So what is Cannabis?

“Cannabis is the botanical name of an annual flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family”.  There are over 150 species in the Cannabis family, one of them being hemp. The farmers of Acadia have grown hemp (the same plant genus as marijuana but not the same species) since 1606 when Louis Hebert, Champlain’s apothecary, introduced the plant to North American white settlers. The production of hemp kept the French navy supplied with fibers for clothing and cordage and once the Colonial governments noticed how quickly they could benefit from the profits of hemp it actually became a crime to NOT produce the plant.

Along with the end of prohibition, protesters are also looking to reduce regulations on growing industrial hemp – a similar species as marijuana (pot) but a completely different plant. At the current moment Canadians can apply for an Industrial Hemp License through Health Canada but the amount of actual owners approved this year (only four in all of Canada!) for this license is baffling when presented with the facts.

In Praise of Hemp:

-Hemp can be harvested for many uses including fiber, clothing, clothing, bio fuel and paper

-Although industrial hemp does contain the hallucinogenic drug known as delta-9Tetrahyrocannabionol aka THC the levels are so low you cannot get high from the plant unlike the plant’s mood altering cousin, marijuana.

-Hemp fibers are the strongest fibers on the planet, organic and last longer than cotton.  100-year old paper made out of hemp has been recorded in museums to be still intact and un-yellowed!

-Hemp plants release so much oxygen that they could, offset any carbon monoxide their fuel would produce

-Hemp seeds contain essential amino and fatty acids

-Hemp plants are so adaptable that can be grown almost anywhere.

Jodie Emery is one of the biggest names in Canadian marijuana activism:

Public speaker, business owner, political activist. Wife of Marc Emery, Director of Cannabis Culture headquarters, Cannabis Culture Magazine and Pot TV.

Members of the Women’s Alliance of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada).

Lauren Schell/Moira Romano

www.norml.ca

www.cannabisculture.com

http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2012/05/08/Mainstream-Media-Coverage-2012-Global-Marijuana-March

http://cannabisclub.ca/