Hemp

Hemp

Many people all around the world mistakenly think that hemp and cannabis are two different plants. The truth is that hemp is just a common name for cannabis and it never stood for any particular species or strain.

However, nowadays we use the term hemp (or industrial hemp) when we want to refer to strains cultivated for industrial (non drug) purposes – i.e. legally cultivated strains containing less than 0.2percent THC (0.3percent in some countries such as the Czech Republic).

Many Uses without the High

Industrial hemp will not get you high, but it has many other uses: you can make paper, textiles, fuel or biodegradable plastics out of it; it can be used in construction, healthy foods etc. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses known and one of the earliest domesticated plants known.

Among other reasons why hemp is environmentally friendly, we can mention the following: it requires little pesticides or herbicides, produces oxygen and helps control erosion of the topsoil.

Furthermore, hemp strains may not contain THC, but they may still contain other cannabinoids (such as CBD), terpenes and other compounds with medicinal properties. The biggest hemp growers are China and Canada followed by EU countries such as France and the Netherlands.