Hemp Seed Oil Makes Good Biodeisel

Physorg.com have an article about the results of trials conducted by the University of Connecticut on Hemp Seed oil.
UConn have found that Hemp Seed oil is a viable alternative to current biofuel crops. The beauty of hemp based raw material is that it can be grown in infertile ground, leaving arable land for food crops.
Further, Hemp seed oil is 97% convertible into biodeisel and is useable as fuel at lower temperatures than other food/seed based oils.

I would love to see the production of industrial hemp increased in Australia to develop Biodeisel products. Most Australian states have legalised Industrial Hemp, so we have an opportunity to create an environmentally friendly product that is an alternative to current fossil based fuels.

But that's not all...

This adds to the list of sustainable and healthy uses for Hemp and Hemp seed:

Hemp seed oil is very high in Omega-6 and 3 fatty acids. Apparently, the ratio of 3:1 respectively of those oils is perfect for humans.

About 30–35% of the weight of hempseed is an edible oil that contains about 80% as essential fatty acids (EFAs); i.e., linoleic acid, omega-6 (LA, 55%), alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 (ALA, 22%), in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 (GLA, 1–4%) and stearidonic acid, omega-3 (SDA, 0–2%).

The proportions of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid in one tablespoon per day (15 ml) of hempseed oil easily provides human daily requirements for EFAs. Unlike flaxseed oil, hempseed oil can be used continuously without developing a deficiency or other imbalance of EFAs. This has been demonstrated in a clinical study, where the daily ingestion of flaxseed oil decreased the endogenous production of GLA.

 Hemp seed oil is readily absorbed by the skin and has been shown to be effective in treating eczema and other skin conditions.

The hemp plant has a plethora of uses. These include using the processed plant to strengthen concrete and as a replacement for glass fibre in vehicle building (fibreglass). Other products produced from Hemp include cloth, paper and plastic.

Given the usefulness and renewability of Hemp, we as Australians are doing ourselves a disservice by not pushing for more hemp based industries in this country.

The Alcohol Lobby and Cannabis Reform

Borrowed from here

It is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the world, but the Alcohol industry doesn't want cannabis legalized for medicinal purposes, and especially not for private home use.
Now, call me cynical (or even a conspiracy theorist), but I don't think that the Alcohol Lobby opposes Cannabis reform for altruistic reasons.

The Alcohol Industry employs a lot of people and keeps a lot of people happy (or unhappy if you can't control your Alcohol intake).

According to Alternet, there is mounting evidence that the Alcohol Lobby and certain Police groups (in opposition to their members) are the primary financial backers to California's anti Prop-19 group 'Public Safety First'.

I'll repeat what I've read of other opinion pieces. The Alcohol sector stands to lose a lot of money if cannabis is legalized across Western cultures. The Pharmaceutical Industry, another anti-Prop 19 heavy-weight will also lose a lot if a non-patentable drug is available to grow in our homes. Lastly, it is widely rumoured that Narcotic divisions of certain Police Departments will have a hard time justifying expenses if their one 'easy catch' offence is no longer available.

Will every state or territory in every Western country have to fight this type of attack when they see the light and try to pass a legalization motion for cannabis?

Thanks to Chilli Man for permission to edit and reprint.

1000's of Cannabis Convictions May be Based on Flawed Evidence

One of the most commonly used Cannabis detection methods may be responsible for the wrongful convictions of thousands of people.
According to AlterNet, the 'Duquenois-Levine' test, widely used by police forces as a screening test for Cannabis, is non-specific and may produce false positive. In fact, the manufacturers of the test stress that it should only be used as a preliminary screening test, prior to more specific testing methods.
Yet the test is routinely presented as the only evidence in cannabis use/possession charges.

Science Blog also covers this story.

Natural News ran a similar story back in 2009, stating cases where NIK tests were falsely flagging soaps and chocolates as narcotics and/or Cannabis.

Stop The Drug War ran the expose in 2009

The Australian Hemp Embassy is also re-reporting the story from AlterNet.

Electric Car Made From Hemp - I Love Canada!

Canadians are too clever.

They are developing an electric car ...not so special you say?

Well, this car is also going to have a composite Hemp body...not so special either? After all, Henry Ford built an ethanol powered Hemp bodied car years ago.

But, this car will have a motor that was developed and manufactured in Canada by TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec, and the Hemp will be grown and processed in Canada. This has got to be good for the local economy, and should be a lesson to the rest of the planet. Do something local with some renewable resources and help the planet and your part of the Global Village. 

From the source:

The Kestrel is one of five electric vehicles being developed by Project Eve, an automotive industry collaboration founded by Motive and Toronto Electric, an Ontario material handling and electric motor company, to boost the production of electric vehicles and electric vehicle components in Canada.

Read more: The Kestrel

References and sources:

1:  CBC News: Cannabis Electric Car To be Made In Canada

2: Schaffer Library of Drug Policy (early news of Ford's Hemp Car): Extract from Popular Mechanics, Dec. 1941

3: Wikipedia: Reference to Henry Ford's advocacy of Ethanol and Hemp oil as vehicle fuels.

4: Marijuana Tipster.com: Henry Ford Hemp Car

5: World News: Links and video about Henry Ford and the Hemp Car

6: Hempcar.org: Facts About Hemp

7: Hempcar: The TransAmerica Homepage. Circling the US in a Hemp powered car.

8: University of Southern QLD ePrints: Environmentally friendly natural fibre composites with Qld. based vegetable oils
9: Michigan State University (WARNING-PDF link): Are natural fiber composites environmentally superior to glass fiber reinforced composites?
10: TM4 Electro Dynamic Systems: Home Page