I am out of Canadian honey or I might eat some hot oatmeal now that the weather is on the cool side again and I recently tried some oatbread and it is pretty good and I will not hesitate the next time it appears at the dented can store for 50 cents.The best thing that could happen for hempfoods is to have a serious study of the effects of hempfoods on cholesteral, both in increasing the good and decreasing the bad. There is a broad statement that hempfoods are good for the heart and since half of all deaths have to do with a bad ticker, it is of greatest significance. Anyway, hempfood is on the world stage and is only growing. We will see.There is an article up now at marijuana.com about a bill in Oregon for permitting hempfarming- http://www.marijuana.com/article.php?sid=6131&mode=&order=0. I want to copy a few words including zombienotes to set up the last line. There is nothing like a good one liner.But opponents say hemp plants are difficult to distinguish from illegal marijuana plants. [zombienote: Opponents are, with almost zero exceptions, either Homer-like ignorant people, or people invested in the "status quo" of prohibition. This is a complete "non-issue" that is blown into a mountain everytime hemp is mentioned and it should be totally disregarded.]They also worry that cultivating hemp could inhibit police investigations of people growing pot.[zombienote: A landmark in stupid statements.]I now have 8 $4.20 oil purchases for the year. It is a learning experience unto itself. 
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