Worldwide, Hemp fibers are being used to replace cotton ones. Even though they are more sustainable, Hemp farmers still face discrimination.
Hemp has become a bit of a wonder plant in modern times. Many products can be made from it, each useful in our day-to-day lives. Hemp farmers help create fibers for clothing and paper, hemp seeds and oils, and even CBD – 2018’s miracle cure.
While the world ought to be looking on in wonder, many of us are still looking in fear. Hemp has long since been slated for its association with the cannabis plant, even though the two are mere cousins. Hemp is not Cannabis, and Cannabis is not hemp, yet still, the hemp farmers are made to suffer.
How? Let’s take a closer look.
Hemp Farming is Strictly Monitored
First of all, we need to take into consideration that cannabis is strictly illegal in many countries. Whether you are for or against it, this makes things difficult for the poor hemp farmers. In some countries, the hemp must have strict targets to meet, or otherwise, the whole crop will be destroyed.
Look at the UK, for example. In Britain, hemp cannot be more than 0.2% THC content. If it is, the plants are classed as cannabis and destroyed. Imagine you had worked the whole season to raise this crop, only for it to be destroyed because it has a fraction of the amount of THC needed to do anything to your brain within it.
Then there are the exports to consider. So even if you have made your quota and matched the targets, you struggle to ship the wares to other countries that class it as cannabis and incinerate it. There will be no turning back at the borders, either. The truck driver may well be arrested and the cargo seized.
All of this drives the cost of CBD oil to sky-high, let alone the prices of hemp seeds and oils. So, what can we do to prevent these rising prices and make the hemp farmers' jobs worthwhile? It all starts with governmental attitudes.
Changing the Regulations
In America, the discrimination against hemp farmers is particularly insane. Many of their states have legalized cannabis but have left hemp and CBD to fall by the wayside. The way it is tested and labeled is a good place to start in changing how we see and use hemp. In Colorado, for example, new rules have only just been brought into place that can help protect hemp from destruction.
We could try adding hemp to the products we agree to buy and sell between trading countries. Put trade agreements on hemp specifically, and we will soon have a better deal for the farmers and have a better deal for the planet. Hemp takes much less carbon to farm than cotton or flax does.
There are also associations and alliances the farmers can join that get them more protection. Unionize, join others who have the same cause.
If we continue to stand up for the rights of our hemp farmers, we can continue to produce crops that are less damaging to the environment and benefit all of us.