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The Fine Print
Spiro Sertsis, CPA, CMA
@SpiroSertsis
3. Fibre
Health Canada states that mature industrial hemp stalks, when the leaves, flowers, seeds and branches are removed, are excluded from The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). The fibers derived from those stalks are also excluded from the CDSA. This means that such stalks and fiber can be imported, sold, possessed, or used to make products, such as rope or fabric, without a licence, permit or other authorization.
While the market within Canada remains small, hemp fibre has popular uses for insulation, ropes, fabric and compost in other countries around the world. Hemp fibres are strong and light weight and easily shaped, making it useful for ropes and canvas and more interestingly, the automotive industry. High-end premium companies Mercedes Benz and BMW cars have as many as sixty different parts made from industrial hemp, according to Russ Crawford, President of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. Lending to that was a recent news story of an airplane made from and powered by hemp oil and built entirely by the plant, as hemp is ten times stronger than steel, more pliable, and lighter weight, making it far more efficient than traditional airplanes, as it uses less fuel to fly. Because most of the hemp oil is used in the food market, it makes it too high cost for refinement into a biofuel, but as economies of scale are realized in the near future, this could change.
The potential upside for fibrous hemp is enormous. That being said, it lags behind hemp foods and medicine in terms of growth.
Several Canadian companies have advanced plans to start developing the fibre side of hemp, but the $30 million cost to build a processing plant has been a barrier. There are companies in the USA such as Hemp Inc and Hempamerica that have entered into the building materials and textiles aspects of the industry. If you are interested in American companies, then look no further than CannaInvestormag.com.