Some adults fear that industrial hemp products send the wrong message.
Nestled among the lotions, oils and soaps on a shelf at the Body Shop on the Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza is a display that’s hard to miss: An illustration of a familiar-looking leaf, cannabis sativa L., otherwise known as hemp.
Reactions from customers have been mixed–including one woman who began crying after she rubbed a smidgen of the hemp lotion on her hands.
“She just freaked out,” clerk Micah Schuler said. “She was rushing around saying, `I need water! Where can I wash my hands?’ She said her company did drug testing and she didn’t want to be fired.”
That customer had nothing to worry about, said manager Peggy McEwen, who explained that the hemp products have negligible amounts of Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. In May, the British-based company began selling products made from hemp.
“I was concerned, too, when I first heard we would be carrying this line,” McEwen said. “But I was misinformed. I’m a parent. And as a parent you certainly don’t want to promote drugs.”
The controversy over hemp seems to be growing as fast as wild ditch weed on back-country roads. As hemp appears in everything from BMW brake pads to clothing to veggie-burgers and beer, consumers face contradictory information.
What hemp is–a versatile cash crop or an evil weed–depends on whom you ask.
Is it marijuana?
All marijuana is hemp, but not all hemp is marijuana, said Paul Mahlberg, a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington and a molecular biologist who has studied cannabis for 30 years.
“Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant genus, just like sweet corn, field corn and popcorn come from the same plant genus,” he said. “But the strain of industrial hemp” also used in consumer products “has a much lower concentration of THC.”
Low THC means the plant has high concentrations of cannabidiol, which is antagonistic to the mind-altering properties of THC. In other words, smoking a hemp plant with low THC would produce a strong headache–and that’s all. But it is impossible to verify THC levels without a chemical analysis, Mahlberg added.
Industrial hemp is cultivated to encourage a woody stalk, so it is densely planted and often grows to 16 feet. The plants are harvested within 100 days. Marijuana is cropped to promote a bushy plant with bigger leaves. It is harvested after 190 days.
Hemp advocates insist marijuana is a distant cousin to industrial varieties. The Drug Enforcement Administration says no.
“Hemp is marijuana, period,” said Shirley Armstead, an agent and public information officer in the St. Louis DEA office. “Ditch weed is marijuana. We do not distinguish between the two. Our cannabis eradication program is about eliminating marijuana.”
Industrial hemp advocates distance themselves from recreational marijuana users. In fact, any hemp organization that even hints of supporting recreational use is denied entry to the North American Industrial Hemp Council, a group lobbying to change DEA restrictions on growing industrial hemp.
Twenty-five countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany and China, produce industrial hemp. Both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Accord on Tariffs and Trade recognize hemp as an agricultural crop. All members of the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations permit hemp cultivation except the United States.
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“In the United States we are living on an island of denial, surrounded by a sea of acceptance,” said Erwin Sholtz, chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council. “The rest of the world says yes to growing industrial hemp. But we stick our heads in the sand and say no. The federal government has to say it’s marijuana because the minute that it’s proved otherwise, their ditch weed eradication program goes out the window . . . right along with their money.”
To police officer Mike Pelger in Leawood, Kan., it’s more complicated than that. When Pelger, who also is a DARE (drug abuse resistance) officer, sees 3rd graders wearing hemp jewelry, he sees a society sending the wrong message to children.
Pelger said he has arrested students for marijuana use who often were wearing hemp products. Using a hemp product is a step away from advocating marijuana’s recreational use, he said.
“There are organizations on the Internet that are promoting hemp where you can click on their next site and learn how to roll a joint,” he said. “Companies advertise hemp products by playing up the drug aspect with lots of visuals. That makes it a real attention grabber. There are plenty of people who buy this stuff because they think it’s cute.
“This controversy is hard for adults, it’s even more confusing to kids,” he said. “Hemp products make it very difficult when you’re teaching about the dangers of drug use.”
Some advertisers indeed play up the drug aspect.
At the Body Shop, the Hemp Handprotector package says it “softens your hands without short-term memory loss.” Hemp 3 in 1 Oil is promoted as “the best moisturizer in the world and we promise you won’t get the munchies.” Hemp Soap: “No buzz, great sudz.”
The Mill Creek Brewery sells a beer called 420 Hemp Ale. Kira Pinsky, a clerk at Gomer’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Kansas City, Mo., said she has noticed many young people buying hemp beer there as well.
“There does seem to be a young clientele that is finding out about marijuana and doesn’t understand how hemp is different,” she said. “For example, the 420 beer is named after the code for police officers doing a drug bust. Now a lot of kids say that `420′ is the best time to smoke dope, whether 4:20 a.m. or p.m.”