THC: That will certainly be a first. To have a hemp product successfully makes it into the American building and construction industry. Speaking of which, there is another first that you are a part of, the first college level class about hemp?
Seber: Yes, I spent the past year working with Professor John Simonsen at Oregon State University producing the first college-level course on industrial hemp, which is gonna be released in March 2013 on their E-campus. So any student anywhere in the world can take this course. It’ ll have 90 hours of classes and it covers everything from the history to the agronomy, botany, seeds, fiber usage, pretty much everything you could want to know about every aspect of industrial hemp, including the first hemp based constructional material on the market- Hemp Shield™.
THC: Sign me up! Seber: Just contact the university.
THC: Right. One more question, there’ s been a lot of media attention focused on Kentucky because the Agriculture Commissioner, James Comer, is really pushing to bring hemp back to its farms. Do you think other states will follow his example and the example of Washington and Colorado who legalized cannabis and with it industrial hemp?
Seber: Agriculture officials in every state in the United States have advocated the reintroduction of industrial hemp into their state’ s use. The three leading farmer’ s organizations in the U. S. have all adopted official positions advocating the production of industrial hemp. It is only because the United
States government refuses to acknowledge that there is a difference between the drug verity of cannabis and the industrial variety that we are not growing it. It’ s legal to use industrial hemp in all its forms, but it’ s not legal to grow it here. Basically the whole rest of the world is way ahead of us because of this. Hemp could be a giant economic and environmental engine. I believe if we were allowed to grow industrially we might be able to lower the overall cost of construction by 30 percent that could help get us out of this economic hole.
THC: Dave, you’ ve dedicated much of your time to introducing hemp products to mainstream society and it looks like you finally could be on the verge of what you called the,“ tipping point.” Is there anything else you want to add?
Seber: With the advent and acceptance of Hemp Shield™ on a nationally marketed, commercial basis industrial hemp building materials are part of the here and now. Hemp based construction materials are now on sale nationally. And for industrial hemp use in the United States, that is the end of the dream, and the beginning of the reality.
Hemp particle board
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