Hemp offers Hope for NC Farmers and Communities
Did you know that hemp requires no herbicides or pesticides, grows from seed to plant in four months, is low in labor, and is the perfect rotation crop due to its ability to detoxify and regenerate the soil it’s planted in?
Hemp products developed in the same community where hemp is farmed can create jobs from agriculture, transportation, processing, manufacturing and construction crews, creating an industry that “would be regionally sustainable and revive the local economy wherever it is grown,” according to Chris Conrad, author of Hemp for Health.
Take Action, Talk it Up!
• What happened to the The Studies Act of 2006″ that supposedly created an independent commission to study the beneficial uses of industrial hemp that was signed and passed into law by Gov. Easley on 8/16/06? Write Governor Beverly Perdue and your representatives and let them know you want industrial hemp farming to become a priority on NC’s legislative agenda.
Go to Vote Hemp’s comprehensive guide on how to lobby for hemp legislation. http://www.votehemp.com/lobbying.html
Governor Bev Perdue
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
PH: (919)733-4240
EMAIL: Bev.Perdue@nc.gov
• Join the NC Industrial Hemp Alliance on facebook
• Learn the truth about industrial hemp and talk about it with your neighbors, friends, family and co-workers.
For instance, despite the fact that industrial hemp has no psychoactive properties, the DEA considers it a Schedule I substance, grouped alongside heroin. America’s Founding Fathers grew hemp, and Henry Ford himself manufactured a car from hemp in 1941 that ran on hemp-based ethanol fuel.
• Support our documentary film and share this website!
Can NC afford short-term solutions that are going to take a further toll upon our health, environment and energy usage in the long run?
Push Design and Hemp Technologies in Asheville, NC are leading the nation in the next frontier in green building with the construction of America’s First Hemp House. Let’s follow their historic lead of putting the health of NC’s residents at the heart of the green building movement, and rejuvenate the construction industry by building hemp houses and buildings throughout the state from the mountains to our beautiful coast, instead of courting industries that add pollutants to NC’s air, waterways and ecologically sensitive areas.
For example, Wilmington, NC is considering bringing Titan Cement Co. to our coast as part of an economic development plan for the community. Reports about toxic pollution from cement plants could actually have a negative effect upon Wilmington’s economy, because families wouldn’t want their children to live near the nations 4th largest cement plant. The plant would expose an estimated 8,700 students enrolled within 5 miles of Titan’s property to an increased risk of asthma and respiratory illness. Titan Cement would emit nearly 350 tons of particulate matter each year, including mercury, a known carcinogenic. Mercury was 1 of 8 chemicals recently highlighted in the President’s Cancer Panel Report. The proposed plant could destroy 1000 acres of irreplaceable wetlands. Hempcrete could be used in many of the same applications as concrete, offering a carbon-neutral solution — not dangerous pollution.
It’s time for NC and Wilmington to embrace a greener future. Then we can advertise a healthy, green state and healthy communities, where young families and entrepreneurs want to plant their roots. NC’s economy, health and environment will all thrive together.
* from “Hemp is Not Pot: It’s the Economic Stimulus and Green Jobs Solution We Need” (http://www/alternet.org/story/133055)
