Of the 20 medical marijuana dispensaries scheduled to open in the State of New York, the dispensary on 14th Street and Third Avenue, in the heart of New York City, was one of the seven to open its doors on Jan. 7, 2016. For those of us old enough to remember the good old/bad days of the City, this is an amazing occurrence considering the Draconian laws Governor Rockefeller put in place in 1973 pertaining to possession and distribution of the herb. Alongside morphine, opium and cocaine, cannabis was categorized as a Schedule 1 narcotic that carried stiff prison penalties for possession and distribution. Even though this legislation made Rockefeller look tough on crime, other politicians from both the left and the right opposed this ruling and thought it was unjust to equate the non-violent crime of drug possession and trafficking alongside rape and murder.
In 1978, Governor Hugh Carey repealed the section of the ordinance that applied to marijuana, and in 2004, Governor George Pataki signed the Drug Law Reform Act, which did even more to reduce the penalties of a drug-related felony. Yet, in 2008 — despite the best political intentions — New York City was able to boast the highest rate of cannabis-related arrests with an astounding 40,000 people taken into custody.
Over the last 43 years, the laws governing marijuana have gone through some impressive changes. Yet just as remarkable is the way that industrial hemp and the recreational/medicinal hemp are bundled as one; and the same still keeps the U.S. farming industry from growing and capitalizing on the benefits of hemp. In the past, I’ve written about the benefits of medicinally using marijuana to successfully treat symptoms associated with everything from glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, chemotherapy and epileptic seizures. As amazing as it sounds, it will probably be a while before we can decipher the real societal value gained from legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. However, the real question is, why are the Federal government and the DEA keeping U.S. farmers from growing industrial hemp?
As with all things in this great country of ours, I would venture to say that somewhere in the hemp equation is a hypothesis that leads to money. Change will come only after the people involved in solving the equation come to the conclusion that more money can be made by legalization rather than criminalization.
The Wonder Crop
Industrial hemp has been used for thousands of years for making such items as rope, sails, clothing, paper, oil and even food. Until the United States tax act of 1937 — and with the consent of our government — hemp was commercially grown on U.S. soil with great success and societal benefits. So why would an onerous tax be placed on such a useful product, thereby making farmers and investors alike lose interest in such a beneficial crop? Apparently the answer is, as previously stated, money! As with all things financial, fortunes are subject to the changing markets and as it stands now it seems that it might be the right time for the country to decriminalize hemp farming and bring it back as a cash crop.
Depending on where one finds their information, hemp is purported to have 25,000 to 50,000 uses — and all of them are incredible. Ironically, it seems that the only thing that industrial hemp cannot be used for is a means of getting high, as the THC content is only between 0.05 percent and 1.0 percent compared to the 3 percent to 20 percent THC content in its sister plant. This paradox leads me to believe that — unlike most politicians — nature has a sense of humor.
Audio Hemp
Anyway, the multi-purpose usage of the hemp plant intrigued me and made me think about the many ways the audio industry could use this natural gift. Remember, industrial hemp and hemp products are already being imported it into the country, and it is the cultivation and growing of hemp that is illegal in the U.S. not the hemp products themselves. The first thing that comes to mind regarding the plant is food. Since hemp-based food products already exist, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think that hemp could feed a tour and keep everyone healthy. Speaking of touring; back in 1941, Henry Ford apparently showcased a car made with hemp, which was to run on hemp bio-fuel. For those that doubt the Ford story, Motive Industries Inc. — a Canadian company — has released a car called the Kestrel with a body made entirely of hemp. Think of tour buses and semi trucks made entirely of hemp, lightweight and half the price, as hemp is so easily grown. Let’s not forget the monetary and ecological savings provided by fueling a tour of 12 semis and four buses with hemp fuel.
Hemp speaker cones can replace the standard paper cone, and the use of hemp medium-density fiberboard can replace the commonly used plywood in speaker construction. Hemp oil paints and varnishes can replace the current paints that are manufactured from petrochemicals. Considering its strength and durability, maybe a new style truss could be made from hemp. Imagine all the road cases that would be that much sturdier and lighter if made with hemp. Console parts and chassis could easily be made with hemp plastic. In Wasilla, Alaska — the home of Sarah Palin — there is even a distillery that has created vodka from hemp seed; and, no, there is no double whammy, as it is minus the THC.
All the clothing one might need for a tour could be made from hemp as well as guitar straps and even certain guitar strings. There is already a company by the name of Tempus that’s received good reviews for its Hemp snare drum and with limits being placed on rare woods, it might be advisable to turn to the Quebec-based Canadian Hemp Guitar company for an alternate and unique solution. There are a few hemp cone speakers on the market and a company by the name of “Hard Truckers” not only has hemp cone speakers, but hemp speaker cabinets as well.
On the Horizon
The future is now, and for those of us concerned with dispelling the noxious greenhouse gases caused by a petro-chemical culture, the hemp alternative might just be the answer. Hemp can be a game-changer in more ways than one, and could possibly revitalize the farming and national economy. At the moment, most of the 32 states that have introduced pro-hemp legislation have approved those bills. Bureaucratic change takes time, and it remains to be seen if hemp is the miracle crop some claim it to be. But there still seems to be a good possibility that hemp could end up being the driving force behind future tours.
