Versatile Industrial Hemp
NAIHC - North American Industrial Hemp Council
A Renewable Industrial Fiber & Oil Crop

Industrial Hemp Archived News Index Page
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Key Links offering different twists on the news:

Global Hemp is the most up to date current news.

Hemp Report is more technical and done on a quarterly basis.

Hemptech has the longest historical news back from 1996

Global Hemp News Updates On-Line
The Global Hemp site's news updates include links to the latest articles in the Journal of Industrial Hemp, including  a summary of  Engineering Perspectives of the Hemp Plant, Harvesting and Processing A Review: "The special characteristics of the hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) plant make it one of the most challenging crops to handle. Several studies, both in the laboratory and the field, have been conducted at the University of Manitoba, Canada, on the engineering perspectives of hemp production, including the physical and mechanical properties of the hemp plant, hemp harvesting and processing...."

Hempola Family Farm Festival
Report from Canada on "The first family farm festival held right in the hemp fields."

Hemp Trade Shows - What Rules?
To voice your opinions, visit our Q&A page .

Australian Hemp Industry Report
Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports prospects for a bumper crop of industrial hemp.

NAIHC Annual Meeting & Membership Sessions, Sat. Nov. 3, St. Louis, Missouri
Full details on the NAIHC annual meeting, with registration form. Open to the public.

Sioux vs. DEA, Round Two
Article from MotherJones.com - "Federal agents have destroyed Alex White Plume's industrial hemp crop for the second year running. But the courts may soon decide whether Native Americans can grow THC-free cannabis."

Visit the Member Links Page
NAIHC member companies are listed with a brief description of their products or services.

Growers to Build IH Processing Plant
Western Producer article on Canadian industrial hemp growers determined to build a fiber processing plant despite past setbacks.

Ultrasonic Separation of Hemp?
If you know how and/or where, visit our Q&A page with your answer or comment.

Federal Agents Destroy IH Crop
Indian Country newspaper article reports on how a Lakota Sioux family went to Germany to learn how to grow industrial hemp; how the family had found a buyer for the crop once it was harvested later this month - and how. to avoid arrest, they watched FBI and DEA agents "cutting down the family's second hemp crop on the Pine Ridge Reservation."

Canada Reconsiders IH Regulations
To update the existing regulations issued in 1998, the Canadian Government seeks comments on its plan to "Review the Existing Regulatory Framework for the Commercial Cultivation of Industrial Hemp"

Opportunities for Natural Fibers in Plastic Composites
(requires free
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®.)
Presentation on potential markets for industrial hemp, flax and kenaf, by Carl H. Eckert, Kline & Company, at the May, 2001 International Conference on Woodfiber-Plastic Composites. For other conference papers, Click Here.

American Indian Tribe Challenges U.S. Government on Growing Industrial Hemp

Summer 2001 "Hemp Report"
As well as current news items, the report's research section includes Paul Mahlberg's and Eun Soo Kim's report on "THC Accumulation" and Marc Deeley's analysis relating industrial hemp to climate change

White House Question on Industrial Hemp
Global Hemp News quotes White House spokesman Ari Fleischer: "Industrial hemp? Well, I'll advise you if anything changes. . ."

Your Questions & Answers on IH
In a new service to site visitors, we now have an "Asking & Answering" page. - offering a link today to a European hemp products Web site loaded with information in German, English and Spanish! (see answer to Q#6).

Industrial Hemp Market in U.S.
In response to a question posted on the NAIHC Q&A page, an alert visitor sent in the link for the latest USDA report, "Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential.
"

American Indian Tribe Challenges U.S. Government on Growing Industrial Hemp

Summer 2001 "Hemp Report"
As well as current news items, the report's research section includes Paul Mahlberg's and Eun Soo Kim's report on "THC Accumulation" and Marc Deeley's analysis relating industrial hemp to climate change

White House Question on Industrial Hemp
Global Hemp News quotes White House spokesman Ari Fleischer: "Industrial hemp? Well, I'll advise you if anything changes. . ."

Global Hemp News Roundup
Other Global Hemp News items warn of possible DEA crackdown on all hemp-containing products, including body oils, despite climate of increasing support for industrial hemp.

Your Questions & Answers on IH
In a new service to site visitors, we now have an "Asking & Answering" page. - offering a link today to a European hemp products Web site loaded with information in German, English and Spanish! (see answer to Q#6).

Industrial Hemp Market in U.S.
In response to a question posted on the NAIHC Q&A page, an alert visitor sent in the link for the latest USDA report, "Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential."

Nokia Searches for Bio-based Plastic
Reuters, June 15, 2001
Cell phone giant Nokia is searching for the right bio-based biodegradable plastic to use in its cell phones, with current candidates scoring well on all counts except for withstanding heat.

Global Hemp News, June Issue
With news items from around the world, including work in Australia and England to use more hemp in cars: "Scientists say the materials are biodegradable and can increase fuel efficiency since they weigh about 30 percent less than currently used materials."

NAIHC Chair Bud Sholts Interviewed
Listen over the Internet to a 23-minute radio interview. Questioned by "It's Your Environment" host Lynn Landes, Bud Sholts covers industrial hemp agronomics, history, politics, prospects, and more.

Global Hemp News Digest
May 29, 2001, Volume 2, Issue 22
This news-packed issue includes articles on South Dakota's debate over growing industrial hemp - and a related article on what's happened in Canada after three years of hemp commercialization. One Canadian government official is quoted about new markets for hemp: "We now have hemp beer, coffee creamer, drapes, jeans, and even car panels."

British Perspective on Industrial Hemp
May 10, Guardian Newspapers
Hemp hits its stride - "The cousin of cannabis is perfect for an industry looking for greener resources . . . It is green, high in fibre, improves strength and reduces weight. This is not the perfect diet but an ingredient for the car industry. Hemp, once an outcast in agricultural circles, is making a comeback and cropping up in unconventional places."

Biobased Information System Web Site
May 25
This useful new Biobased Information System (BIS) site from AgroTech Communications, Inc. features news articles from around the world on ag fibers, bioenergy and new crops issues.

May Issue of Global Hemp News
May 24, 2001
Legislative wins & losses for industrial hemp in Montana, Illinois & California - news articles on industrial hemp developments from around the world.

Industrial Hemp Travels Across North America
National Post, Canada
Industrial hemp fibers are slowly regaining a role in the auto industry - Canadian National Post article by Nate Hendley, about driving across North America in a car fuelled by hemp-seed oil.

May Issue of Global Hemp News
May 7, 2001
News articles on industrial hemp developments from around the world.

New Zealand Moves Ahead on Industrial Hemp
May 7, 2001
Press Release - NZ Hemp Industries Association congratulates “the current government towards establishing a hemp industry. ”

Industrial Hemp Brochure Published
Printed on hemp paper, this NAIHC brochure explains the many econonic and environmental reasons for once again allowing U.S. farmers to grow industrial hemp -- a crop grown and valued by both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Includes comments and photos of NAIHC directors. (PDF file, requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®, available free,
click here.)

Canada's Tax on Industrial Hemp to End
The Canadian Government proposes changing the Excise Tax Act to "zero-rate" the tax on "the grain or seeds, or the mature stalks (i.e., straw), of industrial hemp plants. This treatment would apply where their sale or importation is in accordance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or is excluded from the application of that Act."

The Spring 2001 issue of The Hemp Report is loaded with information -- and front-loaded with a sobering editorial which opens: "Hemp in Canada is now entering its 4th year of cultivation, but this time around the sun, I don't think there will be much of a party. Between the numbers of farmers who have contacted me over the past year, looking to sell their surplus tonnage, and the challenging market picture, the prospects for fast farm growth of this industry are not good."

Hemp History Lesson
Dr. David P. West
USDA's Office of Fiber Investigations: "There is no reason why hemp culture should not extend over a dozen States and the product used in manufactures which now employ thousands of tons of imported fibers." That was back in 1890, when the U.S. government actively supported rather than opposed growing industrial hemp.

New Zealand May OK Industrial Hemp
March 29, 2001 1st Story -- Related Story
New Zealand Herald
New Zealand government is likely to give a green light for planting industrial hemp in response to growing support for its reintroduction - and growing evidence of the economic benefits offered by industrial hemp.

USDA Promotes Industrial Hemp - in 1942 Film
Transcript of the original 1942 United States Department of Agriculture Film, "Hemp for Victory," extolling some of the many uses of this ancient plant and premier world resource.

Kentucky OKs Industrial Hemp Legislation
March 22, 2001

Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton has signed legislation which authorizes an industrial hemp research program to be conducted at one or more selected Kentucky state universities and which creates a 17-member Industrial Hemp Commission (IHC) made up of representatives of the governor, the state legislature, state universities, law enforcement and the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association.

USDA Launches "Biobased Industrial Products" Site
March 16, 2001

The new site remains under construction but already lists a number of products and sources. Companies can register their products for listing on the site.

Petition to Overturn Federal Ban on Industrial Hemp
Press Release from The Resource Conservation Alliance (RCA)
March 6, 2001
"The Resource Conservation Alliance (RCA) has asked the Bush administration to reconsider a decision, made in the final weeks of the
Clinton presidency, that maintains the federal government’s ban on the cultivation of the crop industrial hemp.

Seattle Gives Green Light to BioDiesel
Environmental News Network
March 2, 2001

"Seattle may soon have a new tool to combat energy crunches - at a reduced cost to the environment. . . the city is launching a pilot program that will test the capacity of biodiesel fuel to curb air pollution without compromising operations."

Albuquerque Journal Editorial Favors "Restoring Industrial Hemp"
Albuquerque Journal
Feb. 28, 2001

"New Mexico should help the nation move toward restoring industrial hemp to its historic role as a national resource.
Both farmers and consumers will benefit."

California Legislation Would Legalize Industrial Hemp
The Press Democrat
Feb. 24, 2001

California Strom-Martin bill proposes symbolic measure despite federal prohibition.

Press Democrat Editorial Challenges Federal Prohibition
The Press Democrat
Feb. 24, 2001

"The reality is, industrial hemp - which is used to make a variety of products including shoes, clothing and food - contains only trace amounts of the hallucinogenic ingredient forund in its cousin, the marijuana plant. Yet, federal law makes it illegal to grow hemp."

San Franscisco Chronicle Sees Promise in "Hemp Food"
San Francisco Chronicle
Feb. 23, 2001

"...there's a whole world of hemp food out there, all derived from the seeds of industrial-grade hemp and none of it psychoactive, and Santa Rosa-based HempNut Inc. is leading the charge in providing it."

New Cash Crop for New Mexico?
The New Mexican
Feb. 21, 2001

"New Mexico's next big cash crop? Advocates of a bill (HB582) endorsed by a House committee Tuesday say it should be hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant but without pot's psychoactive qualities."

Former Kentucky Governor Louie B. Nunn on Industrial Hemp
Lexington Herald-Leader
Feb. 19, 2001

Former Governor comments that "Although Kentucky has long been known for its historical hemp industry, it wasn't until about a year ago that I became educated about industrial hemp. Frankly, I was opposed to the legalization of hemp for years because I had been of the opinion that hemp was marijuana. I was shortsighted in my thinking . . . "

Industrial Hemp Support Grows in Midwest
The Christian Science Monitor
Feb. 13, 2001

Move to legalize hemp grows in heartland
- Some 27 states have passed or are considering laws in favor of the crop.

For Previous Archived news articles, Click Here

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