More and more people are starting to realize that the hemp plant can save our environment. Cultivating the hemp plant is illegal in the United States and has been since September of 1937. Could we be improving our environment if we start to use this natural product? Research suggests that yes, we will improve our environment by allowing hemp to be used! I think hemp is a great alternative to many things! Hemp can help to make our environment a safer and healthier place to live in.

We can replace cardboard and paper products with hemp. Hemp can grow much faster than trees, therefore, we should be limiting the amount of trees we cut down and use hemp instead. Hemp can be recycled up to seven times, while paper can only be recycled at a maximum of three times. It is also not bleached with chemicals that are bad for the environment and our health! Wood paper and pulp create toxins and pollutants. I don't know about you, but I would much rather not allow for toxins to surround me! The use of hemp will also eliminate the need to cut down as many trees as we do now. (More trees=better environment!!) Replacing paper products with hemp plants would make our environment a lot better!

Another way that hemp can be used to help our environment is by replacing building materials with hemp. Researchers say, “Hempcrete is the newest green building material.” Hempcrete is a material made of the wood-like interior in the cannabis plant. It is the perfect building material because it is flexible, breathable, free from toxins and is fireproof. (Naturally!!) Buildings that are up to ten stories high have been built with hemp in Europe and fun fact, Henry ford built a light car out of hemp with the ability to withstand ten times the impact of a regular car without receiving a dent! Building materials can be easily replaced by the hemp plant. Again, if we replace hemp with building materials we will be helping to improve our environment by eliminating toxins in unnatural materials!

In order for hemp to become legal, people need to be aware of the advantages of using hemp. Products other than hemp can be extremely harmful to not only our environment, but also wildlife and to us human beings! Due to its link to marijuana, hemp has become a taboo. It needs to be known as something positive. I truly support the use of hemp in order to save our environment! Hemp could greatly affect the planet in a positive way!