Hemp :: essays research papers

HempPREAMBLE     As we enter a new millennium, we find ourselves reevaluating the pathsweve chosen and the decisions weve made. arrive we made the best with whatweve got or are we stumbling in the dark? How many gaps riddle the blanket ofour k todayledge?     The problem lies in how we make sense of where were heading. Do wechoose the path of economics and progress or do we choose the path ofenvironmentalism and sustainability? Is there a median available for us to takewhere the putting surface of economy and environment are balanced or are we doomed toblindly continue the path of short-term gain and comfort . . . living prohibited aflawed paradigm?     Canada is a prime example of a country that is continually weighing itspower and influence on the natural and manmade worlds. Weve fix ourselvessitting on the global fence between our magliomaniacal brother to the south andour staunch traditionalist motherland to the eas t. From this division of powersand alliances we find ourselves locked into a self-induced ignorance andstifling conservatism. Its ironic that we have the opportunity to solve mostof Canadas critical environmental issues in one fell swoop . . . with onesimple plant. It is ignorance and the maintenance of the status quo that hasblind and crippled our ability to realize this resource.INTRODUCTION     A plant exists that is so strong that it can be grown without requiringchemicals in almost every slice of the world. Many have touted this plant as apossible way in which to wean society from its dependence on fossil fuels forenergy and the lease to log forests for pulp, paper and wood. It is even saidthat this plant could adequately clothe and feed the world more efficiently andcheaply than we can do now     Why is this miracle plant not used if all evidence points to itsversatility? The answer is bogged down in a century of law, sociology, theco rporate agenda and conspiracy theories.      Since the archaean part of thecentury, hemp has been considered a drug, though it has no euphoric attributes.Hemp the wonder plant and possible solution to the bulk of our problems isillegal only because it is seen as guilty by its association with marijuana.     Hemp is a herbaceous plant called "cannabis sativa", which means useful(sativa) hemp (cannabis). Fiber is the best known product, and the parole hempcan also mean the rope or twine which is made from the plant, as well as justthe stalk of the plant which produced it.     History has be its acceptance of hemp both the U.