Pubdate: Mon, 14 May 2012
Source: Anniston Star (AL)
Copyright: 2012 Consolidated Publishing
Contact:  http://www.annistonstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/923
Author: Dawn Palmer

MARIJUANA COULD BENEFIT BUSINESS

If the U.S. Congress was smart, it would jump on legalizing the
marijuana plant and start two profitable businesses that could give a
boost to our economy instead of a boost to China's and the cartels'
economy.

One business opportunity could be producing industrial hemp like we
used to do. Hemp is a certain strain of the marijuana plant that has a
low content of tetrahydrocannabinaol (THC), the psychoactive
ingredient in marijuana. Hemp is grown for industrial purposes such as
making paper, textiles and biodegradable plastics, and it is
environmentally friendly, as it requires few pesticides and no
herbicides. Hemp can also be used to produce bio-diesel fuel.

China is the largest producer of hemp and exports hemp and hemp
products to the U.S. For the U.S. to import hemp from China is
ridiculous when we could grow our own.

Another business opportunity is medical marijuana. The flowers of
certain strains of the marijuana plant, which have a higher content of
tetrahydrocannabinaol (THC), are used for medicinal purposes to
alleviate nausea and vomiting in cancer and HIV patients. It's used in
the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders
due to its antispasmodic, pain reducing properties, with very few side
effects.

It is ridiculous for China and the cartels to reap the benefits of
this very useful plant because the U.S. has strict drug policies that
are based on propaganda.

Dawn Palmer

Tarrant
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MAP posted-by: Matt