Hemp has been used for paper for some 2,000 years, the use of wood pulp is a new concept that has been causing economic and environmental chaos.
At the time of this writing paper in the US is shipped in from southeast Asia, incurring transport costs and adding to the loss of forests. A hemp paper industry in America would provide jobs and lessen the damage to the environment; it would also produce stronger paper, as the hemp papers, being long, interlock and form a more lasting paper.
In my previous article I noted that “cellulose is the most abundant molecule in agriculture”; indeed, it is the basis of our entire economy. It is both the cheapest substance and the most expensive, if one tallies the price of just one fraction of a gram that brought in over $9million at Sothebys. Of course, that was a rare example of a purchase – the 1c Magenta postage stamp from British Guyana, which has passed hands from a boy to a nobleman to a murderer.
But most cellulose products do not have such an illustrious history. They simply go from the farm to the factory to the distributor to the store to the consumer to the rubbish bin.
But in the course of this, livelihoods are made. Jobs are created, and we use pieces of cellulose to transact all of this. We call these pieces money. Some are wont to quote that it does not grow on trees. Ironically, it does. Or at least it is made from trees.
Or most of it is. The US uses about 6% hemp in the greenback, as this plant produces not only a long strand, but the strands fibrillate better than that of other plants, thus creating a more integrated.
Thus our money comes from trees, and in the best-case scenario, trees take seven years to mature. Bowater used to have much of the southeast US covered in pines for this purpose.
Now the trees are grown in southeast Asia, and Americans do not produce their own paper. Each person uses about 200 lbs. The nations needs thus 35 million tons of paper each year.
Which could come from farms in the heartland. And it could be produced once again in America.
This very subject was given thought even before the present crisis and state of dependency on foreign supplies. Government record from 1910-1916 shows
a number of trials conducted by the USDA on paper production which included a study of hurds as a raw material – hurds are 35-70% cellulose, whereas the bast is 70-77% cellulose.
Usually hurds are left to rot as farm waste, but if put to use, with thousands of pounds per acre produced in a season, the economic reality is not hard to see.
The US needs to secure not only paper supplies but water – and that is another reason for growing hemp. Hemp grown for paper not only can reduce the dependency on trees, but also water use in areas where crops such as cotton are grown. The USDA estimates that 9,461,000 acres of cotton were harvested in the US in 2011—a year in which more than one-third of the nation’s crop was wiped out by severe drought, with farmers in Texas and Oklahoma forced to abandon more than 5 million acres, more than half of what they planted.
I will leave the reader with those statistics and ask that they do the math, while contemplating that same acreage under cultivation for paper. The hemp uses less water and less pesticides. It can be used to create an entire industry, about which we will be studying more of in my next installment.
The majority of the hemp plants are in the stems. Thus a farmer has interest in making the most of this part.
Those growing for medicinal use and CBD oils can turn a profit from the leaves and buds, while hemp oil and hemp seeds per se are proving to be a lucrative market.
For some, what remains is simply left as compost. Which returns back to the soil little
more than carbohydrates. Little nitrogen or other elements of use are given back. The many tons of biomass, in the form of carbohydrates, especially cellulose, are of commercial value.
From charcoal to fine textiles, simple compounds with only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are raw materials in demand. Cellulose is the most abundant molecule in agriculture, and the most common molecule in products used by man. Paper, lumber, most of our clothing, cardboard, cordage, insulation. We live in and use cellulose. We eat it.
We pay for it. Usually, not much, but in the case of fine threads, some pay thousands for a get up.
Hemp has had its place in the best of textiles, back when the Piedmont region of Italy produced hemp threads as fine as silk.But today most hemp threads are a bit coarse, and the market is dominated by PR China, which both grows hemp and spins it. For the Western farmer there is hope on the horizon that his crop will end up on the catwalk, but more research and development is needed.
However, paper mills are looking for hemp.
In 2000 I hooked up with British environmentalist John Hanson, who had his own paper, with a large hemp leaf watermark. I ordered three tons. He had French grown hemp pulped in Spain and then sent to Scotland for the final operation. I waited with bated breath for the lorry (Brit for truck) to round the bend into my storage locker in Hammer-smith with my stash.
For the three tons of paper I traded an ounce of paper, bearing, of course, the image of Her Majesty and its own watermark; which was not a hemp leaf. However, the paper I traded for the pallets of John Hanson TreeFree (copyright) did use hemp. Many a government, including that of the United States, uses hemp in its currency.
The reason is that hemp is a more interlocking fiber than even flax. Wood does not really even have a fiber. Thus hemp provides a strong basis for other fibers to connect with and form a sheet of matted fibers.
For 2,000 years man has been using this. Americans use on average 200 lbs. per person. And most of this, almost all – is made in Southeast Asia. From wood. American paper used to be made from hemp, flax, and recycled rags. America used to lead the world in the production of paper. Now there are few mills here, most with a production of under 10,000 tons per year. Some of those are specialty mills. Very few use hemp.
Some use farm waste, a practice championed by Woody Harrelson, who encouraged the use of wheat stems in paper making. His move was good both ecologically and economically. And it was good for farmers, adding value to their harvest of food crops.
With his action, he was sowing a seed for the revival of the US paper industry. A paper industry in the US not only provides jobs, but is good for the ecology if farm wastes along with hemp bast are used. Add to that the value of recycling our rags and the argument is made.
Hemp – and other plants, can be dual crops as we revive the paper industry in the US.
Tune in next issue for a more specific discussion of this subject.
CBD use has exploded across the country to the point where consumers are mind boggled at the sea of choices. Some patients who it could greatly benefit from CBD, decided early in the game that it’s over-priced snake oil because they bought a shady off brand at the local 7-11 two years ago that did nothing. Thankfully since then, the market has shaken out to make room for legitimate brands that specialize in reducing inflammation, anxiety, PTSD symptoms, epilepsy, depression, neuropathy, spasms and more.
Even small towns across the country have a CBD shop these days because it is such an effective natural way to self-medicate. They range from sleek and clinical to funky and fun, and
depending on what you are comfortable with you can find a shop to fit your needs. When choosing products, it’s best to consult with an expert, but doing your own research online is a great place to start. A reputable manufacturer will provide lab tests; either a QR code on the bottle will lead to itemized batch identified results from a certified lab, or you can find them on the product website. Look for individual tests that show a current dated result naming the specific product you are considering.
Herbal Root Collective in Austin, TX brings their shop to farmer’s markets in the Austin area with an expert who can recommend the right product and dosage for you. With a background in medicine, founder and product developer Caitlyn Hendricks says that the majority of her clients are older folks who suffer from arthritis, bursitis, and high blood pressure. All their products are lab tested and offer a variety of applications from lotion and oil, to roll on, gummies and smokable flower.
Instead of Starbucks, take a field trip to the groovy CBD coffee and snack shop, LazyDaze In Pflugerville, TX. It is veteran owned and operated by Shaunie Haynes and Ken Nance, who offer an extensive variety of goodies from CBD infused Laura Palmers to Cool Beans, Dude coffee and pet treats. If you are in the industry or provide a service, check out their 420 B to B event in Jefferson, TX. You must contact the owners for an invite to this private event.
Restart CBD is an Austin dispensary owned and operated by three sisters who work with certified organic farmers to create alternative remedies to achieve self-healing. They offer a colorful array of edibles including salt water taffy, peanut butter nugs, cold brew, caramels and Delta 8 brownies and chocolates that make taking medicine yummy.
CBG, or cannabigerol, like its cousin CBD, is a powerful non-psychoactive cannabinoid that can be helpful in relieving symptoms of glaucoma, treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), alleviating inflammation in multiple sclerosis, protecting the nerves in Huntington’s Disease, and inhibiting the growth of carcinogenic cells in the colon. According to a study on PubMed.gov, CBG had a positive effect on intraocular tension, a main risk factor in glaucoma. But unlike CBD and THC, CBG does not cause conjunctival erythema and hyperemia, making it a preferable treatment. Green Mountain Flower Company in Austin, TX offers a 1,000 mg tincture available in the shop or online.
From the plethora of CBD brands available, deciding what is right for your needs is a process of exploring and learning about this amazing medicine that can relieve a laundry list of symptoms. If your traditional medications are no longer satisfactory in relieving pain and suffering, it is worth the time and money to take your health into your own hands by getting in touch with a reputable CDB dispensary today, for advice and more information.
Since my youth I have collected stamps, and one way that I go about philately is by topic. In the twentieth century, nations started putting images of almost anything on a stamp as a way to sell them and promote their land. Heads of state gave way to Elvis and the Beatles, while politics and war also made their way onto these mini-posters. Orchids, bats, cactuses, falconry, basketball or baseball, you name it, there is a stamp for it.
For hemp too, there are stamps.
The first is of a woman hemp picker in the Italian Workers’ set of 1950, Scott # Italy 565. It exists with an overprint for use in Trieste, issued the same year: Scott # Trieste 106.
The next one, or two, are British stamps depicting hemp in North Borneo. The first was issued in 1950 under King George VI, with his image, while the second, which is the same design, replaces his with that of his daughter Queen Elizabeth II. The latter was issued in 1955: Scott #s North Borneo 247 and 264 respectively.
Not a large selection for what was once the world’s most traded commodity; and for what was certainly used as a raw material in the production of stamp paper until tree pulp replaced hemp pulp. Stamps arrived on the scene in August of 1840, with the penny black, depicting the present monarch’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
The Victorians grew hemp – as did the Italians and Russians and just about everyone else including the Americans.
The most sought after hemp stamps are in fact the American revenue stamps, Scott #s RJM1-RJM8; the first four were issued in 1937, then re-issued in 1962. The 1937 set was issued in $1, $5, $10 and $100 denominations, the 1962 set in $1, $5, $10 and $50 denominations. Rather than print stamps specially for this purpose, existing revenues called documentaries, used to pay the taxes on financial documents, were overprinted in black with the words: MARIHUANA TAX ACT OF 1937. The same overprint was used for both sets.
As the word on the stamp was not hemp, but ‘MARIHUANA’, which was not in common use at the time, it only confused farmers. Some say that was the purpose. Most farmers did not understand the new rules and did not equate hemp with any type of drug.
Today we know the difference, and we can choose from over 1,000 varieties of Cannabis sativa; some for CBD and recreational use, some for seed, some for paper, some for textiles among other applications. The list is extensive and as the cultivation and processing of hemp increases in the US and around the world, it will be time for another set of stamps to depict this resurgent industry.
January 28, 2021, Non-violent Cannabis offender Michael Thompson at the age of 69, was released from prison after 23 years behind bars even though recreational cannabis use has been legal more than two years in Michigan. Before he was granted clemency, his first opportunity for release would have been at the age of 87.
Sarah Gersten, Executive Director and General Counsel of Last Prisoner Project and founding member of Michigan Cannabis Freedom Coalition, said, “Today marks a momentous occasion for Michael Thompson, his family, and his countless supporters throughout Michigan and across the country. Unfortunately, it also serves as a stark and somber reminder of the thousands of cannabis prisoners who remain behind bars while others profit off of a now legal industry.”
The Texas Hemp Reporter had the chance to catch up with Sarah a week later:
This is pretty exciting right?
SG: Very exciting, it’s been an incredibly exciting month and even more exciting week.
How often does this happen?
SG: The release? We have two distinct release programs, one is the clemency commutation side of it, and then compassionate release. Those are the more frequent, more standard; you go through the judiciary. With the clemency campaigns it’s about crafting a compelling narrative of why someone deserves release, so to do that effectively you have to really get to know their family. With Michael Thompson over the past year I have gotten to know him on a personal level so well. We pushed this really robust campaign for him, and he became sort of a national symbol of this issue. For this to happen with someone that has become as high profile as Michael for me personally to be so involved to get to know him, his family it was once in a lifetime really.
That’s so amazing it’s giving me goosebumps. Do you think this is perhaps a benchmark for prisoners in this similar situation?
SG: It’s tricky because we are absolutely pushing these types of campaigns, but the bigger effort that we’re pushing both nationally and on a state level is for broader policy reform that enables the release of anyone still incarcerated for non-violent cannabis offenses. That work is not as personally satisfying because you don’t get to know the prisoners and the families as you do when you’re crafting a clemency campaign, but it will lead to broad systemic reform and impact thousands of individuals.
I was reading about this and he seems like a salt of the earth, pillar of the community kind of guy and it’s so tragic, but what is his plan now for the future?
SG: Before he was incarcerated Michael worked within his community; he had received awards from the NAACP for his work doing violence reduction in Flint MI, where he’s from, and working with teens involved in gang violence. He really continued that kind of work when he was incarcerated. He served as a mentor to individuals serving with him and people often thought of him as a father or grandfather. He should be retiring now, he loves to garden and be outside, but instead he wants to dedicate himself to criminal justice reform and prison reform.
Wow. Did you get to be there when he was released?
I was! I was actually the one to drive him home! I think because I’m from New Hampshire and it was snowing in MI and a lot of the team was from the west coast. It was awesome.
Do you think this could cause a floodgate of releases?
I do. Through Michael’s case we’ve also been identifying other prisoners in MI that are there for cannabis offenses, that we can submit their clemency petitions for, and through Michaels campaign and advocacy around his case we’ve gotten buy in to reform this issue from the attorney general, to the lieutenant governor, several progressive prosecutors in MI, state law makers. So, through Michael, we’re already pushing this really broad campaign and doing the groundwork to get more individuals in MI out.
What is your goal with the federal work that you’re doing?
Mr. Thompson before his incarceration.
SG: It’s similar federally in that we had spent months advocating with the white house, with the Trump administration for clemency for our federal constituents and three weeks ago he granted clemency to several of our constituents, and I absolutely think that is going to be a symbol of the type of reform that needs to be enacted. What we saw is that the process is fundamentally broken, we need an effective, transparent process and especially for marijuana offenders. There is so much bi-partisan support to provide retroactive relief for those still incarcerated federally. And that was before this most recent signal from majority leader Schumer and other senators to legalize federally.
Great! Do you see a timeline? Could this happen in the next year or two?
SG: If you had asked me that a week ago, I would have been on the fence, but with Senator Schumer coming out and wanting to make this an issue, within this congress, this year, I absolutely think it could happen.
Fantastic! What has been your biggest hinderance to your goals with the Last Prisoner Project?
SG: I would say stigma. There is still such a stigma attached to cannabis, even in criminal justice circles we often get push back because of our narrow focus. People don’t perceive this as the monumental problem that it is, and the other stigma is just around the idea of what we’re doing. There are so many people in this country, elected officials, that believe if you committed a crime, even if it’s now legal, even though the majority of Americans believe it shouldn’t be a crime, that you should remain incarcerated and that you don’t deserve a second chance. That is why it is so important to raise up the stories of people like Michael. For the people that have that mindset, so they can get his story, and that he deserves a second chance, and that he never deserved to be incarcerated in the first place.
Indeed. How can regular people on the street help? I see on the website you have a call to action to write letters, emails and calls, was that the biggest push for it his release? Was that how it eventually happened? Through the voices of the people?
SG: Yes, I think Michael’s case is a shining example of the power of grassroots organizing and advocacy. Without having hundreds of thousands of people write letters and make calls to the governor and the parole board he would still be incarcerated. People in this moment and climate are really jaded and think what I do won’t have an impact. Michael’s case should show everybody that it absolutely does make an impact and those calls were heard. We really harnessed the collective power of so many people to advocate for Michael.
I will look out for him in the news. He is such a figurehead for this community. It’s an honor to speak with you and I appreciate your time today.
2.Release day from left to right: Last Prisoner Project Constituent Donte West, Michael Thompson, Sarah Gersten, and Last Prisoner Project Board Member Erik Murray.
Sarah Gersten Executive Director and General Counsel at Last Prisoner Project
As a new generation of hemp farmers and entrepreneurs take root across the country there are a multitude of risks that can take a new business down in the first years of establishment. Even the most seasoned farmer and savvy business person will encounter unforeseen obstacles in any stage of the process. These can become valuable lessons or fatal blows, and a well-developed business plan is the best defense against the latter.
Employing credentialed consultants to address potential problems, solutions, and make projections based on research and the valuable experience of others is the best way to forecast for success. Fortunately, Texas is home to a variety of advisors to guide you through every part of the process from seed to sale.
Assistance with business compliance and formation can be found with lawyers and accountants who specialize in hemp and marijuana law. Here in Texas, Ritter Spencer is known for their expertise in compliance and Cannabis Business Law Group-Coats Rose brings significant experience from across the supply chain in multiple jurisdictions that focus on commercial litigation. Carr Riggs and Ingram CPAs can help with tax questions, business set up, insurance and employee benefits packages. Navigating the nuances of regulatory compliance, government tax requirements, hemp/medical marijuana licensing, product labeling/marketing, and real estate issues in a rapidly changing landscape is tricky. Choosing a firm that specializes in this heavily regulated niche industry will provide guidance from the outset and insure compliance for your endeavor.
Consider the benefits of growing indoors in a greenhouse, or a land lease. The Texas Hemp Ranch in Webberville leases 10 acre pre-fertilized plots with two grow cycles and well water access or irrigation from the Colorado river. Avery Barksdale at Texas Greenland Development Company offers 5-400 acres to lease monthly or seasonally in several areas of Texas. Using greenhouses provides protection from the elements as well as pests. Customize the configuration to meet the needs of the landscape for the best outcome of your product by speaking with the experts at Reef Industries. They source a variety of laminates and provide fabrication options to suit every need.
With so many companies to choose from that offer seeds and starts getting a cross section of information about suitable varietals and methods is important. Factors to consider are latitude, soil PH, end use and certification. Uniseeds, Hydroshack, Riverside Hemp, and Garcia Bros Organics provide consultation services along with products to help farmers best determine which processes and products are best for their conditions.
Scientific analysis of soil, water, and fertilizers is the most effective way to determine what kind of additives to use for a successful harvest. TPS agricultural provides data analysis, DIY kits, lab consulting and solutions along with products to repair, stimulate, and improve production.
Identifying THC levels throughout the grow process is recommended, and certified lab tests are required at harvest time. Any laboratory testing hemp for THC concentration under the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program must be registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to handle controlled substances. Zosi Analytical, and AFL Texas are both DEA approved and can identify toxins and provide cannabinoid and THC profiles. Some labs also offer manufacturing and consulting, labeling and R&D, shelf life studies and work with a variety of products from gummies to body products.
When it comes to harvesting, Texas Premium Hemp Producers LP in Ulm, TX are the experts in bucking and drying. Inpak Systems manufactures bag fillers and closers for seeds, flowers, dried pellets or chopped leaves and Hempsac manufactures the bags to protect and preserve the product during storage and transportation. Transporting the product poses a unique set of challenges where only experts should be employed like JW Transport Services.
All of these vendor contacts can be found in the Texas Hemp Reporter as well as here:
