HEMP HISTORY Hemp or Cannabis use has existed for over ten thousand years, and is one of the oldest crops used for cultivation. Civilisations worlwide discovered the five uses for hemp which include; hempen fibers, oil from the seeds, the seeds for food, a medicine, and for its narcotic properties. Scroll this page to learn about the history and uses of hemp: World Wide Hemp Industries Hemp is A Viable Environmentally Sound Energy Source Hemp For Cleaning Our Environment Hemp Plastics Hemp Paper and the Hemp Pulp Industry WORLD WIDE HEMP INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA - Tasmania research trials began in 1990. Victoria commercial production since1998. New South Wales has research. In 2002 Queensland began production. AUSTRIA has a hemp industry including production of hempseed oil, medicinals and Hanf magazine. CANADA started to license research crops in 1994 on an experimental basis. Licenses for commercial agriculture saw thousands of acres planted in 1998. 30,000 acres planted in 1999. A number of Canadian farmers are now growing organically certified hemp crops. CHILE has grown hemp in the recent past for seed oil production. CHINA is the largest exporter of hemp paper and textiles. The fabrics are of excellent quality. (ma) DENMARK planted its first modern hemp trials in 1997. Committed to utilizing organic methods. FINLAND had a resurgence of hemp in 1995 with several small test plots. A seed variety for northern climates was developed: Finola. In 2003, Finola was accepted to the EU list of subsidized hemp cultivars. (hamppu) FRANCE harvested 10,000 tons in 1994. France is the main source of low-thc producing hempseed. (chanvre) GERMANY only banned hemp in 1982, but research began in 1992 and many technologies and products are being developed. Clothes and paper are being made from imported raw materials. Germany lifted the ban on growing hemp November, 1995. Mercedes and BMW use hemp fiber for composites. (hanf) GREAT BRITAIN lifted hemp prohibition in 1993. Animal bedding, paper and textiles have been developed. A government grant was given to develop new markets for natural fibers. 4,000 acres were grown in 1994. Subsidies of $230 Eng. pounds per acre are given by the govt. for growing. HUNGARY is rebuilding their hemp industry, and is one of the biggest exporters of hemp cordage, rugs and hemp fabric to the U.S. They also export hemp seed and hemp paper. Fiberboard is also made. (kender) INDIA has large stands of naturalized Cannabis and uses it for cordage, textiles, and seed oil. JAPAN has a religious tradition requiring the Emperor wear hemp garments, so there is a small plot maintained for the imperial family only. They have a thriving retail market selling a variety of hemp products. (asa) NETHERLANDS is conducting a four year study to evaluate and test hemp for paper, and is developing processing equipment. Seed breeders are developing new strains of low-thc varieties. (hennep) NEW ZEALAND started hemp trials in 2001. Various cultivars are being planted in the North and South. POLAND currently grows hemp for fabric and cordage and manufactures hemp particle board. They have demonstrated the benefits of using hemp to cleanse soils contaminated by heavy metals. (konopij) ROMANIA was the largest commercial producer of hemp in Europe in the late 80's & early 90's. Total acreage in 1993 was 40,000 acres. Some of it is exported to Hungary for processing, also to Western Europe and the United States. (cinepa) RUSSIA maintains the largest hemp germ plasm collection in the world at the N.I. Vavilov Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) in Saint Petersburg. They are in need of funds. (konoplya) SLOVENIA grows hemp and manufactures currency paper. SPAIN grows and exports hemp pulp for paper and produces rope and textiles. (cañamo) SWITZERLAND is a producer of hemp and hosts one of the largest hemp events: Cannatrade EGYPT, KOREA, PORTUGAL, THAILAND, and the UKRAINE also produce hemp. USA - The United States granted the first hemp permit in over 40 years to Hawaii for an experimental quarter acre plot in 1999. The license has been renewed since. Importers and manufacturers have thrived using imported raw materials. Twenty-two states in the United States have introduced legislation. VT, HI, ND, MT, MN, IL, VA, NM, CA, AR, KY, MD, WV have passed legislation for support, research, or cultivation. The National Conference of State Legislators has endorsed        Read an article covering the History of Hemp worldwide HEMP IS A VIABLE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND ENERGY SOURCE In Australia and New Zealand Hemp fibre is being used as a fibreglass replacement to produce an exceptional structural material for use in buildings and even bridges! The company requires at least 10,000 tonnes per year of fibre for a pilot run, and requests are already being received from major construction firms overseas. Another company is working on developing a biodegradable mop-up material made from Hemp fibre impregnated with oil-eating bacteria. This product is targeted at small industrial workshops with a view to expanding into large industrial operations. A range of other companies is seriously exploring the potential for incorporating Hemps natural organic fibre into their products for environmental reasons. Unlike synthetics, Hemp fibre is renewable and will eventually breakdown. More importantly though, Hemp has a number of attractive characteristics including being the longest and strongest natural fibre known to man. Growing a Hemp crop is analogous to growing forage sorghum, requiring the same equipment and seedbed preparation. Industrial Hemp is grown as a high plant densities to ensure long straight stems and with good crop establishment, does not require herbicides or insecticides. Reports from Hemp growing regions around the world suggest that a crop of Hemp reconditions the soil, suppresses weeds and even boosts the yield of successive wheat crops. There is also the likely benefit of providing a break in the build up of various insects when rotated with cotton. There is a range of harvesting options available, which depend on where the fibre is to be sent to and used for, and how much value-adding is feasible on-farm. While there is a growing demand for industrial Hemp fibre world wide and it is relatively easy to grow, it should be noted that this crop is still in its trial phase in Australia, and is not yet part of a commercial production system. Today every State in Australia has legislation in place that allows for industrial Hemp trials under licence. Victoria has just introduced legislation permitting commercial production of the crop, but has yet to streamline the transportation of raw material from farm to end-user. Queensland has the most realistic legislation in place for trialling industrial Hemp that takes into account the need to transport material off the farm. Australian Hemp Resource and Manufacture has commenced a tropical/sub-tropical industrial Hemp breeding program and have already found cultivars that are expected to double the yields of currently available European varieties.   HEMP FOR CLEANING OUR ENVIRONMENT Solvents and Cleaners The market for natural cleaners has been in evidence for many years. Now industry is realizing what consumers have known all along; that a good cleaning job does not necessarily require chemicals. That means a rapidly growing natural cleaning market. Currently, some European companies are producing Hemp oil based cleaners. Hemp oil detergents can be used in commercial grade laundries and dishwashers, as well as to clean engines and bodies of trains, automobiles and airplanes. Hemp based general purpose cleaners are effective alternatives for all household cleaning applications. Why do we use petroleum based cleaning products? Are they better than natural cleaners? Are they less expensive? In many cases, the answer is "no". All cleaning products rely on "surfactants" (agents which act on surfaces). Many synthetic surfactants are derived from petroleum or other chemicals.  Natural surfactants, from vegetable oils, can do the job as well or better than chemical-based surfactants. Some companies that use chemical surfactants must pay to treat their polluted wastewater in order to comply with environmental laws. Why not just use natural biodegradable cleaners and be done with it? European tests indicate that Hemp seed oil based natural surfactant cleaners work as well or better than those based on other oils such as coconut, soy or canola. Hemp based products can clean everything from windows and furniture to jet airplane engines. As well, Hemp oil is a candidate for many of the industrial applications covered by linseed (flax) oil.  Hemp based products can clean everything from windows and furniture to jet airplane engines. As well, Hemp oil is a candidate for many of the industrial applications covered by linseed (flax) oil. Hemp oil has a natural drying agent and is used in paints, varnishes and sealants which render wood highly resistant to water. In fact, up until 1937, all quality paints were made with a base of Hemp oil. HEMP PLASTICS 100% biodegradable Hemp plastics are now available in various forms. The first Hemp plastic product to be commercially produced was a high fly, leading to a CD and DVD tray produced in 2004. Hemp is used to reinforce regular plastics. The Hemp content of such materials is approximately 20%. Hemp's long fiber and specialised matrix ensure the resultant material is stronger and lighter than regular materials. Of course the 20% Hemp fibers are a replacement for some 20% of the oil based plastics used today. Hemp can also be made into compressed door panel and dashboards. Carmakers such as Ford, GM, Chrysler, Saturn, BMW, and Mercedes are currently using Hemp composite door panels, trunks, head liners, etc.  The viability of Hemp as a composite material was demonstrated over fifty years ago by Henry Ford. In 1941, after twelve years of research, his Ford Motor Co. unveiled an experimental car made of cellulosic fibres including Hemp, flax, wheat straw and sisal plus 30% resin binders, molded under a hydraulic pressure of 1,500 p.s.i. (Popular Mechanics, 1941, pp1-3; Robinson, 1996, p138). Ford's prototype car was reported to have ten times the impact resistance of steel, and weighed 1,000lbs less than a comparable steel car (Popular Mechanics, 1941, pp1-3). Now European car makers like BMW are again testing Hemp products, under increasing pressure to meet European Commission criteria for 70 percent of a car's parts to be made from recyclable material by the year 2000 (Reuters, 1996). John Hobson, general manager at Hemcore, is confident. "We see Hemp as partly replacing fibreglass in the door panels and the roof lining" (Reuters, 1996) In 1941 Henry Ford made a car out of Hemp and other composites and bio-plastics that were more resistant to blows from a sledge hammer than other steel cars were.  These composites are less expensive than dangerous fiberglass counterparts. Hemp fiberglass replacements would only cost $10 to $15 a kilo. These Hemp composites could replace carbon and glass fibers, which have environmental and weight problems, and run from 60 cents to $10 dollars a kilo. Celluloid, the first commercial plastic, introduced in the 1880s, was made from cotton, whilst Bakelite, common in the 1920s, was a plastic derived from wood pulp. Cellophane and rayon, the first plastic film and synthetic fibre respectively, are still made from cellulose derived from trees/ecosytems (Morris & Ahmed, 1995). HEMP CONCRETE and BUILDING PRODUCTS     Watch our Hemp Video to learn more about our Hemp Building Products  >>