Myths and Realities about Hemp

In the United States, the debate about the relationship between hemp and marijuana has been
diminished by the dissemination of many statements that have little scientific support. This
report examines in detail ten of the most pervasive and pernicious of these myths.

Myth: United States law has always treated hemp and marijuana the same.
Reality: The history of federal drug laws clearly shows that at one time the U.S. government understood
and accepted the distinction between hemp and marijuana.

Myth: Smoking industrial hemp gets a person high.
Reality: The THC levels in industrial hemp are so low that no one could get high from smoking it.
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."

Myth: Even though THC levels are low in hemp, the THC can be extracted and
concentrated to produce a powerful drug.
Reality: 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.

Myth: Hemp fields would be used to hide marijuana plants.
Reality: Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Moreover, it is harvested at a different time than
marijuana. Finally, cross-pollination between hemp plants and marijuana plants would significantly reduce
the potency of the marijuana plant.

Myth: Legalizing hemp while continuing the prohibition on marijuana would burden
local police forces.
Reality: In countries where hemp is grown as an agricultural crop, the police have experienced no such
burdens.

Myth: Feral hemp must be eradicated because it can be sold as marijuana.
Reality: Feral hemp, or ditchweed, is a remnant of the hemp once grown on more than 400,000 acres by
U.S. farmers. It 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. Might it be that the drug enforcement agencies want to convince us that ditchweed is hemp in
order to protect their large eradication budgets?

Myth: Those who want to legalize hemp are actually seeking a backdoor way to
legalize marijuana.
Reality: It is true that many of the first hemp stores were started by industrial-hemp advocates who were
also in favor of legalizing marijuana. However, as the hemp industry has matured, it has come to be
dominated by those who see hemp as the agricultural and industrial crop that it is, and see hemp
legalization as a different issue than marijuana legalization. In any case, should we oppose a very good idea
simply because some of those who support it also support other ideas with which we disagree?

Myth: Hemp oil is a source of THC.
Reality: Hemp oil is an increasingly popular product, used for an expanding variety of purposes. The
washed hemp seed contains no THC at all. The tiny amounts of THC contained in industrial hemp are in
the glands of the plant itself. Sometimes, in the manufacturing process, some THC- and CBD-containing
resin sticks to the seed, resulting in traces of THC in the oil that is produced. The concentration of these
cannabinoids in the oil is infinitesimal. No one can get high from using hemp oil.

Myth: Legalizing hemp would send the wrong message to children.
Reality: It is the current refusal of the drug enforcement agencies to distinguish between an agricultural crop
and a drug crop that is sending the wrong message to children.

Myth: Hemp is not economically viable, and should therefore be outlawed.
Reality: The market for hemp products is growing rapidly. But even if it were not, when has a crop ever
been outlawed simply because government agencies thought it would be unprofitable to grow?

A full version link of this article as well as an excellent selection of readings specific to hemp is
found at:

http://www.gametec.com/hemp/archives.html