News from hemp

There is a lot of talk about hemp and not just since yesterday. And that is good! For many decades the plant with the characteristic leaf was demonized, made a drug for hippies. But cannabis, as the plant is also called, can do more than just intoxicate you.

The active ingredients contained can be used in many ways. Since also the research was suspended many years, many discoveries must be made only again or be examined.

But it turns out: cannabis is promising. Many active ingredients and products are already available today. And: hemp can solve problems in other areas as well.

Hemp – A miracle drug?

Modern medicine in particular is very interested in the hemp plant. Because many synthetic active substances fulfill their purpose, but the side effects are often just as bad.

As with many other herbal substances, the great hope for hemp is to work as well as possible without causing harmful side effects.

In some pilot studies the healing effect of cannabis could already be shown. Quite well researched is the CBD, the Cannabidiol.

Unlike its counterpart THC, CBD has no intoxicating effect and is therefore already available over-the-counter today. CBD products are now available everywhere, so that a real market for it has emerged.

But the cannabis plant is not a miracle cure. This is well and gladly asserted, empirical evidence can be many claims yet not.

Many cannabis active ingredients can relieve pain and can be used very well in cancer therapy due to the additional calming effect and the low side effects. However, the plant can not cure cancer, not yet.

The full potential of the cannabis plant has not yet been fully explored. Also, many ingredients and their effects are still unexplored.

One assumes that only the interaction of the different active substances leads to a special effect. But many cannabis strains have been bred for high THC content. The original hemp plants must first be rediscovered.

Let’s get away from medicine

Cannabis is very much seen in a medical context. But it can do so much more. The plant grows quickly, is relatively undemanding and can be produced cheaply.

The fibers of the hemp plant can be used, for example, for textiles. The demanding cotton, which destroys water reserves in the cultivation countries, could thus be replaced.

And even very inexpensive. Hemp is especially recommended in regions that have poor soils. This is true in many areas of the world. Developing countries could profit so from the hemp plant. Because the soil is even improved by the undemanding hemp plant.

If you also compare the growth of the plant and the biomass produced, you will find that hardly any other plant comes close to hemp.

If one thinks now of the dwindling fossil raw materials, then it is clear that hemp has an enormous potential for biofuels. Instead of corn, which is less efficient and also uses a lot of water and nutrients, hemp could be used.

The use of hemp would also conserve existing forest areas, because more biomass can be produced on the same area with the plant than with corn or comparable plants.

In the course of the climatic change one will have to fall back sooner or later on the hemp and end the demonization. Because hemp is above all one thing: a future carrier.