cannabisnews.com: High Hopes for Cannabis Crop





High Hopes for Cannabis Crop
Posted by CN Staff on July 14, 2003 at 09:10:15 PT
Hemp used in door panels of Mercedes Car
Source: BBC News 
Most motorists zooming along the A55 past Bangor on the north Wales coast have little idea that there is a full field of cannabis plants thriving only 200 yards away. But there is no danger of this crop getting anyone high. The plants are being grown by scientists from Bangor University who hope the versatile plant will breathe new life into the farming industry in north west Wales.
The project, which is being trialled on the University's farm in Abergwyngregyn and is funded by European Objective One money, aims to assist farmers to diversify by growing alternative crops like hemp and flax.  "You would have to eat the whole crop for it to have any effect on you." Dr Jim Dimmock, Crop ScientistIndustrial hemp is the same species as the cannabis plant that produces the drug marijuana but has virtually no intoxicating effect. Its use goes back many years and was traditionally used to make ropes because of its strong fibres. Nowadays, hemp and flax have many uses - they are used to make clothes, building materials, food, detergent, fuel and cosmetics.  Mercedes Project manager, Geraint Hughes, says he hopes their trials will lead to the development of an industry that produces insulation material, gardening products such as hanging basket lining and substitute for fibre glass. It is used, for example, in the door panels of the Mercedes Class A car. Mr Hughes says the crop has many advantages. "It is a very green plant, it is carbon neutral and biodegradable - it is much more environmentally friendly than cotton for example, which needs a lot of spraying with pesticides." This is the second year of trials at the University's farm and they say that about eight other farms in north west Wales now grow the crop. But there is nothing new about Welsh farmers growing the crop says Mr Hughes. "Harlech was the hemp capital of the UK in the 1800s. "It used to be a legislative requirement for farmers to grow hemp to make ropes to supply the navy. "That is why many place names in Wales are based on the Welsh word for hemp - "cywarch" - such as Cwm Cywarch near Dinas Mawddwy. "And also the Welsh word for flax - "llin" - is seen in the place name Cwm Lline and the Welsh word for twine is "llinyn"," he added.   'Drug content' The crop is being grown under strict Home Office legislation and does not have the "drug" component. "You would have to eat the whole crop for it to have any effect on you," says crop scientist, Dr Jim Dimmock. "But you'd probably die in the process if you tried! "There are certain rules you must adhere to - you have to prove which variety the plant is. "If it is over the drug content threshold, the Home Office can destroy the whole crop," he added. "The idea is to give farmers a viable alternative enterprise in the region and create a local industry." With the downturn in livestock prices after the foot-and-mouth crisis, the project hopes that their trials will help find the perfect conditions for growing hemp in the region. Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Monday, July 14, 2003Copyright: 2003 BBC Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Site:Hemcore UK http://www.hemcore.co.uk/The Green, Green Grass That's Homehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16615.shtmlFabric, Food Now Made of Hemphttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16378.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 14, 2003 at 20:58:41 PT
ekim
Meth was popular back in the 70s. I don't know how powerful Meth is now. I heard that a popular drug is Oxycontin. Never took or even saw one. I don't know where this drug war is going but it might be bad.
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on July 14, 2003 at 20:50:35 PT
FoM just think what happen when the feds lost last
time -- when prohibition shifted to the herb. now a new demon is being readied.
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on July 14, 2003 at 16:46:44 PT
Pill companies make the system they game
From http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0709-03.htmPrices of 27 of the Top 50 Drugs Sold to Seniors Rose More Than Three Times the Rate of Inflation 
  
WASHINGTON - July 9 - Washington, DC-The prices of the 50 most-prescribed drugs to senior citizens rose, on average, nearly three-and-one-half times the rate of inflation last year, according to a new report released today by Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers. 
Among the top 50 drugs sold to seniors, more than half (27) rose in price at least three times the rate of inflation from January 2002 to January 2003, according to the report. Nearly three-quarters (37 out of 50) of the drugs rose in price at least one-and-one-half times the rate of inflation. The drugs that experienced the fastest-growing price increases in the past year were the following:* Claritin, an antihistamine, rose nearly 12 times the rate of inflation.* Klor-Con 10, a potassium replacement, rose more than 11 times the rate of inflation.* Miacalcin, an osteoporosis treatment, rose more than 10 times the rate of inflation.* Premarin, an estrogen replacement, rose nearly 10 times the rate of inflation.* Atenolol, a generic beta-blocker, rose more than 9 times the rate of inflation.* Toprol XL, a beta blocker, rose more than 9 times the rate of inflation."These alarming price increases continue to eat away at the fixed incomes of senior citizens, especially those low-income seniors who make up one-third of those in Medicare and who can least afford to pay for their medicines," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.--Snipped--
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 14, 2003 at 16:27:21 PT
MSNBC Special Report: Meth's Deadly Buzz
An MSNBC.com Special ReportBy Jon Bonné
 
 SIOUX CITY, Iowa — In many ways, meth is the crack cocaine of the new millennium. Much like crack, which swept across the nation in the 1980s and ’90s, methamphetamine use has hit epidemic proportions in the past several years. Crack plagued inner cities and the black community; meth is thriving in cities like San Francisco, sweeping across the Midwest and headed east. It has quietly become America’s first major home-grown drug epidemic. Complete Article: http://www.msnbc.com/news/510835.asp?0cb=-j1-135833&cp1=1
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Comment #2 posted by 312 on July 14, 2003 at 15:10:20 PT
See the pictures
When I was last at the University farm in Abergwyngregyn last year, I don't remember there being any hemp grown there. I knew it was being grown on Anglesey (island next to Bangor) for a project. Things can change in a year, and the hemp continues to spread as it's potential is realised, or should I say re-realised.Click on the link to see a couple of photographs:
Original article
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on July 14, 2003 at 10:10:43 PT
Good for them
Good for us too. It is like a layer of insanity is being removed from the total prohibitionists model.The NOW interview with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is now out- http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_stewart.html I watch Blair in front of the House of Commons last night that was mentioned in the Stewart interview in contrast to America's staged ceremonies. They repeatedly threw the hardball and he came out swinging. The dim bulb we have lighting the way can not even talk much less answer real questions one after another with a reasonable answer. Corruption still reigns supreme. The failure of the cannabis wars is marked by the failure to admit failure. How high you can stack failure before it tumbles?
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