There’s understandably, a lot of confusion in the difference between hemp vs marijuana and CBD. We were confused too, so we dug in deep to better understand this hot topic of the day.
We’re not only interested in possibly using marijuana and hemp medically, but we also researched it toward considering growing it as a cash crop. So sharing some of what we’ve learned here with you, including our own experience of using it and how it can affect different people differently.
Also Clary Sage for people and pets!
You can’t get high on hemp but you can get help – medicinal help in the form of pure CBD oil, proven to be helpful for pets and people alike.*
*DISCLAIMER: This is informational, not prescriptive and not all experience the same results or benefits.
Hemp Legalized in US on December 20, 2018
On December 20, 2018, Congress passed hemp legalization and President Trump signed it. This set the US on the cusp of a new kind of industrial revolution. Industrial is becoming legal nationwide, which is a very good thing for the future of the economy and ecology of our country.
Growing low THC cannabis is also most beneficial to entrepreneurs and farmers. Many entrepreneurs and aspiring farmers began seeking business opportunities in cannabis. Some are — or are aspiring to — create all kinds of industry and family legacy businesses around it.
Imported hemp has been in all kinds of products for years. The 2018 hemp legalization bill brings the farming and supply back to our shores and economy.
Cannabis is not a Bad Word
With tens of thousands of known uses and benefits, the re-introduction of hemp into modern culture has the potential to revolutionize key sectors of our lives. Cannabis will transform farming, medicine and nutrition, paper and plastic, energy and food, construction and textiles.
We’re excited that the legislative approval of medicinal hemp will likely improve wider spread acceptance of plant medicine and healing through herbs.
Legalization of hemp production should bolster the medicinal herb industry as well.
Hemp production can revolutionize farming. From medicine and nutrition, to paper and plastics, energy and food, as well as construction and textiles, hemp uses and benefits are many.
You can’t get high on hemp but you can get help – medicinal help in the form of pure CBD oil.
What is the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana?
It’s important to make a clear distinction between the rope and the dope… between hemp and marijuana.
Marijuana and hemp are both cannabis. The difference is that Mari is high in THC… hemp is high in TLC.
Marijuana and hemp are of the same species known as Cannabis sativa. However, hemp has only traces of THC.
You CANNOT Get High on Hemp
HEMP contains a minuscule amount of the intoxicant THC (.3% max).
You CAN Get High on Marijuana
MARIJUANA, (AKA: pot, sativa, bhang, kush, weed, ganja, pakalolo) contains mind altering levels of THC.
MARIJUANA vs HEMP
Hemp = not high
Marijuana = high
Cannabis Sativa
We will leave the marijuana off to its own for now with all its attendant pros and cons and moral sticky wickets. It’s taken some digging to unravel the actual differences since both marijuana and hemp are of the same species (Cannabis sativa).
But, like dogs which trace their lineage back to wolves, over the centuries the hemp and marijuana plants have been selectively bred for their specific uses.
Just like a Rottweiler bears vague resemblance to a chihuahua thanks to their common heritage, what we have are same species but different varieties. Note below the visual differences in that cool graphic by CBD Origin. [1]https://cbdorigin.com/
Hemp and Marijuana are same species but different varieties.
A Curious Bit of History
So, how did the non-psychoactive hemp get lumped in with the psychoactive marijuana as a Schedule One Drug on par with heroin, LSD, and meth?
Perhaps, the better question would pertain as to why hemp was relegated to a higher degree of control than the highly addictive cocaine, oxycodone, and fentanyl drugs?
Influence and Power
Tracking back to the 1930’s, the very utility of hemp as a long-standing source for paper and emerging formulations into plastic did not align with certain magnates of the newspaper and chemical industries.
Those titans owned vast tracts of timber and the latter had petro-sourced plastics and fiberglass in mind. Couple this with the end of prohibition which left law enforcement bureaucracies looking for something to do.
Thus they targeted marijuana, including hemp, both of which became illegal under the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. All sorts of misinformation and conflation with hard drugs and crime was widely disseminated.
Criminalizing hemp was a convenient target that served several agendas.
Perceptions Over Realities
Then in 1970, US Congress passed and then President Nixon, signed off on the Controlled Substances Act which categorized drugs according to perceived potential for abuse and medical applications (if any).
Cannabis (marijuana and hemp) was placed in the top tier of controlled substances as having no medical applications, being highly addictive, and very prone to abuse.
In spite of valid refutations and protests, all types of cannabis went onto the Schedule One list. Some believe it was because Nixon had it in for the pot-smoking anti-war hippy protestors.[2]https://time.com/4298038/marijuana-history-in-america/
HEMP
Hemp is Now Officially Legal in the USA
Fast forward to today, hemp officially becomes legalized on 12/20/2018 with the passing of the Farm Bill. The full fledged impact of this liberated resource has only just begun to take effect.
Marijuana may indeed follow on the same path to legalization. Time will tell. However, the entire focus of this article is on hemp and its derivatives like CBD (Cannabidiol) which have no intoxicating effects yet yield an astounding array of benefits and uses.
In fact, the more we explore the potentials and applications, the more impressed we are that hemp production will foster an enormous growth industry, beneficial for all.
Hemp Passes with Bipartisan Approval
Given that a significant number of states in the US have legalized the high-producing (TLC laden) weed to lesser or greater extents, it’s not a big surprise that the low-THC industrial hemp could be federally unfettered through a bipartisan passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.
In fact, one of the main proponents was Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who sees the potential for beleaguered tobacco farmers in Kentucky switching to hemp.
The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill will do much to launch industrial hemp into a whole new frontier. It will remove the constraints on advertising, interstate commerce, banking, and financial services. CBD is included in all the provisions as well.
Beleaguered tobacco farmers may now turn to hemp.
CBD — Cannabidiol has no intoxicating effects, yet has many benefits and uses.
Journey of Discovery into Hemp, CBD and Hemp Oil
While the legalization of hemp proceeds, we’re basically trying to gauge the relevance for ourselves as landowners, investors, and consumers of naturopathic remedies. As such, we welcome you, our friends and followers, to tag along on this journey of discovery.
We’ll do our best to properly inform and deliver objective research. You also have the open invitation to pitch in with your own perspective and experience, which we may also share here.
Here’s a bit of a disclaimer:
Some of our followers are already up to speed on the topic of industrial hemp. And we know a number of you are amateur growers of the alternate species. Sites, publications, blogs, and news articles abound. We came into this research and are of interested by accident.
We launched into learning about cannabis quite by accident. A car accident in fact.
We Bumped into Hemp and CBD… backwards sort of
Several weeks ago, a distracted driver plowed into the back of my car and nearly totaled it. Thank Heaven, nobody was seriously injured. A few hours later, the shock of the impact did cause some latent injury and chiropractic treatment was needed.
I’d not been to the doctor’s office in months and while checking out, I noted a display of “CBD Freeze” pain rub and a few other products laced with CBD. Hmmmm.
I didn’t even know our state had allowed this substance for retail sale! The doc assured me this was so. Since then we’ve found all kinds of resources for this near-miracle plant.
Rural American Hemp Fields
We are definitely in a stage of transition. The scene captured below may be a very common rural scene in just a few years, and these are not Christmas trees!
