Health Boom Boosts Hemp

Abstract

The last time the U.S. enjoyed a hemp revival was during World War II, when the country could no longer import cheap rope fiber from Asia. The effort, called Hemp for Victory, was promoted by the government even though plantings of hemp, a relative of marijuana, were tightly restricted. More than a half-century later, there is a new push to reestablish the ancient crop. It is being led by a small group of enthusiastic activists and businesspeople who tout the health value of hemp-sourced fatty acids and proteins. Hemp products, they emphasize, are nonpsychoactive. But, ironically, it’s changing attitudes about marijuana for medicinal and recreational use that have opened the door for industrial hemp to take root again. Hemp insiders caution that the U.S. is far from having a viable industry again. The crop has been almost entirely illegal since 1937. Though hemp does not contain enough psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ...