Tan regards hemp as "a weed" in the plant kingdom, because hemp possesses a tenacious vitality and adaptability. In the last eighty years, even though hemp has always been listed as a Schedule I drug, its capacity to survive in a variety of environments from temperate to extreme is unparalleled. He calls hemp a “misunderstood hero,” indicating that, while developments in science and technology are providing benefits to many aspects of our lives, the resource exploitation and new material applications of petrochemical products are causing many issues. Among these issues, says Tan, are global climate change, environmental pollution, and food safety...all of which could be linking to the emergence of many previously unseen diseases as well as cancer and mental illnesses.
There are so many uses for hemp, but, Tan points out that those who benefit first from hemp legalization must be the individuals utilizing the power of hemp to manage and treat their diseases. There are already millions in the United States using various forms of hemp to treat a variety of refractory diseases, including cancers, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, depression, and other diseases. “In Israel,” says Tan “twenty-five thousand advanced cancer patients can use hemp to relieve pain” replacing traditional medicine, like morphine that is made of opium derivatives. In China, the statistics on hemp medicinal use include five million advanced cancer patients, three million Parkinson’s patients, and ten million epilepsy patients, which, says Tan, accounts for one-fifth of the global population of epilepsy patients. In addition, he adds that ninety million people in China suffer from depression, a condition (along with all those previously mentioned diseases) that can be lessened if hemp were part of the treatment.