Lifeline to the Future by Chris Conrad

Abstract / Description

Hemp, Lifeline to the Future is a comprehensive look at the uses of the plant cannabis sativa, L., which has two forms. The medical variety has flowers that produce marijuana. The industrial variety has virtually no drug content but is a prolific source of high quality vegetable fiber and seed oil. Both types are currently illegal in America, even as farmers in Europe and Asia quietly continue to profit by growing industrial varieties of hemp.
The book opens with a vision: a day in the life of a fictitious couple living in an a hemp house. Then it's off on a whirlwind tour of 10,000 years of human history, with an emphasis on the United States. It documents that hemp was a major industry for most of the world's great civilizations and had medical, religious and cultural uses. It shows how the plant's name suddenly changed from "hemp" to "marihuana" amid hysterical news accounts of a non-existent crime wave just before the entire plant species was banned in 1937. Based on its global survey of hemp today, the book forecasts a multi-billion dollar cannabis revival. It projects the cash crop's huge economic potential for food, clothing, housing, paper, plastic, energy and more. There is a separate chapter for each of the major uses of hemp, highlighting current technologies that encourage job development and environmental quality. It examines hemp botany, ecology and farming techniques.
Hemp, Lifeline to the Future sorts through the massive research surrounding cannabis health issues and demonstrates both its therapeutic value and relative safety compared to other drugs. It evaluates the federal anti-marijuana data in terms of scientific methodology and stated conclusions. It unmasks a group of special interests and government agencies who distort the evidence to maintain arbitrary and excessive political power. The book studies the shifting tides of cannabis policy in the wake of prohibition, corruption, asset forfeitures, police abuse, prisons and soaring costs. Finally, it looks at private sector options and considers what steps to take as individuals, communities and society as a whole. There are only a few books that deal with this important topic, and none does a better job of it. Heavily documented and footnoted, packed with practical tips and statistical data to back up every point, Hemp, Lifeline to the Future is a must-read book that sets the record straight. Conrad concludes that responsible business interests responds to community markets and concerns better than government agencies, and that a legally regulated adult market in marijuana will effectively end the criminal underground market and protect children.

# Paperback: 314 pages
# Publisher: Creative Xpressions.; 2nd edition (October 1994)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0963975412
# ISBN-13: 978-0963975416
# Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches