The Impact of US on Hemp

The Impact of US on Hemp

From sustaining ancient civilizations to being shunned by modern States, the legal impact on the growth of hemp has seen a great degree of change over the years. Hemp has gone through a rocky road to make a well-deserved comeback. But the harrows of the negative State action and debilitating legislation still haunt the hemp industry. It might be hard to believe considering the US’s stance on hemp, but its cultivation was encouraged in the period from 1600s-1800s. But things took a turn for the worst for hemp from the 1900s and the negative impact is still felt today. Among the developed nations of the world, The United States of America holds the most sway over world affairs and hence the discriminatory legislation passed against hemp in 1960 seriously impacted the growth and potential of the industry and the people.

Read more about World Hemp history

The cultivation of Hemp also comes with its set of economic challenges. The stunted growth of the hemp industry as compared to other natural fiber giants like Cotton is the most evident impact of the propaganda of the 1900s resulted in. The Ban promoted by the US led a trend, and other countries followed suit which set back the hemp industry by several decades as compared to their competitors which saw an increased demand at the turn of the century. Despite the obvious benefits of Hemp, it could not seize the market because of fear and misinformation about the plant which is still widely prevalent today. This unpopularity caused a market demand shift in the favor of cotton, which is another reason why the hemp industry is not growing as fast as its counterparts. All the current infrastructure along with agricultural practices are more suited to process cash crops and not hemp making it impossible to streamline its production. While Farmers today are leaping to grow hemp there are still not enough of them to generate enough raw hemp to compete with other sectors. The dependency of farmers which resulted from the ban in the 1900s resulted in the decreased profitability of growing hemp which in turn developed a negative stance for the crop in the agrarian communities.

Read more about popular hemp myths

A Bright Future Ahead

The Hemp industry has been seeing steady growth, and unearthing the vast potential will still take time due to the impact left by the bans across the globe. Ingenuity and new innovations in the industry are challenging the established norms to re-integrate hemp into the market as a legitimate player. In recent decades the US has also passed several legislations that have ratified hemp products and many countries around the world have done the same. With law back on hemp’s side, the industry is growing faster than ever. Hence, hemp is set to make a legitimate comeback into the market in due time.

Source and References

1. Jenni Avins, What the legal cannabis industry owes the victims of the drug war, Quartz (Jan 25, 2019) https://qz.com/1482349/weed-and-reparations/
2. 3 Ways the Hemp Industry is Changing Agriculture and the Economy Forever, Unity College (April 3, 2020) https://unity.edu/sustainability/3-ways-the-hemp-is-changing-agriculture-and-the-economy-forever/
3. Marijuana Timeline, Frontline https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html