Hemp is not marijuana or visa versa

Here is an excerpt from an educational article my husband Simon reminded me of recently -written back in the 1990's. It points out wonderful comparison's of hemp seeds and marijuana to poppy seeds and the Red Scarlet poppy.

Great reading and essential education in the hemp food debate..!

Hemp is not marijuana or visa versa, as the public has been lead to believe for sixty years. Both share the same genus and according to most taxonomists the same species, Cannabis sativa. More importantly, both produce the same organic compounds known as cannabinoids, which are unique to the genus Cannabis. The two main compounds, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), i.e. the most psychoactive cannabinoid, and cannabidiol (CBD) are found in both hemp and marijuana.

However, both hemp and marijuana show significant differences with respect to the concentration and relative abundance of these two cannabinoids. Drug varieties, summarily referred to as marijuana, contain in their female flowers typically 2-5% of THC, but THC levels of as high as 15-20% are not uncommon. Industrial hemp varieties on the other hand, which are licenced for farming in the European Union and Canada (and in some states here in Australia), must be bred to maintain a THC content of less than 0.3%. In addition, hemp and marijuana differ in their ratio of THC to CBD. CBD has been shown to block the psychoactivity of THC. Industrial hemp contains more CBD than THC, i.e. has a CBD/THC-ratio of greater than one, while marijuana contains often significant more THC than CBD. Both the low THC content and the high CBD/THC ratio make industrial hemp unsuitable for producing psychoactive effects when smoked or eaten. The high CBD concentration also makes the theoretically conceivable concentration and recovery of THC in hemp technically difficult and economically unfeasable. .
Let's put this into perspective;
Poppy flowers. Of which there are dozens of varieties, are popular in backyard gardens. The species Papaver somniferum includes many varieties of poppies, only one of which, the "Red scarlet" poppy, produces opium and derivative narcotics (such as heroin)from its pods which contain significant amounts of concentrated opiates (primarily morphine and codeine). While the U.S. DEA has targeted red scarlets, home gardeners continue to cultivate the other non-opium producing varieties of papaver somniferum. The poppy seeds that are commonly consumed as a condiment in baked goods such as bagels, breads, muffins and cakes derive from one of these non-opium varieties of Papaver somniferum, commonly called the "breadseed poppy". The U.S. Controlled Substances Act specifically exempts the poppy seed as a result of the market for human consumption. Poppy seeds can contain trace amounts of opiates at levels many times higher than THC in hemp seeds and these opiates are metabolised into urine at a higher concentration than the trace THC. Concentrating the trace opiates in breadseed poppy seeds to an active level is theoretically possible at enormous cost, effort and inefficiency; however, the U.S. DEA and ONDCP have not attempted to ban non-opium variety poppies based on this highly speculative scenario.

Poppy seed bagels and flowers are enjoyed by children of all ages, yet children do not confuse poppy seeds and poppy flowers with smoking opium, nor do they perceive a "message" that opium is good. The home garden and breadseed variety of poppy plants look similar to the opium producing red scarlet poppy, yet the U.S. DEA seems able to tell the difference. As the trace opiate levels in poppy seeds are higher than the trace THC in hemp seed, eating poppy seeds can produce a false positive for narcotic use on a drug test at the 300 ppb cutoff for opiates in urine; however, government agencies and corporations have adapted by raising the threshold for a test-positive beyond the level of ambiguity (from 300 ppb to 2000 ppb). The condiment and home gardening markets for poppies are smaller than the potential markets for hemp, yet the DEA has not argued for banning non-opium poppy plants for lack of a large market. Finally, the DEA has not suggested that breadseed and home garden poppies are a threat to the controlled status of opium, in spite of the fact that these plants all share the same genus and species.

In Simon's words....
"What's going on in peoples heads if they can not see the obvious truths about industrial hemp? Why are people so scared? It is the most life sustaining plant in existence, in our backyard gardens we should have our tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, garlic and cannabis sativa, all for the health of our family and friends???"

hemp hemp hooray!