from petroleum and lumber lobbyists. The hemp plant, cannabis sativa L, and marijuana, cannabis sativa C, are specific plants in the cannabis genus (Hickey 1). The obvious difference between the two is that hemp grows tall with wood-like stalks with dark leaves while marijuana is shorter and dense, normally a much lighter green than the hemp plant. The most significant difference in current legislation is in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels. THC is the psychoactive ingredient that gives the marijuana plant its euphoric properties (About). Marijuana contains about 2 percent THC while hemp contains only .3 percent (Hemp Knowlwdge). This in combination with the coarse smoke of hemp prevents any use of industrial hemp as a drug. When grown together the plants cross pollinate to weaken the hemp crop and effectively reduce the THC in the marijuana. A hemp field would be the last choice of someone trying to grow marijuana, not only because of the THC loss but because of their different physical properties the only camouflage hemp provides is that of line of sight.With countries around the world lifting there own industrial hemp bans American farmers are crying out for their piece of the pie. Americas hemp industry alone yields 50 million dollars a year increasing at 50% per year, which is still limited by the price of imports. Together with the fact that Canadian hemp growers, although new to the industry, are netting $200 per acre while American farmers are barely making $20 per acre on their cash crops, its enough to turn the heads of the agriculture industry. Farmers are begging the government to "Repeal restrictions on the production of industrial hemp as an agricultural and industrial product, as was Montanas recommendation to congress in House Act 2 (Achieving). Anyone who cares about the environment agrees with these farmers. It just makes sense to take advantage of a crop that has the potential to preserve the environmen...
