Professional Marijuana Grower November-December 2017 Issue | Page 30

Feature Article
Christopher Machnich
Cannabis Growers Have
Overlooked the Hemp Market
B
y now just about everybody is aware of the
growing cannabis industry. If you’re in a state
that has legalized medicinal or recreational
use, there’s no doubt that you’ve been exposed
to the robust media coverage that lead up to legaliza-
tion, and if you’re in a state that has yet to legalize,
there’s a good chance that the crop is on the forefront
of your local politicians’ mind – and maybe yours as
well.
While cannabis has hogged the spot light and has
seemingly been a glutton for attention, its close relative
has patiently waited for its time, and, to the surprise of
many, hemp should probably be getting more attention.
Cannabis has been an economic blessing for many of
the states that have legalized it, but hemp, and its hun-
dreds of uses, has the potential to be an even greater
economic game changer.
Hemp has traditionally been one of America’s most
important crops, but for political and cultural reasons
has since fallen out of favor. While growers flock to
obtain the necessary licensing to grow and dispense
cannabis, it seems probable that in the near future even
more will choose to produce hemp on a commercial
30 • Professional Marijuana Grower
scale. While growers have chosen to grow cannabis,
they have overlooked a crop that is not only well suited
for American growers, but also one that has the poten-
tial to bolster and improve American agriculture and
provide consumers with a wide range of products that
are used every day.
Why Growers Are Overlooking Hemp
Hemp has been one of the longest continuously used
crops throughout civilization, and its use here in Amer-
ica began as early as the 1600s. Since it had a wide
range of uses and was easy to grow, it quickly became
one of the most important crops in early America, and
it was a top cash crop that rivaled tobacco. Unfortu-
nately, this was a long time ago, and since then hemp
declined into near obscurity – until recently, of course.
The crop’s decline began in the early 1900s when
laws were created that prohibited the use of marijuana.
During this time hemp began to slowly be grouped with
marijuana as part of this movement.
Now seems like an appropriate time to briefly explain
how hemp is different from cannabis, and why it really
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November/December 2017