WHAT MAKES HEMP SUSTAINABLE?

Hemp is a plant in the cannabis class which has been long used to produce CBD. It requires minimal conditions to grow and ends up improving the soil conditions. Besides being the parent of the CBD industry, it also has many uses.

When you think about CBD, you also think about hemp. It is a plant in the cannabis plant and one of the many in this group. Hemp has recently been known for being the legal source of CBDf, a cannabinoid that is fast growing in popularity. Besides, hemp has multiple uses besides CBD and is also a major culinary product. Growing hemp requires minimal conditions, yet the plant leaves the soil's conditions improved. Isn't hemp a great plant? Here is all you need to know about hemp in terms of sustainability.

What Is Hemp?

Hemp is a plant in the cannabis class. The class features many plants, others being marijuana and shish. Hemp is known for having less than 0.3% THC, which according to Schlienz et al. (2018), is the compound behind the high effect of smoking weed. Following the minimum amount of THC in hemp, the Farm Bill was passed in 2018, allowing the federal legal use of hemp to make cannabinoids. Hemp has since been popular, although it has been in the industry for long and has been used to make fiber.

CBD and Hemp

Hemp has always been linked to CBD, although there is more to it than this. According to Mascal et al. (2019), CBD is a non-psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis plants and is majorly extracted from hemp. The active chemical compounds in cannabis plants are called cannabinoids, and CBD is one of them. CBD stands out for being non-psychoactive, indicating that it will not make you feel high. You may want to try many CBD products, including CBD oils, tinctures, and vapes, each having pros and cons you must weigh before choosing the product to go for. Besides, you must know the CBD formulations to tap into to enjoy CBD effects. The cannabinoid comes in isolate, full-, and broad-spectrum, where isolates have no extra cannabinoids while the other two forms have additional compounds with and without THC.

Hemp in the Kitchen

It is worth noting that hemp has many uses besides being the parent product in CBD manufacture. Did you know that hemp makes a great culinary component? Hemp seed oil is prepared from the hemp plant's seeds and may have little or no CBD. Yet, it is important in the kitchen, where people use it to fry foods. According to Rezapour-Firouzi et al. (2013), hemp seed oil has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Thus, people use the oil to prepare food and benefit from these properties but also apply it to the skin. Moreover, hemp seed oil is used as the base carrier in CBD oil since it promises high bioavailability.

Hemp for Soil Improvement

Another reason studies and farmers fall in love with hemp plants is their sustainability. According to Adesina et al. (2020), hemp improves the soil condition. It can do well in soils deprived of nutrients, but the soil conditions improve once harvested. Thus, many people grow hemp in soils whose conditions have undergone degradation over time, improving the properties. This is not a new idea in the agricultural field since phytoremediation has been in the industry for the longest time. 

Hemp Requires Minimal Conditions to Grow

Besides improving the soil's conditions, it is worth noting that hemp requires minimal conditions to grow. According to Sen & Reddy (2011), hemp does well in soils deprived of water and still does well. It also adds that hemp can thrive in soils with the least nutrients and boost the soil properties once harvested. Why does hemp seem so resilient? Khan et al. (2014) reported that it has powerful antibacterial properties, which contribute to one or more of these benefits in one way or the other.

Hemp as Fiber

As mentioned previously, hemp has multiple uses. Besides being useful in CBD production and the culinary field, it has other users. You can apply hemp oil to your skin to protect yourself from infection since Khan et al. (2014) reported that it has powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Did you know that hemp also makes good fibers? Hemp fiber is an essential part of the textile industry and is used to make all kinds of fiber. From humanware to carpets to sacks, there is nothing that hemp fiber cannot make. The antibacterial properties of the plant contribute to the resilience of hemp fiber, hence the many applications. As if this is not enough, hemp stems are also used in the construction, showing how sustainable the plant can be.

The Future of Hemp

Looking at hemp's many applications, we can confidently say its future is bright. More studies focus on hemp, and as time passes, we expect people to be more knowledgeable about hemp. Besides, we look forward to a future where all states declare hemp with less than 0.3% wholly legal. Currently, some states look at hemp as illegal, although the majority have it as partially or wholly legal.

Hemp Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, and CBD Oil

We cannot talk about hemp without hemp oils and hemp seed oils. What is the difference between CBD, hemp, and hemp seed oils? Of course, they come from the same plant, hemp. CBD comes from the leaves and flowers of the hemp and has high CBD concentrations. However, hemp oil is more encompassing and is extracted from many hemp plants, including leaves, flowers, and stems. It has vitamins, nutrients, and fatty oils because of its origin. Still, it does not have as much CBD as CBD oil but has at least some. Lastly, hemp seed oils come from the seeds of hemp plants and may have little to no CBD. Yet, hemp seed oils make a good carrier oil in making CBD oil since it is highly bioavailable.

Conclusion

Hemp is a plant in cannabis with less than 0.3% THC. It is the parent compound in CBD manufacture and is also key in making hemp seed oil, which many CBD brands use as the base carrier in CBD making. Still, hemp has other uses in the kitchen where its oil is used in frying foods. Hemp is also sustainable since it requires the minimal conditions to grow but leaves the soil quite improved. Did you know that hemp also makes great fiber and can be used in the construction industry? Peer into this article to understand the actual potential of hemp, making it sustainable.

References

Adesina, I., Bhowmik, A., Sharma, H., & Shahbazi, A. (2020). A review on the current state of knowledge of growing conditions, agronomic soil health practices and utilities of hemp in the United States. Agriculture, 10(4), 129.

Khan, B. A., Warner, P., & Wang, H. (2014). Antibacterial properties of hemp and other natural fibre plants: a review. BioResources, 9(2), 3642-3659.

Mascal, M., Hafezi, N., Wang, D., Hu, Y., Serra, G., Dallas, M. L., & Spencer, J. P. (2019). Synthetic, non-intoxicating 8, 9-dihydrocannabidiol for the mitigation of seizures. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-6.

Rezapour-Firouzi, S., Arefhosseini, S. R., Mehdi, F., Mehrangiz, E. M., Baradaran, B., Sadeghihokmabad, E., ... & Zamani, F. (2013). Immunomodulatory and therapeutic effects of Hot-nature diet and co-supplemented hemp seed, evening primrose oils intervention in multiple sclerosis patients. Complementary therapies in medicine, 21(5), 473-480.

Schlienz, N. J., Lee, D. C., Stitzer, M. L., & Vandrey, R. (2018). The effect of high-dose dronabinol (oral THC) maintenance on cannabis self-administration. Drug and alcohol dependence, 187, 254-260.

Sen, T., & Reddy, H. J. (2011). Various industrial applications of hemp, kinaf, flax and ramie natural fibres. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 2(3), 192.