Hemp The Elephant in the room

This is not surprising considering the UK’s CBD industry has grown exponentially over the past few years to become the largest in Europe. There are now approx. 1.2 million users in the UK (7 million throughout Europe) and at only 2% of the UK population, this number is set to increase dramatically over the coming years as awareness increases.

Even though the US is now poised to accelerate full throttle, following the 2018FarmBillbeingpassedto legalisenot just the growing of hemp but also the production ofCBDproducts acrossallstates, the UKand Europe are in danger of being left behind as political pressure builds to try and outlaw cannabinoid extracts under the guise of European safety laws and out-dated drug scheduling.

What’s worse is that we rely completely on imports. Imports from outside of the European Union are already high risk as Border Force intercept hemp related products (especially from the States). Even terpenes and hemp seed are sometimes held.

Meanwhile, the Home Office continue to reject licence applications for anything expect the stalk and seed as they still consider the whole flowers to be dangerous narcotics; even the leaves and roots are considered Class B controlled substances if grown in the UK.

Unfortunately, the Governmental view and even that of the CBD industry reflects the powerful ‘Reefer Madness’ propaganda of the 1930s which suggests that cannabis was prohibited due to the psychoactive effects of THC.

We all know that this propaganda was based on a complete load of codswallop, however it seems that most of us are blind to the elephant in the room.

Marijuana has been the main focus of legislation for almost the past century, but hemp is the true elephant in the room.

Hemp is thought to be one of the oldest agricultural crops (12,000 years) and during the reign of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, hemp had to be grown in the UK by law to serve the needs of the Royal Navy.

Cannabis is one of the oldest and most widely used medicines in history. Prior to 1937 there were over 2000 Western medicines containing cannabis extracts. Cannabis was deleted from Pharmacopeias at this time. Whole plant extracts soon became combinations of synthetic compounds which could be patented.

Until the late 1800s approx. 90% of paper was made from hemp. By the 1930s, hemp was poised to revolutionise the automotive, plastics (cellophane was originally made from hemp) and textiles industries.

The diesel engine was designed to run on plant oil, cellulose-based ethanol fuel can replace petrol, plastics, paper, The diesel engine was designed to run on plant oil, cellulose-based ethanol fuel can replace petrol, plastics, paper, clothing could all be produced ethically and responsibly without causing damage to the environment and hemp is the most viable candidate.

Soon we will have solar panels, batteries and super-conductors all made from hemp which could abolish the need for a National Grid; there is now even an aeroplane made from hemp composite and powered by hemp.

We can build non-toxic, carbon negative housing out of hempcrete which can save 30% on heating bills throughout the lifetime of the building and even wood composites to replace tree wood.

In short, cannabis was prohibited not for its psychoactive properties but because it was the main competitor to big corporations; even more so today.

All of these amazing end-uses from hempwill not only gain huge public support, itwill also help the Government to meet theirobligations (all relating to the environmentand carbon offsetting). Individuals arepanicking about carbon obligationsbecause they are worried that they aregoing to lose their quality of life by beingforced to drastically change their lifestyles.It is corporations and business that need tochange and hemp could well be theanswer.

This multi-pronged approach will ensurethe future and growth of our industry to thepoint that hemp will become a majorcommodity for our entire economy.

Could we soon be farming hemp for CBD production in the UK?

Although the EU approved hemp varieties are far from suitable for CBD production due tothe lack of breeding and the suffocating 0.2% THC cap, European farmers can still make asmuch as 33,000 Euros per hectare with varieties which reach between 1-3% CBD.

HempTank has received aninflux of pleas from UKfarmers to place pressureon the Home Office toabandon the out-datedand non-sensicallimitations of the1971/2002 MODA whichstill classifies the flowersand leaves of the hempplant as Class B controlledsubstances.

THERE ARE 3 KEY AREAS WHICH WILL LEAD TO CANNABINOID PRODUCTION IN THE UK:

On the 24th January 2019, WHO’sassessment of Cannabis sativa productsincluded the recommendation that all CBD

products containing less than 0.2% THCwill be removed from any drug scheduling.We expect the UN to vote on this inNovember 2019.

On the 8th April 2019, the EuropeanParliament (AGRI Committee) voted toincrease levels to 0.3% THC to keep in linewith the US and Australia. This is expectedto come into force no later than January2021 and will open the door for newcultivars with higher CBD levels.

HempTank’s policy team are developingwhite papers and developing a lobbystrategy to push the Home Office to adoptthe guidance from WHO and support theUK’s farming community post-Brexit.

Could hemp be a catalyst for the UK Government to reach their environmental obligations?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reportin 2018 recommended that we have 12 years to reach net zerocarbon emissions (globally) in order to avoid catastrophicclimate change. Over the past 30 years, carbon emissionshave doubled, leading us to a cliff edge of ecologicalbreakdown. This was highlighted this Spring by ‘ExtinctionRebellion’, leading to mass public awareness and theinternational action has kickstarted talks with Government.

HEMPTANK, IN COLLABORATION WITH HEMPTATION (WWW.HEMPTATION.ME) ARE WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE UK’S RE-EMERGENCE OF THE HEMP INDUSTRY, INCLUDING:

A hemp housing development with 400+ carbon negative houses.

Farming Co-operatives to purchase specialised harvesting equipment.

New processing facilities with the ability to process all parts of the plant.

The HempChar soil restoration project to replenish the lost carbon from soils, improve soil structure and to protect future food security.

The feasibility of developing manufacturing plants for textiles, paper, bio-plastics and bio-fuels.

Guy Coxall, Chairman of HempTank, gave two talks in London on the 16th April to highlight hemp as a solution to environmental challenges.