Hemp has been cultivated for thousands of years for infinity applications such as clothing production, construction materials or for medicinal or tarapeutic purposes.

A plant with a lot of history

Hemp was one of the first plants grown in history. The first evidence of hemp use goes around around 8000 years A.C. In an archaeological site near Japan. The culture was used to make clothes, ropes, shoes or paper.

From 800 a.C. to 200 A.C. Hemp and its derived products were the center of a very favorable trade. In 500 D.C., hemp, it had already been completely extended throughout Europe and Asia, where it was used for ropes, textiles or medicines, among many other applications.

In the United States, 80% of global fabric and textile needs came from hemp until the twentieth century. At its poverty point, hemp received harsh criticism and accusations. The crops with drug dependence were associated and, in the middle of the s. XX, harsh restrictions were approved in the United States that, subsequently, were extended all over the world.

The same happened in Spain, the industrial hemp was used until the mid-twentieth century, when it began to restrict the culture by the same reasons. The confusion of marijuana crops and industrial hemp caused the latter in oblivion.

Industrial hemp applications

The most common Utilities of Industrial Hemp Son manufacture of clothing and paper, but industrial hemp has many other applications that may surprise you.

One of the industries in which the use of industrial hemp is more frequent is the textile industry, this uses hemp fibers to make Hemp fabric,  Hemp clothes o Accessories that serve for all eras of the year, with the potential of its fibers, thicker or finer fabric can be made, depending on the purpose of the garment.

Industrial hemp is also widely used in the food sector. Today there is a strong demand for hemp seeds due to its great nutritional value, they contain high levels of proteins, calcium, iron, among other properties. It can also be used to make milk or oil, in fact hemp oils come from these seeds and are beneficial for health, as they are rich in Omega 3 and 6. (Read more here)

 

Your cultivation can also be used to purify water or soil. The process of hemp growth can help purify radioactive soil contaminated by heavy metals and nuclear material. As long roots of the plant penetrate deep into the soil, absorb harmful chemicals and extract toxins. The simple cultivation of hemp provides a natural alternative to costly detoxification processes.

 

 

Thanks to the resistance of its fibers, industrial hemp also serves for construction. Being a natural and renewable material, it is being very valued by architects and builders who want to contribute innovation and sustainability to their projects. Many construction materials can be elaborated, especially those materials dedicated to isolation, in fact already used in the Netherlands or Ireland.

It can also be used as an alternative to concrete, it is called "hempcrete", it would be the ecological alternative to traditional construction materials. The hempcrete is a biocompision that combines hemp, lime and water.

Nor can we forget the medicinal and relaxing properties that the hemp gives us. Unlike the marijuana plant, the hemp plant is rich in cannabidiol (CBD). The anti-inflammatory and relaxing properties that offer us many people as an alternative to traditional medical treatments and is useful to improve the quality of life of many people. From here they arise, also, CBD cosmetics that are missing little by little in the market.

The plant contains very beneficial properties for health, vitamins and essential acids, many CBD creams (made hemp-based) are used in the treatment of eruptions, irritations, among others.

Legislation

At European level

Between the years 2013 and 2018, the cultivation of industrial hemp has increased throughout Europe has specifically increased by 70%. Currently, there are some 50,000 hectares cultivated throughout Europe, according to the EIHA (European Association of Industrial Hemp).

The cultivation of industrial hemp in the European Union is allowed and is also subsidized with EU funds. As Spain is a Member State of the European Union, all Spanish farmers who meet the requirements can request financial aid for the cultivation of industrial hemp.

At the Spanish level

Industrial hemp, without psychoactive components that is used for the production of fiber, grain and paper among many other products, suffers a lack of regulation that facilitates its use.

The industrial hemp cultivation area in Spain has multiplied by eight in the last 5 years and exceeds 500 hectares, but police interventions and judicial processes have also increased against the agricultural sector with the commercialization of flowers or budding, which are considered A narcotic substance for the country.

In Spain it is mandatory to use seed seeds inscribed in the EU catalog, and can only be used to obtain grain, fibers or seeds. The culture can not be used for any purpose, neither the extraction of CBD, cannabis component for medical purposes or cosmetics, unless authorized by the drug agency.

Profits

The cultivation of industrial hemp is of the crops that best suits environmental conditions. From hemp, more than 25,000 biodegradable products, such as paper, material for construction, textile products, cosmetics, among many others can be manufactured.

Hemp has one of the longest, resistant and lasting vegetable textile fibers. The cultivation of industrial hemp and rapid growth avoids its erosion and growth of weeds, does not need pesticides or herbicides, has a high yield and improves the soil structure.

The cultivation of industrial hemp also absorbs between 9 and 13 tons of CO₂ per hectare, provides nutrients to the soil, saves water with 75% less spending than cotton, and also helps reduce deforestation, since it is a cellulose source for The manufacture of paper. (More benefits here)

Future

With sustainability, the need to change the current consumption model and allThe benefits provided by the cultivation of industrial hemp, in recent times, many companies have been interested in the sector. This has made there be a modernization of production processes to obtain an improvement in the quality and performance of crops. All this indicates a return to the use of industrial hemp in a generalized way in many commercial markets.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has pronounced in the judgment in which it recognizes that CBD products containing a percentage of THC equal to or less than 0.2% lack psychoactive effects for consumers. This causes members of the European Union not to limit the free movement or commercialization of this type product.

In addition, the European Parliament voted in favor to increase the percentage of permitted THC for industrial hemp, 0.2 to 0.3 (authorized for industrial hemp within the reform of the common agricultural policy).

With the boom of industrial hemp and a favorable trend in the European Union, the cultivation of industrial hemp is positioned as one of the most successful crops in the near future.