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The Rise of Industrial Hemp in North Carolina
State Weed
By MARY CATHERINE BALLOU
F IRST grown in the United States during colonial times, hemp can
be traced back to Asia nearly 5,000 years ago. Through the 1800s,
hemp was used widely in the production of fibers, papers and tex-tiles.
While hemp and marijuana originate from the same species,
hemp contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
the psychoactive component in marijuana. But by the early 1900s, hemp cultivation
began to decline due to increased government regulations and the 1937 Marijuana
Tax Act. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 effectively banned the production of
hemp as a commodity in the United States until the approval of the federal Farm Bill
in 2014, which now allows the cultivation of hemp for industrial uses.
On its way to becoming the next big cash crop in the United States, North
Carolina hemp production remains young. Vigorous efforts to research and uti-lize
hemp in diverse ways is the bedrock of one Wilmington entrepreneur, Kyle
Trivisonno. He is pioneering alternative uses for hemp, specifically in the develop-ment
of prosthetic limbs from hemp fibers, considered to be stronger, more cost-effective
and more environmentally friendly than commonly produced synthetics
like carbon fibers. Expensive and caustic, the effects of carbon fiber fabrication pose
health risks to humans.
IMAGINE A PLANT THAT
GROWS FROM SEED TO
MATURITY OVER THE BRIEF
SPAN OF FOUR MONTHS
AND THRIVES THROUGHOUT
NORTH CAROLINA; A PLANT
WITH USES THAT RANGE
FROM ANIMAL FEED TO
PAIN- RELIEF PRODUCTS
TO PROSTHESES.
Hemp Seeds Hemp Flour Hulled Hemp Seeds
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WBM january 2019