The Hemp Revolution
This documentary covers a whole lot of ground. It deals with every historical and contemporary aspect of hemp usage and cultivation (mainly in the U.S.), which turns out to be a lot.
From describing the production of a fiber much more durable and economic than wood, the documentary discusses hemps multilateral uses as e.g. food products, as a non-polluting fuel and as a pharmaceutical product with much less grievous side-effects than chemical pharmaceutical products.
The film also investigates why America went from a country which produced vast quantities of the non-narcotic industrial hemp, to the complete ban on hemp production in 1938.
This story in particular is interesting, and it points out that the large oil-based industries actually had a key role in the aforementioned ban. Food for thought! The conclusion of the documentary could be that hemp may prove to be a valid alternative to both oil and wood in the future.
"Gill & Jed's Animated Adventure" (30-minute animated action short) should change pot law wehn I've finished writing it.
America - where you're free unless prohibited by law. All 20 million of them, mostly designed to tell you what you can't do with your own body.
Hemp would bring back America's industrial base. We could make all kinds of things... food, clothes, fuel, "plastics", fabrications of all kinds. The possibilities are endless, but 1st we need to have a government that is not working against what's best for the American people.
Its all about control even though it could benefit everyone .The sad part is the people or person before us didn't see the future generation demand or cares to use there resources when its necessary..
ok we all know hemp is the way we need to move in the future, we should be doing it now.
so why aren't we? because of laws made to cage us?restrict us? make us safe?
why does this madness continue?
gheghe. ok: i have 'researched' and found that that hemp and cannabis are not the same thing... better? :)
laurence, to think is good, to research - better.
@jackseal: strictly speaking hemp & cannabis are not the same... i think that hemp is a strain of the cannabis family...
@adam: reefer madness WAS a propoganda movie and its very funny, i 'highly' recommend it. The (english state controlled) BBC have made a doco on "How Drugs Work" where the narrator calls marijuana a "herbal terrorist" that hijacks the mind whilst following a group of young lads having a peaceful walk in the woods, and narrates on their paranoia when they stop to look at some ants, and their mental confusion when they stop to cross a small stream... Completely bizarre, but quite hilarious...
i say we the weed smokers of this world need a weed day...yes national Marijuana day also we all plant a seed that day then what they gonna do jail us all...i don't think so,
@laurence...“reefer madness” seems like a Nazi propaganda film to me.
It's truly a shame that here in the States that a most versatile and truly beatiful plant remains illegal. I believe that the uses proposed in this film are just the tip of the iceberg. Not to mention, that to spark up a fatty of some fine herb every now and then, is a pleasure unto itself.
Dump politicians have a lot to answer for...I am gonna buy 100 acres and grow hemp.
the dame in the movie "reefer madness" (part 2 approx 28 mins) plays pretty good piano when she is stoned... looks a little crazed though... she should add a little less tobacco...
@Chris
Hemp & Cannabis ARE THE SAME - Research fool!
I heard it shrinks the nards! Can't say for sure. Dunno about cancer, other than it's supposed to make cancer patients feel less pain. Perhaps that is what God made it for.
You overgeneralize American thinking, for one. Secondly, there has never been a case of a cannabis smoker ever getting cancer. All tests from smokers that excercize regularly to those who don't show little to no decrease in lung capacity. Smoking through a bong helps lower whatever carcinogens there are, anyway.
Finally, vaporizers, oral spray, creams, gels, food, butter, drinks, etc. etc. It can be used with very no ill-effects. Study after study shows there is no correlation to brain damage or cancer, whatsoever. In fact, cannabis has shown anti-cancer and brain cell promoting properties.
at least i live in victoria b.c. where weed is basically acepted as legal. if you get caught with it they just take it from you.
@Refa
I apologise if you were hanging on for a reply :D
In the case of that incident in the Netherlands, just from what you have described that was not an issue of legality, instead a bureaucratic misunderstanding. Their operation was still legal even if the police did not acknowledge it. While I'm not saying that a similar event could not occur here, if it did it would not invalidate the legality of growing hemp in Australia.
Now as for growing: yes, if required (I'm no expert on the specifics of hemp farming), they would have to kill the female plants, that is called selective breeding. It is a technique utilised in the farming of virtually everything in order to create a desired product. The hermaphroditic qualities of hemp are far from unique, it is simply another consideration when farming it. Concerning your dog analogy, what you described is actually close to a repugnant clandestine practice used in competitive dog breeding, puppies with unwanted traits (including sex) are liable to be discarded or killed.
Yes non-narcotic hemp does contain THC, in concentrations comparable to the average front lawn. Certainly, someone could distill the THC present into an effective drug but they could just as easily sniff paint, glue or aerosols: all readily available from the hardware store. Do you know how much hemp you would need to generate a hit, let alone enough to market? In Australia we have real marijuana out the wazoo anyway, if people want it they will get it.
Finally, of course we can't legislate against flatulence (it is an unavoidable bodily function) but I will say this: make a point of farting (or any inconsiderate behaviour) regularly next to other people and see how many friends you make.
Later man ;D
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@HoboBoxerJoe
To start, let me establish where I am coming from.
I am not a senile pensioner who believes that drugs are the root cause of all evil/societal unrest etc. I am in my early twenties, fit, active and working to enjoy life while minimising my impact on the environment. I have never used illegal drugs, not because I see them as abhorrent, taboo substances but because I think they are a stupid, trivial waste of time and money. They are a pointless consumable, equal to junk food, home electronics and 'lifestyle accessories' on the long list of irrelevant items us denizens of the first-world dwell on. I realise that many people are hell bent on getting intoxicated for whatever reason and I honestly support the concept of government regulated legalisation (of everything) if for the single reason of destroying the criminal element that feeds off of the drug demand.
The only reason I referenced an Australian anti-drug site in my previous comment was to juxtapose with the hemp grower's site, invalidating Refa's comment that hemp could never be grown without marijuana legalisation. At best I believe they are a pathetic representation of hypocritical coddling.
That said, if you think you can convince me that smoke inhalation "does very little damage to you", and henceforth I should not "worry" you are hopelessly misguided. Even if second-hand smoking was harmless IT STINKS (more than just aromatically). Have you really forgotten how unpleasant, as a non-smoker, it can be to be surrounded by smokers (marijuana or tobacco) or having to occupy a smoky room?
My argument was always do whatever you want provided the location is fitting (considering legality, culture, practicality etc) and your company (not just the people immediately involved but everyone/thing your activity will affect) are consenting, all within reason. That is simple criteria applied to gauge the appropriateness of actions in context; why should smoking be exempt?
On a side note I am an Australian, I do not care for American conspiracy theories. In a country full of conspiracy nuts what the American public fail to consider is that their country is an obese, brain-dead failure; a puppet for multi-national corporations of their own creation, who now wield near total control and insist on stifling the freedom and liberty of the rest of the world. Yet, not unlike Mao's China, Americans still think they are leading the world, 'the last superpower'. They gladly embrace the biggest lie of all as it chokes them.
A person can[ and most likely will] overindulge in a wide variety of things. Food, beer, jogging [do I hear screams?], pc game playing,picking at zits,cleaning fanaticism, spouting opinions [guilty right here] smoking the demon weed,never smoking same,driving too fast,worrying,gossiping, the list goes on. For fun.make up your own. All things in ,at least, a modicum of moderation, on the other pseudopod, one humans'excessiveness may be another sentient species moderation. Must teleport off now. Grftapds to all.
@Omi,
You really shouldn't worry about people smoking marijuana around you. Studies continually show that the smoke from it does very little damage to you. The only damage being done is the heated plant material being directly inhaled into the lungs. Since it's too heavy for air, that is a good thing for people directly around the second-hand smoke who don't want it. Out in the open, you have more to worry about from the cars driving by you then you do a person smoking weed. You can either trust me or check out some of the other great documentaries on the subject. Like The Union: The Buisness of Getting High or its something very close to that, I found it on here. There are other good ones, as well as papers written that you can find via google that validate what I've said.
The tests done that suggest brain damage and many of the other ill-effects are myths. The study done with the chimps and apes was botched and used for misinformation right from the beginning. They knew this because of studies done over a six year period back in the 30s (cited from watching Grass, also on this site), which the government hid evidence of back then. The first drug czar, Anslinger, to be exact. The evidence said it made you happy, docile, creative at times, hungry, etc. They didn't want this information released, as it went against all their propaganda films of the time.
Later in the 50s and 60s this information was used saying it is a communist plot to make the American people docile. And people ate it up. A twenty year difference, maybe 25 tops and they flip the whole thing on its head.
The point is, most of the stuff out there like "The Truth about drugs" and "Say No" and "DARE" etc, are b@#$^&* campaigns. With lies and tactics that if you know how to spot, are quite blatant. And if you are educated, an insult.
hi all,
love this doc.
was an ey-opener for me at 15 or whatever when i first saw it.
seems like part of the solution to our "addiction to plastic",amongst other things.
and i ask you all to look at 00:02 seconds into that film, here on tdf. and tell me what you see..the solution.
i wanna make a permaculture home farm, maybe some hemp crops. if i can find a legal market in n.s.w.
in the words of charles b. it's "..the best fibre plant in the world.."
btw, does anyone see a contradiction in the below statement?
“Today, it looks like only those who respect the basic rights of others are welcome in this world”.
we all have a basic right to be welcome in this world.
Lmfao who are you people who dare say that pot is such a terrible substance... If a big slug of hard booze is better than smoking a little weed then I want the proof, there is none...The fact is , is that weed and booze are not even a match, booze kills, weed is an actual beniifit to mankind...Show me one scenario of a man or women who has come home and beat his kids or his wife/ husband..Lmao again, I can show you so many cases of men who have come home drunk and unhappy with there lives and murdered there families, top that you hippos lol...John
Lmao Chris... Man has been using pot for thousands of years now, yes to make clothes and rope but also to escape... Man has been using a substance to feel good since the beginning of time... It is in our genetic make up and there is nothing anybody can do about it... The law makers of our wonderful country (which is turning more and more communist every day) are probably some of the biggest offenders of the laws they pass against drugs than the average person... Just because you don't like pot or whatever, doesn't mean it's wrong for everybody else...
@ Omi: goverments are all the same, "legal" just means that certain people can get a permit to produce limited amounts. Just like morphine is legal in a hosptal, just like Coca Cola is allowed to import coca leaves to the US. Are YOU allowed to grow hemp, or even touch it? No, I didn't think so!
I Holland growing of Hemp is allowed if you have a permit. A university had a research project where they had a huge field of male plants, it was all legal. But somehow, it was "discovered" by someone who informed the police, and guess what they did? They came with a lot of police agents to remove all the plants! Half way through someone from the university came by to tell the police about the permit they had got from the goverment. It didn't stop the police from destroying all plants.
This is just an example of what those "legal" growers in your country can expect. One day, they will get arrested! This has been going on here for more then 25 years!
Remember what I said about the male and female plants. When you put seeds in the ground you just don't know in advance if a male or a female plant will grow. If you only want male plants, you have to kill the female plants. But they are grown nevertheless.
Then we also have hermafrodites, those are plants that are either both male and female, or who can change from male to female or vice versa during their lifetime.
So what I am saying is this: in a huge field their will always be some plants who chose to become female, and thus be illegal.
It is like allowing people only to have female dogs, and all male dogs need to be killed by law. Does that seem right to you?
BTW, the chemical substance, THC, is also present in Hemp, although at very low levels. A good chemist can isolate that substance and will still be able to make drugs from Hemp, they just can't make marijuana out of it, but hasj is still possible.
One last thing, since I am "winding" myself up: I think people like you should be thrown in jail for farting public, don't you? :-)
@ Refa, I wrote a couple of comments that have disappeared, I can't quite be bothered to re-write them bar one thing: commercial, industrial hemp production is legal in Australia (officially legalised in WA in 2004 for example), marijuana is still illegal nationwide. Enter "industrial hemp Australia" or "drug campaign Australia" into Google to find supporting info/company sites of the growers. I did not know this until after watching this doco and debating with you. Hopefully similar resolutions will be reached in other countries.