Hemp vs weed
Hemp , or industrial hemp , is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products. Although cannabis as a drug and industrial hemp both derive from the species Cannabis sativa and contain the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol THC , they are distinct strains with unique phytochemical compositions and uses. Some governments regulate the concentration of THC and permit only hemp that is bred with an especially low THC content. In those languages "hemp" can refer to either industrial fiber hemp or narcotic cannabis strains. Hemp is used to make a variety of commercial and industrial products, including rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel.
What’s the Difference Between Hemp vs. Marijuana?
Hemp , or industrial hemp , is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products. Although cannabis as a drug and industrial hemp both derive from the species Cannabis sativa and contain the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol THC , they are distinct strains with unique phytochemical compositions and uses.
Some governments regulate the concentration of THC and permit only hemp that is bred with an especially low THC content.
In those languages "hemp" can refer to either industrial fiber hemp or narcotic cannabis strains. Hemp is used to make a variety of commercial and industrial products, including rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel.
The inner two fibers of the plant are woodier and typically have industrial applications, such as mulch, animal bedding, and litter. When oxidized often erroneously referred to as "drying" , hemp oil from the seeds becomes solid and can be used in the manufacture of oil-based paints, in creams as a moisturizing agent, for cooking, and in plastics.
Hemp seeds have been used in bird feed mix as well. Hemp seeds can be eaten raw, ground into hemp meal, sprouted or made into dried sprout powder. Hemp seeds can also be made into a liquid and used for baking or for beverages such as hemp milk and tisanes. In the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs treats hemp as a purely non-food crop, but with proper licensing and proof of less than 0.
A gram portion of hulled hemp seeds supplies calories. Hempseed's amino acid profile is comparable to other sources of protein such as meat, milk, eggs and soy. Hemp oil oxidizes and turns rancid within a short period of time if not stored properly; [16] its shelf life is extended when it is stored in a dark airtight container and refrigerated.
Both light and heat can degrade hemp oil. Hemp fiber has been used extensively throughout history, with production climaxing soon after being introduced to the New World. For centuries, items ranging from rope, to fabrics, to industrial materials were made from hemp fiber.
Hemp was also commonly used to make sail canvas. The word "canvas" is derived from the word cannabis. For clothing, in some instances, hemp is mixed with lyocell. Concrete-like blocks made with hemp and lime have been used as an insulating material for construction. Such blocks are not strong enough to be used for structural elements; they must be supported by a brick, wood, or steel frame. The most common use of hemp lime in building is by casting the hemp and lime mix while wet around a timber frame with temporary shuttering, and tamping the mix to form a firm mass; after the removal of the temporary shuttering, the solidified hemp mix is then ready to be plastered with a lime plaster.
The first example of the use of hempcrete was in in France with the renovation of the Maison de la Turquie in Nogent-sur-Seine by the innovator Charles Rasetti. Completed in , the Renewable House is one of the most technologically advanced made from hemp-based materials.
A panellized system of hemp-lime panels for use in building construction is currently under test in a European Union-funded research collaboration led by the University of Bath. The panels are being designed to assure high-quality construction, rapid on-site erection, optimal hygrothermal performance from day one, and energy- and resource-efficient buildings.
The month work program aims to refine product and manufacturing protocols and produce data for certification and marketing, warranty, insurance cover, and availability of finance.
It also includes the development of markets in Britain, France, and Spain. Hemp is used as an internal plaster and is a mixture of hemp hurd shive mixed with larger proportions of a lime-based binder.
Hemp plaster has insulative qualities. Concrete block made with hemp in France. From bikes to food wraps and from jets to pencils, you can make anything and everything from plastics. With the infinite number of uses, plastic also have some devastating impacts on our planet.
Most plastics produced today are made using petroleum-based compounds that release harmful gases into the atmosphere. Waste solutions are inefficient, and harmful by-products toxic our land, water and wildlife. Yet, consider the possibility that there was a way to deal with deliver the greater part of what we utilize causes a negative greenhouse impact, is sustainable and biodegradable and has just about an indistinguishable cost to our present techniques.
From Ali Asghar Modi, Rehmatullah Shahid, Muhammad Usman Saeed, Tanzila Younas and many more who contributed to their intensive studies have understood that, "Hemp absorbs four times the amount of carbon dioxide as trees do amid its snappy week develop cycle. Then, that carbon from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere gets used to make the plastics, and the plastics, when they are going into a landfill and they are no longer usable, will biodegrade bringing carbon back into the soil".
Continuing off from this was in a section about the Manufacturing part, "Most of the conventional plastic today is manufactured using petroleum based compounds and petroleum consumption is considered harmful to the environment, given the measure of waste created amid the refinement procedure and the destructive techniques used to separate oil from the earth. And simultaneously we are losing one of most important natural resource i.
Petroleum in the manufacturing of plastics. On the other hand, hemp plastic is solely produced using the cellulose extracted from hemp plant and therefore causes no toxicity during its production. With an ever increasing number of plastics being utilized in human lives and expanding weight being set on limits accessible for plastic wastes disposal, the need for biodegradable plastics and bio-degradation of plastic wastes have gained increasing importance in the last few years.
There is so much that can be used for our planet and hopefully there will be a day that hemp plastic is the "new" common material for plastic making. A mixture of fiberglass , hemp fiber, kenaf , and flax has been used since to make composite panels for automobiles. For example, the Lotus Eco Elise [40]. Hemp paper are paper varieties consisting exclusively or to a large extent from pulp obtained from fibers of industrial hemp.
The products are mainly specialty papers such as cigarette paper , [42] banknotes and technical filter papers. However, production costs are about four times higher than for paper from wood , [44] so hemp paper could not be used for mass applications as printing, writing and packaging paper.
Hemp jewellery includes bracelets, necklaces, anklets, rings, watches, and other adornments. Some jewellery features beads made from crystals, glass , stone , wood and bones. The hemp twine varies in thickness and comes in a variety of colors. There are many different stitches used to create hemp jewellery, however, the half knot and full knot stitches are most common.
Hemp rope was used in the age of sailing ships , though the rope had to be protected by tarring , since hemp rope has a propensity for breaking from rot , as the capillary effect of the rope-woven fibers tended to hold liquid at the interior, while seeming dry from the outside.
Hemp rope was phased out when manila rope , which does not require tarring, became widely available. Hemp shives are the core of the stem, hemp hurds are broken parts of the core. In the EU, they are used for animal bedding horses, for instance , or for horticultural mulch. Hemp can be used as a "mop crop" to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals.
Additionally, hemp is being used to clean contaminants at the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, by way of a process which is known as phytoremediation —the process of clearing radioisotopes and a variety of other toxins from the soil, water, and air. Hemp crops are tall, have thick foliage, and can be planted densely, and thus can be grown as a smother crop to kill tough weeds.
However, due to the plant's rapid and dense growth characteristics, some jurisdictions consider hemp a prohibited and noxious weed, much like Scotch Broom. The dense growth of hemp helps kill weeds, even thistle.
Biodiesel can be made from the oils in hemp seeds and stalks; this product is sometimes called "hempoline". Filtered hemp oil can be used directly to power diesel engines. In , Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, which he intended to power "by a variety of fuels, especially vegetable and seed oils, which earlier were used for oil lamps , i.
Production of vehicle fuel from hemp is very small. Commercial biodiesel and biogas is typically produced from cereals, coconuts, palm seeds, and cheaper raw materials like garbage, wastewater, dead plant and animal material, animal feces and kitchen waste. Separation of hurd and bast fiber is known as decortication. Traditionally, hemp stalks would be water- retted first before the fibers were beaten off the inner hurd by hand, a process known as scutching.
As mechanical technology evolved, separating the fiber from the core was accomplished by crushing rollers and brush rollers, or by hammer-milling, wherein a mechanical hammer mechanism beats the hemp against a screen until hurd, smaller bast fibers, and dust fall through the screen.
After the Marijuana Tax Act was implemented in , the technology for separating the fibers from the core remained "frozen in time". Recently, new high-speed kinematic decortication has come about, capable of separating hemp into three streams; bast fiber, hurd, and green microfiber. Only in , did Ireland, parts of the Commonwealth and other countries begin to legally grow industrial hemp again. Iterations of the s decorticator have been met with limited success, along with steam explosion and chemical processing known as thermomechanical pulping.
Hemp is usually planted between March and May in the northern hemisphere, between September and November in the southern hemisphere. Millennia of selective breeding have resulted in varieties that display a wide range of traits; e. Hemp grown for fiber is planted closely, resulting in tall, slender plants with long fibers.
The use of industrial hemp plant and its cultivation was commonplace until the s when it was associated with its genetic sibling a. Influential groups misconstrued hemp as a dangerous "drug", [57] even though hemp is not a recreational drug and has the potential to be a sustainable and profitable crop for many farmers due to hemp's medical, structural and dietary uses. In the United States, the public's perception of hemp as marijuana has blocked hemp from becoming a useful crop and product," [58] in spite of its vital importance prior to World War II.
This early cropping reduces the seed yield but improves the fiber yield and quality. The seeds are sown with grain drills or other conventional seeding equipment to a depth of 1. Greater seeding depths result in increased weed competition. Nitrogen should not be placed with the seed, but phosphate may be tolerated. Organic fertilizers such as manure are one of the best methods of weed control. In contrast to cannabis for medical use, varieties grown for fiber and seed have less than 0.
Cannabis sativa L. Typically, hemp contains below 0. Smallholder plots are usually harvested by hand. Mechanical harvesting is now common, using specially adapted cutter-binders or simpler cutters. The cut hemp is laid in swathes to dry for up to four days. This was traditionally followed by retting , either water retting the bundled hemp floats in water or dew retting the hemp remains on the ground and is affected by the moisture in dew and by molds and bacterial action.
Harvesting industrial hemp Cannabis sativa - This is a separate harvest for a different form of processing: The upper part of the plant with the leaves will be collected for cold pressing, while the lower part remains for producing fiber and initially it is left on the field.
For profitable hemp farming, particularly deep, humus -rich, nutrient-rich soil with controlled water flow is preferable. Waterlogged acidic, compressed or extremely light sandy soils primarily affect the early development of plants. Hemp benefits crops grown after it. So, it is generally grown before winter cereals. Advantageous changes are high weed suppression, soil loosening by the large hemp root system, and the positive effect on soil tilth.
While hemp can contain no more than % THC by dry weight, marijuana can contain up to 30% THC content. Hemp vs Marijuana: Legality. Due to the difference. Although marijuana and hemp can both come from the cannabis sativa family, they're distinctly different. Marijuana is bushier with broader leaves.
With interest in CBD cannabidiol rising and the Farm Bill legalizing hemp federally, there are many questioning concerning the difference between hemp and marijuana. Generally the difference between hemp and marijuana is in the concentration of THC tetrahydrocannabinol , with hemp generally considered so low in concentration so as to be non-psychoactive. Hemp is still cannabis sativa, same as some of the most popular strains of marijuana. Hemp is typically grown to maximize the overall size of the plant as quickly as possible, usually achieved by growing outdoors.
Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of Cannabis sativa L.
The three terms — cannabis, hemp and marijuana — are often used interchangeably to significant error. Everything known living thing is categorized in the primary biological taxonomy of the same name. From there, things get more complicated and even more precise, going down in the order of domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.
Hemp vs Marijuana: Is There a Difference?
We've updated our Privacy Policy to make it clearer how we use your personal data. We use cookies to provide you with a better experience, read our Cookie Policy. Article Sep 02, by Nicole Gleichmann. Over the last couple of years, CBD has hit the mainstream. You hear about from your health-savvy friends, the nightly news, and in magazine ads. This is in stark contrast to marijuana-based products.
Hemp vs Marijuana: The Important Differences Explained
Many have long misunderstood the significant differences between marijuana and hemp. Today, these differences are beginning to become more well known especially as the federal government helps define the two types of cannabis separately. Despite this progress, confusion between hemp and marijuana is still widespread. First, it is important to understand that the two plants share a commonality in that they are both a species of plant called Cannabis Sativa L. Both hemp and marijuana feature this leaf pattern:. Looking beyond the species, the common traits between the two varieties begin to dwindle. Marijuana and hemp are different in their appearance, growing methods, chemical makeup, and potential uses. Each of these aspects contributes to the significant overall differences between the two plant varieties:. The 7-leaf pattern often shows skinnier leaves concentrated at the top of the stalks. Hemp, marijuana, and cannabis have long been confused by lawmakers and the public.
While there are few genetic differences between hemp and marijuana plants, there are drastic differences in terms of cannabis slang, legal interpretation, and use of the plants. In practical terms, the differences between hemp and marijuana are quite significant.
First and foremost: Hemp is not marijuana. Marijuana is not hemp. Oftentimes people believe that hemp is the male plant of marijuana. This is false.
Hemp vs Marijuana
Short Answer: They are two forms of the cannabis plant that are used very differently. Hemp is different from marijuana in its function, cultivation and application. Many states are slowly legalizing recreational marijuana, but marijuana remains federally illegal. An amendment to the Farm Bill legalized hemp in the U. Today, hemp can be used in variety of ways that marijuana cannot. These include healthy dietary supplements, skin products, clothing, and accessories. Today, you can buy legal hemp products not just online, but in many grocery stores and everyday businesses. Despite the recent legalization, federal policies surrounding hemp growing and sales of hemp products are often still up in the air, and banks continue to treat hemp businesses like criminals. In some rare cases, there are still arrests over hemp, such as truckers arrested while transporting completely legal hemp. Keep reading to learn more about these cannabinoids. Hemp and marijuana can be differentiated by looking at their chemical makeup, method of growing, natural adaptability and, sometimes, appearance. Marijuana and hemp have noticeable and contrasting differences. Marijuana often looks different from hemp. Few branches or leaves exist below the top part of the plant.
Marijuana vs. hemp: What’s the difference?
February 15, There's been a lot of discussion about hemp recently, since the Farm Bill made it legal for farmers to grow industrial hemp for the first time since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act or, practically speaking, since the Marihuana Tax Act. There are still quite a few restrictions and regulations associated with growing hemp, but the fact that hemp is now legal — while marijuana is not — has raised a lot of questions. That puts us in a position to help answer some of the most common hemp questions. Hemp and marijuana are, taxonomically speaking, the same plant; they are different names for the same genus Cannabis and species. By comparison, marijuana typically contains 5 to 20 percent THC. You can't get high on hemp. In other words, Cannabis plants with 0. Cannabis plants with more than 0. In North Carolina, licenses must be approved by the state's Industrial Hemp Commission, which is affiliated with the N.
