The film also investigates why America went from a country which produced vast quantities of the non-narcotic industrial hemp, to the complete ban on hemp production in 1938. This story in particular is interesting, and it points out that the large oilbased industries actually had a key role in the aforementioned ban. Food for thought!

• Paper, printing paper, fine papers, newsprint, filter papers
• Cardboard, organic biodegradable packaging
• All plastics from cellophane to dynamite
• Wood: 2x4s, structural wood, fiberboard
• Insulation, fiberglass
• Cement blocks, stucco, mortar
• Composites like the body for a Mercedes or a Stealth Bomber
• Animal bedding, mulch, mushroom compost

USDA Bulletin #404 Hemp Hurds as paper Making Material said 4x more yield than trees for paper. On an annual basis, 1 acre of hemp will produce as much paper as 2 to 4 acres of trees. From tissue paper to cardboard, all types of paper products can be produced from hemp. Global demand for paper will double within 25 years. Unless tree-free sources of paper are developed, there is no way to meet future demand without causing massive deforestation and environmental damage. Hemp is the world’s most promising source of tree-free paper.

The quality of hemp paper is superior to tree-based paper. Hemp paper will last hundreds of years without degrading, can be recycled many more times than tree-based paper, and requires less toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process than does paper made from trees.

Thousands of products made from petroleum-based plastics can be produced from hemp-based composites. Mercedes Benz of Germany has recently begun manufacturing automobile bodies and dashboards made from hemp.

Australia is giving their national forests away by selling their trees for $70-$80/ton – while renewable Hemp would easily fetch $400/ton.