Los Angeles Green Festival - Hemp

Los Angeles just hosted its 3rd annual Green Festival in October at the LA Mart in downtown Los Angeles. This eco-friendly convention showcased many different companies, movements, and ideas surrounding the green/environmental movement in America and around the world.

While there are a multitude of topics I could cover, I decided on hemp, a prominent figure in the convention showing up in many different forms, and providing a wide variety of environmental benefits.

With the multitude of ways hemp can benefit American society, it is still illegal to grow in the United States, due to the stigma of association to it’s THC filled counterpart. The irony of this is that the US Constitution was written on hemp paper and was widely used and farmed for most of America’s history.

In 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act was passed to tax all cannabis products in the USA. Some believe this was a way to strangle the hemp industry, which was creating products that last, which is not as profitable as disposable products which would replace hemp. In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act was signed into law by President Nixon, during the onset of the War on Drugs which placed cannabis as a schedule I substance, along with LSD and heroin. New legislation in states has legalized medical and recreational use of marijuana, but it remains in schedule I. Moreover, hemp is still included in this list and remains illegal to grow but importable under strict regulation.

While widely viewed as the same plant as marijuana, more people are speaking out about the difference, the lack of THC, and the immense opportunities hemp holds for our future society, keeping our environment in mind.

In the health food and vegan movements, hemp is no stranger. The vast health benefits the seeds and oil contain have recently given it the distinguished title of a Super Food. For vegans (and most people), it is the best source of a protein and for everyone, it is the best source of the correct Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids ratio. It also contains iron, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, and many other vitamins and minerals. It is also delicious.
 
Hemp clothing has been around for a long time. Generally viewed as heavy, dense, and with a scratchy texture similar to wool, it has evolved greatly with the quality and texture of the cloth, with some pieces of clothing indistinguishable from cotton. But hemp is superior to its cotton competition. It is much stronger and is much more environmentally friendly. Hemp is a high yield fiber, which means that a lot of material can be used from one crop and it matures in about 90-120 days.
 
The most fascinating example of hemps use came in a wall. This wall was made entirely of hemp. Granted, there was not an entire wall to showcase but just a small piece, the use of hemp as a building material had never occurred to me prior. Using hemp instead of toxic materials can prevent illness within the home, it can reduce the threat of mildew, fire, and pest infestation. It also naturally insulates homes better, increasing energy efficiency and is carbon-neutral. The best part is that it is much more affordable, which can be very good news for poor communities around the world.

Dr. Bronner’s is a strong advocate of hemp, and uses it in many of their products. At their stand during the festival, a very friendly lady distracted me from the rainbow of soaps to discuss her new film, Bringing it Home which looks at the benefits of hemp and why it should be legal to grow in the United States once again. She was actually the lady with the piece of wall and I got the impression that using hemp as a building material is a large part of the film

With the widening variety of uses hemp has to offer and the current trend of social acceptance of marijuana, one can only hope that the ten states fighting the DEA over their ability to grow and cultivate hemp on their soil will soon win their battle and be followed by other states hungry for the sustainable, profitable plant. Conventions like the Green Festival in Los Angeles are happy to continue to spread awareness and instill a change of opinion about the cannabis plant until that change comes.