The Wide Applications for Cannabis Sativa

Hemp and cannabis are the same species of plant

Cannabis and hemp are the same species of plant irrespective of the U.S. Federal government's arbitrary demarcation line of .3% THC. Per the Feds, a cannabis sativa plant with THC levels above .3% is considered "marijuana," an illegal Schedule 1 drug. For those few subspecies that never produce THC above .3%, those plants are classified as "hemp," and legal, with heavy constraints. While many chemovars of industrial hemp produce some level of THC during their 4-month life, for the majority the level is minimal, ephemeral and effectively not psychoactive — but above .3%, and therefore illegal.

It's like Roma tomatoes cooked into sauce or Beefsteak tomatoes you eat raw — they're both tomatoes. Likewise, hemp and cannabis both come from the same plant species. Some species are cultivated for recreational consumption, some for fiber or hempseeds or biomass. There are hundreds of subspecies of hemp, and absent prohibition, only 5% of the cannabis cultivated today would be for recreational use.

The hemp plant produces four distinct agricultural end crops: (1) cannabinoid-rich flower; (2) hempseeds; (3) bast fiber; and (4) hurd & biomass. The chemovar grown, cultivation method employed and location depend on whether one is growing for cannabinoid oils, seeds, fiber, or hurd & biomass.

Cultivation differs by desired end product

Cannabis grown for cannabinoid flower like THC and CBD requires different chemovars and cultivation methods than industrial hemp grown for fiber, biomass and seeds. Cannabis grown for cannabinoid flower grows best outside near the equator or inside climate-controlled grow rooms; each plant needs space to bush out and can see 3 to 4 harvests per year. Because plants are spaced out (2,000 to 2,500 plants per acre), herbicides may be needed for weed remediation, and pesticides may be needed to control aphids, spider mites, grasshoppers and mold.

Industrial hemp grows best outside between latitudes of 30° and 60°, is planted far more densely, and grows as a single vertical stalk 6 to 12 feet high with one harvest a year. Because of its rapid growth — 3 to 4 inches in a single day — when planted densely (500,000 to 1 million plants per acre), hemp outgrows all competing plants, effectively eliminating the need for herbicides.

Revenue per acre multiples higher than existing crops

Industrial hemp's superior economics versus existing crops comes from higher biomass yield relative to input costs. The biomass produced can also serve as feedstock to a far wider variety of end markets than corn (food, ethanol), cotton (fabric, food) soybeans (food) or wheat (food) — providing a sturdier demand floor and more optionality for farmers. On average, corn generates about $600 an acre on 175 bushels harvested, while cotton generates about $570 per acre on 880 lbs of fiber plus another $90 to $170 per acre on roughly 1,000 lbs of cotton seed.

Hemp grown for fiber & biomass

Cultivating hemp for fiber and biomass sales ranges from roughly $1,000 to $4,300 an acre depending on quantity and quality of output. An acre of hemp generates about 9,300 lbs of dry unretted stalks, which clean down to around 7,850 lbs of dry retted stalks. Those are then decorticated — fiber separated from hurd — into about 6,250 lbs of dry hurd and 1,600 lbs of hemp fiber.

Hemp grown for grain (hempseed-focused)

Growing hemp primarily for hempseed yields about $2,377 from seed oil and protein meal, plus a smaller secondary fiber & biomass stream, for total revenue of $3,000 per acre. Target plant density for hempseed production — 10 to 12 plants per square foot — is less than half the 23 to 28 plants per square foot targeted when growing for fiber & biomass, so fiber and biomass output is roughly half.

Hemp is friendlier to the environment than cotton or corn

Hemp's nutrient requirements are generally lower than cotton and corn, hemp uses far less water, and hemp requires far less herbicide and pesticide. Because hemp outgrows competing plants, minimal to no herbicides are needed. Corn is America's largest crop with over 90 million acres under cultivation — roughly one-third for animal feed, one-third for human food, and one-third for subsidy-dependent ethanol.

Beyond "getting high": medical applications

Over 100 cannabinoids have been identified in the cannabis flower. A selection of the most-studied phytocannabinoids and their documented attributes: