Environmental Studies Certificate Program (EN)
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More than a drug

Hemp as a natural resource and its use for society

19.07.2016

In many cultures, people have prejudices against hemp because of its sources of drugs.

My aim is to show how useful the three species of the genus Cannabis are as a natural resource. The three species of hemp, C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis, occur naturally in India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Israel and North Africa (Körber-Grohne 1994: 388 f.), and were introduced to the New World around 1000-2000 BC (Small 2015: 219). Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plant groups. Hemp has been domesticated for fibre in the bast of the stems, oil in the fruits, and an intoxicating resin produced in epidermal glands (ibid.: 193 f.). Its seeds deliver a high nutritional value, their oil has positive effects on skin health, and hemp fibers, which are best known as material for sturdy cloth and ropes, can also be used as insulation for buildings or in furniture (Herer 1994: 316 ff.). Hemp is thus a useful renewable resource for an ecological way of living, and in a sustainability-based society, hemp would play a more important role than it already does today.

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This exhibition illustrates the use of hemp and features hemp products. Visitors are able to taste and try them with all their senses. In addition to the information about products, it offers a brief history of the prohibition and basic facts about the biological and agricultural characteristics of hemp.
Exhibits:
• seeds, stalk, fibre, leaves
• Products: paper, insulation material, rope, canvas, apparel, denim, oil, chocolate, soap, creams etc. representing the industries using hemp: paper, building, textiles, medicine, food, body care, technical
Literature:
• Herer, Jack (1994): Die Wiederentdeckung der Nutzpflanze Hanf, Cannabis Marihuana. Mit einer Kurzstudie von Katalyse-Institut für angewandte Umweltforschung e.V. 19. Aufl. Frankfurt am Main: Zweitausendeins.
• Körber-Grohne, U. (1994): Nutzpflanzen in Deutschland. Kulturgeschichte und Biologie. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart: Theiss-Verl.
• Small, E. (2015): Evolution and classification of Cannabis sativa (marijuana, hemp) in relation to human utilization. Bot. Review 81: 189-294.

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