The complete guide to the commercial, medicinal and pyschotropic.

Hemp, Cannabis sativa, has been called the world's most versatile plant. Materials made from hemp fiber have been discovered in tombs dating back to 7000 B.C. During the Middle Ages hemp was used to treat fevers, insomnia, and malaria. Columbus's ships had sails of hemp, and during colonial times it was universally grown because its strong fibers made superior ropes, sails, cloth, and paper. In fact, hemp was used for money in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s, and the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written on hemp paper. As a food, the oil from hemp seeds has the highest percentage of essential fatty acids and the lowest percentage of saturated fats. Britain and Canada have recently lifted bans on growing industrial hemp and today it is reappearing in the marketplace in an amazing array of products: from lip-salve, jeans, salad oil, and cheese to paper products, composite fiberboard, and biomass fuel. This illustrated, easy-to-read guide covers all aspects of hemp: • The history of its cultivation worldwide • Its role as a source of renewable energy and as an alternative for paper manufacturing and fossil fuels • Its versatility as a fiber • Its many nutritional and medicinal uses • Examines the physiological and psychological effects of marijuana use in recreation and therapy • A comprehensive resource section includes information on organizations involved in legalizing hemp, product suppliers, and an annotated bibliography.

Hemp is the world's most versatile fibre. Roulac traces its historical usage and examines its future. B/W illlustrations.

Hemp production for industrial purposes continues to grow worldwide, and is currently being used for many applications including house insulation, paper making, animal bedding, fabric, rope making and also as a biofuel. This book brings together international experts to examine all aspects of industrial hemp production, including the origins of hemp production, as well as the botany and anatomy, genetics and breeding, quality assessment, regulations, and the agricultural and industrial economics of hemp production. A translation of Le Chanvre Industriel, this book has been revised and updated for an international audience and is essential reading for producers of industrial hemp, industry personnel and agriculture researchers and students.

A look at major events in U.S. and world history as they influenced, and as they may have been influenced by, the cultivation and use of hemp.

This concise guide to cannabis delves into pot culture and history, from Herodotus To The hippies and beyond. it also covers the essentials of using, cultivating, and cooking with weed; identifying pot varieties; and understanding legal and health issues. Handy and To The point, The Little Black Book of Marijuana gives you "the dope" on pot, from possible side effects and risks to medical uses and their efficacy. Learn about cannabis history And The issues around its legalization. Includes full-color photos of marijuana varieties.

If You Simply Want to Know the Basics of Today's Cannabis Landscape... One of the most popular topics of discussion and debate today is the use of cannabis. In recent years we have seen the expansion of the availability of both medical and recreational cannabis across the United States and, like many adults, you are probably curious about what cannabis is and isn't. Is cannabis the same thing as marijuana? Are marijuana and hemp the same plant? Can you really use cannabis and not get high? What are the possible health benefits of cannabis? How is it responsibly consumed? What should I tell my kids about cannabis? What's fact, what's fiction, and what's simply a cliche? These and other questions are addressed in Cannabis Essentials: A Field Guide for the Curious. In a clear, brief, and objective format, author Rob Mejia will help you to learn the basics needed to navigate this ever changing landscape. Mejia has spent the last five years listening to and learning from the many diverse voices involved in the world of cannabis--from dispensary owners and budtenders to medical patients, growers who happen to be nuns, cannabis chefs, hemp oil producers, journalists, and more. Their personal and illuminating stories, featured throughout the book, bring the discussion about cannabis to life-- and you will never again think of cannabis in the same way. Cannabis Essentials: A Field Guide for the Curious is your own personal cannabis concierge to help you explore this new world of opportunity and possibility. Among the many topics covered, it will guide you through: Why cannabis was vilified and became essentially illegal in the US in 1937 when it had been accepted medicine for centuries How other parts of the world are embracing cannabis Why the use of cannabis is a social justice/racial justice issue and what we can do about it What medical conditions respond best to cannabis and why cannabis medical research in the US is severely hampered How to visit a dispensary and how to find the cannabis strain that works best for you What are the many ways that cannabis can be responsibly consumed and what are the advantages and drawbacks of each type of use How to cook with cannabis Recipes that work well with cannabis infusions Lists of helpful websites, references, and revealing cannabis factoids Challenges and opportunities in the cannabis world going forward If you are ready to start your cannabis journey, or understand the landscape before heading out, Cannabis Essentials: A Field Guide for the Curious will keep you secure, knowledgeable, and prepared to embrace your cannabis curiosity.

Leading experts on the science, history, politics, medicine, and potential of America’s most popular recreational drug • With contributions by Andrew Weil, Michael Pollan, Lester Grinspoon, Allen St. Pierre (NORML), Tommy Chong, and others • Covers marijuana’s physiological and psychological effects, its medicinal uses, the complex politics of cannabis law, pot and parenting, its role in creativity, business, and spirituality, and much more Exploring the role of cannabis in medicine, politics, history, and society, The Pot Book offers a compendium of the most up-to-date information and scientific research on marijuana from leading experts, including Lester Grinspoon, M.D., Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Allen St. Pierre (NORML), and Raphael Mechoulam. Also included are interviews with Michael Pollan, Andrew Weil, M.D., and Tommy Chong as well as a pot dealer and a farmer who grows for the U.S. Government. Encompassing the broad spectrum of marijuana knowledge from stoner customs to scientific research, this book investigates the top ten myths of marijuana; its physiological and psychological effects; its risks; why joints are better than water pipes and other harm-reduction tips for users; how humanity and cannabis have co-evolved for millennia; the brain’s cannabis-based neurochemistry; the complex politics of cannabis law; its potential medicinal uses for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and other illnesses; its role in creativity, business, and spirituality; and the complicated world of pot and parenting. As legalization becomes a reality, this book candidly offers necessary facts and authoritative opinions in a society full of marijuana myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes.

Founded as an ecclesiastical center, trading hub, and intended capital of a feudal state, Riga was Old Livonia's greatest city and its indispensable port. Because the city was situated in what was initially remote and inhospitable territory, surrounded by pagans and coveted by regional powers like Poland, Sweden, and Muscovy, it was also a fortress encased by a wall. The House of Hemp and Butter begins in the twelfth century with the arrival to the eastern Baltic of German priests, traders, and knights, who conquered and converted the indigenous tribes and assumed mastery over their lands. It ends in 1710 with an account of the greatest war Livonia had ever seen, one that was accompanied by mass starvation, a terrible epidemic, and a flood of nearly biblical proportions that devastated the city and left its survivors in misery. Readers will learn about Riga's people—merchants and clerics, craftsmen and builders, porters and day laborers—about its structures and spaces, its internal conflicts and its unrelenting struggle to maintain its independence against outside threats. The House of Hemp and Butter is an indispensable guide to a quintessentially European city located in one of the continent's more remote corners.

Looks at the economic, environmental, and practical potential that the hemp plant offers, looking at how its renewed cultivation could stand to benefit the country.