The following quote is taken from an article found at www.OregonBusiness.com–Jobs Watch:  Hemp for the masses

“NAT’s partnerships with the decidedly non-hippy powerhouses Hanes and Georgia Pacific offer hints about the company’s plans. The goal is the no-nonsense, low-cost, mass production of industrial hemp, initially for the apparel and pulp industries and eventually for natural plastics and biofuels. The company has trademarked a fiber technology called Crailar that Barker hopes to build into the next big apparel ingredient in the tradition of Lycra and Gore-Tex, but plant-based and organic.

The idea isn’t to replace the mountains of petroleum-based polyester used by Nike and Adidas, or the fields of pesticide-covered cotton gobbled up by Hanes and Levi Strauss, but rather to introduce Crailar into the existing system of textile manufacturing, as an option for manufacturers interested in going green. Thus the partnership with Hanes and textile researchers at North Carolina State.

The same general principle applies to the pulp industry, which is in deep trouble these days and could use some fresh ideas. Think paper towels and napkins without the stumps. The fact that Georgia Pacific has signed on suggests that the potential is there.

Barker calls hemp a “super-crop.” There is no disputing that hemp is a proven performer that grows like a weed without pesticides. It is also illegal, at the federal level, although Oregon recently became the seventh state to vote to legalize it at the statewide level.  Barker argues that harvesting hemp locally would make sense, but in the meantime he says it is easy to import from Canada.”

So, the moral of the story is that we will soon be importing lots more hemp from Canada–where it is quickly helping them to actually create sustainable industries which benefit local farmers.  And, at a horrific cost to the taxpayers, we are also importing one other item from Canada:  the Prince of Pot, Marc Emery.  A man whom historians and schoolchildren alike will one day celebrate–if they are not doing so already..

The Loss of a Hero (Marc Emery Farewell Speech Clip)