What is Industrial Hemp?
It is important to know what industrial (commercial) hemp actually is, which is grown for commercial use. Hemp oil can be extracted from harvested hemp seeds and hemp essential oil can be extracted from hemp flowers/leaves. Commercial CBD oil is also produced from low-THC industrial hemp.
There are 52 different hemp varieties certified by the EU for commercial cultivation. These have a high fibre content of between 30% and 40% and a THC content of less than 0.2%. For this reason, commercial hemp varieties are not suitable for the production of medicines. Instead, it is used to produce hemp seed oil or CBD oil.
Uses
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Fiber
Hemp was one of the first plants to be used for fibers, and today it is still used to make clothing, it can be used to make a variety of building materials, especially those for insulation, to make products such as particle board and pressed cardboard, and even as a stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly alternative to concrete, known as "hempcrete." Hemp is considered the longest, softest, and strongest plant-based textile fiber. One acre of hemp can produce twice as much fiber as one acre of cotton. The length and strength of hemp still rivals the most modern materials used in naval cordage.
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Cosmetics
The beauty industry already has a wide variety of creams, lotions, balms and gels made from hemp. The plant is known to contain many compounds that are extremely beneficial for skin health, such as vitamins or essential acids. Hemp-based CBD creams are also used in the treatment of some skin diseases, such as eczema, arthritis and other types of rashes, ulcers or irritations.
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Biomass
Biomass is any organic matter of animal or plant origin, including waste and organic residues, that can be used to produce energy. Hemp is capable of producing the largest net biomass on a global scale. It is the only plant that has the capacity to repair and recover any type of crop and to replace all fossil fuels. Transforming hemp into biomass and converting it into fuel would mean obtaining a clean and renewable source of energy, especially because the CO2 released during its combustion is the same as that consumed by the plant during its growth, which means a zero-emission balance.
What is marijuana?
Marijuana is known as the dried flower clusters and flower-like leaves of the female cannabis plant. Compared to other parts of the plant, these have the most resinous glands with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychotropic cannabinoid.
Typically, female cannabis seeds are used for cultivation. This prevents the plants from pollinating each other. As a result, cannabis plants produce unfertilized flowers rich in trichomes with a high THC content.
Recreational users also tend to use the terms weed or drug for marijuana. In the US, however, the term “Mary Jane” is often used. Marijuana here is derived from the Mexican and Spanish word “Mari Juana.”
Illegal marijuana and health risks
When marijuana is sold on the black market, it can be of inferior quality. Often, other parts of the plant, which have no effect, are mixed in under the dried flowers.
It is particularly dangerous if the flowers have been mixed with various substances such as potassium fertiliser, lead, sand, sugar or hairspray. This can pose a considerable risk to health. Especially the "Brix", a combination of liquid plastic, sugar and hormones, which is used for dilution. The dried flowers are dipped into this mixture, so that a plastic film covers them. You can recognise marijuana of this type when the flowers burn with difficulty and leave residues.